Hacker Salvation: White Hat Security, Book 7

by Baxter, Linzi

  “John, I can’t hold on much longer.”

  Wanting to feel her come on my hand, I added a second finger and pumped them in and out of her. I bit down on her nub harder than before, and she screamed my name as she rode my hand. Her hips were off the bed, looking for and needing more.

  “I’m coming. Fuck!” She exploded on my tongue.

  Watching her fall apart was the most erotic thing I had ever seen. I wanted to see it happen again. I continued to suck on her clit. I pinched her right nipple and rubbed it between my fingers.

  “I need more. I need you, John. Please…”

  The desperation in her voice made me stop. I slowly kissed my way up her body, stopping at her nipple and taking it into my mouth. She wrapped her legs around my waist and rubbed her sex against me. Her breath was coming short and fast. I leaned down and kissed her neck, working my way up so I could nibble on her ear.

  “Please, John.”

  I was so wrapped up in the passion that I almost forgot about protection. “Hang on.” I had to grab a condom. I reached into the nightstand next to the bed, hoping Neal or Aaron had condoms there.

  Desire clouded Annabella’s features. “I need you now.” I could see the need in her eyes and body.

  “I need to grab a condom.”

  Her eyes widened as if she had completely forgotten. “Oh God, I can’t believe I didn’t think about that. I’m not on the pill.”

  I found a condom and ripped open the wrapper. Her pretty green eyes watched my every move. “Do you want to put it on?”

  She bit her lip and nodded. Her hands reached out and grabbed the condom then slowly rolled it down my length. Her soft hands were almost my undoing.

  Once she had me sheathed, she ran her hands up and down my length a couple more times. I couldn’t hold back—I needed to be inside her.

  The connection between us was strong. I sank into her and didn’t stop until I was all the way in. She was so tight and felt so good. Sex with Annabella was better than anything I could have ever imagined.

  Her eyes opened. “Move, John. I want to feel you move inside me.”

  I flexed my hips, meeting her heated flesh.

  “Please,” she begged with each thrust. Her breathy moan almost caused me to come. “I need you.” With every thrust, a moan escaped her luscious lips. Annabella raised her knees and wrapped her ankles around my back. With the new position, I went deeper inside of her. She met each of my thrusts and tightened herself each time.

  My breathing was erratic. I reached between us and pinched her clit. She screamed out my name as she went over the edge. Her voice was loud and raspy. Her muscles pulsed, and she ground against me to drag out her climax. God, it felt like a silky explosion. I couldn’t wait to do this again.

  “John…”

  I was lost in passion, chasing my own orgasm. My hips thrust hard, and my ass flexed with each thrust. Neither of us expected her to come again. When her muscles tightened around me, I lost control and went over the edge with her.

  I rested my forehead against hers, trying to catch my breath. We were both breathing heavy. When I rolled off of her and moved to get off the bed, Annabella whined at the loss of connection.

  “I will be right back.” I tied off the condom and threw it in the trash before I snuggled back into bed next to Annabella. She pressed her body against mine.

  I slowly dragged my finger along her arm. “I have a question for you, Annabella.”

  “Hmm.” She was still in an orgasm-induced coma.

  “Did you like when I spanked you?” I hadn’t planned on doing anything from the BDSM lifestyle, even on a small scale, until we’d talked about it.

  She covered her face with her hands. “I didn’t think I would, but I really liked it.”

  I tugged her hands down. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about.” I pulled her over so I could capture her lips.

  We spent the rest of the night making love.

  13

  Annabella

  “Are you ready?” John asked from the driver’s side.

  Over the past three days, a lot had changed. Neal and Addie had worked together to dig through Nate’s computer and phone records. When they found Nate had been talking with the mafia, Addie dug deeper into the crime family. It seemed the mob kept records of gambling debts digitally. From the movies, I assumed they only kept gambling debts in a notebook, locked in a safe.

