“Is it possible neither of them did this?”

  “Possible? Anything is. Improbable? Yeah.” And Trees felt really sorry for Zy. “Keep digging. See if you can find any traces of contact in March, around the time we went to Mexico and damn near got ambushed.”

  “Getting there. After that software is installed, there isn’t much in the way of sent emails except to the bosses. It’s like…Aspen didn’t do that much.”

  “No, it’s not ‘like’ that. She actually didn’t do much. But no fishy communications around the time of our mission?”

  Zy shrugged. “Not that I see.”

  “With remote access and keystroke recording, all anyone had to do was log in to our server themselves and they could mine almost anything.”

  “Do you think that spyware/remote-access garbage is still on Tessa’s computer?”

  Zy clearly hoped Tessa had been passing on information without even knowing it, and Trees had bad news for his buddy. “No. As soon as Aspen cleared the building, I restored the computer back to the factory settings, then carefully rebuilt Tessa’s profile. I didn’t trust Aspen not to have unwittingly screwed everything up.”

  “So the rogue software is gone? And we have no way of knowing who might have been accessing our systems and where the information was going?”

  Trees winced. “When you put it that way, I should have looked to see what was on the computer before I wiped it, but I had no idea…”

  “You couldn’t have. You finding anything else?”

  Yeah, and it wasn’t good. “Let me finish. Then…we’ll talk.”

  Zy stood and ambled to the coffeepot, brewing another. “Coffee?”

  “Yeah. It’s going to be a long night.”

  Zy glanced down the hall, where Laila’s light was still on. “Should I encourage her to go to sleep?”

  “You can try, but she won’t.”

  With a grim press of his lips, Zy poured two cups of coffee and headed back to the table. Trees absently sipped the black brew and scribbled notes as he peered at the screen, working, working…until he came across something that made his heart stop.

  When Trees looked up, Zy froze. “What?”

  “There are footprints of communications from what looks like a Gmail account to an external mail host with its servers in Switzerland.”

  “Why is that important? Why does the server location matter?”

  “Because the Swiss have some of the strictest tech privacy laws in the world. No one is getting their hands on that information. A lot of people use this kind of service. People who don’t like their emails being scanned for keywords so that online retailers can market to them, for instance. People who don’t love government intrusion into their personal life.”

  “So you have one of these email addresses?”

  “Not this particular provider. This one is expensive. But I have one like it. It’s also commonly used by people who have something to hide.”

  “Like criminals?”

  As much as Trees hated to admit it… “Exactly. I’m not saying that anyone who has one of these is up to something nefarious, but I am saying that anyone up to something nefarious probably has one of these email addresses, rather than a simple freebie.”

  “Let me recap: Someone with Gmail sent messages to a party with a super-secure email address who might be a criminal?”

  “Yes.”

  “And?”

  “Because the information packet passed through our server, and I have some goodies residing there just in case, I can read the contents of the emails. But I can’t prove who the Gmail address belongs to.” But if they could prove it was Tessa’s, then she was toast.

  So was Zy’s heart.

  “Are the communications from this Gmail something to worry about?”

  Trees hated to tell him the truth, but Zy needed to hear it. “August eighteenth. The Gmail account owner wrote a summation of the plan Hunter outlined for Walker and me to spy in Mexico. The mission in which he was taken in the parking lot.”

  “Shit.”

  “Yep. Shit.” That had definitely been the work of their mole. What chapped Trees’s hide more was that the bosses would have come to him to investigate this sooner if they hadn’t suspected him. “There’s just one thing about this that’s a little weird: the message was sent in the middle of the night.”

  Zy frowned. “Tessa takes her laptop home with her more often than not. She always said it was in case the bosses needed something during evening and weekends.”

  She was the receptionist. What were the odds of that? “Or maybe she does that in case a certain cartel needs answers day or night.”

  “How do we prove whether that message came from Tessa?”

  “Without her computer, we don’t.”

  Zy’s frown became a scowl. “What about Walker’s rescue mission in September? That went off without a hitch.”

