Mercy (Somerset University #3) - Ruby Vincent Page 0,53

greeted me at the door with her newest accessory riding shotgun in her purse. Chester’s furry head poked through the strap. He barked at me as if to say his current situation was my fault.

“So much for the Beaumont Boys being the animal lovers.”

She clicked her tongue. “What can I say, I held him and fell in love. You were right. Samson and I are swinging by the spa to meet up with the girls.”

“Samson? What was wrong with Chester?”

“Nothing’s wrong with Chester, but he’s going to be a big, strong boy and he needs a strong name. Won’t you? Won’t you, little boy?” Mom cooed at the pup, kissing all over his face.

I inched around her and hurried off. Once she was done with him, it’d be me next.

“Have fun at the spa, Mom.”

“Bye, baby.”

Bounding up the stairs, I searched for my father in his usual places.

The library. Empty.

The sun room. Not a soul.

His office.

Dad glanced up from his paperwork as I strode in.

“I should have checked here first.”

“Son.” Dad rose up, arms out to envelop me in a crushing hug. My bones ground together when he hugged me. I could only imagine what it was like for smaller, daintier people. I.e., nearly everyone other than me.

“What brings you by?” he asked.

“Do I need a reason?”

Dad guided me over to the armchairs. The cool leather on my back swirled memories of long nights bent over the computer with my father. He’d let me run around unrestrained in here, going so far as to remove anything breakable or expensive so this could be my second playroom.

That was the lens through which I viewed the world. Sitting on the carpet with my toys and peeking up at my father—larger than life behind his desk. Smart. Powerful. Strong.

I knew at five years old that he was what I wanted to be when I grew up.

“You never need a reason, Ricky. So tell me, how did the first day go? How is the lovely Val and my boy Adam?”

We launched into the usual conversation, filling each other in on what went on in our short time away.

“Hope you’re not busy in three weeks,” I said. “Amelia’s angling for you to give a speech at her correspondents’ dinner.”

“She sent me an email this morning. I’ll be sure to follow up with her.” Dad leaned back in his seat, scanning me up and down. “But you didn’t come here to tell me what Amelia did herself. Something is bothering you, son. Out with it already.”

I cracked a smile. “When I start off with the bad news, you ask why we can’t have normal conversations anymore. When I open with the pleasantries, you accuse me of stalling. You’re impossible to figure out, Dad.”

“You’re damn right, and that fact has kept me in business all these years. Now what’s wrong, Rick?”

Dropping my head back, I turned my gaze on the vaulted ceilings to hide the indecision in my eyes. How much was I going to tell him?

“Rick?”

“Do you remember Ezra’s accident two years ago?”

“The shooting? Of course I remember.”

“No. Before that. Although, it is connected.” I dropped my chin, locking onto him. “Remember when he fell chasing the van?”

“Ah, yes. The boy Ezra claimed was kidnapped.” Dad rose and moved over to the bar cart. “Hasn’t he made it home safe and sound?”

“He did, but it’s not about Sawyer. It’s about the guy who lured him to the van in the first place.” I twisted to track him crossing the room to close the door. “Dad tell me why someone would protect their hard drive with an S-one trifid encryption using a straddle algorithm.”

“Trifid encryption?” He retook his seat and handed over a glass of scotch. “Protection like that, we’re talking state secrets, banking information, or intellectual property worth billions. MT uses something similar to protect our proprietary information.”

“Okay. Can you think of any reason why a college student—who isn’t your son—would encrypt their files with trifid?”

Marcus inclined his head. “As I stated, he must have something highly valuable worth protection. Encryption on that scale is not easy to achieve and it wouldn’t be cheap to buy.”

“Highly valuable was my first thought until I opened the file and found endless data on the men in the Nu Alpha Theta fraternity. Aiden has—”

“Hold on.” Dad put up his hand, stopping me in my tracks. “Opened the file? You don’t mean— Rick, did you hack this man? You swore to me you would never do that. I didn’t teach