“Of course, I could if I had the right equipment, but I don’t have a chip reader with me. I must have left it back at my lab.” She rolled her eyes.
He raised an eyebrow at her. “Funny. How was I supposed to know you’re a hacker, not a computer programmer with a lab? It wasn’t like you or Drake bothered to share that information.”
Dani sniffed. “Whatevs. We have to go to a registration or concierge desk to get them reprogrammed. And we can’t exactly ask them to do it because they’ll look us up in the system, and we’re not in that room. I can switch us to that room, but I’m betting the guys after me have access to the system, too, so it would defeat the purpose.”
Gage nodded and ran a hand through his hair. “What the hell is taking this elevator so long?”
Just then the doors opened.
“Jeremy!” Gage said. “Just the man I wanted to see.” Gage grabbed Dani’s arm and moved her into the elevator, blocking Jeremy’s exit.
Jeremy’s smile faltered. “Ah, this is a crew elevator. The regular elevators are back that way.” He pointed toward the other end of the ship.
“No worries, Jeremy. We’re just going to borrow this elevator and you for a couple of minutes.” Gage hit the close door button.
“Um, Mr…?” He waited for Gage to fill in the name but when he didn’t, Jeremy continued, “What can I do for you?” His eyes flicked back and forth rapidly between Dani and Gage.
“Jeremy, we’re in a bit of a difficult situation. You see, we came on board to avoid seeing some people, but they seemed to have found us. We need to switch to a different cabin.”
Jeremy’s face cleared. “Oh, well. I’m not sure we have any empty ones, but if we do, they can help you at the main desk on deck eight.” His smile was back.
“See, the thing is, Jeremy, we can’t book it under our names. We can’t have those people finding us again.”
“Um, I’m not sure what I can do to help.” Jeremy’s eyeballs were back to flicking from Gage to Dani at lightning speed. His face went pale. This kid was going to either pass out or puke at the rate he was going.
Gage shifted his stance so he wasn’t leaning over the kid quite the same way. “Relax, Jeremy. We just need you to do us a small favor. We already know which cabin is free. We just need you to reprogram the medallions to open the door.”
“But they can do that for you at the main desk.”
The elevator doors opened, but Gage shifted his weight again to block Jeremy’s exit. No one moved. The doors closed silently.
“I know that, but as we explained, we can’t have our names attached to it. So if you could just program the medallions to open the door and not add our names, that would be great.”
Jeremy’s eyes grew to the size of golf balls. “Ah, um, I can’t do that. I’d lose my job. I mean…if anyone caught me, that would be the end. I need this job. I send money back to my family. They need me to work. I j-j-just can’t.”
Dani cleared her throat. “How much money?”
Jeremy looked at her. “W-w-what?”
“How much money do you send them?”
“Um, well…” Jeremy swallowed.
“Thirty thousand dollars. Sound about right?” Dani asked.
Jeremy made choking noises.
Gage swung around to stare at Dani. Shit. He didn’t have that kind of money. He was thinking a few hundred. Was she crazy? “I—”
Dani said, “I know how little cruise lines pay. That’s more than you could send home in a year or even two years. I’ll transfer the money to your family, and you’ll help us. Deal?”
Jeremy’s Adam’s apple was bobbing like a piston in a hemi engine.
“Thirty grand. Yes or no?” Dani’s voice was ice. Gage had to admit he was impressed with her nerve. She has serious balls. He just had no intention of giving the kid thirty grand.
“Ah, y-y-es,” Jeremy stammered and then nodded several times.
Dani leaned over on her side of the elevator and put her finger over the keypad. “Which floor?”
“Deck four.”
Dani hit the button. “Okay, do you have the bank information for your parents?”
“Yes.” Jeremy’s voice was getting stronger. He was getting used to the idea. Or he was making a plan to sell them out, the voice in the back of Gage’s head reminded him. The elevator doors opened on deck four. He told the voice to shut up and followed along behind Dani and Jeremy.
“Give me the numbers.” Dani handed Jeremy her phone, and he started typing.
