Hack

by Annie Nicholas

  “Not often.” She shrugged. “My dive crew drags me out once in a while.”

  “Dive crew?”

  “My coworkers. The ones I dive with.”

  “So you swim with others.” Like a pod. It was how his kind functioned as well. This pleased him. So did the fact that she didn’t hunt men like she did sharks.

  “Always.”

  He closed the distance between them. The warm sand stuck to his feet and the calm waters sparkled with sunlight. None of it compared to her. “I’d be honored to accompany you.” He reached out with his left hand and caught her wrist in his fingers, drawing her closer. Suddenly, they were face-to-face and she was gazing up at him. Her eyes were the same blue as the surrounding waters.

  It was impossible to pull away. A part of him, the part that knew she’d chosen to have her memories erased, warned him to be cautious. But he was so damned tired of fighting his instincts, of being careful and patient. Something wild swept through him like the electrical storm he’d barely survived.

  He kissed her.

  Her lips were soft on his and she opened her mouth and let him in. She tasted of sea salt, just as he’d imagined she would, hot and female, and she kissed him like he was the only thing that mattered. Starting tender, then turning hungry, as if they both couldn’t get enough. His whole body ached with need. He kissed her until he could think of nothing except stripping off her bathing suit and pressing her into the sand so he could feel her against his skin.

  He pulled away before he fell prey to those urges. Yet Jeannie’s head remained tilted back, lips slightly parted. Her eyelashes were half-moon shadows. He caressed her cheek with the pad of his thumb. “Mine,” he whispered.

  Her eyes fluttered open. “What?”

  “I’ll see you tonight. I need to shower and rest first.” And finish work on his transmitter. His team would be furious that he’d set aside the mission for a few hours with Jeannie. If he hadn’t, the other male might have gone snorkeling with her instead, be kissing her, and going to the dance with Hack’s mate. It had been selfish, but hadn’t he sacrificed enough for the galaxy?

  “Oh, okay.” She sounded disappointed. “I’ll do the same.”

  He walked her to her room before retiring to his. His heart stopped upon entering. Dropping the snorkel equipment on the floor, he hurried to the freshly made bed.

  Someone had cleaned his room. Shit. In his hurry to find Jeannie this morning, he hadn’t hung the Do Not Disturb sign on the door. Amateur move for an agent of his experience. Instinct and hormones were making him blow his mission.

  In the middle of the night, Hack had retrieved a few tools from a maintenance room below the main resort building and spent the rest of the night extracting wires and circuits from what he had available.

  He pulled on his hair and slowly scanned the room. Phone replaced, television intact, and hair dryer back on the rack. What had the maid done with the parts he’d removed? Surely, she hadn’t rebuilt the equipment. He snorted. What did she think he was building? Apparently, not a bomb or he’d be in law enforcement custody.

  His gaze landed on the roll-down desk against the wall. It was the only place left he hadn’t searched. Lifting the lid, he spotted a note. It was a room charge for the new equipment and admonishment for destroying the originals. He breathed a sigh of relief though. All the parts were neatly lined on the surface for his use.

  A growl echoed in his hotel room. He glanced at his stomach. They’d missed lunch and the nanobots required more raw materials to reproduce. With a sigh, he called room service with the replacement phone. “Two double burger cheese bacon things.” He’d had one at Cosmo Resort and it had tasted heavenly. “What do you recommend to go with it?”

  “Fries.”

  “Sure.” His stomach rumbled louder.

  “Anything else?”

  He could eat a whole Gordex.

  “Maybe a strawberry milkshake?” the employee suggested.

  “Yes, yes. Bring it soon.” He plucked a loose wire from the desk and attached it to a circuit from the phone.

  “Charge it to your room?”

  “Yes.” The IIA would eventually pay for the bills once the mission was completed. He sat on the chair and commenced finishing his communicator, the menial work familiar in the strange setting and world. If not for Jeannie, he’d have been miserable.

