Protected by a Hero

by Susan Stoker, Cristin Harber, Cora Seton, Lynn Raye Harris, Kaylea Cross, Katie Reus, Tessa Layne

  Shitty was relative. Laying buddies in the ground, almost losing a team to a rogue UAV, that was what defined a shitty day. Either way, he now owed SilverChaos in their ongoing back and forth.

  Parker wondered if Silver knew his broker, Shadow, had asked Parker to scout and check out all of the interested buyers for the guy’s Monarch deal. This was business, and not their norm. If he and Silver kept track of who’d helped out who more over the years, whose favor would it come out on top for? Probably a draw. Either way, Silver was as good as Parker was, and today, he’d been a great resource to have. Ooh rah to that.

  CHAPTER THREE

  God, that was such a rush. Chills still skated up and down her spine. Lexi never asked questions when she worked with BlackDawn. The objectives always blew her mind, as if they were playing high-stakes games that were real life. But, damn, tonight had made her feel alive, as though she wasn’t hiding in her own home.

  Forget the fact that she was sure they’d just saved the occupants of that vehicle. Given the coordinates of that UAV, she’d helped with something bigger, something patriotic. Protecting soldiers overseas? Maybe so. Hacks like that one gave her purpose, unlike developing things like Monarch. That just earned her money, even if she donated a solid portion.

  Lexi shifted in the chair in the corner of her bedroom. She was ducked under a blanket with her screen’s brightness turned down to two percent so as not to disturb Matt. Bacon was curled up and snoring on her feet. She thought about staying put—maybe she and her pup could go to sleep right there on the floor. Hopefully Matt was still asleep—or passed out. He’d barely mumbled when her cell phone chirped that BlackDawn was looking for her.

  She wondered if Black was already scouting her auction buyers. Over the years, he’d impressed her so much that she’d even thought about breaking hacker protocol and digging into who he really was. Her fingers twitched over the keyboard. It would be so easy to dig and find out more about him—well, maybe not, since he was so much like her. It’d be almost impossible to learn details that she didn’t want shared. But it’d be fun to try—

  “Would you get your stupid ass off the computer already?” Matt’s drunken, sleep-scored voice broke her thoughts.

  Her blanket-covered head dropped, her curious smile washing away. Still, she didn’t pull the blanket off. She set her laptop to the side and scooped Bacon’s deadweight up to her chest. “I thought you were asleep. Sorry.”

  Her fiancé grumbled, thrashing the pillows and sheets noisily. “How am I supposed to sleep when you’re over there clacking on that damn thing? Shit.”

  Slowly, she peeled the blanket from her head and squeezed Bacon, who licked her neck. “It was important.”

  “Stupid computer games in the middle of the night are not important.”

  “It wasn’t a game. It was work.”

  Matt rolled over in bed and propped himself up. “Baby, no one’s working you tonight. I’m the only one who gets that privilege, so unless you want to work right now, turn the computer off so I can either get some sleep or a blow job. Your choice.”

  Asshole. How in the world was this where she was in life? “Don’t talk to me like that. You’re drunk.”

  “You blowing me or what?”

  Tears pricked her eyes, and even though her sight had adjusted to the dark room, everything went blurry. But she wouldn’t let him see that. “You’re being a dick.”

  “Peaches, dick’s the name of the game. If you keep running your mouth, dick’s what you’re about to choke on.”

  “You’re disgusting when you’re like this. I’ll sleep on the couch.”

  “Oh, come on, Lex. I’m playing.”

  She shook her head. “I’m going to go watch TV.”

  “I wish you wouldn’t make me so mad. Why do you do that to me?” he grumbled. “Why do you push me? It’s like you want to be all alone in the world with no one to love you like I do.”

  Those words… always her fault. She didn’t believe it. But she couldn’t help her lonely reaction. “Matt, stop.”

  “How’s a pretty little nerd girl like you going to find—”

  “Stop.” She dropped her head to Bacon’s and wished she could walk away. She could. She would. It would happen. Soon. She just needed to… not be scared.

