The men left as quickly as they’d arrived, but Cassie only made it until their footsteps sounded on the hardwood floors downstairs before she faced him. “Do I really need guards?”

“Do you want to go to work?”

“I have to go to work. It’s my job.”

“Then, yes. You need men to watch over you. Your station has security, so they’ll give you distance after they walk you inside, but when you leave the estate, they will be with you.”

“For how long?”

“Until I’m certain there is no risk to you.”

She paced to the bed and stared down at her suitcases like the contents inside might hold the answers her mind couldn’t find. Her head snapped his direction. “You really think someone might have put bugs in my house?”

“It depends on who we’re dealing with and the extent of their capabilities or resources. We will know soon enough, and we’ll determine the best actions from there.” He paused for a moment to give her time to process what he’d said before he laid on the rest. “I’ll need your computer, your phone and any other devices you have as well.”

“Why?”

“Because if they’ve been compromised in terms of access or tracking devices, we’ll want to either clean or replace them.”

She sat on the edge of the bed with a heavy sigh, a mix of weariness and reluctant humor drawing her mouth to the side in a wry mew. She dug her laptop from her briefcase and her phone from her purse then held them out to him. “You understand I’m supposed to be the one reporting on stories like this. Not the one featured in them.”

He set the devices aside, sat beside her and smoothed his hand down her spine. “This will not last forever, milaya. The email you received is a strong lead for us, and I have significant resources to research it.”

“A strong lead because you think whoever sent it is the same person who killed your guy?”

“Most likely, yes. Or an accomplice.”

She sat with that a moment, and her gaze narrowed. “Tell me about your man. The one that was killed.”

The memory of his soldier’s pale body and sightless eyes aimed toward the ceiling flashed unwelcoming in his mind’s eye. While the weeks that had passed had helped him focus and hone his anger, the fire still smoldered in his belly. Waiting. Poised and ready to strike. His muscles tightened, and the need to stand and pace crawled beneath his skin. “His name was Kevin. He was twenty-five.”

She swallowed hard. “Same age as me.”

“Yes. Too young to die and underserving of what happened. He was not like Sam or the other men. He worked on computers. Did research and specialized cyber activity.”

Her eyebrows lifted in that pragmatic cut-to-the-chase way she had about her. “You mean he was a hacker.”

The fact that she could draw even the faintest smile from him in such a moment was testament to how much he appreciated her candor and her clever mind. “Yes. Not as experienced as myself or other people I know, but insatiably curious and eager to learn.” He paused a moment, weighed what he should and shouldn’t share for her protection. “He helped me in tracking information about Alfonsi. When we found Kevin, we also found that his computer had been completely wiped—a failsafe he had in place should someone ever try to access the data on it without the right credentials. That tells me whoever this was wanted information.”