Dirty Hacker: An Alpha Billionaire Romance (Alpha Men Book Book 2)

by Tia Lewis

  I did wish it wasn’t so damned hot outside as I walked up the stairs onto the street once I reached my stop. He always looked so handsome and dapper. I looked like a sweaty mess, pulling my long blonde hair into a messy bun on top of my head to give my neck a break.

  “Hey, baby! Nice tits!” I flipped the creep off without even looking. It was par for the course in the city. I’d gotten used to it since that first experience with catcalling back in high school.

  Preston could see me, apparently, and he was grinning from his spot behind the window of the bagel shop. I went inside, silently thanking the person who invented air conditioning.

  “You saw that, huh?” I asked, sliding into the seat opposite his in the booth.

  He nodded. “Good going. I have no patience for so-called men like that. I don’t know how you women put up with us sometimes.”

  “I guess we see you as a necessary evil,” I grinned.

  His expression shifted to one of concern. Lines appeared on his otherwise smooth forehead. Concerned, I asked, “What’s wrong? Is everything okay?”

  He shook his head. “Give me your phone.”

  “Excuse me?” I flinched back, stunned.

  “I said, give me your phone, Sophie,” There was no disagreeing with him. I pulled the phone from my purse, unlocked it and handed it over.

  “Saying ‘please’ would have been nice,” I creased my forehead as he quickly began tapping the screen, intent on what he was doing. Something I couldn’t see.

  “What are you doing?” He didn’t respond. Right, because he didn’t like questions. I started feeling distinctly nervous. Fun was fun, but when he started going through my cell phone… “Are you looking for something?”

  “No. I’m wiping all of the content I sent you from your phone’s memory.” His voice was flat, calm, and he didn’t look up from what he was doing.

  “You’re what?” I leaned in, my voice a whisper. “Why would you do that? Give me back my phone!”

  I tried to grab the phone away, reaching for it. One of his hands shot out, taking my wrists and holding them together while he finished deleting the last few things. Then, finished, he released me and slid my phone across the table.

  “As you wish,” he smiled.

  I was speechless, staring down at the device. Nothing made sense. Why would Preston do something like that? When I looked up, he was sliding his arms into his suit jacket. I went through the phone to confirm that he’d deleted the files. Sure enough, they were gone. No trace anywhere. They might as well have never existed.

  “You’ll see when you get home that I’ve already done the same thing to your computer,” he informed me. “Your training is finished. Goodbye, Sophie.”

  “What? Wait!”

  I jumped up, holding him back. I knew he could have broken free of me if he’d wanted to, but he stopped moving.

  “Don’t make a scene. I promise you’ll regret attracting attention to us.”

  He shook his arm free of my hand, then turned to leave the bagel shop. I followed him, however. No way was he getting away from me that easily.

  “Why did you do that? Where are you going? You can’t just leave me like this!” I continued chasing him, but he walked on as if I didn’t exist. I grabbed his hand, trying to stop him. He jerked it away.

  “Did I do something wrong?” I asked. “Please, at least tell me if I did something wrong. How can you drop me like this, as if nothing we did mattered? Like…”

  Like I didn’t matter, I wanted to add. How can you drop me like I didn't matter when we worked so well together? How can you do this to me? My heart cried out, tears stinging behind my eyes.

  “I have no more answers for you, Sophie. Everything has to end eventually.”

  He turned away, walking again.

  “Why? Why don’t you want to teach me anymore?”

  He called out over his shoulder. “It's too dangerous for you. You’re too young. There’s too much for you to learn. I have things that I need to take care of right now. You’re a liability. I can’t take care of you, along with everything else I need to take care of. Find somebody else to mentor you.”

  He kept walking as though it meant nothing to him. As though I meant nothing. I’d never felt so disposable, like I could be erased as easily as the files on my cell phone.

