Deadly Alliance Read Free Page A

than once Finn caught him displaying questionable conduct, but Les was no cyber-genius. Only a seasoned hacker modified deposit codes.
    Finn logged off, but his computer was impervious to powering down. A small circle turned in the center of the screen. A background program awakened. He inhaled deeply and jockeyed the mouse to access the computer server housing maintenance software.
    He selected “Payment Processing” and scanned lines of source code crawling down the screen. Although Finn wasn’t a programmer, he knew the rules, patterns, and data names of C++. He held his breath as he hunted for parasite code surrounding the deposit label. An hour passed, and he found nothing buried in the multitude of Assembler code. Finn swallowed hard and snapped off the light.
    Tomorrow he’d put on his game face, dress the part, issue orders, and sound like an executive. With his elbow on his desk, he propped his forehead in his hand. As he prayed for a miraculous breakthrough, he shut his eyes. Amy appeared to keep her life orderly and spotless. Was Les’ former girlfriend a random applicant did she have the potential to destroy his business even further?
     

Chapter Two
     
    There she was on a Friday morning in October in Lake Arrowhead heading for her third interview with Finn. Amy doubted he would hire her. Not if he knew what she’d discovered last night. Les or someone close to him had lodged a dirty secret inside her folder for shorts patterns.
    Clenching the dratted envelope, she wasn’t the hopeful person she was yesterday when she stumbled through Arrowhead Cafe’s open door. Her achy toe twinged in pain, minor compared to the growing pulse across her forehead. As she whiffed rich, oily coffee, her stomach protested. She eased her way through bodies. Like everywhere in their lake community on a Friday, the restaurant crawled with out-of-towners.
    Finn had chosen a secluded table here, instead of where she’d be working if he hired her. These people were strangers compared to office acquaintances, whom she knew because of Les, with an urge to snoop. Sinking into the same spot where she’d met Finn’s head accountant on Monday and Wednesday, a burn of anxiety made its way up her esophagus. She glanced at her phone’s home screen. No messages. He was late, and she listened for the rumble of his kickass Harley.
    Heard it roar. He hadn’t forgotten their appointment.
    A wave swelled through the crowd with heads turning and looking past where she huddled. Amy leaned around a pillar to spot the source of the commotion. Finn, all six-and-a-half feet of him, wore a black, tailor-fitted leather jacket and black-as-death, Kevlar pants. Sexy, yes, but she wasn’t here for a date. If and when the time was right, she’d pick an average-looking guy. Knowing how good looks fizzled made her immune.
    With his helmet tucked under an elbow, Finn shifted between onlookers. The patrons tracked his rolling stride toward her.
    She pulled back, instinct driving her to shield herself with the wide packet. It slipped from her hands and thumped to the floor. As she seized it, her peripheral vision caught his harsh, chiseled chin.
    His intense, blue eyes stripped her of her talent for blending in. Exposed for who she was, guilty by association, he captured her distress. “You’re on the sunny side of prompt.” His ruthless face softened. “In spite of last night,” the tough guy added with more warmth in his tone.
    Drat, she wasn’t immune, but she did have common sense. “I’m on time. No matter what.” Desperate for oxygen, she took a deep, slow breath and tried to release the hard grip she had on the thick envelope.
    He studied her face. “What’s with the white knuckles?”
    The manila envelope throbbed in her hands, begging her to come clean. “We need to talk.”
    “Talk?” He chuckled and waved off the idea. His manly cologne drifted her way, but she didn’t allow it to be intoxicating
    The waitress, believing he’d