Mission: Impossible to Deny (The Impossible Mission Romantic Suspense Series Book 7) - Jacki Delecki (great novels of all time txt) 📗

is impenetrable. Despite my confidence in my ability and Tex’s and Charlie’s, there is a possibility that someone was able to penetrate the firewalls. The probability is very low … very low. But it’s been years since I’ve paid any attention to the game. We hired a management company to oversee the business aspects of the game.”

She leaned forward, her forearms on the table, giving Reeves a glimpse of her pale skin in the V of her blouse. “But you were playing the game last night.”

“And how do you know about my playing?” He mimicked her position. “You and the CIA spying on XChoco and me?”

At least she had the grace to blush. The color quickly moved up her chest to her neck and across her cheekbones. Quite a reaction for an accusation that the CIA received regularly. Unless she was XChoco. It couldn’t be possible that this serious woman was the bold and skilled gamer, could it? Her uptight suit and no-nonsense bearing didn’t match up with the XChoco who spent three hours gaming. But his gut and other body parts were stirring that this bundle of a tiny woman was the XChoco he had been fantasizing about.

“As you pointed out, there are few people who have the ability to hack your game. You must see that you are a potential suspect as one of the developers of the game. Mr. Dean understands our reasoning.”

Reeves jerked his head to look at Richard. Why didn’t he trust the way Richard Dean was nodding at Darcy Wilson?

“It was a logical deduction on Ms. Wilson’s part to consider you and Thompson as suspects. Who else could get through your firewalls? I’m sure your game design protects players from intrusion. The CIA has to consider the possibility that for the right price, one of you may have sold the game to the highest bidder.”

Why was Richard ignoring that the CIA had been trying to hack Reeves? Not that they would have any chance at succeeding. And when did Richard condone spying by the CIA? His software was designed, with the help of Reeves, to stop that exact infringement. They might have government contracts, but it didn’t mean that he and Richard supported the disregard of the First Amendment.

“I’m going to leave the two of you to settle this misunderstanding. And of course, Reeves, you must help Ms. Wilson find the real culprit. We don’t want to make enemies of the CIA, do we?”

Richard was playing some sort of mastermind game. Reeves wasn’t clear what it was yet.

Richard stood and moved toward the door. “I can’t let the admiral wait too long. I’ve been able to convince Ms. Wilson that you didn’t sell the game, leaving only Thompson as a potential candidate. And since time is of the essence, I’ve offered one of my jets. I’ve directed my assistant to have it ready immediately.”

Reeves couldn’t care less about the CIA’s suspicions about him. They were trained to be suspicious and paranoid. What pissed him off was that spooks like Darcy Wilson would consider the unassuming Theodore Thompson a suspect and had no remorse about spying on him. His work with Richard Dean insulated Reeves, but who would protect Tex—a gentle, brilliant soul who would never hurt anyone? Though from Texas, Theodore was the antithesis of a cowboy. He had never ridden a horse, was in favor of gun control, and was a vegetarian. He and Charlie immediately dubbed him Tex when they met him.

Reeves refused to allow Darcy Wilson to harass Tex. No matter how hot she was in her quirky buttoned-up way and his weird and baffling connection with her as XChoco. His fierce reaction to Darcy Wilson had been a momentary lapse caused by his lack of sex for the last two months or some bizarre reaction to all the sage smoke.

“This is a waste of time. Tex had nothing to do with this. You’re totally off track. Why don’t we Skype with him? And you can head back to DC and trample on other innocent citizens.”

Come off like a jackass much? But he had to admire the way Darcy took the hit right on the chin without flinching.

“You’ve recently been in contact with Mr. Thompson? All we have is his old address in Santa Barbara from a few years ago. And I find it interesting that neither of you has an online presence. Not many individuals can claim that distinction.”

“I’m sure CIA officers can claim that distinction. What about you, Ms. Wilson? When I do my deep dive, what am I going to learn? You love cats? Pole dancing?” He was usually a well-mannered polite person, but this woman incited an intense need to poke at her uptight, self-righteous attitude. “And anyone working in the intelligence community or doing highly classified work for the government probably doesn’t have TikTok accounts.”

“Unless Mr. Thompson is deep undercover with a government agency, which is very unlikely, he remains a suspect.”

Reeves had to stop himself from tearing into her. She was doing her job, but she was so off base about Tex. The guy was an introvert and very uncomfortable with people. He was also paranoid about the internet. Anyone with his skills would be. Theodore Thompson wouldn’t sell out his country. He had no need. The game had netted fortunes for all of them.

“I haven’t talked to Tex in years. He went to Berkeley for his Ph.D. And I stayed at Stanford for my graduate work. He’s not a social kind of guy, but it doesn’t make him a terrorist.”

“You don’t have a more recent address? Any way to contact him?”

“No, but I will go with you. I’ll need to stop by our security offices before we head out. Don’t worry, I’ll figure this out, and then you can go back to DC.”

He’d find who had hacked their game, protect Tex, and send Ms. Pert-and-Sexy Darcy Wilson packing.

Even if he wondered what it might be like to keep her—just for a while. Sophie and