  “The one I missed because of truck-stop sushi, where Laila had been freed. Right…” Trees searched the files for emails corresponding to those times. “No. Nothing.”

  “Were the bosses keeping the details of that rescue mission better under wraps? Or…wait. Wasn’t that when she went to Tennessee because her father died?”

  That sounded familiar. Trees clicked onto a calendar, then nodded. “You’re right. She wasn’t around to learn about the plan and pass it on.”

  He hated to say it, but he could see her step-by-step betrayal—just as easily as he could tell it crushed Zy.

  “But she was back in plenty of time to rat out the location of Valeria’s safe house in St. Louis.”

  Just to be sure, Trees cross-checked that timeframe, then nodded. “I just accessed the server’s October backup. Sure enough, here’s another communication from the Gmail account to the secure mail host, forwarding the email Walker sent me—via Tessa—with the location’s floor plan. And like before, she sent the email in the middle of the night.”

  “She told the drug lord exactly where to find his estranged wife?” Somehow, Zy still seemed surprised by her duplicity.

  He obviously didn’t want to believe the woman he loved could be so guilty.

  Trees hated it, but he had to keep bursting Zy’s bubble. “Yep. All the way down to the location of her bedroom.”

  Zy’s expression hardened over. “Anything else? Did she divulge the location of Valeria’s safe house in Orlando, too? And who would she be talking to now that Emilo is dead?”

  Valid question, one he’d like the answer to so he could explain to Laila. Maybe then she’d do more than try to trust him. “I can’t tell.” Trees clicked around, but no luck. “I don’t see specific communications this month, but she might have realized someone was on to her and switched up her mode of talk. I won’t know until I get my hands on her computer. You gotta get it for me, man. Now.”

  Zy nodded, looking like a man heading into a dangerous, bloody battle.

  “I know this is going to fuck you up for a while. I hate that like hell for you, but without her computer, I can’t prove what Tessa is up to or how she’s doing it. And if I can’t do that, more people may die.” Trees looked down the hall, at the light from Laila’s room shining this way. “People who deserve to finally live.”

  Zy nodded and stood, looking grimly resolute. “I’m on it.”

  Trees sipped on another cup of joe and waited for Zy to return with Tessa.

  Over the past couple of hours, his buddy had sneaked into the receptionist’s house and prowled through her laptop to verify that the Gmail account they’d been looking for did, in fact, belong to her. Then Zy had cuffed the little turncoat to her car to bring her out to his place. In the meantime, Trees had asked Madison to hang out at Tessa’s duplex in case her daughter, Hallie, woke in her crib. Thankfully, she’d agreed. Now he was just waiting for Zy and Tessa to roll up.

  This was going to be ugly.

  Since Laila had finally fallen asleep thirty minutes ago, cuffed once again to her bed, Trees paced the porch. Zy had ninety minutes before he had to call the bosses and present their timeline of Tessa’s betrayal. Trees had already pieced some of it together, but to fill in all the blanks, Zy would need to question her. What his buddy really wanted was a pound of her flesh. Not that he blamed Zy. He’d like some revenge, too. Her greed or need for cash or whatever her excuse for going rogue had not only broken Zy’s heart but nearly cost Laila and her family their lives more than once.

  Finally, the pair pulled up, the little sedan’s headlights bobbing down the gravel road leading to his ranch house. Trees jogged down to meet them and opened the passenger door, uncuffing Tessa’s wrist before he tugged her out of the car. “Let’s go.”

  With one hand, she clutched a blanket around her seemingly naked body and sent him an imploring stare. “Trees… Talk to him. Please. It’s not what you think—”

  “Shut up,” Zy snapped, his command full of fury and heartache. “God, how fucking low are you willing to stoop? It’s done. You’re caught. We’re over.”

  The pretty blonde shook her head. “But it’s not—”

  “I don’t care!” Zy spewed the words, but he was clearly lying.

  As he gripped Tessa and dragged her out back to the bunker, Trees scooped up her laptop, phone, and keys, then followed closely behind.

