stopped in her tracks, sincerely wanting to assuage his distress. “Brandon, it’s all right, really.”
He simply nodded, clearly unconvinced. She was aware that no matter how valiantly she was trying to brush off her disappointment, desire still burned in her eyes.
He closed the cabin door behind them and returned to the kitchen. Belinda followed, blown away by his revelation, and was struggling to process it. “Seriously? You’ve never been with a woman?”
“Nope. Never.”
“But how do you feel about that? I mean, it’s such a natural part of life, I just can’t imagine.”
“There’s a saying that you never miss what you’ve never had,” he said, blushing. “But you know what? It’s not true. I miss this like hell. I’m just afraid of . . .”
She rested her hand upon his shoulder supportively. “Afraid of what?”
“Afraid I’ll mess it up.”
She shot him an understanding smile. “Everybody messes it up sometimes, even the most experienced. Messing it up can be part of the fun.”
He laughed nervously. “Well, maybe someday. Who knows? I just don’t think my head’s in the right place at the moment, with what I’ve got to do and all.”
“I understand. If there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know. OK?”
“You got it.” He moved over to his leather recliner, sat down, and resumed his task with a highly-sophisticated-looking laptop. A sequence of numbers filled the screen.
Belinda came up behind him, her mind blank at what she saw. “Wow. Is this the code you were talking about?”
“This is it, and it’s an absolute nightmare. The program I’ve got installed to decode it isn’t the best. I didn’t have time to update it at the lab. Because of that, it takes days. All it’s going to show at the end is a date, a time, and a location.” He scrolled down the screen to show her that the code extended for page after endless page.
She gasped. “Oh, boy.”
“It’s a complex new type of crypto-numeric,” he said. “They clearly didn’t want anybody figuring it out, but lives are at stake. I really have no choice but to keep working on it.”
She leaned over and kissed his cheek. This time, he smiled comfortably. “Well, I’m here if you need me,” she said.
“Belinda?”
“Yes.”
He smiled at her. “Thank you. I can’t tell you how much better it is being here with you.”
She didn’t say anything, but knew the affection in her eyes spoke for her. It was remarkable to her that he was thankful to her after everything he’d done. He was introducing her to feelings she’d never known before. No man had ever actually cared about her in the past. They may have slept with her, but that wasn’t caring. It was an exercise in mutual taking. Despite the gnawing questions she still had, she knew she was developing a deep tenderness for Brandon, and, somehow, a sense of sadness. He seemed to have the weight of the world on his shoulders. But why? Who, or what , was he fighting that was causing him so much anguish?
The numbers scrambled and changed on the monitor screen like a swarm of insects, faster that the eye could see. Brandon watched intently, waiting with painstaking patience.
It took hours for the first result to appear—the letter ‘S.’ He took a pen and a sheet of paper from the desk, and wrote it down. It was nothing. Just one letter. But it was the beginning of the answer to his last chance to stop the attacks, once and for all. Where is it going to happen? Who’s gonna be next?
Ten
Tonight
Brandon continued to sleep on the couch. He occupied himself with his work spending hour after hour focused on his laptop, and left it running around the clock. Waking at 7 a.m. every morning, he threw on his warm, water-proof clothing, and rubber-soled boots. He scaled the steep, two mile-high ridge behind the cabin, pushing himself to the limit. He’d resumed his morning training routine after a three day break. The door closing upon
He simply nodded, clearly unconvinced. She was aware that no matter how valiantly she was trying to brush off her disappointment, desire still burned in her eyes.
He closed the cabin door behind them and returned to the kitchen. Belinda followed, blown away by his revelation, and was struggling to process it. “Seriously? You’ve never been with a woman?”
“Nope. Never.”
“But how do you feel about that? I mean, it’s such a natural part of life, I just can’t imagine.”
“There’s a saying that you never miss what you’ve never had,” he said, blushing. “But you know what? It’s not true. I miss this like hell. I’m just afraid of . . .”
She rested her hand upon his shoulder supportively. “Afraid of what?”
“Afraid I’ll mess it up.”
She shot him an understanding smile. “Everybody messes it up sometimes, even the most experienced. Messing it up can be part of the fun.”
He laughed nervously. “Well, maybe someday. Who knows? I just don’t think my head’s in the right place at the moment, with what I’ve got to do and all.”
“I understand. If there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know. OK?”
“You got it.” He moved over to his leather recliner, sat down, and resumed his task with a highly-sophisticated-looking laptop. A sequence of numbers filled the screen.
Belinda came up behind him, her mind blank at what she saw. “Wow. Is this the code you were talking about?”
“This is it, and it’s an absolute nightmare. The program I’ve got installed to decode it isn’t the best. I didn’t have time to update it at the lab. Because of that, it takes days. All it’s going to show at the end is a date, a time, and a location.” He scrolled down the screen to show her that the code extended for page after endless page.
She gasped. “Oh, boy.”
“It’s a complex new type of crypto-numeric,” he said. “They clearly didn’t want anybody figuring it out, but lives are at stake. I really have no choice but to keep working on it.”
She leaned over and kissed his cheek. This time, he smiled comfortably. “Well, I’m here if you need me,” she said.
“Belinda?”
“Yes.”
He smiled at her. “Thank you. I can’t tell you how much better it is being here with you.”
She didn’t say anything, but knew the affection in her eyes spoke for her. It was remarkable to her that he was thankful to her after everything he’d done. He was introducing her to feelings she’d never known before. No man had ever actually cared about her in the past. They may have slept with her, but that wasn’t caring. It was an exercise in mutual taking. Despite the gnawing questions she still had, she knew she was developing a deep tenderness for Brandon, and, somehow, a sense of sadness. He seemed to have the weight of the world on his shoulders. But why? Who, or what , was he fighting that was causing him so much anguish?
The numbers scrambled and changed on the monitor screen like a swarm of insects, faster that the eye could see. Brandon watched intently, waiting with painstaking patience.
It took hours for the first result to appear—the letter ‘S.’ He took a pen and a sheet of paper from the desk, and wrote it down. It was nothing. Just one letter. But it was the beginning of the answer to his last chance to stop the attacks, once and for all. Where is it going to happen? Who’s gonna be next?
Ten
Tonight
Brandon continued to sleep on the couch. He occupied himself with his work spending hour after hour focused on his laptop, and left it running around the clock. Waking at 7 a.m. every morning, he threw on his warm, water-proof clothing, and rubber-soled boots. He scaled the steep, two mile-high ridge behind the cabin, pushing himself to the limit. He’d resumed his morning training routine after a three day break. The door closing upon
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