  Nate’s dad was in debt to the mafia. When Addie and Neal had found the information, Neal contacted Marta. She admitted her dad was in deep with the crime family. She didn’t think the mafia would actually kill Nate. Marta said the crime family had sent someone to her house to scare her into telling her dad he needed to pay up and to show they could get to Marta. She admitted that after the encounter, she’d hired her own personal security. Nate had stayed with the firm to protect his sister. His dad hadn’t paid up when they came to Marta. Nate had, and he’d stayed at the firm to keep an eye on her even though she’d hired her own security. Nate’s family trust was monitored by Nate, and he gave his dad an allowance that was nothing close to what the man owed. So his dad had started to use the law firm to repay the gambling debt. After Nate tried to stop taking the cases, I’d found him almost beaten to death. I wished Nate would have hired his own security. The mafia thought if they made it look like they’d killed Nate, he would come out of hiding. Nate’s dad’s debt had grown, and instead of paying, he had run.

  Last week, he lost a case, and one of the top men in the mafia was now going to prison for life. When Nate left the courthouse, he was taken and beaten again. The blood I’d found in the bathroom was from a wound that wouldn’t stop bleeding. Vito had also sent people to Pedro’s house to let Nate know they could get to him. They were sending a message that he should never lose another case.

  Luckily, John and Neal had met with Vito the day before to discuss what was going on. Neal showed Vito the evidence he’d found against the mob and threatened to turn it over to the police. It was a bluff on our part. The sheriff couldn’t use the evidence we collected because we’d gotten it without warrants. Vito was surprised to find out about the bomb and the cut brakes. He also said they’d never contacted Pedro’s mom. So someone was still trying to frame me for murder and wanted access to the video in the house.

  Vito told John that he’d called Carmine to come find Nate, not kill him. The older mobster went on to explain he would rather have Nate alive and working for him. After a lengthy discussion, the mobster agreed they would not make Nate take any more criminal cases. Neal was going to hold on to a copy of the evidence we had against the mob just in case we needed it in the future.

  The car bomb and Nate running had nothing to do with the other. The mob swore up and down they weren’t the ones who’d contacted the police or Pedro’s mom. But someone was still working on framing me.

  Nate had agreed to meet us at the sheriff’s office to prove he was alive and clear my name.

  “Let’s do this, and then we can get back to our lives.” I tried to keep a smile on my face as I said the last part. John and I had had lots of mind-blowing sex over the past three days, but we hadn’t talked about what might happen when my case was completely cleared. I reached for the handle of the rented SUV.

  John met me halfway around the SUV and grabbed my hand. “It will be okay, Beautiful.”

  He pulled the doors to the station open for me. I hadn’t been back since the day I was arrested and the deputy took me to a small room to ask me questions about murdering my fiancé. The lady behind the counter sneered when she saw me, but the second her eyes landed on John, she sat up straighter and ran her fingers through her hair. I wanted to claw her eyes out. I still didn’t understand how the man didn’t see how hot he was.

  John walked up to the desk. “We’re here to see Sheriff Clark.”

  “Let me call back for him.” The woman’s voice came out all girly. When I’d asked her a simple question the last time I was there, she co
uld barely look up from her phone to answer me. “He will be right out. Is there anything I can get you?”

  “No,” John said. “We’re fine.” He guided me to a seat in the waiting room. We sat down next to each other, and he gripped my hand. “You looked so scared that day I picked you up from here.”

  “I was being accused of murder. And that woman wasn’t as nice to me as she was to you.”

  John chuckled. “You almost sound jealous.”

  “I’m not jealous.”

  He squeezed my hand. “You have nothing to worry about, Beautiful.”

  The door to the back swung open, and the sheriff walked out. “Thank you for coming down. Let’s go back to my office.”

  Once again, the walk through the back area was the same. The room was full of deputies watching each step I took. A few turned and whispered to each other. My feet stopped a few steps outside the sheriff’s office door. I could see Nate sitting in the chair. His shaggy blond hair was tousled, and he was wearing one of his signature polos with jeans.