  When they reached the opening, his buddy lifted the heavy metal lid to the underground shelter and gave Tessa a shove. “Get in.”

  She panicked, digging in her heels. “What are you going to do to me? What’s—”

  “A lot less than you deserve.” Ignoring her screeches, he hauled her against him and descended into the shadowy lair.

  “No! Don’t. Stop, Zy! Please…”

  With a heavy heart, Trees shut the door on them, then retreated to the kitchen, where he opened Tessa’s laptop. Zy was counting on him to start assembling the timeline for their bosses.

  The log-in screen flashed. Of course he could bypass it, but what the hell would he find? Would Zy be able to handle it?

  Before he could start answering those questions, Zy emerged from the bunker again. Trees took one look at his pal’s shell-shocked face in the back porch light and went running. If Zy had looked twisted in knots before, now he looked bent and broken.

  Trees fought back the urge to throttle pretty, backstabbing Tessa. “She’s destroying you.”

  “I don’t know how to fucking stop it.” Zy looked near tears.

  Trees dropped a supportive hand to his friend’s shoulder. “If you were able to do the forensic dive on her computer, I would interrogate her for you…”

  But that wasn’t possible. Trees had only basic interrogation skills. Zy knew the dirty ones, and he’d never had a problem doing what needed to be done. Then again, he’d never fallen for the enemy.

  “I know.”

  “You’re not up for this. We need to call someone else.”

  “There is no one, man. The bosses are wrapped up in saving Kimber. Kane has Valeria. One-Mile…”

  Trees reared back. “You going to let that crazy son of a bitch near her?”

  “Fuck no. Besides, I have to report something to the bosses in an hour. And if Tessa is at all involved in Kimber’s kidnapping—”

  “They’ll call the police.”

  Zy nodded grimly. “I can’t stop it.”

  “The universe owes you for this, man.”

  “I need a drink.”

  Instead of reminding him that he shouldn’t imbibe on the job, Trees led his buddy into the kitchen, straight to the whiskey.

  Zy knocked back three fingers with a tortured sigh. “Have you started going through her things yet?”

  “No. I know I’m going to find more, and I hate to pile on right now.”

  “This is probably like ripping off a Band-Aid—better to do it all at once so the sting goes away faster.”

  “Maybe. I think what’s killing you now—besides the fact she ripped out your heart—is the not knowing. Exactly what she did. Why she did it. Why she dragged you into it.”

  “There’s a part of me that keeps insisting this isn’t like her, that she would never hurt anyone—much less everyone—without a damn good reason.”

  “You mean other than money?” Trees raised a cynical brow.

  “I know that’s enough reason for most people, but…” Zy shook his head. “Or maybe she snowed me so fucking bad I was willing to believe everything, even her goodness.”

  “You have an instinct about her, and they aren’t usually wrong. One of the things I’ve always admired about you is your people skills.”

  “You only think mine are good because yours suck ass.”

  “Mine do.” They ribbed each other a little before Trees went on. “Straight up? You can get to the bottom of this faster than anyone. I said before that I think she loves you. And I still think it’s true…in her way. Go use her own tools against her.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Emotion. Appeal to her good side. Get under her skin. Hell, peel off her clothes and fuck her brains out if that forces the truth from her. I can give you hard evidence, but only she can fill in the gaps and explain why.”

  Zy snorted. “If what we suspect is real, Tessa only has a passing relationship with the truth. Why should now be different?”

  Trees paused and weighed the wisdom of venturing into territory he’d never charted with Zy. But desperate times and all that… “Did you ever ask yourself why I have handcuffs handy? You already asked once why I had rope in my nightstand drawer. You know I’m a control freak. Do the math.”

  Zy’s expression told him the instant the truth hit. “You’re a Dominant. Like the bosses.”

  Trees nodded. “Keeping it real, man. I think that’s your instinct, too. But if you’ve never partaken, it’s cool. Just…um, word of advice? When you want the truth from a sweet little thing like Tessa—”

  “I think we’ve determined she’s not sweet.”

