Page 24 of Fatal Conspiracy

“Since the Duluth Police Department has my work computer and phone, they may have an issue with being unable to access them. I’ll be sure to let them know who to call. Goodbye, Curtis.”

He jabbed the red button on his phone in anger and groaned, letting his head fall back to face the sky. In the span of a five-minute phone call, he had become a pariah in the industry, and there was nothing he could do to change that. Forget starting his own company. No one would touch him now.

* * *

ALAYAH KEPT AN EYEon Derek through the patio doors from where she sat on the bed, icing her ankle. Selina had stopped by after they’d arrived at the hotel to check on her. Satisfied that it was a simple sprain they could manage with ice and an elastic bandage, Selina had agreed she didn’t need to see the doctor. Since Alayah couldn’t wear an adult-sized ankle brace, and Selina didn’t have access to anything smaller, she had no choice but to use the elastic bandage. That meant she had to allow Derek to help her rewrap it whenever it had to be removed for icing. It also meant having his hands on her body. That sent tendrils of heat through her, even if his touch was innocent.

The biggest thing she’d learned about him today was that he had no reason to kill his boss. Not that she ever thought he had, but when she’d listened to him speak about Hugo and heard the emotion that laced each word, she’d understood that Hugo was more than a boss to him. Derek would most certainly mourn Hugo’s loss. Their relationship had begun as a working one, which over time evolved into a more father-and-son-like relationship. Derek had told hermultiple stories about helping Hugo out with projects he needed done at home. That wasn’t part of his job description, but he’d said he knew Hugo couldn’t do it alone. While he could afford to hire it done, sometimes it couldn’t wait, so Derek had stepped up. Hugo had told him that he was the closest thing he ever had to a son, and he was so grateful for him.

It was for that reason she suspected he had struggled so much with the decision to leave Black Marlin Technologies for greener pastures. He was worried about leaving Hugo, knowing their relationship was special and Hugo was unlikely to find someone like Derek again. Part of her also wondered if he was worried about Hugo’s mental health. Derek had mentioned several times that Hugo had been forgetful recently, and his health seemed to be worsening. He’d encouraged him to see his doctor, but Hugo had refused. Despite that, Derek was worried enough to go behind his back and schedule a doctor’s appointment next week. An appointment that came too late.

She could tell something had changed when he walked back through the patio doors. The fight had gone out of him after that phone call, and she suspected Curtis had thrown around accusations that he’d killed Hugo.

“How did that go?” she asked, removing the ice from her ankle.

Rather than answer, he tossed the phone on the bed and started to rewrap her leg without her asking. When he was finished, he sighed. “He told me my employment was terminated since Hugo is dead. My personal effects will be sent to my home, and my credentials are revoked. I have no place there anymore.”

Frowning, she stood up on the bed and wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug. “I’m sorry.”

When he wrapped his arms around her, she leaned into him, the hug doing as much for her as for him. “He called me a glorified secretary and said my time with Black Marlin was done.”

“I guess this is your chance to break out and start your own company without guilt,” she said, running her fingers through the soft hair at the nape of his neck. She swore he shivered, but she couldn’t be sure.

He leaned back with a smile and helped her sit again before he sat beside her on the bed. “Unfortunately, that phone call tells me that ship just sailed. I can start my own company, but no one will want to work with me if they think I had something to do with Hugo’s death. If Curtis starts spreading lies about me, my time in this business will be over.”

Alayah hoped that would be the worst of his problems. She wondered if it had crossed his mind that he could still be arrested for Hugo’s murder. He grasped her hand in his, as though it was the only thing keeping him from drowning. She glanced at his handsome face, now marred with a frown, and she vowed to do whatever was necessary to prove his innocence. If she couldn’t, he could lose a lot more than his job.

Chapter Fourteen

“Derek—” she started to say just as her phone rang.Cal, she mouthed before she answered. “Secure Watch, Alpha.”

“Secure One, Charlie. Is Derek there?” Cal asked.

“Yes, he’s right here.”

“Put me on speaker. I have a question.”

She hit the button. “Go ahead.”

“Derek, have you ever heard of a company called Virtual Scorpion?” Cal asked, and the man beside her let out a sarcastic laugh.

“Who hasn’t heard of Virtual Scorpion?” he asked instead.

“Well, I hadn’t until Mina mentioned them as a potential direct competitor of Black Marlin Technologies.”

“There’s nothing potential about it,” Derek said. “Virtual Scorpion is Black Marlin’s direct competitor. Josh Hunt has been a thorn in Hugo’s side for the last ten years. He wasn’t even a light in his father’s eye when Hugo started his company, but Josh is convinced his youth puts him above Hugo’s knowledge in this industry. He’s wrong, which Hugo proved time and again. Black Marlin’s apps are far better suited for their intended users, and we got them to market faster and with better results than Josh could ever hope to accomplish.”

“I’m hearing one word there,” Cal said. “Motive.”

Derek was silent for a moment. “Wait, you think Josh Hunt had something to do with Hugo’s death?”

“I have to think that,” Cal explained. “Especially after I checked the conference roster to discover that Josh Hunt of Virtual Scorpion is doing a presentation on Sunday to discuss the same kind of app that Hugo was presenting.”

“That’s somewhat accurate. They’re both cybersecurity apps but otherwise vastly different.”

“The explanation will probably be over my head, but I want you to give the team a rundown on your experience with Virtual Scorpion. I’ll patch Mina in by video conference. She can start looking via her contacts for any interactions between Virtual Scorpion and Black Marlin that may have occurred before you started working for Hugo. Should we meet in the conference room in thirty?”

Alayah knew Derek needed some time to gather himself after the phone call with Curtis, so before he could answer, she took it off speaker and held it to her ear. “We haven’t eaten in hours. Can you give us sixty to get something to eat and some fresh air? We’re both a little tired and punch-drunk.”