  “Come on, peaches. You know I’m just playing. Get in bed.”

  Against her better judgment, she moved to the far corner of the bed, put Bacon at the foot of the bed, then perched on the edge before finally lying down.

  His grabby hands ran over her back, pulling at her hips. “Come here.”

  “No.”

  “Baby, you know I just say those things to make you pay attention to what you want.”

  What a high opinion he had of himself. She wanted him? She needed him? But hell, she hadn’t left him, so who was she to call him wrong? She squeezed her eyes shut as she lay straight as a stick on the edge of the bed. “I’m sleepy. Tomorrow. I promise.”

  Matt leaned over and cackled in her ear. “Stupid computer cunt. If you didn’t have me, you’d be all alone. No one to love my girl. Just remember that. You belong to me, peaches. We’re meant to be together.”

  His slurred speech apparently over, he turned over and plopped against his pillow with a drunken snore. She listened for his breathing to signify that he had passed back out. Finally he did, and she stared at the black ceiling. How did she live these two lives? How was she so confident and successful in one arena, but when it came to real life, she became weaker?

  If she could get him to stop drinking, everything would be normal again. She could do that. Then she’d have the security that she craved, and he’d stop with his tirades, punches, and pushes. Just sober him up. Or she could leave…

  In the middle of the night, it all felt hopeless. Instead of replaying the constant battle of leave-versus-one-day-it-will-be-better, Lexi focused on their weekend plans. They were meeting up with a few of his friends, so even if he did drink, he wouldn’t be a complete jerk to her. At least while they were in public. Plus there was a good chance that Parker Black, the crush that she’d never admit to, would be there too.

  Her heart picked up its pace. She was excited to get out, but really, she was ecstatic to see him. She quickly turned her head to see if Matt would somehow react to her thoughts.

  No. Nothing but a drunken snore.

  Lexi pinched her eyes closed in the dark, trying to ignore her thoughts of Parker, and focused on the weekend. Matt had plans to go to the range with the same group of guys, who he behaved in a semi-decent manner around. Those guys weren’t impressed with day drinking. They didn’t laugh and joke about dickhead bosses when Matt lost yet another job.

  Maybe this weekend could be the start of turning everything around with Matt. Except she wasn’t in love with him. There had been too much damage done. Her insides were broken, and she felt no happiness for him when she smiled. Each night she prayed that morning would come, that dawn would break and a fresh day would show a different life.

  Her fingers twirled the engagement ring in the dark. Matt wouldn’t allow her to just walk away. Their lives were so entwined that she didn’t see how it was possible to extract herself. Her GSX-R was at Meredith’s after he had banished it from their home, and Matt never let go of his truck keys. Her friends avoided their place due to Matt’s snide remarks and comments. Not even Meredith came over. Whenever Lexi wanted to go out, he always had a reason why she shouldn’t. Couple that with working from home, and Lexi was alone in a way she couldn’t escape.

  But the weekend was coming fast, and soon she’d be face to face with Parker, who never said a misspoken word but somehow always looked as though he believed she could do anything. Like she could walk away from Matt. Her stomach soared again, and she wasn’t sure if it was because of Parker or the idea of leaving. Maybe both.

  God. Her reaction to Parker was dangerous. She turned quickly, burying her head in her pillow. Parker wasn’t always around. He often travele
d for work. Matt and Parker had grown up together, and that was the only thing she saw as tying the two men together. Except maybe their jobs and military-camaraderie stuff. Parker did something similar to Matt—well, when Matt could keep a job. Which wasn’t often anymore. Parker worked in security, maybe? He never talked about it, but wow, he was built for it.

  Shit.

  She cringed harder into her pillow and tried in vain to ignore the pop of excitement she felt about Parker being there. First, because that’d be horrible for her to think. She was engaged. To an asshole, but engaged nonetheless. Second, Parker was such a nice guy. Not super quiet, always with a few ball-busting lines, but he seemed extraordinarily intelligent. She didn’t know why she thought that. Maybe his word choices? Maybe how others in their circle deferred to him on questions?