“You’re taking us somewhere to program the medallions, right, Jeremy?” Gage asked.
Jeremy nodded but kept on writing. Dani got her laptop out of her backpack and handed the pack to Gage. She booted up as they walked. Jeremy handed her the phone.
They turned right and then made a quick left. Jeremy walked them through a rabbit warren of hallways and then stopped at an office door.
“How do I know you’ll do what you promised?” Jeremy asked. He eyed them as his hands curled into fists.
Gage didn’t blame him one bit for being suspicious. He felt badly for lying to the kid about the money. It wasn’t his lie. He looked at Dani, but she was still typing on her laptop. It was hers, and he was pissed she’d put them in this position. “Look, Jeremy—”
“Here.” Dani turned the laptop screen so Jeremy and Gage could see it. There on the screen was a transaction record of a money transfer for fifteen thousand dollars. Jeremy blinked. Swallowed hard and nodded.
“You’ll get the other fifteen thousand when we get into the new room.”
Jeremy nodded again. “Stay here.” He opened the office door and then closed it after him.
“I don’t like this,” Gage said as he leaned his back against the wall. “For all we know, he’s in there selling us out to the ship’s security.”
“No, he’s not.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because he just saw his parents’ account go up by fifteen thousand dollars. He wouldn’t jeopardize that. They live in the Philippines. Do you know how far thirty thousand will go over there? Even if he gets caught, it will be worth it for him. Trust me.”
Gage studied her face. Her color was back to normal, and the fear was gone from her eyes. Her hands weren’t shaking, and she wasn’t worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. Matter of fact, she looked relaxed. The most relaxed he had ever seen her. This was her world. She was used to doing this type of thing. The realization hit him like a punch to the gut. He blinked and swallowed hard. Just who the hell was this woman?
“The transfer looked real. It was a hell of a good fake.”
“It wasn’t a fake,” Dani said and then yawned.
“Wait. What? You really transferred fifteen thousand into the account?”
Dani raised an eyebrow. “What do you think? I would lie to the guy? Of course, I did.”
Gage’s vision was suddenly tinged with red. “So, what? You’re going to take it back when this is finished? And where did you get the fifteen K?” Maybe he’d misjudged her. Maybe she wasn’t nice to anyone but old ladies.
Dani snorted. “You do know that I’m a hacker, right? Money, banks, it’s just all ones and zeros. If you know what you’re doing, there’s an endless supply.”
Gage froze. Was she serious? Holy shit. It had never occurred to him that she stole money from people. She was a bank robber. No, a thief. A hacker. Just like the one that killed his best friend. He ran his hands through his hair and then rubbed his eyes with the heal of his palms. He had misjudged her. He’d let his emotional response to her block his common sense. He needed to do better. She was a job and nothing more.
“Banks are insured. It’s a victimless crime.” Dani leaned her back against the wall.
Gage’s hands closed into fists. “You’re unbelievable.” He laughed with no humor. “If I had your skill, I would still be in the Navy. Hell, if I had a fraction of your ability, I could have saved my best friend’s life. An
d you’re wasting it on stealing money. Do you even care about the law?” He rubbed his eyes again and swore.
The door opened, and Jeremy came out. He silently handed Gage and Dani each a medallion wrist band. “All set for the suite you requested. You’re good to go.”
Dani nodded. “Okay, now take us there, and we’ll make sure they work.”
Jeremy closed the door and started off down the hallway. Dani and Gage fell in behind him. After what seemed like a dozen twists and turns, they went through a door into the crew mess hall. There were a few people sitting around the room but no one looked up. Then they were out a door into another long hallway. There was a tremendous vibration coming through the wall on the left. It had to be the mechanical area including the engine casings on the other side of the wall. Gage’s head ached and the vibration made his chest thrum.
He glanced at Dani. Her step faltered for a moment and she paled, but then she put her head down and kept moving, following Jeremy along the deck. No matter how angry he was at her, he had to admire her gumption. She just kept moving forward.