  Trees shook his head. “Don’t confuse her acts with the woman herself. She’s gotten herself tangled up in this shit for reasons you and I may never fully understand. But your instincts are right. She’s naturally sweet. A pleaser.”

  “Submissive?”

  “Maybe. Probably. But you don’t know if you don’t try. So here’s my advice: if you spank her and she comes up biting your head off, then probably not and you should stop immediately. But…if you try and she doesn’t? If she melts? It just might make her pliable enough to be honest. Worth a shot, anyway.”

  “Hell, at this point, I’m willing to try anything.”

  Trees clapped him on the back. “You just might be surprised. And if I’m right, a bunch of my equipment is down there. You can thank me later.”

  Zy yanked his phone from his back pocket and settled it on the counter. “I know I’m running out of time. If the bosses call, stall them. But I don’t want to be disturbed. I’m not coming out of that fucking bunker again until I have answers.”

  Trees gave his pal a last supportive clap on the back. As Zy descended again, he headed back into the kitchen with a sigh. He was fucking tired, and he needed another cup of coffee if he was going to outline Tessa’s guilt and finish ripping out Zy’s heart.

  He poured a mug from the lukewarm pot and shoved it in the nuker. As it reheated, he made his way to Laila’s room. The stupid, impulsive part of him wanted to wake her and insist he wasn’t EM Security’s mole and he’d never put her family in danger.

  But it was pointless. So far, he had only circumstantial evidence, not proof. To fully trust him, Laila would need that. She deserved it.

  When he reached the bedroom, he eased the door open. Like before, she lay on her side, burrowed under the blankets—except her wrist, attached to the bedpost. At some point, she had buried her face under a pillow to block out the bright lights overhead. She must be exhausted, and she looked uncomfortable.

  Damn it.

  Trees tried to stifle his guilt. Since Laila had run away one too many times, he was forced to cuff her to keep her here and safe.

  The self-pep-talk was bullshit. Laila had been held against her will for years. Did the fact he was doing it for different reasons really matter? She was still a captive.

  But what fucking choice did he have? It was dangerous out there, and if Victor Ramos or any of Emilo’s men found her again, she’d never leave their captivity alive.

  Cursing, he stomped to the office, grabbed a trio of items, then returned to deposit them on the dresser. Another errand across the house sent him into his hidden room under the master. He’d built it as a panic room…but he’d decked it out as a private dungeon. It hadn’t been finished long enough for him to put it to good use, but he’d outfitted the place first class, eagerly waiting for the moment he found the right woman to bring here. The notion of using his new equipment on Laila messed with his head. He fantasized about bringing her here and putting her at his tender mercy for their mutual pleasure.

  It’s not happening, dude.

  Trees grabbed what he’d come for, locked up, then dashed back to Laila. In three minutes, he had batteries in the electric candles Madison had given him for Christmas, their golden beams putting out soft ambient light.

  Then he returned to Laila’s side. She hadn’t moved. Carefully, he unshackled her wrist and removed the cuff with the short chain, replacing it with one that stretched two feet.

  Gently, he rolled Laila to her back, displacing the pillow from over her eyes. Trees didn’t mean to stare, but every time he set eyes on her, she did something to him. Her curls were like a halo around her shoulders. Her graceful neck gave way to a firm jaw, a stubborn chin, and a pouty mouth that made him sweat. Her long lashes brushed her soft cheeks below delicately arched brows.

  He’d had sex with her three days ago. Since then, he hadn’t stopped thinking about her. Of course he wanted her underneath him again, but what he felt was more than sex. He wanted to protect her, help her, give her a better life. He wanted to be a better man so she would believe a good one existed.

  Yeah, he was probably in love.

  And if he wanted to prove he hadn’t double-crossed her beyond any shadow of doubt, he needed to get to work. He also probably needed to stop hoping she would ever have real feelings for him. Every time he’d touched her, she had allowed it because she had an ulterior motive, not because she’d wanted him. He needed to remember that and keep his head screwed on straight.