  The pieces clicked in place until done and he plugged it into the wall socket. A hum came from the phone receiver he had connected to his transmitter as a speaker, growing louder and sharper until the sound felt like it was piercing his eardrums. He adjusted the wires and the noise subdued.

  “Hello?” a faint female voice spoke out of the speaker.

  Hack narrowed his gaze and glared at what he had built. “Hello?” Had Trace been forced into a gender change? The nanobots made it possible but his very male teammate hated acting as the other sex. “Who is this?”

  “It’s Lily. Hack, is that you?”

  “Yes, why are you answering the comm?” Had something befallen his team? Lily was a human Trace had just recently met and fallen in love with. She wasn’t what Hack would describe as qualified to touch his advanced computer systems.

  “They’re turning themselves inside out looking for you or your corpse. Trace!” she shouted away from the microphone. “I’ve got Hack on your comm.”

  “Hack?” Crypto asked.

  “Present and speaking.” A huge grin split his face at the sound of his teammate’s question. “Who else would it be?”

  “Thought for sure you were fish food by now.” Crypto sounded relieved. Their friendship had been tested in the last year and it was good to hear that he still seemed to care.

  “Why are you calling via comm? Is there something wrong with your nanobots?” Trace joined the conversation. “Ours can’t link to yours.”

  “They were short-circuited by a near-miss lightning strike. Ninety-three percent were destroyed in the initial blast. The survivors are working overtime to replicate and keep me alive.”

  “That’s a huge energy drain. Are you eating enough?” Crypto, though gruff on the exterior, always watched their backs, even when not asked for.

  “Yes, Mother.” Hack’s stomach protested. Food was on its way though. The hum from his jury-rigged communicator was growing louder.

  “What is your location? We’ll be there ASAP to retrieve you.”

  “This connection is unstable so I have to speak fast. I placed a transponder on the smugglers’ shuttle. There’s still time to rescue the humans that were just stolen.” He rattled off the transponder’s frequency code so they could find it.

  “Our mission is to stop the ring. Not rescue any humans taken during our investigation.” Trace sounded pissed.

  Lily gasped. “You can’t mean that.”

  “My man is on a primitive world alone without even nanobots for backup. His safety is my priority.”

  Hack cleared his throat. “I’m not exactly suffering. I’m at the resort where Cosmos ships the humans with memory wipes. I’ll be fine. We’re not doing our jobs if we turn our backs on those in need.”

  Trace let out a frustrated noise. “Fine, but we’ll be—”

  The connection broke.

  Leaning back in the chair, Hack sighed. That was that. He was stuck here until they came for him. In the meantime, his nanos would replicate.

  Smoke rose from the transmitter and he jumped to his feet, waving his hands. He unplugged the damaged contraption.

  A knock at the door had him spinning on his heel. “Room service,” an accented voice called.

  Hack was ready to eat wood. He opened the door and the hotel employee frowned.

  “This is a nonsmoking room, sir.”

  Hack waved one hand over his head to clear the smoke from the air while taking the tray in the other. “Won’t happen again.” He kicked the door shut as the person held out his hand.

  Food, finally.

  Chapter Seven

 
; Jeannie didn’t have an appetite. After Hack’s kiss, she could barely sit still. She took the world’s longest cold shower, tore through her wardrobe for an appropriate outfit, and then attacked her hair until it was a silken waterfall flowing down her back. Now, she stared at her reflection.

  Average height, average intelligence, and average looks. What did he see in her? Hack outclassed everyone she’d seen at the resort, and he had chosen her.

  Maybe he felt obliged to agree to this date because she’d helped him get a room and clothes, or he felt guilty for frightening her that first morning. A pity date. Frowning, she ignored the ache in her chest. Snorkeling with her should have been enough if that was the case, right? She groaned and closed her eyes. Only once she had coerced him to go with her when he said he couldn’t dance. He’d probably been trying to duck out of going with her politely and she’d bullied him to agree.

  Then there was the kiss...

  She didn’t want to read too much into it. One kiss. One amazing kiss on a tropical vacation.

