The employee had vanished. After five minutes, Shaun had to admit he’d lost him. That made getting back to Lexie the next priority.
He’d have to tell her what he’d found, but maybe she’d be able to tell if the hacker had had time to read any of her documents. The room attendant had to come back eventually. Shaun would question him then, or find one of the security guys and learn whose responsibility it was to keep an eye on the computer room.
Shaun jogged down the stairs and hallways to get to Lexie’s room. He followed the pattern of knocks and, to his relief, she opened the door the moment he finished the final knock. She appeared unimpressed as her face tilted up expectantly, jaw set in defiance, a fire blazing in her eyes that was betrayed by the quiver in the corner of her delicate mouth. A knot formed in Shaun’s gut and he found himself suddenly conscious of how close she stood to him. He struggled to hold himself together, her vulnerability in the moment causing him to inexplicably yearn to hold her close and protect her from danger.
Lexie’s emotions bubbled near the surface, about to spill over. It thrilled him. Intrigued him. His head screamed at him to run, that this pull toward her was ridiculous, but his feet remained firmly planted to the ground. What would she do if he pulled her into his arms and promised everything would be all right?
Lexie seemed to sense a shift in the air between them and stepped back. “You found something?”
He swallowed—cool it, buddy—and glanced both directions down the hall. “Yes, but you’d better come with me.”
To his surprise, Lexie didn’t hesitate. She stepped out of the room and locked it, no questions asked. She must have noticed his shock, because she raised one eyebrow and tilted her head. “What? You wanted me to try trusting you.”
Warmth returned to his center, easing the cold that had come with learning someone had accessed her private files—but following that came the regret that he couldn’t yet be honest about why he’d boarded the ferry. In his book, omission of information was as harmful as a lie. Would knowing the truth break her fragile trust? God, give me strength.
She followed him in silence to the computer room, where he led her to the last terminal. He brought up the webpage to log into her email with the new password he’d given her, then pulled out a chair so she could sit down.
Lexie stared in disbelief as her inbox loaded. “What...what’s this? How’d you get into my email?” She looked up at him with accusation, but he shook his head and reached across, clicking open the other tab.
“I didn’t, Lexie. But I have a good idea who did.”
She sputtered half words, eyes glued to the screen. “Someone hacked my account? But that doesn’t make any sense. Why would anyone want to read my messages?”
“Check if anything is missing. Whatever you had in that folder gave someone enough information to hack your email and your online storage account. They want to know what you know.”
She swallowed hard and closed her eyes. “I’ve been meaning to change my passwords to something more secure. I’ve been using my dog’s name. Easy to guess with a quick search on social media. Maybe we should call the police, have them meet us at the dock. They could dust this terminal for fingerprints or clues or something.”
“I’d already touched it,” Shaun said. “And do you really want to make this area an active crime scene? We’d have to cordon the room off and guests will ask questions. There’s no way of being sure some kid or joker wouldn’t tamper with the area, and I have a feeling security doesn’t have enough manpower to post a guard outside.”
Lexie scanned the contents of her accounts as Shaun paced the floor. Had someone been looking for additional, specific information? The more he thought about it, the more he grew certain that the same young woman Lexie was looking for had to be tied to the organization he hunted.
“Have we stopped moving?”
Shaun snapped out of his thoughts. Lexie jumped from her seat and jogged toward the doors at the same time as a blue-uniformed employee came toward them down the hallway. Shaun couldn’t make out his face due to the way the hall lights reflected on the glass doors, but the employee appeared to be moving at a very brisk pace.
“Oh!” Lexie looked back over her shoulder. “I’ll ask this guy. Maybe I’m wrong, but it seems like we’ve stopped. Don’t you feel it?”
An uneasiness rose in Shaun’s gut as the employee continued his approach, though Shaun couldn’t pinpoint why. The way he moved seemed wrong, like he had something else in mind beyond attending the computer terminals.
The employee and Lexie reached the doors at the same time, Lexie still looking over her shoulder for an answer from Shaun. Shaun saw the man’s hand disappear, as though reaching into his belt for something.
“Get away from there!” Shaun shouted and darted forward, ready to place himself in front of her as a human shield.
Lexie stopped, but the employee had already opened the door and stepped inside. He glanced between Shaun and Lexie and then over his shoulder, where a group of giggling teenage girls followed behind. “Is something wrong, sir?”
The tension in Shaun’s shoulders refused to unclench. “I don’t know. Is it?”
“Shaun?” Lexie looked between him and the employee. “What’s going on?”
“Come over here,” Shaun said, drawing his words out. “Toward me. Don’t turn around.”
The employee’s eyes widened. “Sir?”
The teens pushed through the glass doors and into the room, laughing and whispering in each other’s ears. Shaun’s tension eased as the employee gestured to the terminals. “Here you are, ladies. Twenty minute maximum per session, please.”
“Sorry,” Shaun said, adding a brief laugh to diffuse the moment. “I thought you were someone else. I don’t suppose you know if there’s been anyone else in this room over the past hour or so, other than myself?”
The man shook his head, and Shaun finally pulled his observations away from the man’s face to read the name tag. Josh.
“Sorry, sir. I’ve come from a briefing, myself.” Josh divided his attention between Shaun and the teenagers. “Personnel are being shifted around at the moment.”
“Do you know which staff member was stationed in this area on departure?”
Josh pulled on the edge of his shirt, straightening out a rogue wrinkle. “We don’t typically station someone in this room for the duration of the trip. We have a few staff members with IT experience who check in every so often, but there’s a call button at the back wall in case of any technical issues.”
Shaun rubbed his chin, considering the best way to ask his question without alarming anyone. “Would you happen to know who’s on the schedule to do the first round of checks tonight?”
Josh grinned and nodded. “Yes. That would be me, sir. Security does initial sweeps at departure, but Sheila has the bulk of the overnight run. I’m on call for this room until then.”
“Did I see you down here earlier? Pass you in the hallway?”
Josh’s