Thirty seconds later, Jeremy opened a door and they were back on the passenger side of the ship. Jeremy took them to the elevator bank, and they got on the first one. Just before the doors closed, a hand popped around the door. Gage tensed, ready to pounce. But the doors opened to reveal a group of elderly people in brightly colored clothing. Gage offered them a slight smile as they piled on.
“Thanks for waiting for us,” one of the ladies said.
Jeremy’s smile was back. “Did you all have a nice time onshore?”
“We did! It was lovely. So many cute shops. Molly, my daughter, is just going to love the fingerless mittens I got her,” said the lady in bright yellow. There were murmurs of assent.
“Too bad about the weather, though.” An old guy with a bushy mustache wearing a gray sweater was shaking his head. “Some big storm coming in. Apparently, it hit hard in Juneau and now it’s coming here. I heard the ship was hoping to outrun it to Vancouver, but no such luck.” He glanced at Jeremy for confirmation.
“I’m sure the captain is keeping an eye on it. We should be fine.” Jeremy gave them the full smile treatment as the doors opened to their floor. The elderly filed off first with Jeremy, Gage, and Dani lagging behind. They waited a beat, and then when the gaggle of gray hairs had moved off to the left down the hallway, Jeremy turned to the right. He walked them all the way to the end.
“Here you go.” He pointed to the door.
Gage leaned forward and help up the medallion. He heard the click and pushed the door open, half expecting to be met by some sort of security firing squad. Instead he faced a solid wall decorated with an abstract painting meant to look like a bear in the Alaskan wilderness.
To his left, a twenty-foot wall of glass, that must stretch across the whole room, framed a view of the picturesque town. More importantly, thanks to the position of the suite in the center front section of the ship, he could see water, lots and lots of it. They were facing out to the waterway.
Instinctively, he moved to block Dani’s view, but she had her nose in her laptop. How the hell she was going to function in this room was beyond him, but he had to make it work. They had no other choice.
“Here,” she said, showing Jeremy the screen, and he smiled.
“The other fifteen K has been transferred as promised.” Dani turned the laptop back around. “Now, we’re going to need a few other things.”
Jeremy’s smile melted off his face. “Like what?”
“Don’t worry. Nothing crazy. Just food and things like that. We can’t go out on deck because we don’t want to be seen.”
Jeremy still hesitated.
Dani’s eyes narrowed. “There’s another ten K when we dock in Vancouver if you continue to help us.”
“Deal!” Jeremy offered his hand, an ear-to-ear grin splitting his face.
Dani grabbed his hand but held it still. “Just remember…there’s no money if we get busted.”
He saluted her and grinned again. “Aye, aye. No worries. I’ll bring you dinner in a bit. In the meantime, there’s snacks and stuff here in the suite. See you later.” Jeremy gave a half wave and left the suite.
Dani finally closed her laptop and looked at Gage. She must have seen something in his face because uncertainty flashed across her own. She took a quick step to the right. He tried to block her, but he was too late. She took in the glass wall and the view. The blood drained from her face, leaving it chalk white. She turned and deliberately placed her laptop on the table in the entry way, stumbled back a step, and then slowly sank to the floor.
Chapter Twelve
Dani’s lungs stopped working. Her legs were as useless as pipe cleaners, unable to hold her weight. Her entire body shook with a ferocity that was painful. Water was everywhere. She was surrounded. She was going to drown. Her body was desperate for oxygen but not getting any. Her vision was closing to small circles of light.
Suddenly, she was jerked to her feet and her head was pushed down between her knees. Her entire weight was resting on a steel band around her hips. It hurt. She wanted to shift her weight, but her legs still wouldn’t hold her. Slowly, her vision was coming back. Her lungs expanded fully for the first time in what seemed like forever.
She registered that someone was rubbing her back and making soothing sounds. Gage. The steel band was his arm. He was holding her. Helping her so she wouldn’t pass out.
Heat crept down her neck to her cheeks. It was mortifying. She was a strong woman. Tough. And yet she damn near passed out at the site of…water.
