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He
and Ace exchanged a glance she couldn’t interpret, and as Julianne watched
their faces and Harper’s, she realized that Harper already knew this, too. Did
Liane and Angela know it as well? Another stab of jealousy pricked her, but she
pushed it away. These women were engaged to their men and they worked for them.
Hers and Kane’s relationship was entirely different. This was no time for envy.

A
horrible thought entered her mind. Did Isabelle know this, too? If she did, why
had she taken such a crazy chance and listed Rob’s wife among her references?
It still didn’t add up.

Ace
nodded almost imperceptibly before Kane answered her question. “This was never
made public, and we can’t ever let it go that route.”

Her
pulse raced. “I understand. It never will. Not from me, at least.” When would
he trust her? Would he ever completely be able to, or was she fooling herself?

Chapter
Seventeen

“
About six months ago,” said Kane, “one of the weather
satellites that was compromised began sending signals that weren’t weather
signals. They were data signals. Actual conversation in electronic form between
several people. Barclay Hampton is our data mining expert. He has friends at
HCS that do this for a living, but he does it for shits and giggles.”

“
He intercepted this data?”

“
Yes, and then he found out that the people at HCS who
track the satellites still in orbit had also intercepted it.”

“
Wouldn’t they need to be on the surface to do that?”

“
Right again. He goes up there once a month or so for a
few days just to see what he can find on a computer. He was up there on the
right day, but HCS would have caught the same data, regardless. They have teams
that live in shelters on the surface who do this all day long.”

“
They live up there all the time?”

“
They rotate every few months. These aren’t the same
shelters that Damien Rivera is redesigning. No one is supposed to know about
these, and they’re only used by the government.”

“
What was the data they intercepted?”

“
Before this particular satellite was shut down by
unknown persons or by a storm, HCS and Barclay intercepted enough snippets of
conversation to know that a team of hackers had tried to use the satellite as a
relay station to talk to others through it, instead of using the Internet.
They’re trying to hide.”

She
grinned. “You all have them on run.”

He
and Ace nodded. “We’d like to think that’s the reason, yes,” said Ace.

“
What else did they find out from this data?”

“
This is the best part,” said Kane. “Eighteen user
names we already have in the database Liane set up for us were the same
eighteen user names in the data Barclay and HCS intercepted.”

“
You have eighteen names?”

“
We do, although we still have work to do on them. We
have to find them, and we have to connect them with the real identities behind
them.”

She
frowned. “Can’t HCS do this same kind of work?”

“
They’re already doing it, but they’re a lot busier
than we are.”

“
You would think saving the planet would be a priority
for them, too.”

“
It is,” said Harper, “but we can give this full time
concentration and manpower now. They can’t. We have twenty-four teams among all
the Weathermen working on sifting through user names, comparing them across
message boards, and tracking the machine IDs and IP addresses behind them.”

“
Do these eighteen people work for one or more of you?”

“
That’s what we intend to find out,” said Kane.

Julianne’s
pulse raced. “Dare I ask this? Do you all suspect these could be the same
people who started this mess?”

The
three exchanged another glance, and Julianne was suddenly transported back to
grade school. Her best friend in third grade, Linda Milner, had a birthday
party that year but didn’t invite Julianne because they’d had a silly argument
the week before. Julianne had to watch and listen as nearly every other girl in
class squealed in delight when Linda handed them each a hand-written invitation
to the party.

She’d
felt like an outsider then, and she felt like one now. “Never mind. Forget I
asked.” She turned and started walking. “Let’s see this gorgeous apartment
where we get to spend the next two weeks.”

When
she glanced over her shoulder, the three had their heads together and it was obvious
Harper was angry about something. Julianne hoped it wasn’t directed toward her.
She poked her head into the kitchen, and then made her way through a formal
dining room, two offices, and a media room with enough seating for twelve.

A
back hallway led to the laundry room and to what appeared to be staff quarters.
There was even a small elevator. As she made her way back to the great room,
she heard Kane’s voice calling her.

“
There you are. I didn’t realize you’d walked so far
away.”

“
Did they go up to their apartment?”

“
Yes. They asked us to come up as soon as we’re
settled. There’s a private elevator that goes up to their penthouse.”

“
Is that the one in the back? I found it already.”

Kane
ran a hand through his shaggy mop of hair. The gesture usually sent her heart
fluttering, but right now it only made her want to cry. She desperately wanted
to be part of his life, but she wasn’t sure that would ever happen. Not to the
extent she had hoped it would. He enjoyed her in bed, but it was now clear he
didn’t completely trust her.

“
Julianne, we didn’t mean to exclude you. It’s
sensitive information.”

“
I’m not one of you. You probably told me more than you
should have. I get it, okay? Let’s go see the upstairs.”

She
brushed past him, but he caught her arm. Julianne shook him off and glared at
him. “What do you want from me, Kane?”

“
I want you to stand still and listen to me. I’m trying
to apologize.”

“
I heard you. Apology accepted.”

He
looked wounded, which further confused her. “Please don’t say you’re not one of
us. You are one of us.”

“
No, I’m not. I don’t have a ring on my finger from one
of you, and I don’t work for one of you. I didn’t build a database that you
each use, or discover the same user names on two separate sets of message
boards. I don’t know shit about computers except what I need to know to write
my stories, and I don’t even understand how The Madeline Project works, let
alone what it would have taken for someone to fuck it up six ways to Sunday.”