  I still trailed behind him, glad we were in a city like New York. Nobody paid attention. It was better not to, most of the time. I had to think of something, and quickly. I couldn’t believe there was nothing I could do, especially when it meant so much to me. I had worked too hard to get him to take me seriously in the first place. I couldn’t lose it. I couldn’t lose him.

  “Preston,” I whispered as I hurried behind him. He didn’t even flinch. I would have thrown a fit, but he wouldn’t have responded to that, either. He probably would have thought even less of me if I had.

  I needed something, anything. I scanned his body with my eyes—and then I saw my way in. The corner of Preston’s cell stuck out of his right pocket. My chance.

  I acted fast, grabbing Preston’s arm before he could step out into a crosswalk. He stopped, looking infuriated when he turned toward me. If I hadn’t been so desperate, that look alone might have been enough to stop me. But I was way beyond fear at that point. I threw my arms around him with no warning, pulling him into an embrace.

  His strong and powerful body pressed against mine. It was almost enough to distract me from what I was trying to do. And though he froze at first, stunned, he put his arms around my waist after a few moments. And that felt way too good.

  I pushed my physical reaction out of my head as I looked up into his eyes. “I understand that you want this to end, Preston. But before we part ways I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for considering me to join your group, and I hope you find what you’re searching for. I’ll never forget you.”

  And that was the truth. Preston had taught me so much. I would never forget that.

  “You’re welcome, Sophie. I hope one day you’ll realize this was for the best.” He stared down at me, and I could’ve drowned in depths of his eyes just then. I forgot to breathe for a second, and everybody around us faded into insignificance.

  “You’re right, of course. You know what’s best.” I gave him one last squeeze before I released him. And as I did, pulling away, I quickly slid his cell phone from his pocket and dropped it into my purse. Without a second glance, I turned and walked in the opposite direction, losing myself in the crowd. Still, I could feel his eyes burning into the back of my head. He was watching, no matter how hard I tried to hide.

  When I wanted something, I had to have it. And Preston should have known better than anyone else how persistent I could be. Hadn’t he complimented me on it when we first got started? Then he should’ve known I wouldn’t take no for an answer. I would be part of The Alliance whether he wanted me there or not.

  I was being honest when I said I would never forget him. But I’d make sure he’d never forget me, either.

  Chapter 9

  I didn’t take Preston’s cell phone out of my purse or even touch it until I reached my bedroom. When I took it out and placed it on my bed, I saw he already had over a hundred text messages and five missed phone calls.

  “Whoa,” I whispered, wondering if I’d bitten off more than I could chew. I knew he was an important person, but never considered how many people he was in contact with on a daily basis. It was easy to assume it was just me when he was usually so responsive to my messages.

  What had I done? Oh, right. I’d stolen valuable personal property from a very powerful hacker.

  He wouldn’t be happy when he realized what I’d done. He must have known by then—it had been almost thirty minutes since I left him there on the corner, dashing for the subway once I was sure I was out of his line of vision, then running into the house from the subway stop. I was absolutely disgusting, dripping sweat after exerting myself more than I had in years. But there hadn’t been a c
hoice. I’d needed to get home, and fast.

  I hoped he’d realize it was for the best, taking one of his turns of phrase and turning it right back in his direction. I couldn’t get over how snide he’d sounded when he’d said that. I would know it was for the best. Like he was my father. He left me with no choice, damn it. I had to take his phone. I had to get his attention. I wouldn’t fade away like a disposable cup or newspaper in the garbage.

  I didn’t want to go through his phone. Invading his property wasn’t what I was all about, even though he’d done the same to me twice. No, three times, counting the clearing of my computer. I had no doubt that he’d done exactly what he’d said. If I opened my laptop—which I had no intention of doing just then, since I was afraid he’d be waiting for me there—I’d see there was no evidence of our work together.

  But I wouldn’t do that to him. I knew how it felt and I wouldn’t put him through it. I just wanted an excuse to see him again, was all. Maybe he’d give me an explanation for wanting to get rid of me so quickly. I needed to know. I wouldn’t rest until I had answers.

