Chapter Twenty-One

Dean

NightLocker: Hey Pixie

NightLocker: You busy?

PixieBurn: Not at the moment

PixieBurn: You miss me already?

NightLocker: Always

I grinned at the screen, congratulating myself on the restraint I’d demonstrated. I had waited an entire night before sending her a chat box this morning.

PixieBurn: Was thinking about you too

NightLocker: :)

NightLocker: You finish your secret important thing?

PixieBurn: For the moment

PixieBurn: Why?

NightLocker: I need your help

Something itched the back of my brain at her for the moment response. Whatever she had put into motion for the sake of our challenge seemed to have a bigger responsibility than she initially thought. I could tell that much by the way she’d dodged my questions yesterday. Which made me wonder if she could as easily tell that I was hiding something—that I’d been keeping her in the dark about just how far Tanner’s pull over me went. I rubbed my palms against my face, forcing those thoughts out of my head.

PixieBurn: I have a shift in a couple hours

PixieBurn: Want to meet me there early?

NightLocker: That works

NightLocker: Bring your gear

PixieBurn: Always ;)

She logged off, and I followed suit, shutting my screen. Packing up my gear only took a few minutes, and I had to remind myself not to speed to Amber’s work.

It wasn’t just the prospect of the team hack I had planned; it was her. I’d spent the entire day and night with her the day before yesterday, but I buzzed with excitement as the bell rang when I pushed through the coffee-comic-shop’s door.

Immediately, as if I couldn’t help it, my eyes were drawn to Amber, who occupied a table in the far back corner. Two white mugs steamed in front of her, but her eyes were glued to her laptop.

“Were you already here?” I asked, setting my bag down.

She hopped up from the table, throwing her arms around my neck. I breathed in her sweet scent, holding her light frame against my chest.

She missed me, too.

Win.

“Yes,” she said when she stepped out of our embrace and reclaimed her seat. “I had some work to do before my actual work.” She chuckled, motioning to the mug on my side of the table. “Americano,” she said.

“Thanks.” I sat and took a fast sip, glancing around the shop. It was dead this time of evening, everyone likely rushing home after work.

“So,” she said, lowering her voice, “what are we doing?”

I smirked, scooting around the table and lining my chair up with hers. I slid my laptop out of my bag and set it up. “You remember the Taylor Swift incident?”

She smiled after sipping her green tea. “How could I forget your sweet dance moves?”

I cringed a little. “Well, that was my brother.”

“Sean,” she said, arching a brow. “I’m helping you get revenge in a brotherly feud?”

“Too much?” I asked.

“Never. DC, right?” She clapped her hands together and rolled her neck. “What do you have planned?”

I lowered my voice to a whisper as if Sean had cameras and devices listening in everywhere, and told her the plan.

“Thoughts?”

“Brilliant.” She took another sip of tea. “But I’ve never done anything like this before. I don’t want to drag you down.”

So whatever she’d done for our challenge didn’t involve penetration. Good to know. I waved her off. “You could never drag me down,” I said. “You’re incredible. Why do you think I asked for your help?”

She’d likely be able to uncover the source of Ask Me Anything in one sitting. Last night, I had actually tried to track the person down—not that I would hand them over to Tanner, but for my own sanity. I hadn’t been able to get through their security. But…as much as I wanted her help, I had to keep her safe.

“Because you wanted a free Americano?” she teased, bringing me back to the task at hand.

“Well, yes, there is that.” I winked at her, drawing up the back door I’d always used to get into Sean’s computer.

“Here,” I said, sending it to her computer. “This is what I’m working off of.”

She clicked it open, her eyes reading the lines of code fast, the comprehension clicking near-instantaneously.

Damn, that’s hot.

I rested my hand on her jean-covered knee then immediately drew it back.

Focus.

Maybe roping her into this prank was a bad idea. She was one hell of a distraction.

“You okay?” she asked, shifting in her seat so her leg rested against mine.

“Perfect,” I said. “Just trying to learn how to hack while sitting this close to you.”

She leaned over and kissed me then, a fast, hard press of her lips that heated my blood.

“Wicked Pixie,” I said when she sat back in her seat.

“What’s the task?” she asked, a devilish grin on her beautiful lips.

“How about you change all his commands—”

“So anytime he tries to use one it responds with ‘No’?”

“Hell. Yes.” I nodded, amazed she was already one step ahead of me. “And I’ll do a screen shot overlay with removed icons.”

She laughed. Damn this girl was perfection.

“On it,” she said, her fingers flying over the keys as she slipped in the back door. It was no easy task—a process way above and beyond anything Griffin would ever teach us—but she was in as quickly as if I’d shown her how to do it step by step. I didn’t even have to tell her to patch the back door once she was inside—she did it automatically, knowing how to exploit the vulnerability but seal it behind her so no one else could do the same.

Brilliant.

With both of us working simultaneously, we might just get in, change the commands, and get out before Sean ever detected us. That’s why I’d needed her help to pull off a hack this big—the two of us cut the time in half.

And Sean more than deserved it.

An hour later, we’d managed to own his system. In addition to switching the commands and icon removal, we’d scrambled the functions, too. Pressing one would cause a different result than the original. He’d either have to learn the new pattern, or he’d have to destroy our code.

I knew he could do the latter in his sleep.

But it would still be funny as hell in the first few moments where he wouldn’t have a clue what was going on.

“Are you sure he won’t murder you for this?” Amber asked, packing away her laptop. “I would hate to lose my…” She stopped herself short.

“Your what?” I teased, tucking my gear away.

She shrugged, glancing at her mug. It was empty save for the few tea leaves that clung to the bottom.