“
That doesn’t matter. It—”

“
I’m just the reporter who seduced you five years ago
and wrote a story with ten percent truth and ninety percent bullshit. As far as
your father is concerned, that’s all I’m
still
doing. Seducing you for a story. Thirteen stories this time. Or maybe sixteen,
if Harper, Liane, and Angela will even talk to me now.”

“
Why are you saying this?”

“
Why am I saying it? Kane, for heaven’s sake. Open your
damn eyes. I’m not part of the in crowd, and I never will be, because you don’t
trust me. You never will. Not entirely.”

He
shook his head. “That’s not true.”

“
You just showed me how true it is.”

“
There are things I cannot tell you. That doesn’t mean
I don’t trust you.”

“
Then you never should have brought up the topic to
begin with.”

“
You’re right.”

His
quiet words stunned her into silence.

“
You’re absolutely right. That’s what Harper just
chided us both for doing. We left you hanging after dangling a piece of the
whole story in front of you like you were a dog we were teasing. I’m so sorry,
Julianne. I never meant to do that. I was so damn excited about everything
Barclay and his friends found. Ace and I got carried away.”

“
I won’t repeat any of it.”

“
I know that. I’m not saying this because I’m afraid
you will. I’m trying to tell you we were wrong, and I’m sorry we hurt you. I’m
sorry
I
hurt you.” He sighed and
stepped closer, placing a hand on each shoulder. The intensity of his gaze
almost frightened her. “Julianne … I care so much about you. You’re not the
same person who forced her way into my office five years ago, and I’m not the same
either.”

She
watched the emotion cross his face, and suddenly didn’t want him to say
anything else. If he said the words, she’d have to say them, too, and she’d
have to do something about it. It would all be out in the open, and she was
afraid to take that step. There were too many unanswered questions, starting
with his father.

“
I’m going to tell you this, but you have to keep it
between us. Swear to me you will.”

What?
“I swear it.”

“
You were right. The names we found are most likely the
people who did this. We know this because part of the data included them making
reference to the Tommy Twister virus.”

Oh my God.

“
And I don’t mean they merely mentioned it in passing.
They talked about the code in it. They said things only the people who wrote it
could have known.”

“
Jesus Christ,” she whispered. “But doesn’t this mean
you can shut it down now? The Madeline Project, I mean?”

Kane
snorted. “I wish that were true. It means we have more solid coding information
than we had before, but not enough to shut it down. Not yet.”

“
This is wonderful news, Kane. I mean really fabulous.
Right?”

He
finally smiled. “Yes, it is. It’s tremendous.”

“
I won’t breathe a word. I swear it.”

He
pulled her close, and she moaned softly. Being this near to him, no matter what
else was going in, always sent her hormones racing. “I know you won’t. That’s
why I told you. I do trust you, Julianne. Please believe that.”

She
sighed against his chest. Why was this so damn confusing? She’d never been in
love before. She hadn’t let herself get that close to anyone. It was difficult
enough fighting for credibility in your work, especially as a woman writing for
a tech magazine. She’d never wanted to feel her worth depended on a man, but
that’s not what was going on and she finally realized that.

Julianne
didn’t need Kane’s approval to know she was worthy in her job, or in her life
for that matter. She didn’t
need
it,
but she wanted it. She wanted him to include her in his life, and that meant
all of it. His work was no exception.

She
pulled away to look into his eyes. It was time to stop behaving like a lovesick
teen and talk to this man. If she demanded total trust and inclusion from him,
she owed him the same in return.

“
I do believe you. I have something to say to you, and
I have no clue how you’re going to react, but I have to get this out. Then
again, this might be the worst possible time to say it, but I can’t wait any
longer. I want you to trust me, too, and I’ve been holding this inside far too
long now. I have no right to ask you to trust me if I can’t even tell you
what’s in my heart.”

Kane
gave her such a tender, encouraging look that she found new strength.

“
I love you, Kane. I’m so crazy in love with you that I
can’t even put it into words.”

The
complete delight on his face sent her pulse racing. What the hell had she been
so afraid of? “Oh, baby. Julianne, I love you, too. I think I’ve loved you for
five years.”

She
made a sound that was part gasp, part laugh. “Really? Oh my God. But what about
your family? You father hates me. He thinks I’m—”

His
powerful kiss cut her off. Julianne moaned into Kane’s open mouth and wrapped
her arms around his shoulders. The fuck with everyone else. Her pussy was
soaked now, and she wanted him, right here and now, on the damn floor.

He
released the kiss and cupped her face, his eyes full of desperation. “I’m not
going to let my father tell me who I can or can’t love. Dammit! I’m forty-one
years old.”

She
nodded because words weren’t necessary right now.

“
I don’t want you worrying about him. Do you hear me? I
love you and fuck anyone who has a problem with that.

Images
of a knight on a white horse raced through her mind. Julianne peeled off her
top and bra, and then she dropped her jeans and panties. She stepped out of her
sandals and stood before Kane, naked as a jaybird. The lust in his beautiful
eyes took her breath away.

“
You trying to solve this with sex?”

She
bit back the giggle. “Yes.”

“
This is why I love you.”

“
I figured as much.”

As
she watched him take off his glasses and place them in his jeans pocket, then
begin to undress slowly, she knew that everything had just changed between
them. They’d braved the world and said the words. Now, no matter what happened,
there would be no more doubt in her mind or his about the commitment they each
had to this relationship. And that was all Julianne needed to know. That he
wanted this as much as she did.

Everything
else was simply called life, and together they would deal with it.