Page 34 of Ghost

“Now everyone else will know, too.”

In a much-needed stroke of luck, the time I’d spent searching through files had been just enough for the warehouse to be cleared for my return. But Gavin still didn’t trust my truck.

A Black Crowns SUV was in the drive when we walked out. He loaded the boxes into the back and opened the passenger door for me.

The drive was quiet, but whenever he wasn’t shifting, his hand rested on my thigh. It made the files a lot harder to think about.

Mom and Dad were waiting at the office when we arrived. Mom hugged me hard, and Dad scanned me from head to toe. It was clear they were relieved to see me still unharmed.

Dad didn’t waste time on small talk. “I think it’s time to consider you taking a step away from the company until this is contained. They put a device under your truck, Tamsin. You continuing the audit means you’ll stay directly in the attacker’s path.”

“I understand that you want to keep me safe, but I know those files better than anyone in this building.” I took my dad’s hands in mine and squeezed. “Our employees are still at risk, and you need my help to get to the bottom of this.”

Dad looked at Gavin. “Can you make her understand how dangerous this is?”

Gavin leaned against the wall beside me. “She’s made her mind up, and we’ll cover every place she needs to be. I’ll be with her every step of the way. If a threat appears, I’ll make all security decisions. Otherwise, Tamsin’s work and authority remain hers.”

His unwavering support meant the world to me, but I couldn’t think about how incredible he was when I needed to tell my parents about what I found.

“I kept some stuff at home from my earlier jobs,” I told my parents. “Including photos that prove my counts were right.”

“That’s my girl,” Mom whispered.

“How many?” Dad asked.

“Hopefully enough for me to find a pattern that’ll point to whoever the inside person is.”

Dad clapped me on the back. “Then I guess you’d better get to work.”

I gave him a quick hug and headed out of the office, determined to figure this out today. Focusing on the jobs where I had photo evidence, I went over the final reports line by line. And I finally noticed the initials.

Len had signed off on several of the return sheets. He had handled many of the final warehouse closeouts for my first solo shows. But other supervisors and office staff were in the stack too. His initials meant access, but they did not mean he was the one who changed the numbers.

I hadn’t considered it could be Len until now. He had been with the company for so long and helped train me, even if he was condescending at times. I had always written it off as an older guy who hated new systems. Looking at his initials beside so many of the altered jobs made those memories feel different, but I couldn’t figure out exactly why.

Gavin came up behind me. His hand settled at the back of my neck, his thumb stroking under my hair. “We check before we decide.”

“Do you think it could be him?”

“He had access, same as everybody else who touched these. The pattern will tell us where to look next.”

Judging by his fierce expression, the person responsible would not have anywhere left to go once we figured out who they were.

Len poked his head through the door. “Welcome back. Find anything yet?”

I closed the binder before he could see the pages with his initials. “My original field sheets confirm the final reports were altered. The changes happened after the equipment came back to the warehouse.”

“I see.” His gaze darted to the stacks in front of me. “Let me take a look at the files.”

“I’m still organizing them.” I pasted a smile on my face. “I’ll bring you anything relevant once the comparison is finished.”

He looked like he wanted to argue but thought better of it. Then he nodded and walked away.

Gavin watched him go, but I felt him when he turned back toward me.

“You’re staring,” I muttered.

“You were good.”