Claimed(55)
“Communication. The Enforcers use it to send secure messages when they’re out in the field, or to set up meetings, make schedule changes, that sort of thing.” She hesitated, wondering how much more to reveal. “Dominik also posts the sweep schedule on there, and the weekly assignments for the men. How many in a unit, the weapons they’ll need, where they’re heading —”
Xander interrupted with a hiss. “How do you know all that?”
She bit the inside of her cheek. “I told you, I worked in medical, patching up Enforcers. The unit leader always had a tablet on him, and the men had smaller portable versions. They didn’t hide what they were doing from me or cover their screens so I couldn’t take a peek.” She shrugged awkwardly. “I took a lot of peeks.”
Xander studied her face before shifting to the tablet. “Tell me how it works.”
“Well, when they launched the program, a box popped up asking for their log-in information. Once they entered it, they’d be redirected to other pages.” She paused. “Do you think you could play around with it and see if you can get in?”
“Jesus. Of course.”
She wrinkled her forehead at his very swift, very enthusiastic answer. “Oh. Okay. Thanks.”
He stared at her. “Do you really not see how important this is? How valuable this information could be? We’ll be able to stay one step ahead of the Enforcers. We’ll know which areas they’re sweeping, how many of them to expect… Christ, this is a potential gold mine…” He was still mumbling to himself as he snatched the tablet and stumbled back to his workstation.
Hudson couldn’t stop the panicky sensation that churned in her stomach. Crap. Had she done the wrong thing by telling him about the program?
What if Connor and the others used the information to go after her brother?
You don’t have a brother anymore.
The bleak thought was like a knife to the heart. No, she supposed she didn’t. These past couple of years, Dominik had transformed right in front of her eyes. He’d become a man she no longer recognized. Cruel and barbaric. Heartless.
But he hadn’t always been that way, damn it. Her brother had once been kind and honorable. Fiercely loyal and dedicated to keeping those around him safe.
What had happened to him?
She didn’t have an answer for that, and as painful as it was, she forced herself to banish Dom from her mind. She’d known that by escaping the compound, she was permanently severing ties with her brother. She needed to put the past behind her if she wanted to have a future in this new land.
A car engine rumbled outside the lodge, bringing a rush of relief. Connor and Rylan had been out checking the motion sensors in the woods, which had malfunctioned earlier. They’d been gone long enough to worry her, but Xander had assured her they would have contacted camp on the radio if they’d run into any trouble.
Still, she wanted to see for herself that they were unharmed. “Come find me if you need me,” she told Xander on her way to the door.
He didn’t answer, his concentration focused solely on the tablet. She’d noticed that Kade was the only person capable of reaching Xan when he was working. If Kade interrupted him, Xander dropped whatever he was doing. No hesitation.
Hudson didn’t quite understand their relationship. They weren’t outwardly affectionate toward each other. It definitely didn’t seem like they were sleeping together, because they didn’t act like a couple. And yet they were clearly more than friends.
When she stepped outside, she found Rylan unloading a bag from the Jeep. Streaks of mud marred his face and clothes, and some of it was even caked in his hair.
She laughed as she approached him. “What happened to you?”
He sighed. “The rain last night turned the mountain into a mud swamp. You should’ve come along – we were slipping and sliding all over the place. Fun times.”
“Where’s Connor?”
“Went to take a shower. Which is exactly what I’m about to do.” He smacked a kiss on her cheek before hurrying off.
Smiling to herself, she headed in the opposite direction, toward Connor’s cabin. The door was unlocked, so she walked inside, where the sound of rushing water greeted her. Her pulse sped up as she imagined Connor’s wet, naked body under the spray. Then she realized she didn’t have to imagine a damn thing – she could go and see it for herself.
She eased open the door without knocking and snuck a peek at the glass shower door. No steam filled the bathroom, which told her he was conserving hot water, the way he always did.