“I wouldn’t be CEO without Liam’s support,” Josh surprises me by admitting. “And on that note, I’d better get back to work. I’ll look forward to seeing you tomorrow night, Amy.”

My brow furrows. “Tomorrow night?”

“Chase Electronics holds an annual holiday party,” Liam explains. “Josh tries to convince me to attend every year.”

I glance up at Liam. “Doesn’t he know you’re a recluse?”

“Seems I have to keep reminding him,” he comments dryly.

Josh smirks. “The man even sent me his Wikipedia page stating so, as proof.”

I laugh, remembering quoting that page myself not so long ago. “Did it work?”

Josh grimaces. “Not even close. And since he’s evidently not told you about the party, I assume he wasn’t planning on attending. So my personal visit to offer him an added incentive to attend wasn’t wasted. I won and,” he gives a mock bow, “I’ll see you soon, Amy.”

Liam motions to the door. “I’ll walk you out.”

Tellar quickly stands and says, “Let me walk you—I need to run next door.”

Josh and Tellar head for the door and I face Liam, not about to let him escape without answers. “Please tell me he’s not in the Circle and that he knows nothing about it,” I whisper.

He grabs me and kisses me.

“I’ll explain when he’s gone.” Then he’s gone.

And that was not the answer I wanted.

PART FOUR

New Beginnings

I HEAD FOR THE CHRISTMAS TREE to distract myself. Maybe Josh’s visit today had nothing to do with the Circle, and was just about the party. No one is in danger. I sit down in front of one of the many boxes of decorations and open it, staring blindly down at the sparkling red ornaments. I know Liam, and I would have sensed trouble if he felt it. But his answer to my question was cryptic, whereas he’s normally direct.

The garage door opens and shuts, and I hear Liam’s footsteps. When he appears at the top of the stairwell, his gaze takes me in as he closes in on me. “I’m sorry you were surprised like that,” he says, squatting in front of me. “I ran into his secretary at the bank and she told him I was back in town. When he called and wanted to come by, I wanted you to meet him. We’ve known each other since we were teens, and I know his ethics and his skills. He’s been on my mind the past three days, since Chad sideswiped us with his decision to fake his death.”

“Why?”

“Think about it: if Chad is the only one monitoring for danger and he goes MIA, then what? How will we know if he’s alive and monitoring the situation? Jared is a world-class hacker, but Josh can swim circles around him. We have to have a warning system that is foolproof. And that needs to include a way to monitor any activity that suggests anyone has gone rogue like Jared did—either in the Circle or out of it. The list of people involved with the cylinder has grown tenfold. We need Josh and his resources monitoring the cyber-world for potential dangers.”

“Jared betrayed Chad and us. Chad’s got to be afraid of the same thing happening again. I’m afraid, Liam. Putting this much trust in Josh is a huge step for us to take.”

“I understand that—and I know it’s why Chad declined Josh’s involvement in the Circle. So let me tell you a story about Josh. When Alex discovered illegal activity under the Chase Electronics umbrella, he questioned Josh’s father, then the CEO, and it turned quite nasty. Josh defended his father, despite the man’s emotionally abusive treatment of him. For years, it put a wedge between us. Not until Alex was dead and I took over his board seat did we begin rebuilding our relationship. At that point, Josh was the brains behind all the new technology rollouts, but not active on the board. Somehow, though, he stumbled onto proof of his father’s illegal activity and came to me. We unseated his father at great expense to Josh and the company. Josh could have stayed quiet and just inherited a fortune. Instead, I had to help him re-create it and save Chase Electronics.”

I cringe. “Oh God. I feel horrible about the billionaire comment.”

“Don’t. He wasn’t even slightly rattled by it. The bottom line is that we need to bring Josh into the mix. He’s less of a risk than our being blind and exposed. And I’m not suggesting we tell Josh all the details, or about the Circle—even if Chad buys into this idea. Ideally, Chad would provide states, countries, and regions to monitor for keywords. If he doesn’t buy into this, we’ll set up what criteria we can, which I still believe can be extensive.”

“And if there is trouble? Do we get Tellar involved?”

Liam shakes his head. “If he starts following up on leads that Josh generates, he could bring attention to us that we don’t need. He has to stay as removed as we are from any problems that might arise.”

“So who follows up on the leads?”

“I’m working on that. A man named Dante. Josh knows him well. I’ve checked him out and I think he’s our man.”

“Another person we have to trust? That makes me nervous.”

“Dante has worked for the government at the most elite levels. He’s discreet and dependable. And wise choices are better than none at all. We’re exposed, no matter what. So we need to control it as much as we can.”

“I like the idea of control.”

“Good. I’m going to try to convince Chad of my plan, but if I can’t reach him or he doesn’t agree, it changes nothing. This is the right thing to do, and I’m going to set up a breakfast meeting with Josh tomorrow. We also need to be at his party tomorrow night.”

“That seems like it brings attention to Josh’s involvement with us. And Dante’s. Anyone researching you would know that you don’t like parties.”

“Becoming more active with Chase Electronics makes any extra time I spend with Josh reasonable. He’s also been trying to convince me to redesign their corporate headquarters, and I’m going to agree to that as well.”

I inhale and let it out. “You’re never going to be out of this. I was fooling myself this morning to think you would be.”

“No, I’m not, and neither are you. And your nightmare reminded me that you need to feel grounded in reality. I was wrong to forget that. I told you this was over; Chad told you it was over. And that’s true of the hiding—but the cylinder and our connection to it will always exist.”

It’s as if I can breathe more easily with his words, and a sense of peace slides over me that I haven’t felt in far too long. “Thank you,” I say, squeezing his hand. “That feels real.”

“I need you to know that we’re taking the right steps to make sure that in a few years, we’ll barely remember the cylinder exists. We’re together, Amy, that’s why I talked to you about Josh before I talk to him.”

Moments like this remind me of his amazing gift to be overwhelmingly alpha yet able to share the right amount of control with me. “Thank you, Liam. It’s the not-knowing that always gets me.”

“I know.” Then he motions toward the other room. “I have something I want to show you. A good something.”

“Another surprise?” I ask as he stands and helps me to my feet.

“Another surprise,” he confirms, lacing his fingers with mine and leading me forward, the tiles fading into the shiny dark wood of the hallway. It overlooks a cozy living area, complete with fireplace, brown overstuffed furnishings, and several wide round pillars set in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows. We continue on up the stairs to the second floor, where our bedroom is located. But instead of turning right, he turns left down the long hallway.

Nearly at the end of the hall, Liam leads me into his office, its pale hardwood floor beneath our feet, rows of bookshelves lining every wall in place of windows. One side has a desk that is reached by way of a short stairwell overlooking the main sitting area directly in front of us. Liam uses a wall switch to turn on the fireplace to the right of the sitting area, leading me toward it and around the rectangular oak coffee table. Side by side, we sink into the pure luxury of the navy cushions of the couch framed by two matching chairs. Then he reaches under the table to produce a long, slim silver box, which he sets on top.