SWNOVELS Dead of Wynter: Chapter 54
“Did your nanna teach you how to drive?” I growl at Storm.
He glances over at me with panic in his eyes. “Shut the fuck up and get into the goddamn security feed.”
As stupid as my uncles are at times, they have really stepped up their game recently. In addition to breaking into Frost Industries, they have also managed to take down our security system, which means I have no fucking idea what’s happening inside that building right now and the longer I spend without eyes on Wynter, the more dread fills me.
“Don’t you have fucking cameras on every inch of her life? Why not her office?” Storm snaps.
“Because there were already cameras in there that I had access to. There was never any reason for additional surveillance anywhere in the building.”
“We’re changing that. I want a backup system installed that no one knows about.”
“Already way ahead of you.”
I’ve spent the last twenty minutes since we got in the car trying to break through whatever block they’ve put in place, but whoever did it is good. Just not better than me. I look up as we enter the city, high-rise buildings surrounding us. Storm weaves through traffic, honking at anyone who gets in his way. I’ve seen him rattled more times in the last few weeks than I have in the entire fifteen years I’ve known him, and it doesn’t suit him. Storm is always calm, he always has been. Every exam we did in school, I spent the whole night studying and making myself sick at the idea of failing. My only option was college, because the other option was to follow in my uncle’s footsteps, which is a fate worse than death. But not Storm. He would spend a couple of hours reading over his notes and then go about his life until he walked into the classroom. When he took over Frost Industries, it wasn’t planned. Ron had a heart attack a few years back, scared everyone half to death, and as soon as he was well enough, he signed it all over to Storm, saying his life was too short and he wanted to enjoy what was left of it. But Storm was anything but rattled. He took to running a company like a duck to water, and he’s been doing it ever since without blinking an eye.
Except the man yelling at pedestrians crossing the street is anything by calm. He’s manic, and he’s afraid, and he’s so far removed from the man I’ve been best friends with for half my life that I almost don’t recognize him. For once, I’m the calm one. I’m the one thinking everything through and plotting every single scenario because that’s my only option. The alternative is the love of my life being hurt, or worse, and that’s not something I’m willing to entertain.
My fingers fly across the keyboard, breaking every line of code individually. Whoever they have on their side is far from a novice. They’re experienced, but I built these systems with the idea of being hacked in mind, and I planned a hundred different ways in. The first ones I tried were the easiest, and they were blocked, but now I’m carefully weaving my way through the invisible maze, carefully setting off alarms in places I’m not in to draw their attention from what I’m really up to.
Under normal circumstances, I would enjoy playing a game of cat and mouse with another hacker, but all I can think about is getting to Wynter as quickly as possible.
“Do you think it’s a coincidence they pulled this shit the same day our hit is meant to happen?” Storm asks, his fingers tapping on the steering wheel impatiently.
“I actually think it might be. There’s no way they could know what we have planned for today. No one in the house knows apart from the people in the room.”
“It could have been The Legion.”
I shake my head. “It’s not. I’ve been monitoring their movements and phones since they left our house.”
His head whips around to face me. “Are you fucking kidding me, Everett? Are you trying to get all of us, including my baby sister killed?”
I shrug. “I trust Tommy’s recommendations, but guys like that have a reputation that I don’t like to put all my hope in.”
Storm mutters under his breath before slamming his hand down on the horn again. We’ve been at a standstill for too long, and if I were a more suspicious man, which I am, I would think there’s a diversion in place to keep us away from the building for as long as possible.
“Fuck yes,” I murmur as I finally get control of the systems, quickly pulling the fire door closed behind me to ensure the other hacker can’t get back in.
“Are you in?”
“Yep.” I quickly start searching through the camera views until I find the one I’m looking for. I’ve spent enough time watching this particular camera that I know it hits every inch of the office apart from the far corner, it’s why I suggested that office for Wynter when she first started working for Frost Industries after college, not that I would ever admit that to Storm.
“Is she okay?”
I stare at the screen for a few moments, trying to decide if I should tell him what I’m seeing or not. All three of my uncles sit on the side of the desk Wynter is normally at and let me tell you the view is not as good. My girl sits in the seat across from them, only the back of her head in visible on the grainy black and white feed. Yeah, we need to upgrade this shit as soon as possible. The system I put in place only piggybacked from the cameras that were there to begin with, so they certainly aren’t state-of-the-art by any stretch of the imagination. Two figures step forward, just the top of their heads appearing in the frame, but it’s enough to know a man is holding Tommy in the corner with a gun pressed to his temple. My heart rate triples at the idea of Wynter being unprotected.
“Everett?” The fear in his voice drags my eyes from the screen to meet his.
“We need to get through this traffic right fucking now.”