  No matter how angry I was at him, I couldn’t hold the happy tears back for seeing my friend again. I rushed into the room, and Nate jumped up from the chair and wrapped his arms around me. It wasn’t until I heard someone clear their throat that I noticed Pedro was in the room. I dropped my arms from Nate and stepped back.

  Pedro stood up and held out his hand. “It’s good to see you, Annabella.”

  I grabbed his hand and shook it. “I’m so happy you guys are okay. Nate, I would like you to meet John.”

  John held out his hand and wrapped his other arm around my waist. “Nice to meet you, Nate.”

  Nate raised his eyebrow at John’s hand. “Looks like I missed some news.”

  I grinned shyly. “Let’s talk later.”

  Everyone sat down.

  “Ms. Harper, we are sorry for the accusations and what we, the department, put you through. Here is your passport.” The sheriff turned toward Nate. “Now, can you explain where you’ve been for the last week?”

  Nate shifted in his seat, and Pedro grabbed his hand. “It wasn’t Nate’s fault. It is all a funny story. I accidentally cut my hand on a knife at Nate’s house, and Nate here rushed me to the ER. If you call Los Angeles Community Hospital, they have records of me coming in.”

  I glanced at John, and he shook his head.

  Pedro continued his story. “After my hand was fixed, I begged Nate to go to our house up in Santa Clarita for a few days. We needed time to ourselves. He had been so busy at work. We turned off our phones and the TV and spent a few days vegging out. When we turned on the TV yesterday and noticed the reports, we called Annabella immediately.”

  “This is the story you’re going with?” the sheriff asked. “You cost the department a lot of money.”

  I shifted in my seat. John placed a hand over his mouth. I could tell he was trying not to laugh. The sheriff’s eyes were locked on Nate and Pedro, and they both shifted in their seats.

  Sheriff Clark tapped his pen on the desk before he leaned back. “You know I’m going to have to charge you with obstruction of justice.”

  “Will he have to go to jail?” I asked.

  The sheriff couldn’t hold his composure anymore. “Brock called me this morning and let me know what was found. I have to admit Nate you told a good story.”

  “But now the mafia is going to come after Pedro and me. Hell they might come after Marta again. We promised not to tell them they were behind it.”

  “The evidence Neal and John’s sister pulled was done illegally. I can’t use any of the information against the mob. Most everything they pulled, we already know about. You still need to pay for the man hours we used to find you.”

  “I can do that with an additional donation to the sheriff’s office,” Nate said in relief. “Thank you for everything. Can we go now?”

  John shifted forward in his chair. “I have one further question. Who kept calling and pushing the accusation that Annabella was guilty?”

  Sheriff Clark scratched his beard. “Brock asked the same question. We kept getting tons of anonymous calls. Then people started calling and telling us all these things she had done. Sorry, Annabella, but you sounded like a bitch. Brock and I talked most of the stuff out. It seemed someone has been watching you. When Nate left town after being beaten up, whoever this is used the opportunity to pin the murder on you.”

  John stood and shook the sheriff’s hand. “We’ll be in touch.” When I stood up, he placed his hand at the base of my back and guided me out of the room.

  The sheriff nodded as everyone left the room.

  Nate stopped me when we exited the building. “Bella.” Usually, I would forgive him in a second, but I wasn’t ready to forgive him.

  “No, Nate. I’m not ready. My stuff will be moved out of the house as soon as I find something, and for right now, I’m staying with Daisy.”

  He took a step forward, and I held up my hand. “Nate, I’m not ready yet. Give me time. I was excited to see you were okay, but you let me take the fall for murder.” I turned and walked toward the car. I wasn’t in the mood to listen to his sob story. Someone was still out there, waiting for me.

  John placed his hand on my back. He didn’t say anything. He was just there for me, and I was about to lose him. He had no reason to stay in California, other than my car issue that Neal said he was looking into.

  When we both got into the SUV, it was silent. I could feel the tension. Neither one of us wanted to ask what was next, but one of us needed to. “John, what are we doing?”

  He pushed the start button on the SUV and grabbed the steering wheel. “Lunch.”

  “Lunch?”

