one priority.
And that meant finding the damn traitor. He was more convinced now that Secretary Lyle was correct. Whoever was selling the list of names had to be masquerading as the Phoenix. Worse, the asshole was impersonating his alter ego, as well. All scenarios pointed to the person behind the sale of the supposed list of names being an integral player in the US counter-intelligence community. And there was no telling what information they would attempt to sell next.
His deep sigh caused her to stir, but not wake. He slipped out from beneath her warm, languid limbs, carefully resting her body against the back of the futon. After covering her with a blanket, he pulled on his board shorts and padded over to his bank of computers. He sank into the leather chair he’d used to pilot his mission as the Mariner for the past several years and simply stared at the blank screens.
It was over. Just like Quinn, the Mariner had somehow been compromised. Someone out there had burned his alias and was likely tracing every single one of his keystrokes. He couldn’t risk trying to track down whoever it was from these computers. Not until he’d done a bit of reprogramming. And that would have to be taken care of back at headquarters.
He was surprised he wasn’t angrier at the situation. The alter ego had become his refuge. In the past few months, he’d welcomed the assignments allowing him to camp out here. It gave him an excuse to escape all the damn wedding planning his buddies were cheerfully enduring. Not that he begrudged his two best friends their happiness—he could honestly say he loved Marin and Josslyn like sisters. But lately, he’d begun to feel left out. No matter what they said to him or how they included him, Ben had become the fifth wheel. The truth was, he’d rather bury himself in his work than spend time pondering his lonely future.
Quinn sighed as she shifted on the futon. He glanced over at her sleeping form and his chest actually swelled. Suddenly, the future didn’t seem as bleak. He’d enjoyed seeing the lighthouse through her artistic eyes today. And she was right, his friends and family would love the place. He wanted to share it with them. But mostly, he wanted to share it with her.
If he could convince her to stay.
Despite her enthusiastic lovemaking earlier, he sensed she was still skittish about letting him in completely. Her entire life has been a lie. He got that. Now all he had to do was make her understand it didn’t matter. Not to him. He saw the real Quinn. And he wanted her, warts and all. He had a freaking genius IQ. Surely, he could figure something out to convince her of that.
Reaching over to snag the container with the cake samples, he began to chow down. He always thought better on a full stomach. The sugar stimulated his brain. At least that was what he’d convinced his mom and countless other women over the years. Leaning back in his chair, he studied the night sky while pondering his next steps.
Priority number one was to find the traitor. Then he could secure the list so Quinn and her parents could live in peace. As grand gestures went, that was certainly a good one.
Getting his AI back from that asshole, Ronoff, was also on his list. Not to mention giving the Russian a little payback for his attempted murder of Quinn. Not that he wasn’t grateful to the dick, because had it not been for him, she wouldn’t be lying naked and sated in his lighthouse right now.
He jerked upright. That was it. Ronoff was the key to everything. All he had to do was use the Russian to flush out the traitor. And he had just the way to do it while retrieving his AI in the process. His adrenaline was pumping again as he powered up the monitors in the room. The Mariner was going surfing one last time on the dark web. With a great deal of finesse and a little luck, he could trick all the players into revealing themselves. After inhaling the last piece of cake, he let his fingers dance over the keyboard.
Chapter Thirteen
Quinn woke to the feel of warm sunshine on her face and a hard body wrapped around her. They were still in the torch room, their legs intertwined and Ben’s arm securing her to the narrow futon. He was beautiful