he talked. “Brighton might be loyal to his department, but we can always find someone willing to give up some intel.”
“Brighton would talk in a heartbeat if he thought someone was in danger. Brighton’s unwillingness means that Chris Taylor is working something serious. One of the things he’s known for is working well with the feds,” Tag explained.
The knot in his stomach got tighter. How serious was this and how was Noelle involved? “So we think we’ve got feds on this?”
“That’s what I want MaeBe to figure out.” Big Tag passed her a folder. “I need you to do a deep dive on Genedyne and Jessica Layne. I want to know everything about this woman, including all the nasty rumors about her on the Deep Web. You know they’re out there. I want to figure out who’s looking into her and why. Check into Chris Taylor, too. I’d like to know if something in his background makes him suited for this particular job. If there is, it might give us a clue about what he’s looking into.”
MaeBe nodded, taking the file. “Will do. The rumors about Jessica Layne are numerous.”
“I want to hear them all.” Now that Kyle was moving into the woman’s circle, they needed to know everything about her. “I’ve got some contacts who might be able to help.”
He kept up with his old group of hacktivists. Most of them were married with families, but a few were still active. He could throw out a couple of lines and see if he caught anything. The Deep Web thrived on rumors and gossip.
“Do that, but we’ve got something else we’d like you to check into.” Tag looked to MaeBe. “I’d like something on Jessica Layne this afternoon. Thank you, MaeBe.”
She stood, taking her tablet and the folder with her. “I know when my clearance level has been reached. Fine. But it will be hard to do since I’m covering the phones.”
She didn’t even flinch when Tag grunted, proving she’d been around long enough to speak Tag. That was his you-got-yourself-into-it grunt.
The door closed and Tag’s attention was once again on Hutch. “She was a good hire. She didn’t even tell me you’re upset because you slept with the client and then apparently got the cold shoulder from her.”
“Seriously? Damn. I didn’t expect that,” Adam said. “Are you sure? Isn’t Hutch usually the one who slips out the door before his lady love awakens?”
“You’ve been reading too many of your wife’s books. Hutch doesn’t have to slip out of the door. Well, not out of the door of like an apartment or a house. He’s slipped out of lots of closets. You know his upper body strength must be off the charts,” Tag mused. “Some of those closets are small. He’s got to be picking them up.”
“I was thinking he’s super stretchy,” Adam countered.
He managed to tamp down his irritation. “I take it Kyle’s been talking.”
Big Tag’s jaw went tight, and he sat back. “He writes a detailed report, and he’s sending them to the head of his department every morning. Fisher thought I should see this one since it involved a developing relationship. That was how Kyle put it in his report. I read the subtext. I’m right about you sleeping with Noelle?”
“It’s okay because I apparently was neither stretchy enough or upper body strong enough for her.” He wasn’t going to let the humiliation get him down. It was his old friend. “So it’s not going to be a problem.”
It was good to know Kyle was a tattletale. Although at least he’d been somewhat discreet. Big Tag could read between almost any line though.
“She told you she didn’t like the sex?” Adam asked.
“I am not doing this. I made a mistake. I’ll fix it.” He’d thought about it a lot. There was a simple solution, and he thought Noelle would appreciate it. They didn’t need another awkward encounter. “The truth of the matter is it’s not necessary for me to stay at Noelle’s. Kyle is the bodyguard. I can come and go as needed.”
“That would have been an option had you not introduced yourself around as her boyfriend,” Big Tag shot back. “I think there would be a bunch of questions if you left and your so-called brother was living with her. Unless you haven’t met any of her friends yet. How did you introduce yourself when you went against Genedyne security and found Noelle in the locker room?”
“I suspect you know exactly how many people I’ve met.”