I leaned in close to her, teasing her neck with the tip of my nose. “He won’t,” I said, loving that chills rose on her skin at my light touch. “He’ll be pissed at first. Then he’ll laugh. Then he’ll plot the next attack.” I sat back, eyeing her. “It’s what we’ve done for years.”

She smirked. “Ah, but you’ve stepped up your game. Recruiting help.”

I chuckled. “I have to. He’s way above my level.”

“You’re closer than you think, I bet.”

“Thanks,” I said. “But I’m not being humble. He’s skyrocketed his skill set in the last two years. Ever since Inkheart hired him. He’s getting paid for the kind of experience some people would kill for. They’re teaching him more than MIT.”

“Badass.”

“Yeah,” I said. “That’s one of the reasons why I’m going to own the TOC and rock a boot camp this summer. I want the experience to shine on my resume. And as long as MIT accepts me…”

“They will,” she said. “And here I am solely focused on getting that acceptance letter and not even thinking about getting hired by a company. I’m practically a slacker.”

I rolled my eyes. “That’s the last thing you are,” I said. “You’ll get your letter. I have no doubt.”

“Still. You have your whole future mapped out. I haven’t thought past March.”

I laughed, smoothing my hand over her back. “You don’t need to have a plan. You’re already going to slay Security Systems this summer.”

She tilted her head from side to side. “I am stoked I got into that one. I honestly didn’t think I would, with the selection process they go through. Mom about lost her mind when I told her the cost.” She shrugged. “I had more than half of it saved up.” She glanced at the counter. “And in about thirty minutes I’ll be clocking in to earn my way out of the loan she fronted for the rest.”

“You work harder than I do. I honestly didn’t think it was possible,” I teased. I was so lucky my parents hadn’t forced me to get a job. Between hacking and actual schoolwork, I rarely had time for anything else. Especially not a girlfriend…but here I was. Completely awestruck by Amber and beyond happy she was mine.

Both our cells buzzed on the table. I glanced at mine while Amber ignored hers.

“Another one?” I asked, half grumbling. “Where does this person find the time to post so much?” I spared a glance at her cell. “You’ve been following the blog, too?”

Amber narrowed her eyes on my cell. “Oh,” she said, slightly jolted. “Sometimes. Wait, you read the blogs?”

I swallowed hard, hating that I couldn’t tell her the truth…the reasons why I was following it. “Occasionally,” I said. “Tessa told me about it the last time I bribed her with a brownie session. It’s not like I’ve ever written in or commented or anything.”

I swiped to the left, my screen instantly filling with the person who Snapped about the blog—Sabrina—and saw her commentary and all the comments below hers. “Whoa,” I said, pausing in my quest to leave the group. “Tessa?” I squinted, recognizing her Snap handle.

“What?” Amber sat up straighter in her chair. “What’s she saying?”

I furrowed my brow, speed-reading. “Sabrina said something about the latest blog?” I glanced at her in question before continuing to read. “Said that the creator was a hack and that she’d been interested in it at first, but after hearing all the parents’ concerns, she thinks the person could be some creeper?”

“Bitch.”

I raised my brows at her response.

“What’s Tessa saying?” she asked again, much softer.

I read and reread all of Tessa’s comments. “She’s defending the blog. Said it’s helped her in more ways than one. Made her feel like she had a safe place to go to talk about stuff she couldn’t with other people. That Sabrina is…” Fuck me. “An attention whore.”

Amber chuckled but quickly stopped when she saw my face. “I’m sorry,” she said.

“The last thing Tessa needs is to be on Sabrina’s radar.” She was already on Tanner’s shit list and she didn’t even know it. I was doing everything I could to keep it that way, too. I rubbed my palms over my face. What was going on with her lately? Ghosting Sean’s and my texts was one thing—I already knew that was because of the prank—but she’d barely even been around the house lately. And now she was defending the sex blog I was tasked with unmasking?

Fuck. My. Life.

“Sabrina probably doesn’t take the time to read through all the comments,” Amber said, scooting back from her chair to stand. “It would take someone hours every day to go through that amount. She doesn’t have the patience or the care to.”

“I hope you’re right,” I said, slinging my bag over my shoulder. “Do you like the blog?”

“Yeah,” she said, her voice cracking a bit. Was she embarrassed about checking it out? “It’s…” She shrugged. “I don’t know.” She hooked her thumb toward the counter. “I’ve got to get ready for my shift.” She backed away as if I’d suddenly admitted I wanted to become a famous hacker who pulled stunts for the limelight.

“Okay,” I said, following to plant her with a goodbye kiss. She kissed me back, but I could feel the tension in her body, so I cut it super short. “Thanks for your help.”

“Always,” she said. “It was fun.”

“Sneaking into a system and changing commands, fun?” I grinned, covering my chest. “You’re a girl after my own heart.”

Heat rushed her cheeks as she headed toward the swinging door that led to the kitchen. “Isn’t it already mine?”

My lips popped open, the breath stalling in my lungs.

Hell yeah it is.

I nodded, dropping my hands. “You know it is.”

“Good,” she said, biting down on her smile. She spun around, hurrying behind the counter, then slipped a few brownies into a paper bag and handed them to me. “Go see Tessa,” she said. “Sounds like she could use her brother and another brownie session.”

“You always have the best ideas.”

“It’s a curse,” she said, and I did a double take at the worry cracking her flirty gaze.

“See you tomorrow, Pixie,” I said as she disappeared through the kitchen door.

I left in as big a hurry as I’d come. Suddenly wondering if I’d been so wrapped up in protecting Tessa that that I’d neglected her when she needed me. Concentrating my time on Amber, the TOC, and doing every little thing Tanner commanded wasn’t helping me be present, either.

Balance.

I needed to find it, and fast. Because things were already slipping through the cracks.

But being with Amber?

She was worth every single amount of effort it took to rearrange my life, because it just didn’t make sense without her at the heart of it.