  Sighing, she glanced back at her reflection. She was falling too fast and too hard. A fling was what she wanted and instead she feared she was falling in love. She wasn’t going to do this. No dance, no more dating. She’d concentrate on why she’d come here in the first place and get the footage of the sharks.

  With a wet face cloth, she rubbed her left eye clean of makeup. Scrubbing, she washed the left cheek. She would tell him she didn’t feel well. That sounded legit. She felt like cheap crap dressed in this stupid little red dress anyway. Changing herself on this trip had been a terrible idea. A man should accept her for who she really was.

  The connecting door between their rooms swung open. “Good, you’re ready.” Hack strode across the room. He ate her up with his gaze and gave a low whistle. “I am the luckiest man alive.”

  She dropped the face cloth in the sink. “Wasn’t the door locked?” She could have sworn she’d twisted the bolt. He could have barged in any time when she’d been nude and trying on outfits.

  He prowled toward her. “It was but I picked it open.”

  “You can pick locks?” The sink was pressed to her lower back and she couldn’t pry her gaze off him. He was dressed in the khaki shorts she’d chosen for him and a collared shirt that matched his eye color.

  His smile turned amused. “A skill I have.” He dragged a fingertip from the spaghetti strap on her bare shoulder down her arm, engulfing her hand within his. He brought it to his soft lips. “You’re breathtaking.”

  Jeannie couldn’t argue since she could barely breathe. He’d stolen all the oxygen in the room. “I am?”

  He leaned in close. “You doubt me?”

  Her focus was lasered on his mouth as he spoke. Her average IQ? Gone. Her conviction to break off their date? Poof, like magic. Her desire to tear off her dress and climb him like a tree? Present and accounted for.

  Fingers brushed the soft fabric of her dress. “I like this. Pity I want to tear it off you.”

  Her breath caught in her throat. Oh, please yes.

  “But first, you promised to show me how to dance.” He offered her his arm.

  “I did?” She didn’t recall any such promise but their kiss had scrambled her brains. Could she have made such a harebrained suggestion? It wouldn’t be the first time.

  “Yes, the feet shuffling.”

  She laughed and allowed him to lead her from the room. “I can manage that.” What a relief. She couldn’t believe he didn’t dance. He moved with such lethal grace.

  The outdoor ballroom was dimly lit with torches around the perimeter. A band played Polynesian music and people filled the space, drinks in hand. Many paused at Hack’s entrance but he seemed oblivious. His focus on her.

  She was falling even harder at light speed.

  “Would you like a drink?” he asked.

  “A dirty martini.” Her heart drummed and she needed to relax. Unbelievably, he genuinely wanted her. Every time they were apart doubts took root and shook her confidence. Then as soon as he was with her, he swept them all aside. It was like a fairy tale and she still couldn’t believe this was her life now. She watched him move through the crowd, drawing all sorts of looks from both men and women. How would she keep these hyenas off her man? A few tossed her strange looks. Was there something on her face? She hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast.

  The resort was supposed to introduce rich singles to beautiful ones. Hack would be on many of the wealthy’s radar. She couldn’t compete with their money.

  Then she gasped, wanting to smack herself in the forehead. Hack must think she was one of the rich singles. That made so much sense. She had to clear that misunderstanding before they took things any further. Might already be too late for her.

  He returned with her martini and nothing for himself.

  “You don’t drink alcohol?”

  “I do but only in situations where I can let my guard down.” He glanced around the tropical setting. “This is not one of those times.”

  “Hack.” She stepped closer.

  He leaned in. “Jeannie,” his voice husky.

  “I think we’ve had a misunderstanding.” She dropped her gaze, unable to take the intensity of his stare. “See, I’m not a wealthy person. I live paycheck-to-paycheck just like most people.”

  His chuckle stroked her in an indecent way. “It is a good thing that I am very well off then.” He cupped her face, redirecting her gaze back to his. “You’ll not go another day in need of finance again.”

