The Hacker

by Leslie Georgeson

  Though Shannon had stated she now believed her father had been involved, I sensed she still didn’t trust me, and that she probably needed more concrete proof of her father’s involvement. If I found that proof, would she finally trust me? Would she truly believe the things I’d told her? The things I’d shown her? Would she finally believe in me?

  This new discovery put us that much closer to taking the remaining shareholders down. And giving us our freedom.

  As I decrypted more documents, I planned to save them all into a folder, and once I had enough information, I would send everything over to Agent Browning of the FBI. Hopefully, the man would investigate thoroughly. Hopefully, he would take the necessary steps to see that the remaining shareholders were punished for their crimes.

  This was too good to keep to myself.

  I called Logan, put the phone on speaker so I could keep working, then set it on the desktop.

  “Hey, man.” He yawned over the phone. “What’s up?” He must have just woken up.

  “I decrypted another file.” I told him everything then, eager to share it with someone else. I told him about the document and its link to the shareholders. I told him about discovering someone researching me and linking it to Shannon. I told him about Shannon coming to search for me in the woods and us attempting to scare her off. Then taking her back to her car. I told him about Vasquez kidnapping her and finding his illegal site on the web. Then bidding on and winning her at the auction.

  There was a long pause after that confession, then, “You bought her?” he repeated incredulously. “Are you serious? Did anyone see you? Recognize you?”

  “I had to save her somehow,” I explained. “I wore shades and a hoodie. All the other auction participants wore disguises. You would have done the same for Nishi.”

  He cleared his throat. “Um, yeah, but…are you sure she isn’t an enemy? What if she’s part of The Company?”

  “She’s not,” I assured him. “She had no idea the kinds of things her father was involved in. She had never even heard of The Company. I showed her my file and some of the other recruits’ files so she would have an understanding of the kind of man her father was.”

  There was another long pause, then, “Shit. Are you sure that was wise? Isn’t she a reporter or something? What if she discloses that information to someone else? Are you sure you can trust her?”

  “No. I’m not sure if can trust her. In fact, I don’t trust her. But how else am I supposed to convince her of the truth? I can’t just expect her to believe whatever I say. She knows I killed her father.”

  Logan puffed out a breath. “She knows? Has she tried to kill you? Done anything suspicious? She probably hates your guts.”

  I groaned. Did Shannon hate my guts? If she did, she hid it well. “No, to both questions. I think she’s more hurt than anything. Confused. Upset. And last night she went outside for some fresh air. I went out to check on her and caught three thugs trying to rape her.”

  “Jesus,” he muttered. “Was she hurt?”

  “She was a bit traumatized, but I killed two of them before they hurt her. The other one fled. There was a fourth guy watching from the bushes, a big motherfucker. He was like an apparition, just a blur of smoke. He disappeared into thin air, kind of like Tony. It was weird.”

  Logan was silent a moment, digesting everything I’d told him. “Who was he? Did you recognize him?”

  “No. I didn’t get a chance to get a good look at him before he disappeared. But something tells me I will see more of him, though I’m not sure why I think that.”

  “You really need to get out of there,” Logan murmured. “Take Shannon home and head to Idaho.”

  “There’s more,” I informed him. “I got an email a few hours ago from the email address Mastersoldier101@me.com. He claims I outbid him at the auction last night. He knows I’m a dreg, so he must have recognized me. He says he’s coming to take Shannon back, that I should be ready for battle. So I told him to bring it on.”

  Logan snorted. “What the hell kind of shit are you getting yourself involved in? Do I need to come back there and drag your ass out of there?”

  I let out a soft chuckle. “Nah. All’s good. I’m not running from this asshole. If he wants a war, I’ll give him a war.”

  Another moment of silence stretched. Then Logan sighed. “It’s because of her, isn’t it? She’s the real reason you stayed, and why you won’t leave yet.”

  My face heated. How had he come to that conclusion?

  Because he was my dreg partner, and he felt what I felt.

  I cleared my throat. “Yeah. It’s a little messed up. I don’t understand it. Of all the women to want…”

  He laughed softly. “Hey, I get it. But it’s not any more messed up than mine and Nishi’s relationship was at the beginning. We should have been enemies, but we weren’t. You and Shannon should be enemies, but…are you?”

  “Not on my part,” I admitted. “I think she’s innocent. But I’m not sure if she considers me an enemy or not.”

  “Is she pissed that you bought her? Is she afraid of you?”

  “I don’t know. I hope not. I haven’t done anything to hurt her, and I let her know she can leave whenever she wants. She chose to stay, so I hope she trusts me, at least a little.”

  There was another moment of silence, then Logan asked, “Do you think she cares for you?”

  I let myself remember how amazing it had felt when I’d kissed Shannon, how good it had felt to touch her, to hold her, and the delirious need, the intense pleasure that had washed over me at her response. I couldn’t deny there was something incredible between us, but I didn’t know if she felt it too. Did she truly want me?

  “I don’t know. I, she, we–” I broke off, heat scalding my cheeks. I was thankful he wasn’t here to witness it.