  The guy was into numbers, which she totally got. When they talked sports, Parker talked statistics. When they talked news, his answers were based on risk and analysis. All of which magnified his smoldering blue eyes and tousled near-black hair. Intelligence made a man crazy attractive. His broad chest and sculpted butt were pretty amazing too.

  Holy shit. Her cheeks heated, her core clenched, and she tugged the covers over her face, smiling like a girl crushing on a daydream. If Matt ever thought she’d even checked Parker out… sadness bloomed in her chest. Thinking about Parker proved that she wasn’t broken. She wasn’t incapable of feeling something intense for a man. She might not have had a spark for Matt, but it was possible for it to happen. Maybe that made her even more broken than she thought. Oh, hell.

  Under the covers and in the cloak of the night, Lexi slipped off the ring and wiggled it around. The weight that fell off her without that little diamond on her finger was scary. She had to leave.

  Then she’d be alone again. Just as she’d grown up. Which really shouldn’t be as off-putting as it seemed. Once a loner, always a loner. Except being forced away from her friends now was different than growing up in a dozen foster homes, and it seemed like an eternity until the next hacker convention.

  Wiggling her free finger against the mattress, Lexi made the risky-but-powerful decision to sleep without the ring on. She tucked it under her pillow—and her recent constant insomnia suddenly faded. Crazy how much easier breathing felt after just taking that thing off.

  * * *

  Matt woke with a hangover that he could only blame on the woman next to him. Had she cooked him a meal when he’d gotten home, a little food in his stomach would have stopped this headache.

  “Peaches,” he grumbled, rubbing his hands over his face, “wake up.”

  She murmured in her sleep, and her stupid-ass dog snored at the foot of the bed.

  Matt kicked at the dog, but he was too tangled to find purchase on the mutt. “Fat ass.”

  Lexi stirred. “Hm?”

  “I love you, peaches. Wake up.”

  Slowly her eyes opened. She stayed with her head against the pillow, but her eyes met his. She didn’t crawl over to him, didn’t offer breakfast, a blow job, or anything worthwhile. “Morning, Matt.”

  “What, no love for your man?”

  She blinked slowly then dropped her gaze away. “You can’t really ask that, right? I mean, come on. Why are we even doing this?”

  “You’re still pissed about last night? Forget it. I had a couple too many.” He reached to pull her close, and she flinched. “Don’t be like that. It was nothing. Besides, you were working on your computer, right? Why do you leave me alone in bed like that?” He leaned over and kissed her shoulder. “If you didn’t obsess over work, I wouldn’t have to fight to make everything okay for us.”

  “You were awful to me.”

  “Come on, don’t be mean to me.” He kissed her shoulder again, and she didn’t relax. “Time to make up, c’mere.”

  “I don’t want to.”

  Anger thumped in his chest. “What is it with you saying no? It’s like you’re trying to hurt me, you know that? Like you want to throw away what I’ve given you.”

  “You’re turning this around on me,” she sniped at him like a bitch with her thong crawled up her cooch.

  “Damn, you’re a bitch this morning.” He crawled over her, morning wood jutting in his boxers. “You make me into an asshole. I’m not that guy. Why are you always pushing me?” He flexed his dick against her.

  She didn’t move. Didn’t react.

  He rolled his hips against her. “Make up with me.”

  “You want breakfast?” she asked. “French toast sounds awesome, right?”

  “Nope.” He pressed his mouth to her unmoving lips. “I want you.”

  “I don’t want to.”

  His hand ran roughly over her stomach and grabbed at her breast. “Since when did you start sleeping with a bra on?”

  She shrugged timidly. “Fell asleep like that after working.”

  “Peaches. Seriously. I keep saying it. It’s like you want to hurt me,” he growled against her ear. “Like you want to be some rejected lonely girl no one would ever understand. I understand you. I take care of you. If you didn’t push me, none of this would happen.”

  She snagged the covers and tried to tuck them in between them as his hands jammed down her pants. He scraped his fingers between her legs—she was dry as the Sahara on a summer day.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you?” he asked.