  “You’re wealthy?” She couldn’t get off this emotional merry-go-round. He sure as heck didn’t act like he had money, right down to using resort credit for clothes.

  “I am well compensated for what I do for a living.”

  “As a...” She took a long drink. “Tech guy?”

  “That’s for another night.” He plucked the glass from her fingers and set it aside. “Let’s dance.” He led her to the dance floor and gathered her in his arms.

  The music had a fast beat, but he moved slowly. Swaying, he stared into her eyes and the rest of the world faded away. They danced on the fringe of the floor and away from the band.

  “People usually move faster to this type of music,” she whispered.

  “I prefer to hold you close.” He traced the edges of her ears. “So delicate and round.”

  “Thank you.” The automatic answer came out. Round? She smirked. What had he been expecting?

  “The women of my worl”—he coughed—“country are different from you.”

  “How so?”

  “It’s a harsher environment. The water’s colder and filled with more predators than this paradise. Industry has polluted the warmer coastal islands and makes it difficult for anyone to remain there.”

  “Is that why you left?” It sounded like a harsh place. Where the heck was it?

  He shook his head. “I was sent away. We had an excess of males and we were shipped off as mercenaries to help the planet financially.”

  “Planet?” She leaned closer. She obviously hadn’t heard properly and laughed.

  “Island.”

  She nodded. “How long have you been away from home?”

  “I have not been back since I was cast out. We are not welcomed. What resources are left are for families.”

  “You can’t go home?” That was awful.

  He shook his head.

  “I thought you said you worked with computers. You never mentioned being a mercenary.”

  “I was recruited and trained to work with technology.”

  “Like computers.”

  “Yes and other things.”

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” an announcer spoke into the microphone. “Let’s make this evening a little more entertaining by a round of drinks before we begin with party games.”

  Jeannie groaned. She hated games. She wasn’t good at them and was a liability to any team. “This is my cue to take a ladies’ room break. I’ll be right back.” Before Hack could p
rotest, she slipped from his hold. He could play without her and then she’d sit back and observe the games.

  The line for the bathroom was nonexistent, which was unexpected. She washed her hands then jumped at her reflection. What the fuck? Oh no, she’d washed half her makeup off and forgotten. Oh shit, what an idiot. She’d been in the process of taking off her eye makeup when Hack had barged into her room. She’d been so swept away, she hadn’t realized. Nor had Hack said anything. Could he be that oblivious or had he been silently laughing at her?

  With a paper towel she scrubbed the rest of the makeup off. That explained the strange looks she’d received from a few people. Thank goodness for dim lights. She had a few choice words for Hack. Kicking him in the ass was high on that list.

  Exiting the restroom, she made her way to where she left him. Gone. She spun a slow circle. Where had he gone?

  Laughter caught her attention. A group of women parted and Jeannie glimpsed Hack in the center. One of the women rose on tiptoe and pressed a kiss to his lips.

  The strange woman’s lips brushed Hack’s mouth and he jerked away. As soon as Jeannie left, women had circled him like a school of Narraha sizing up their next meal. They touched his hair and chest, giving him welcoming smiles. One even went as far as cupping his butt cheek.

  At Cosmos Resort, he’d been forced to attend a pool party in Trace’s skin. The females hadn’t flocked to him like this. Was this human hybrid body that attractive? His gaze landed on Jeannie right then.

  Her face was pale and the strange paint was all cleaned off. She scowled and spun around, storming from the dance.

  He glanced at the woman who had been kissing him and she rose, lips parted for another kiss. Hack pushed her away again. “I’m taken.” Parting the group of women with a sweep of his arms, he chased after Jeannie, but she was nowhere to be seen.

  Hack headed toward their rooms. She must think the worst of him even though he hadn’t initiated the kiss. The woman had taken him by surprise. Females didn’t generally kiss him uninvited so he’d been unprepared. He’d been trained to wear a face that didn’t draw attention, to fade in the background. When approached by so many females, his training had kicked in and he hadn’t wanted to make a scene. How would he explain this to Jeannie without revealing his true identity and mission?