  I paced back and forth, his phone like a glowing beacon on my bed just asking me to break into it. Enticing me the way his cologne did, pulling me in the way his voice did. Reminding me of its presence, and of how many answers it might provide. At least, a look into the psyche of the man it belonged to. I could find out so much if only I had the nerve to start looking.

  I couldn’t resist.

  I picked his phone up, sitting down and wondering how I would come up with the code. Only, when I touched the screen, I found that Preston had disabled the security settings. What kind of hacker would leave himself wide open like that? Maybe he figured there was no point since it was possible to hack into just about anything if a person had the skill and the time to figure it out.

  What was he hiding? Was he talking with and meeting other women just like me? Not like it mattered, really. He didn’t mean anything to me, and I didn’t mean anything to him. He’d proven as much. But was he stringing other girls along the way he’d done to me? Yeah, that was what mattered. If he was, I had to warn them.

  No. I couldn’t do it. Even as my thumb hovered over the icon for the messaging app, I couldn’t bring it down to open his texts. It wasn’t like me. I dropped the phone on my bed, flopping back with a sigh. I couldn’t get my thoughts together. All I knew was, I couldn’t sink to his level. I couldn’t let revenge blind me. I wanted to be better than him, to make the right decisions. Yes, his rejection had stung. It had done more than sting. It had just about crushed me as I stood there in front of him, begging him for an answer. Still, I couldn’t let that feeling cloud my judgment. Only bad things could result.

  The phone buzzed. I couldn’t help checking it out.

  Warehouse 22, Queens. 3 am. TA

  I stared at the message. Well, it wasn’t my fault that I saw it, was it? No. I hadn’t gone looking for it. I popped up, and I saw it.

  TA? The Alliance? Were they meeting that night at a warehouse?

  I dropped the phone like it was on fire. I had just received the time and location of a secret meeting. What was I going to do with that information? That was the big question.

  My brain began to race at the same speed as my heart. Should I go? Was it really as unsafe as Preston tried to tell me it was? What would happen if I randomly showed up to a meeting at three in the morning?

  Part of me wanted to listen to Preston. He had to know better than I did what The Alliance were capable of, of course—he’d founded them. There were so many questions I’d never been allowed to ask, or when I had, I’d been shot down. So I had no way of knowing for sure how the members of the group would react if I bombarded them. Would they respect my determination or demand I be erased? I shivered at the thought.

  No matter what, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Things like that didn’t happen every day. The chance to get close to a “hacktivist” group I’d followed for years had just fallen into my lap—granted, via a phone I’d stolen, but sometimes life worked out that way. After all, every decision I’d made up to that point had led me to where I was. I’d made the decision to reach out to the group. I’d decided to keep pursuing Preston, to work with him, to meet with him. To steal from him to gain information I wasn’t supposed to have. I couldn’t stop there. I had to follow the whole thing through to its logical conclusion.

  I had to go to the meeting.

  “Are you feeling all right?” My mother looked at me with that worried expression only a mother could wear.

  “I'm all right,” I said with a slight smile as I forced down another bite of chicken.

  “You seem nervous.”

  “Really, I’m fine. Thanks.”

  I changed the subject and talked about school. That seemed to make my parents happy. I told them I’d registered for classes, which was a huge relief. I wished they had a clue. They didn’t know a thing about my actual life—I knew I had nobody but myself to blame for that since I deliberately kept them out of it. How could I tell them about any of it? The Alliance? Meeting Preston? My potential involvement in exposing government secrets? The thought was laughable. My mother would drop dead, and my father would probably join her. And they’d really love knowing I’d stolen Preston’s cell phone and intended to go to a potentially dangerous underground meeting in the middle of the night.

  I couldn’t worry them. But more than that, as long as I was honest with myself—I couldn’t give my parents a chance to tell me not to do what I wanted to do. And of course, they would. They were my parents. They didn’t want to see me get hurt. The last thing I needed was for them to lock me in my bedroom. Despite being eighteen, I still lived under their roof so what they say goes. My house, my rules, they would say.