  “I don’t want to!” She pushed at him, and her hand caught his attention.

  His eyes narrowed. He grabbed her bare left fist then the other, just to make sure he wasn’t wrong. “Where’s your ring?”

  Color faded from her face. “Must’ve fallen off.” She scurried underneath him, digging her hands under the pillow. “See? Here?” She slipped it on.

  “What are you now? A dry-pussied whore, sliding her ring off,” he yelled in her face.

  “Matt, stop. You haven’t even been drinking.”

  “You think I need to drink to show my woman what the rules are?”

  “Stop!”

  Rage poured into his blood. He sat up then kicked her dumb-ass dog off the bed. “You. Do not tell me what to do. Do you understand me?”

  “I’m leaving.”

  He grabbed her, not letting her up from the bed. “Why the fuck do you make this happen?”

  “I haven’t,” she whimpered, bending to submit to his pull. “I—”

  He yanked her pants down to her knees, and she squirmed, rolling hard as if she would run out of bed. “Stay.”

  Bacon growled, jumping back on the bed. He yipped at Matt’s back and bit the back of his legs.

  “I’m going to kill this dog. You know that? Fucking slice it’s throat.”

  “No. Please.” Her voice shook.

  A round of pleasure ran through him because she knew he’d really do it. “Behave, and I won’t. Simple. If that’s how this has to be, peaches, then so be it.”

  He got up, grabbed the biting, barking mutt, and threw the dog out the bedroom. He relished its squeal, then he slammed the door.

  “You’re not drunk,” she whined.

  He shook his head and dropped his pants. Then he descended on the bed, ready to take what he needed by any means necessary. With each kick and thrash, confidence bled into his veins. Every lost job, every moron boss, every jealous inclination calmed in his thoughts when she finally gave up and took what he had to give.

  “Such a good girl. I love you so much.”

  She lay there, not looking at him until he turned her head to make her eyes meet his.

  “I said I love you, peaches. I wish you wouldn’t make us fight.” He pressed his kiss to her mouth, but she didn’t kiss back. “So stupid. It’s like you want me to kill your stupid fat puppy just to get your attention.”

  “No!”

  “Then I said I love you.”

  “Love you too,” she mumbled.

  “I won’t ever do that again. I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

  She sniffled. “Please don’t hurt Bacon.”r />
  “Don’t make me, and it’ll be okay. Okay? Deal? Are we good now? We both understand what we need to?”

  “I want you to stop drinking.”

  He laughed. “That’s not the problem here.”

  She shook her head, still pinned under his weight. “I’m going to go stay with Meredith.”

  Smack. Her head snapped to the side.

  “If you leave me, I’ll bring you home. Remember that. Without the fleabag.”

  “Please get off me.”

  “When you understand.”

  She nodded violently. “I understand.”

  “Please don’t make me do this again.”

  “Okay.”

  “Good.” He kissed her, and she opened her mouth. “All is as it should be.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Phiber spent hours on the computer in a Virginia coffee shop, diving through the underworld channels of all things SilverChaos. There weren’t many crumbs to find. Most of his information was based off of whispers and guesses about who Silver was, almost never with any kind of consistency. He had told the Taskmaster that Silver was someone he’d approached at the last con party, but they wanted proof. More than what he had provided with his guesstimation and gut instinct.

  So he moved down to where she lived, following her when he could, and went about his confirmation plan. It was the equivalent of manual labor. He was, by hand, pulling every scrap of discarded security footage he could find from the locations where SilverChaos had won or played a part in a hacking event, and every major highway, airport, and parking garage in a five-mile radius to those events. He ran facial recognition programs, vehicle identifying programs.

  For as elite as Silver was, she didn’t know that she was being hunted by him. By whoever his employer was, which even he couldn’t figure out.

  “Perfect.” He leaned back in his chair and took a bite of his scone. He clicked send, and the file with all of his compiled proof that showed he was correct in his research, still keeping himself relevant by not sharing who she was—even that she was a she—went to the Taskmaster.