She’d chosen Juneau on the spur of the moment. It was remote and surrounded by mountains. Also it was cold, and she liked the idea of living in a small cozy cabin with a fireplace. She’d known it was on the water but figured she could work around that, and she had. She just looked down. A lot. Her strategy included not leaving the house unless she had to. Now she was on a ship surrounded by water. She seriously needed to do more planning next time. If she lived through this. Shit.
“I’m okay,” she said as she struggled to stand.
“Are you sure? Gage asked as he continued to rub her back.
“Yes.” Dani half turned and swung herself up so that she was facing him head on. But her knees had other ideas and started to buckle.
Gage caught her and held her to his chest with the arm that had been around her hips. His eyes roamed over her face as he casually rested his other hand on her hip. “You’re still pale.”
“I—I’m fine. Really.” But she made no effort to move. She couldn’t move even if she wanted to. Her legs were still too weak to hold her. A tremor went through her. Gage slipped both arms around her and held her more tightly.
“Maybe just give me a minute,” she managed to mumble. Mortified that she needed this long to recover, she couldn’t look up at him, so she placed her forehead on his chest.
It’s only water. You drink it. You shower in it every day. She’d been telling herself these things for years. Never really made a difference, though. She bit her lip and tried to focus on something else. Running lines of code in her head usually calmed her down, but it was damn hard to do with her body pressed against Gage’s.
The urge to run her hands over his chest made her palms itch. His woodsy, citrusy scent was intoxicating. The hardness of his body against her softness. They seemed to fit together perfectly. She looked up to find him staring down at her.
Her mouth was parched. When she licked her lips to relieve the dryness, his eyes followed her tongue. They changed color, turning a deeper blue, and his pupils dilated.
She tilted her head a bit more and studied his lips. She wanted to know what they would feel like on hers, what they would taste like. Her glance went back to his eyes, and their gazes locked. Dani slowly raised her lips and brushed them softly against his. She froze, waiting for him to react. He made no move, as if afraid she’d bolt if he made any sudden movement.
She brus
hed his lips again, this time lingering. Finally, when she was about to give up, he lowered his head and captured her mouth with his. He touched her lips with his tongue and traced their outline. She willingly opened her mouth, and he responded in kind, their tongues meeting in a slow dance that made Dani desperate for more.
She moved one hand to fist the back of his hair while wrapping the other around Gage’s back where she spread her fingers wide, trying to feel all of him at once. She flattened her body along his. His hard plains against her soft ones excited her.
Gage wrapped his arms tightly around her. One hand moved to cup her butt and lifting and pressing her against his length. His other hand tangled in her hair and held her head in place. He deepened the kiss.
Her belly somersaulted. Gage’s skin was hot beneath her fingers. She wanted to rip the man’s clothes off and have him right there on the carpet.
The wave of desire that washed over her was so incredibly intense it scared her. She’d never been like this. Not once in her life. She’d had sex before with a few different partners and never had she ever wanted anyone like this. She stiffened as that thought echoed around in her head. What the hell was going on? Was it because she’d been so afraid?
Gage realized she had stopped responding and pulled back, searching her face. “Are you okay?”
“Ahhh…” She blinked. “Yes.” She stepped away from Gage and stumbled a bit but managed to avoid his arm when he reached to help her. She saw his expression change from open to wary. He ran a hand through his hair.
She cleared her throat. “I’m fine now.” She was having a problem meeting his gaze. The heat was creeping back up her neck and cheeks again. She started to turn but caught site of the windows and whipped back around quickly.
“Um, can you close the blinds, please?”
Gage shook his head. “No.”
Dani blinked rapidly. “What do you mean, no? You have to close the blinds.”
“No, I can’t close the blinds.” Gage who had been leaning against the wall took a step forward toward her and frowned.
She promptly stepped away and glared at him. “Why the hell not? You want me to be sick and helpless? Is that what this is? Take advantage of me?”
Hit and Run: A Thrilling Novel of Romantic Suspense (Callahan Security series Book 3) Page 8
