Free Fire's Touch (The Enlightened Species Book Three) by Wendy S. Hales Page B

the heads of people out the window turning at the sight on the silver limo being escorted by American-made black H3 Hummers with dark tinted windows in front and back. Yeah … this was really traveling incognito; might as well paint a target on their asses.
    This whole plan was the epitome of un-secured . Conlon couldn’t believe it when Jack and Stacey insisted she be the first person through the door of her holdings company. The building needed to be fully searched. He should have had hours and a hundred warriors there before she even showed up.
    “You will never get into the building without her,” Jack stated when Conlon voiced his disgust at the lack of security precautions. “Once we’re in and Stacey’s in her office, you can secure and check anything you want. It’s the trip between the airport and the building that is the most dangerous. Her safety right now comes from the fact no one knows she made the trip. Once she leaves the holding company for any reason, we send sweep teams ahead and more than double our security using the holding company’s personnel as back up.” But Alto had known—what if the phones were tapped?
    Conlon could tell Jack had a great grasp on Stacey's protection … right. No wonder the SOSC had been called in. He could kick himself for not seizing the transport and doing it his way. “So the new threat … what exactly are the concerns?”
    Jack glanced at Stacey, who gave him a nod. The Aquatie released a sigh of relief; apparently his boss had barred him from sharing the information. “We always face the usual stuff. Threats of kidnapping, extortion attempts, fraudulent claims, the occasional stalker. Once a man was bound and determined to make Stacey his sugar mama—that was hilarious.” Stacey silenced Jack's laughter with a glare. “Over the last eight months or so, there's been numerous attempts to access her on a more personal level. Whoever is seeking her is most likely enlightened and probably frustrated. So far they've gained access to Stacey’s financials and some of her childhood records but nothing else. Cassie called in a computer expert named Moira via the SOSC to determine the vulnerability of all Stacey's system. That female is amazing. She found the backdoor the hackers where using in every one of Stacey's extensive systems and sealed them up tight. That was six months ago. Since then the threats have been more … overt and intense. These people want Stacey. Last night, someone shot at her with a long-range tranquiller rifle. Cassie has been keeping the SOSC informed about the occurrences, and they have offered to help many times.”
    Conlon could understand wanting Stacey. Of course, his want of her probably wasn't the same as the rogues. The realization someone took a shot at her put a lump in his throat. This was not an idle threat. The entity threatening Stacey was undoubtedly a rogue organization. Perhaps it was Stacey's money that was making her attractive to the rogues. Just how rich is she? He doubted the idea of a few million would be worth the rogues’ continued pursuit once the SOSC interceded. Jack was correct, Moira was scary smart and inventive as all get out. She'd probably sent computer viruses and reverse monitoring at the infiltrators. In the last five years, Moira had made the SOSC's systems completely impenetrable. Even within the SOSC headquarters’ private offices, the savvy female monitored every keystroke. Because of her, they'd uncovered a half-dozen rogue spies within the SOSC.
    Conlon couldn't stop himself; he had to feel her skin again. He reached over and gently placed his hand to Stacey's chin, turning her face till her eyes flashed anger at his. His thumb and finger tingled where they touched her. She jerked her chin away and continued to glare at him. Conlon tried to stifle his grin. Fates, she was feisty. “Stacey, do you think it's your money they’re after?” He knew she had to have given the rogues significant