Jude came to my house the next morning so we could drive to church together. I opened the front door before he could ring the bell and felt my eyes widen at the sight of him coming up the porch steps. He looked incredible in navy slacks that fit his long legs to perfection and a white button-down shirt with thin blue stripes. His walnut brown hair was just long enough to look a bit tousled, which I found more than a little appealing.
He smiled and drew me in for a hug. “Morning, Sunshine,” he said, squeezing me tighter. “It’s nice not to have to wait until evening to see you.”
I melted into him and sighed. “So nice,” I agreed. “Thanks for coming with me.”
“No problem. I enjoy attending different churches.”
We got in his truck and five minutes later we were there. I held tight to his hand as we approached the front door.
“Courage, Jude,” I said with a smirk. “You’re about to be mobbed.”
He cocked his head and grinned. “Bring it, sweetheart. My charm is about to elevate you to a whole new level with your friends.”
I laughed, loving his confidence and sense of humor. “We’ll see about that. I do know you’ll have a captive audience.”
The ladies didn’t disappoint. As soon as they spotted Jude walking into the vestibule behind me, they moved toward us in a colorful wave. Priscilla and Donna each latched onto an arm as the group peppered him with questions and gave me googly-eyed looks they thought he couldn’t see.
When we finally made our way to my usual pew, Jude slid in beside me and put his mouth close to my ear. “Your friends are a little aggressive.”
I put my hand on his leg and stifled a giggle. “Ladies always enjoy talking to handsome men, even if there’s a fifty-year age difference. Don’t worry, though. The worst is over.”
“Promise?”
I nodded. “The shock has worn off. Lunch will be much calmer.”
***
“I’m exhausted.” Jude lowered himself onto my couch, stretching out full-length and putting his arms behind his head. “I answered at least a thousand questions during that meal. It got to the point where I had no idea if I was even answering truthfully—I just had to say something.”
I gave him a fond smile. “You weren’t kidding when you said you could charm them. I don’t think they even remember Devon’s name.”
He shifted to get more comfortable and closed his eyes. “Is that the pastor’s son they wanted to set you up with?” he asked, his words a little slurred.
“Yep. Thanks for saving me from that.”
“Anything for you,” he murmured, and I realized he really was tired.
My phone vibrated and showed a text from Ian—the first I’d heard from him since talking to him Friday morning.
I leaned over and patted Jude’s chest. “I need to make a call. You can grab a Sunday afternoon nap—I’ll wake you up after a little while.”
I took a moment to admire his stretched-out form, then went upstairs to my office to call Ian.
“Hey, Ava. Thanks for getting back to me so quickly,” Ian said, his voice sounding tired and dejected. “Sorry I haven’t contacted you sooner. It’s been a little crazy.”
I was pretty sure that was an understatement. “I can imagine. I assume you and Abigail have talked?”
He laughed, but there was no humor in it. “I wouldn’t say talked. Yelled would be a little more accurate.”
“I really am sorry, Ian.”
“Not your fault.” He sighed heavily. “She’s gone, Ava. She’s off the team and out of my life.”
Even though I’d known that was probably going to happen, it was jarring to hear Ian say it—to know it was official.
“Wow. That couldn’t have been easy. For either of you.”
“I should’ve seen it a lot sooner.” He paused and I knew he was rubbing his eyes, a habit of his when he felt stressed. “Look, Ava, she’s not—Abigail’s not in a good place. She left yesterday and I’m worried about her.”
“Do you know where she was going? Will she stay in the area?”
“I have no idea. We weren’t exactly speaking by the time she left.”
I curled up tighter in my chair, wishing there was something I could do to help him. “I don’t know what to say, Ian. You two were together a long time—I know this hurts.”
“It’s not easy, for sure, and holy cow, Ava, our last fight defies words. But in a way it’s a relief to have her gone. I mean, I care about her. I do. But not enough, you know? Not the way she did for me. And I’m only now realizing how exhausting it was to have to constantly try to prove I wanted to be in the relationship.”
“I understand,” I said. “I’m sorry it had to get so ugly. You gonna be okay?”
“I’ll be fine, but—I’m not so sure about Abigail. I really wish I knew where she went and what she’s planning. Like I said, she’s not in a good place. I stayed up all night changing security settings and access codes. I’m still trying to anticipate all the ways she might try to take us down. I’m going to call a team meeting tomorrow morning. We all need to be on guard.”
My stomach dropped at his words. “You think she’ll try to sabotage us?”
“Yeah, I definitely do. I’m telling you, Ava, the girl who walked out of my house yesterday was not the girl I’ve known for two years.” He let out a long, heavy sigh. “The sad thing is, I think the girl I saw yesterday might be the real Abigail.”
I shivered as his chilling words sank in. “I guess you were able to bring out the best in her. For a while.”
“Well the worst has taken back over now. No question about that.”
We talked a while longer, mostly about what we needed to do to safeguard our work and how to replace Abigail on the team. The conversation was wrapping up when Jude appeared in the doorway, his eyes still sleepy. I promised Ian we’d talk again tomorrow, then hung up and smiled.
“I was going to let you sleep for a while,” I told him, standing up and going to him, because he was just that irresistible and I needed a hug after that conversation.