  “I can feel your turmoil, man. She’s really getting to you, isn’t she?”

  I heaved out a sigh. “Yeah. She’s messing me up. I can hardly think straight.”

  Another pause. Then, “Why don’t you just pack her up with you and bring her to Idaho? Ignore the email. Fuck that guy. Just come here. We’ll make sure she’s safe.”

  “And if she doesn’t want to come? Then what?”

  “You won’t know if you don’t ask,” he pointed out. “Just ask her.”

  He had a point. But how could I ask Shannon to head across county with me, a near stranger, the man who’d killed her father? She would never agree to come with me. And why should she? She had a life here.

  “I hardly know her. How do I know she won’t betray me? How do I know she won’t write a story about us?”

  Logan and I hadn’t had such a deep heart-to-heart in a long time. I had never needed his input as much as I did right now.

  “Just go with your gut. If she cares for you as much as you care for her, then the trust should come naturally. I would say be cautious, but give her a chance, too. Don’t jump to conclusions. Don’t be afraid to let her see the real you.”

  I sighed and raked a hand though my hair. “She’s already seen my file. That’s pretty personal.”

  “Maybe so, but it’s not who you are. That’s just what they did to you. That’s just the nightmare you survived. Your past. Let her see Noah the man. Let her see who you are today. That’s the only way you will ever know if she’s genuine. You be real with her, and hopefully, she’ll be real in return.”

  I choked out a laugh. “When did you become so philosophical?”

  He chuckled. “Since I met Nishi. Loving a woman changes you. Softens you. Opens your mind to other things.” He paused. “Well, if you need any help taking this guy down, let me know. I’ll be there.”

  Did I need Logan’s help? Not right now. But later, who knew? It was nice to know he always had my back.

  “Thanks, man. I may take you up on that later.”

  “Okay, well, keep me posted. Nishi and I are heading for Utah today. We expect to arrive in Idaho in another few days. I rea
lly think you should hit the road, man. Get the hell out of Georgia. Just forget about this dude.”

  I sighed. “I can’t leave until I know Shannon is safe.”

  “Ask her to go with you,” Logan repeated. “If she says no, then you get her into protective custody. Drop her off at the FBI field office in Atlanta. They’ll take care of her. Then head west.”

  I didn’t want to drop Shannon off anywhere. I wanted her close by. So I could keep her safe.

  “All right. I will. Take care, man.”

  We disconnected, and I tossed my phone back onto the desktop.

  Just ask her to go with you.

  How could I do that? I hardly knew her. And we hadn’t exactly gotten off on the right foot with all this distrust between us. Logan was right that Shannon and I should be enemies. But were we? What about this attraction between us? Was it real? And if it was, then was it strong enough to overcome the many obstacles that were likely to be thrown in our paths? I’d never been in this situation before, where I felt a strong attraction to a woman I didn’t trust, and where I had no idea how she truly felt about me.

  “So, what are you going to do about me?”

  I jerked in surprise, spinning around in the chair to see Shannon sitting at the top of the staircase. How long had she been sitting there? How much of my conversation with Logan had she overheard?

  And why hadn’t my acute senses alerted me to her presence?

  I rubbed a hand over my face. “I guess that depends on you.”

  She rose to her feet and slowly descended the stairs. I watched her approach, my heart hammering faster and faster with each step she took, until she finally stopped before me. I swallowed hard, looking up into her face. Even with wild, sleep-tousled hair and no makeup, she was stunning. By far the most beautiful woman I’d ever met.

  “It’s a new day,” she announced, her eyes clear and bright with no shadows lurking beneath them. The sleep had obviously done her some good. “I slept like eight or nine hours and now I’m revived. And standing in front of you now, I don’t feel any different than I did yesterday.”

  I cleared my throat. “What does that mean, exactly?”

  “It means I still want you, and if you ask me to go to Idaho with you, I’ll go.”

  Heat washed into my face. She’d overheard that part? That meant she knew the other dregs were in Idaho. What if she told someone else? What if The Company sent soldiers to Idaho to hunt everyone down?

  “Why would you do that?” What was she after? “We hardly know each other.”

  She shrugged. “The only way I’ll know for sure if this attraction between us is real, is if I stick around long enough to pursue it. So, where you go, I go. At least for now.”

  I stared at her, trying to read the truth behind her eyes. Was she being honest?

  “And you’ll keep the information you’ve learned to yourself?”

  She nodded. “I told you it was off the record. If I want to learn the whole truth about my father, then I need to stick with you until you are able to decrypt all those files. I promise that if I do decide to write a story, I will get your approval first before I make it public.”

  I contemplated her for a moment. She stared back at me, her gaze open and honest. I wavered a moment longer, then decided to give her a chance to prove herself.

  I spun around in the chair and pulled up the document I’d recently decrypted. “I managed to decrypt this one a few minutes ago. It links the members of Super Soldiers, LLC to the facility where we were kept as prisoners.”

  Shannon stilled, and the expression in her eyes said she was scared to read it. This was more proof of her father’s deceit.