  “You never make decisions on an empty stomach, so where do you want to go get lunch?” He backed out of the parking lot and headed toward Rodeo Drive. I told him I wanted to hit one of the new farm-to-table restaurants. Neither of us spoke during the short drive to the restaurant.

  When we sat down, John ordered a scotch. I took his lead and ordered a margarita. “Are we going to keep putting off the conversation?”

  He leaned back in the chair. His black T-shirt stretched across his chest. He had his dark aviator glasses on, the same ones he’d worn on the day he picked me up from the station. I couldn’t see his eyes. I had no clue what he was thinking.

  When he didn’t answer my question, I tapped my finger on the edge of my glass. “When are you leaving?”

  John let out a sigh. “Brock needs me to head out of the country on a mission. I don’t know when yet.”

  “Oh.”

  He reached across the table and grabbed my hand. “Do you want me to come back?” John tugged my lip from my teeth. “I want to come back, but I also need to do my job. I want this to work. Do you?”

  I let out the breath I was holding. “Yes. I just don’t know.”

  The waitress used that moment to come back to the table. John and I both ended up ordering the daily special. Once we ordered, the waitress left.

  “How do you see us making this work?” I asked. “My life is here, and yours is in Ft. Lauderdale.”

  “Do you trust me?”

  “Yes.” I didn’t even have to think about my answer.

  John took a sip of his scotch. “Then we have nothing to worry about. I plan to stay another week and make sure we figure out who put the bomb in the car. In the beginning of this, we’ll fly back and forth. Maybe in the future, I can work from California.”

  “But all of your friends are in Ft. Lauderdale.”

  John looked off into the distance then took his sunglasses off. I was lost in his gray eyes. “Yes. My friends are in Ft. Lauderdale, but you’re out here, and I want to be with you. So let’s take this one day at a time and see how things go.”

  I felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders.

  John’s phone vibrated on the table. His sister’s name flashed across the screen. Over the past couple of days, I had talked to her more. John
had told me about her looking for their mom.

  “I will call her later,” he said. “This is our time.” His phone started to ring again, and he pushed the silence button. Then Addie called a third time.

  He reached for it and swiped across the screen. “Hey, pip-squeak. I’m kind of busy.”

  His brow furrowed as she spoke.

  “Are you sure?” John ran his hand through his hair and let out a deep breath. “I can’t leave here. Annabella needs me. We don’t know who’s after her.” I could only hear one side of the conversation, but it sounded like his sister needed him. I wasn’t about to stand in her way.

  “Let me talk to Annabella, and I will call you back.” John hung up the phone. “When do you have to be back on set?”

  The movie Last Love had already been delayed a week because of me. Each day we weren’t shooting cost the film more money. “I planned to go back tomorrow. Tell me what’s going on.”

  “Addie found our mom.” John’s voice cracked.

  “You need to go.”

  He took another swig of his scotch. “We don’t know who’s after you. I can’t leave.”

  “Nobody’s done anything in a few days. I can hire Gabriel as my bodyguard until we figure out what’s going on, or I can hire someone else.”

  John pushed his plate to the side. “I haven’t seen my mom in years. I’m not one hundred percent convinced it’s her. I can stay here a few more days.”

  “You need to go and be with your sister. I promise to be safe. I’m going to spend hours on set.”

  “I will be back in a couple days, and then we can figure everything out.”

  “When do you have to leave?” I knew it would be soon, and I wanted him to go be with family, but selfishly, I didn’t want him to leave.

  “Addie booked me on the next flight out. I leave in two hours.”

  14

  Annabella

  My alarm echoed through the large bedroom at Daisy’s house. I was used to living in enormous homes since I’d made it in Hollywood. Some days, I still missed the small one-bedroom my mom had raised me in. I could’ve fit that whole apartment in my current bedroom. Sadness washed over me as I thought about my mother. She’d died of breast cancer the year I graduated from high school. With her agoraphobia, she wouldn’t leave the house to get treatment, and we couldn’t afford to have a nurse come to the house.