She could only point to the monitor and their pictures. Ryder rolled his chair over. He was silent as he scanned all ten pictures of them strolling through the streets of Glasgow during the day, eating dinner, exiting a movie theater, and lounging on her sofa. He said nothing as he read through the e-mails.
It wasn’t until he sat back and she saw his troubled expression that she asked, “Does this clear me?”
“I never believed you were guilty to begin with, you know that. However, this is definitely on the way to absolving you.”
What? Surely she didn’t hear him right. “What do you mean ‘on the way’? This proves I wasn’t involved.”
Ryder turned his chair to face her. “Look at this from Con’s point of view. What this proves is that you found an e-mail where someone is talking about KB.”
“KB is me,” she insisted.
“How many other employees at Kyvor have those initials?”
She raised a brow. “Need I remind you about the pictures?”
“It’s better to gather all the information. It’ll be relevant at some point.”
Kinsey was usually much better at collecting material, but she’d never had her name slung through the mud before. This was her life, and it hit her harder than she’d imagined.
“I want to find out who is responsible.”
Ryder gave a nod. “We know who’s responsible. Ulrik. We need to ascertain the ones doing his dirty work in order to prove you’ve been used by him.”
“Con still thinks I’m part of it, doesn’t he?”
Ryder rocked back in his chair and closed the lid to the box of donuts. “Con wants definitive evidence before he’ll clear you.”
“All right. Then I’ll find it. I know I’m not a part of this.”
“I do, too.”
She met his gaze, losing herself in his eyes. They were more green than blue at the moment, but the gold bled everywhere. Such gorgeous eyes. They made her think of forever. “Why do you believe me?”
“Because I know you.”
“That was three years ago.”
He lifted one shoulder. “I still know you.”
Was he trying to tell her that she should know him as well? How could she when he hadn’t shared his secrets? Despite that, she knew he was the one person who would stand with her. That kind of assurance went a long way in giving her the courage to dig ever deeper into his world.
“What are the odds that we’ll find what we need?” she asked.
At this Ryder dropped his gaze. “I doona know. In the past, Ulrik has covered his tracks so well that I’ve no’ been able to find the links connecting everything.”
That wasn’t good news at all. If even Ryder was stumped then Ulrik had to be really, really good. Or lucky.
Or …
“What is it?” Ryder asked.
Kinsey lowered herself back into her chair. “In all my years doing this, I’ve never seen anyone with half as much skill as you have. Not even the expert hackers who were convicted and then got hired by corporations to ensure they didn’t get hacked.”
“Your point?” Ryder asked, a slight smile on his lips.
“If you can’t find what’s missing to connect everything to Ulrik that means that he’s really good or lucky.”
Ryder blinked, a look of alarm covering his face. “Or he’s no’ working alone.”
Kinsey nodded. “Have you not thought of that before?”
“Briefly. But Ulrik wouldn’t share his revenge with anyone, so that couldna be what’s happening.”
“Is he that good with computers?”
Ryder’s lips twisted. “I doona think so.”
“Is he that lucky?”
“He’s been damned lucky lately. Too lucky.”
They shared a smile, because no one was that lucky.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Ryder was at once both happy at what Kinsey had found and anxious at her musings.
“Are you going to tell Con?” Kinsey asked.
Ryder gazed into her violet eyes. From the moment he spotted her four years ago on the streets of Glasgow, he’d had the compelling urge to protect her.
Well, that wasn’t his first thought. His first thought had been that he wanted her. On the heels of their gazes clashing, Ryder knew he’d have her. That’s when the need to protect her began.
From then on, that emotion only intensified and expanded until it occupied his thoughts constantly. After he left her, Ryder made sure he kept watch over her since he knew better than most just what monsters were out in the world.
Now that Kinsey was once more by his side, he hadn’t been able to cap the need to safeguard her. The longer she was on Dreagan and the more information they uncovered, the more he knew she was in serious danger.
“Ryder?” she asked with a furrow of her brow.
He swallowed and began to reach for a donut. Just before his fingers grabbed a pastry, he hesitated. It wasn’t the donut he wanted.
It was Kinsey.
He’d been hard since the first night he slept beside her. Leaving her that morning had been nearly impossible.
“Aye,” he finally answered. “I’ll tell Con.”
“We’ll tell him,” she corrected.
There was movement at the doorway and then a blond head emerged. “Tell me what?”
Before Ryder could speak, Kinsey was talking.
“I found an e-mail with pictures of me and Ryder.”
Con briefly looked at Ryder. “What else?”