  Then she lifted her chin and leaned over the desk next to me to peruse the document. Moments later, she stepped back. “I don’t want to believe you, but I do. This document is more evidence that what you’ve told me so far is the truth.” She pulled her gaze to mine. “When this story breaks, it’s going to be huge. What will you do with all of the evidence once you’ve gathered it?”

  “I plan to give it to the FBI, but with redactions throughout. Any personal identifiers that might link to any of the dregs will be completely blacked out. I want the shareholders to go down, but not any of my dreg brothers. None of us were willing participants in the program. We just want to live in peace.”

  She nodded in understanding. “I agree. The shareholders need to be punished and the world needs to know what they’ve done. I will help you take them down, Noah. Tell me what I can do to help.”

  I quirked a brow. “You’re not opposed to soiling your father’s good name? Won’t that reflect badly on you?”

  Her cheeks turned pink. “I’ll admit the daughter in me wants to keep my father’s name out of it as much as possible, but the reporter in me says to always tell the truth, no matter what. I can handle the scandal, Noah. That doesn’t bother me. So, what can I do to help?”

  I hesitated as I looked into her eyes. “There’s hundreds of Company documents in these folders. I’ve only had a chance to look over a small portion of them. You could help by going through the folders that I haven’t looked at yet and search for any relevant information that might link Super Soldiers LLC to The Company. You can also start redacting personal identifiers from the recruit files to help protect their privacy. I know, most of them are dead, but anyone who isn’t deceased needs their identity protected. Do you think you can do that?”

  She nodded. “I’d be glad to. Whatever you need me to do to help uncover what the shareholders did, I’ll do it.”

  I held her gaze. Was she being honest with me? Or was she just after her story?

  “Off the record,” I reminded her.

  “Yes, of course.” She didn’t back down. “Off the record.”

  Could I trust her? Was she just after a sensational story that would shock the country? Trying to make a bigger name for herself? Or was she simply wanting to share the truth? I didn’t know, and that bothered me. I still didn’t trust Shannon. The more information I revealed to her, the more power she had. Power she could use to take us all down.

  I could choose to trust her. Or not. I had to make a decision.

  “I’ll go get another computer out of the trailer for you to work on.”

  I rose and headed for the garage.

  I had made the decision to trust her.

  But would that decision come back to haunt me?

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Shannon

  Noah, I learned, was a fantastic cook.

  We’d spent the last several hours working side-by-side after he’d brought in another computer and set it up for me. He copied The Company files over onto the other computer and while I went through them, moving any documents that would be relevant to help take the shareholders down into a folder I titled “FBI Evidence”, Noah went to work decrypting more of the secret files. This “partnership” with Noah felt good, working with him, using my investigative skills to help. We worked well together, comfortable sitting next to each other, and the realization that he trusted in me made me vow to never betray him.

  Then he announced he was hungry and asked if I wanted something to eat. I followed him into the kitchen and watched while he made dinner. I had never cooked anything in my life. There had always been housekeepers or hired chefs that prepared meals in my parents’ house growing up. My mother didn’t cook, and I, in turn, had never learned how to cook. During college and my early days out on my own, I had lived off of simple microwave meals and takeout food. I wouldn’t have any idea how to cook a steak or fry potatoes if I tried. I would likely destroy anything I attempted to prepare.

  “What are you making?” I asked conversationally while he removed items from the refrigerator and set them on the countertop. “Can I help?”

  He glanced over his shoulder at me. “I read on your blog that you don’t like to cook.”

  Heat flushed into my cheeks. “You’ve read my blog?”

  “Yeah. I kind of stal
ked you online after your father tried to kill Logan that first time.” He turned away, color creeping up his neck and into his face. “I was worried you were a part of The Company. No offense.”

  Should I be offended by that? Strangely, I wasn’t.

  “None taken. But if you truly read my blog, then you would know that I don’t know how to cook. Not don’t like to cook. There’s a big difference.”

  He quirked a brow, glancing back at me. “Well then, would you like to learn how?”

  Unexpected warmth filled my chest. Was he flirting with me? I wasn’t sure, but I hoped he was. If he was going to be the teacher, then hell yes, I would be the student. I wanted to learn anything he was willing to teach me.

  I stepped up beside him. “Yes, I would like that.”

  There was surprise on his face as he glanced over at me. Then he grinned, and I found myself smiling back, a lightness filling my chest. Maybe we could overcome the distrust between us. Maybe we could have something special together.

  For the next hour, Noah instructed me in the kitchen, teaching me how to make fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and steamed vegetables. I quickly discovered that cooking was more difficult than I’d originally thought. I learned the chicken had to be prepared with just the right amount of seasoning and dipped properly in eggs and flour before frying in the pan. Frying too long burned it, while undercooking could poison us with salmonella. The potatoes had to be mashed to the perfect smooth creaminess with just the right about of butter and cream. The gravy had to be thickened and stirred to prevent lumpiness until it reached the right texture. And the vegetables steamed to just the right consistency. Too long and they would be soggy and unappetizing. Too short and they would be too crunchy.