  But what did my parents know about anything? The thought kept bouncing around in my head even as I sat and made small talk with them. What did they know about my life, about the things that really jazzed me up and made getting out of bed worthwhile every morning? They were both successful in their fields, and unlike many people with prestigious careers, they actually enjoyed what they did. So they should know, in theory. But I wasn’t a lawyer or a doctor.

  I was a hacker.

  My parents would never be able to wrap their heads around that one. Their sweet little girl—their only child—a slimy hacker. Not that they would ever try to understand why it appealed to me—or that they’d be able to comprehend even if they tried. No way.

  We kept making small talk until I went up to bed. Of course, I wasn’t going to bed. Not to sleep, anyway. I tried taking a nap, but it didn’t work. I could hardly close my eyes, and even when I did they’d only stay closed for a few seconds at a time. It was like drinking three lattes one after the other. I was jittery, jumpy, fidgeting like crazy. The clock seemed to move backward. I wanted to scream every time I checked it and only a few minutes had passed.

  Finally, the clock hit 2:30 am. I sneaked out of the house the same way I had when I went to the hotel to meet Preston. Unlike that first meeting, however, I took the subway. Somehow, having my cell phone on me made me feel much safer. Probably ridiculous, but it was the truth. Besides, I didn’t want any records of my traveling to the warehouse.

  I wondered what I was about to witness, as I walked to the subway stop. I wanted to confront Preston, but what if he wasn’t willing to talk? That was entirely possible since he was a man who stuck to his guns no matter how hard I tried to get him to see things my way. The more I walked, the clearer it was that I had no idea what I was doing. Not a single clue. I was totally in over my head.

  But I did need to see Preston. No doubt. I had to know why he didn’t want to be in contact with me anymore, if only to know the mistake I shouldn’t repeat in the future. I didn’t think I’d committed any huge faux pas, but what did I know?

  I needed closure. And that need propelled me to the subway and onto the train. It drove me off the train at the right stop, and down the two blocks, I walked aw
ay from the station.

  After two blocks, I turned down the street the warehouse sat on. Trash was piled up on both sides, all along the sidewalk and curb. Warm air swept past my cheeks, brushing my hair off my shoulders but stirring up the stench of garbage at the same time. I gagged a little but pressed on. I’d already come so far. I couldn’t turn back even if my blood turned to ice and my bladder felt decidedly heavy. What the hell was wrong with me? Walking down a dirty, eerie street at three in the morning.

  Then, a figure emerged from beside a building not far in the distance. My bladder threatened to give way as fear flooded my system. All I could see was a dark outline. That was it. I looked around, trying to be aware of my surroundings—were there more people just waiting in the shadows with the intent of pouncing on those who trespassed? I shivered despite the warmth, my sweat suddenly cold.

  I’d never felt so vulnerable in my life as I kept walking closer to the figure on the sidewalk. If I turned and ran, he’d just follow me if he intended to hurt me. I could tell he was watching, too, from the direction his head was turned. Waiting for me.

  Shit!

  What a bad idea it was to be here all alone.

  Suddenly, I realized who I was looking at. His frame, his face came into focus the closer I got.

  “Hello, Sophie,” Preston murmured. “You’re right on time.”

  Chapter 10

  I froze in place, fight-or-flight taking over. Should I run? I was ready to run. No way I could fight him off, not even with adrenaline pumping through my veins.

  He didn’t look angry, though. That was the most unnerving part of all, maybe. He seemed calm. His hands were tucked into his pants pockets, his eyes fixed on me.

  Well, he was in front of me. I had the chance that I’d gone out of my way to have. The chance to talk to him, to get the answers I’d been looking for. Only I had no words. They’d left me. I might as well have been completely mute. Meanwhile, he stared at me, eyes burning with intensity in the darkness. I could see them, like two emeralds blazing at me.