Starting Our Forever: Her Savior Series

Chapter 5

*Dawson's POV*

"What the f**k do you mean you lost surveillance, Zeb!? Fix it. Fix it now!" I ordered, seething with anger. Anytime we weren't running at one hundred percent, I was irritated and concerned with worst-case scenarios running through my mind.

"I'm trying, boss. Someone is trying to compromise our system," Zeb stated as he maintained his focus on the screen in front of him, feverishly typing on the keyboard as the security cameras showed nothing but black.

"f*****g Artem!" I yelled as I slammed my fist down hard on my desk. That stupid b*****d thought he could get one over on me. I knew if it was anyone, it had to be him. He was seriously mistaken if he thought it would go unnoticed. He was f*****g with the wrong guy. Zeb continued clicking furiously on his keyboard as his eyes remained trained on the screen in front of him. I stood off to his right side, watching and waiting for him to give me further information as I nervously bit my fingernails in anticipation.

"Well?" I asked impatiently.

"It looks like we are in the clear. I just put up extra firewalls to prevent it from happening in the future," he said with a few more clicks before he looked in my direction for approval as all the security footage came back on the screen.

"Good work," I said as I patted his back and then turned to walk back to my desk.

"Do we know who was trying to hack into our system?" I asked, hoping he would give me the ammunition I needed to bury the Russian Mafia leader.

"Unfortunately, no. They masked their identity by rerouting the IP Address to multiple locations. Whoever it was, they are good."

"Better than you?" I asked, feeling uncertain.

"No, but they are pretty dang close." That had me confused because the Russians were definitely not known for their cybersecurity attacks. It made me question if someone else was behind this.

I nodded towards Zeb, acknowledging his last statement before turning to grab myself a drink. After I took a deep breath, eroded my mind of all my stressful thoughts, I was able to think clearly once again. I instantly felt guilty for snapping at Zeb. He and Blake were my number one men who always had my back. I knew I could always count on them, no matter what.

"I'm sorry, man. I didn't mean to freak out on you like that," I turned to give Zeb an apologetic look. He waved me off before casually responding.

"No need to apologize, boss. I get it," I nodded in appreciation for his understanding.

There were several moments of silence before I heard a knock at the door.

"Come in," I called out, hoping it was who I thought it was. As soon as I saw her beautiful red hair and forest green eyes, I couldn't help but smile. All of my previous anger and frustration seemed to subside at that moment and my entire body seemed to relax. This is what this woman does to me. She has the power to calm me down no matter how upset I may be at that moment.

"Hey babe!" I welcomed the beautiful distraction, hoping she hadn't heard anything. The slight look of concern displayed on her face told me otherwise.

"Hey! Everything OK?" She asked timidly. G*d, she was so damn sexy. She had no idea what her mere presence did to me. I could feel myself getting hard in my pants as I noticed how her yellow sundress hugged her in all the right places. I quickly adjusted myself before standing up to meet her.

"Everything's fine, babe. Nothing I can't handle. You off to school?" I asked, trying to distract myself from the rising b***r in my pants.

"Yeah, I just wanted to say goodbye," she said sweetly as she walked over to where I was standing and leaned in to give me a soft, gentle kiss on the lips. I gladly reciprocated, but forced myself to pull back sooner than I wanted to, before I took her right here and now, on my desk, in front of everyone.

"OK sweetheart. I'll see you later. Be safe, and don't forget to take Brooks with you," I insisted. The thought of her going places without me made me nervous, but I felt better knowing she had her personal bodyguard with her. I hired Brooks a couple of weeks ago for exactly that reason. He may be young, but he is definitely not one to underestimate. He is strong, fast, and lethal. My dad was the one who found him once he realized we were looking for a new bodyguard for Harper. Hank and Alan were her bodyguards for years, but they both eventually desired different positions, which I respected and obliged.

"OK, love you. See you later," she said as she turned to leave. "Bye, boys," she said to Zeb and Blake before disappearing behind the door. Zeb and Blake waved goodbye and immediately looked away, knowing how irritated I would get if their glances lingered in her direction. They knew better.

For the next hour, Zeb, Blake and I were all working on upping surveillance and contacting our men in China to inquire about the progress of furthering relations with the Chinese mafia. I knew it was a long-shot, but I was hoping they would go for it. We need the numbers and they need the cybersecurity. It would be a perfect relationship.

We were knee-deep in business when my phone vibrated. I grabbed my phone from my desk and noticed it was a text from Harper.

"F**K!" I yelled aloud, as I read the dreaded text in my hands. I re-read it to make sure my eyes were not deceiving me. How was this f*****g possible!? There is no way this was a coincidence.

"What's up, boss?" Blake asked, all of his attention focused on me.

"Yeah, what's going on?" Zeb asked, engaging himself in the conversation.

"Zeb, I need you to get information on Bianca Rinaldi. I need everything you can find on the b***h." I said as I took a deep breath in an attempt to calm my anger. What the f**k did this b***h want? I swear to g*d, if she messed with Harper at all, she would be dead. I don't care if she was a woman.

"Sure, boss. What's going on with Bianca? I haven't heard that name in years," he asked, seeming confused and concerned at the same time.

"Yeah, well it looks like she is back in our lives again, and I want to know what she is up to," my evasive response prompted Zeb and Blake both to look at me in confusion, clearly not understanding the connection. I sighed in frustration, rubbing the space above my eyebrows with my thumb and forefinger in an attempt to relieve the stress that had clouded around my eyes.