He reached out an arm and drew me in. “JP texted me about something stupid and woke me up.”
I hugged his lean waist and let my forehead fall against his chest. “I was talking to Ian.”
“Oh yeah? It’s about time.” He pushed his hand into my hair, cupping my head. “Did he finally call, or did you call him?”
“He texted and asked me to call when I could.”
“So? What’s the word on Abigail?”
“Not good.”
I felt him stiffen and his hands went to my shoulders as he stepped back so he could look at me. “What does that mean?”
“She left yesterday, and Ian doesn’t know where she is. He said they had a terrible fight and she kind of snapped. He thinks she’s going to try to mess with his servers.” I chewed the inside of my lip and frowned. “Who knows what she might’ve already gleaned, though. I mean, she’s had access to all his stuff for so long—she could already have enough to ruin our current contracts, which will also keep us from getting new ones.” I shook my head worriedly. “If word spreads that we can’t even handle our own security, why would anyone hire us to work on theirs?”
Jude frowned. “If Ian’s as good as you say, he should be able to find out what she was looking at, right? Or what she’s already copied? Maybe he can figure out what she’s up to.”
I shrugged. “He’s good, but Abigail’s had a long time to come up with a contingency plan. She could do so much damage with a head start like that.”
The thought was all kinds of depressing. We’d worked so hard to be competitive in our market. We’d built up respect and a good, solid reputation, and now Abigail could ruin it all with a few keystrokes.
“That sucks,” Jude said gently, “but I’m more worried about how she might take revenge on you specifically. I still think there’s a good chance she’ll blame you for the fact that she and Ian are over. You’d be an easy scapegoat, and I don’t like it.”
In light of what Ian had told me about Abigail’s state of mind, Jude’s concern carried a little more weight than it had previously. Still, I simply couldn’t imagine tiny little goth-girl Abigail, with her brilliant red hair and combat boots, coming after me. I mean, she might take a few virtual swipes at me, try to knock out my own servers or something, but there was no way she’d show up in Hidden Creek and confront me face-to-face.
I walked over to my work table and shut down both of my modems. Until I had time to change all my own access points and passwords, I would simply disconnect from the outside world completely. Tomorrow I’d look for evidence that Abigail had managed to penetrate my servers, but I wasn’t overly worried. I’d never granted anyone access to my personal equipment, not even Ian, and I was pretty sure I’d have noticed if anyone had been poking around.
Ian’s problem was that he hadn’t locked her out of the sensitive stuff on his machines. He’d trusted her because they’d lived and worked together for so long. That had been a huge mistake. One that could cost him his business.
I shivered a little when I remembered what Ian had said about her not being the girl he knew and how he thought the changed girl was actually Abigail’s true self. Had she really had us all fooled the whole time? All because she was obsessed with Ian?
I turned and looked up at Jude, forcing a smile. “I might be a scapegoat, but I won’t be an easy one. No matter how skilled she is, she can’t get into any of my stuff without a connection, and I just shut that off.”
“She could come here,” Jude insisted, walking over to me. “If the girl’s unhinged, the threat is real, Ava.”
I stubbornly shook my head. “I can see her trying to hack my servers….in fact, I think there’s a good chance of that. But she’s not violent. She’s not going to try to harm me physically.”
“You don’t know that.”
I reached up and pressed my palms to his cheeks. “She’s a cyber girl, Jude. Physical violence is beneath her.”
He took my hands and moved them to the small of my back, holding them there as he drew me close. “You need to keep in close touch with Ian. Maybe he’ll figure out a way he can track her.”
I thought about that for a moment. It was possible. Ian probably knew some of her online haunts, and if he could find her there, he might be able to trace her. Of course, Abigail would be expecting that, so she’d be careful. The odds weren’t in our favor.
“I’ll talk to him every day,” I promised anyway.
He dropped a kiss on my nose. “One more thing, and this is non-negotiable. I’m going to schedule someone to come look at your place and draw up a proposal for a security system. Then we’ll go over it together, make any changes needed, and get it ordered.”
I propped my chin on his chest and looked up at him. “You sound very emphatic about that.”
“Because I am.”
“It also sounds like you’re used to getting your way.”
“When it’s this important, I do,” he said, arching a brow and waiting for my next argument.
I gave a dramatic sigh. “The only reason I’m not going to fight you on this is because I’d planned to do that anyway, I just haven’t gotten around to it. It’s not because I think Abigail is going to come here.”
“I really don’t care why you agree to do it,” he said with a grin, “just that you do. It’ll help me sleep a lot better at night.”
I pulled my hands free of his and hugged him again, breathing in his scent, grateful for his concern.
“Thank you. I’m fine with any security company you say is good. Also, thanks for going to church with me and being so sweet to my friends.” I gave him a smile that was a little bit shy and a whole lot happy. “You’re a really good boyfriend, you know that?”
He laughed. “Good to know, since I’m way out of practice.”
I put my arms around his neck and pulled his head down. “I’m really glad no one snapped you up before I got here,” I said before pressing my lips to his.
I didn’t say the three little words that were in my heart—not yet—but I hoped my kiss would leave him with no doubt about how strongly I felt.
Judging from his response, I was pretty sure he got the message.