"Harper just texted me saying she just ran into Bianca at NYU. I guess she is living in New York and going to NYU now. Not only that, but I guess she insinuated that she knew we were responsible for Cole's death, which tells me her being here is not a coincidence." Now we had yet another thing we had to deal with on top of everything else.

"Seriously? But why now? That was years ago…" Blake said. I only nodded, confirming my exact thoughts.

"Yeah, I have no idea, but we are sure as h**l going to find out," I said as I turned to Zeb, "let me know as soon as you find anything." He nodded as he turned to his computer, hands perfectly placed on his keyboard.

"I'm on it, boss," he said, already hard at work.

"Thanks," I said before moving to exit the office for the time-being.

*Harper's POV*

I finished texting Dawson and started heading towards my car when I heard someone calling my name. I turned around to see it was Alex. I smiled and waved.

"Harper! Hey!" He yelled as he ran to catch up with me. I stopped and waited for him.

"Hey, Alex. How's it going?" I asked as we began walking together.

"You leaving?" He asked.

"Yeah, I just finished my last class. You?" I asked, enjoying the small talk. I appreciated the mindless conversations, something to distract me from all the stressful events in my life.

"Cool, care if I walk with you?" I shook my head and continued to walk side-by-side with him towards the parking garage.

"Not at all. Are you in the parking garage too?" he was quick to nod in response.

"Yeah, I'm on the second level."

"Cool, me too." I enjoyed having a friend outside all the mafia relations. It was rather refreshing, actually. Alex seemed really nice in the last two semesters we have had a class together. We gradually started talking and walking together whenever we saw each other, but things were strictly platonic. I made that clear the second time we talked, after he asked if I was seeing someone. Luckily, that gave me the opportunity to shut things down immediately, and he graciously understood.

"So, you ready for our litigation midterm Thursday?" I shrugged and gave a slight smile.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I said in response. Though, I was more prepared than ever. I had been studying hard for all of my midterms. I was glad to have two out of the way. I only have three more to worry about and then a very well-deserved four-day weekend. Fall break was just right around the corner and I couldn't wait.

"Yeah, me too." I nodded in acknowledgment as we started to veer in two different directions, towards our cars.

"Well, I'll see you Thursday, Alex." I looked behind me to see Brooks following at a distance before he finally caught up with me at my car. I appreciated that he respected my privacy and kept his distance. I wanted to create as little of a distraction as possible.

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Once we got home, I noticed a gathering in the kitchen, so I set my bag down by the stairs and decided to join everyone.

"Hey, what's going on?" I asked as Blake, Tyler, Zeb, Dawson, Michelle, Molly, and a bunch of Dawson's other men stood around the kitchen island having a drink, seeming to be celebrating. What they were celebrating, I had no clue. The curiosity only intrigued me more.

"Hey babe!" Dawson exclaimed as he walked towards me with a drink in hand.

"Hey, what's with all the drinks and celebrating?" I asked, semi-confused. I knew it wasn't about Blake and Talia's engagement yet because that wasn't supposed to happen until this weekend and Talia wasn't even here. I racked my brain trying to think about what it could be.

Dawson was grinning from ear to ear as he took a swig of his cinnamon bourbon. He seemed genuinely relaxed and happy. It had been a while since I had seen him like this.

"We finished business with China in record time, and we officially have another ally," he said, causing my eyes to go wide and my mouth to drop open.

"What? Babe, that's great!" I knew he had some men in China to increase our weaponry and gain the Chinese mafia as allies, but Dawson seemed uncertain that it would work. I was pleasantly surprised that it actually had.

Dawson picked me up and spun me around as he planted a big kiss on my lips.

"Come celebrate with us!" Blake and Zeb shouted in the background. Dawson set me down, and we were quick to join the rest of the crew. Everyone picked up their glasses as Dawson handed me non-alcoholic champagne, and we all clinked glasses before we all emptied our drinks.

*Unknown POV*

"What!?" I snapped at the person on the other side, hoping they were not wasting my time.

"I think I have the news you have been waiting for, sir."

"Well, out with it. What did you find?"

"It seems she may have a guy friend at school who has a class with her. They seemed awfully friendly walking to their cars together today..." I was instantly intrigued by this new information. I have had men following her for days now, and it seems I finally have something I can use.

"Great. Get me his name and information. I want it all on my desk by tomorrow morning," I demanded.

"Yes, sir." I hung up and smiled, pleased with the new information I received. I immediately dialed a familiar number in my phone and waited a few rings before he finally picked up.

"Chris Greene here," he answered, causing me to smile.

"Chris, it's Zeke. I think I finally have the plan falling into place for us," I said. I knew I had him interested when he urged me to continue. I went on to explain my strategy, and he seemed to be on board.

"Don't screw me over on this, Zeke."

"I wouldn't dream of it. As long as you keep things between us for now." I responded, knowing I had him eating out of the palm of my hand.

"You have my word," he responded, making me feel better about this whole thing the more it went on.

"Great, I'll keep in touch." I hung up and grabbed my usual bottle of whiskey, filled my glass, and took a large swig. I let the liquor settle in my stomach before I sat the empty glass down on my desk for another refill. I talked myself into indulging a little. After all, I was celebrating. I would soon have everything I wanted.