Read Online Love and Wargames: A Bad Boy Hacker Romance by Tabatha Kiss - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Tabatha Kiss
Ads: Link
don’t typically see on civilians in France.”
“Yikes,” I react, hanging on every word. “What did you do?”
“I said a damn prayer and hoped it’d be quick,” he laughs. “Then this woman walked up. Tall, blonde, older — probably in her fifties but I got kind of a cougar vibe from her—”
“Carson.”
“Right—” He shakes his head. “Obviously, she asked what the hell I was doing there and I explained everything. Just a poor boy with nothing on him but lint and a computer, looking for a way back home.”
“And?”
“And… she offered me a job.”
I blink. “What?”
He pats his computer. “She was really interested in knowing what I could do — seeing as how I managed to override her home security system and disable the alarms so I could get in. Which was not easy, by the way. By far the most advanced system I’ve ever stumbled upon. The conversation quickly turned kind of scary but I wasn’t about to piss off the woman with the two hired guns standing behind me, watching my every move.”
“What kind of scary?”
He takes a breath and his eyes shift around us for prying ears. “She started talking about United States military servers and whether or not I’d be able to crack into them to gather personnel files.”
I furrow my brow. “What kind of personnel files?”
“Mission debriefings, confirmed kills. Pretty much anything I could find on active duty soldiers currently deployed,” he says, his voice low. “People like you guys.”
I pause. “What did she want with that?”
“Honestly, I was too scared to ask,” he admits, “but it seemed like they were recruiting soldiers for something.”
“Any idea what for?” I ask. He shakes his head. “Why didn’t you say no?”
“I got the feeling I didn’t have a choice.”
Comply or die. Can’t say I wouldn’t do the same. “Did you catch her name?”
“She never said it,” he answers. “The others just kept calling her boss . Anyway… the next morning, she put me on a helicopter and flew me down here with her two goons and two other hackers she hired to do the same thing. About a week went by and then…”
His voice falls and I see the fear in his eyes. “What?” I ask.
“I guess they got what they wanted out of us,” he says slowly. “They lined the three of us up and I watched as they shot the others dead.” He points to his eyes. “One bullet through each eye, like a damn execution.”
A chill runs down my spine. “How did you escape?”
“A bomb struck our building during the raid,” he says. “They got distracted for a moment and I ran like hell. I didn’t get very far, just hid out in another warehouse in the compound but then that one got hit, too. When I couldn’t get out, I sent that fake intel.”
I nod. “And three days later…”
“You and Fox showed up to dig me out.”
I sit back, wheels spinning in my head. “That’s quite the story.”
“It’s all true, Caleb,” he says. “Every word.”
“It sounds crazy.”
“You don’t believe me?”
I pause, studying his deep, green eyes, looking for any tell I can find that will show me if he’s lying but I come up short. “It’s not completely unbelievable.”
“Then you’re gonna love this,” he says, opening his laptop again. He brings up the security footage and pushes play. “Meet the two goons that brought me down here.”
I stare at the footage, watching as the bald man and the bearded man pass by the cameras. “They’re the ones that killed the other hackers?” He nods. “Are you sure?”
“I wouldn’t forget those faces. They’re here… somewhere,” he murmurs and his eyes shift around again as if he’s being watched.
“You’re safe here, Carson,” I tell him. “No one’s going to find you out here.”
“I’m not worried about me. I’m worried about the next poor boy that gets caught in their crosshairs.”
“You should go to Rhys with this—”
“I’m not about to admit to
“Yikes,” I react, hanging on every word. “What did you do?”
“I said a damn prayer and hoped it’d be quick,” he laughs. “Then this woman walked up. Tall, blonde, older — probably in her fifties but I got kind of a cougar vibe from her—”
“Carson.”
“Right—” He shakes his head. “Obviously, she asked what the hell I was doing there and I explained everything. Just a poor boy with nothing on him but lint and a computer, looking for a way back home.”
“And?”
“And… she offered me a job.”
I blink. “What?”
He pats his computer. “She was really interested in knowing what I could do — seeing as how I managed to override her home security system and disable the alarms so I could get in. Which was not easy, by the way. By far the most advanced system I’ve ever stumbled upon. The conversation quickly turned kind of scary but I wasn’t about to piss off the woman with the two hired guns standing behind me, watching my every move.”
“What kind of scary?”
He takes a breath and his eyes shift around us for prying ears. “She started talking about United States military servers and whether or not I’d be able to crack into them to gather personnel files.”
I furrow my brow. “What kind of personnel files?”
“Mission debriefings, confirmed kills. Pretty much anything I could find on active duty soldiers currently deployed,” he says, his voice low. “People like you guys.”
I pause. “What did she want with that?”
“Honestly, I was too scared to ask,” he admits, “but it seemed like they were recruiting soldiers for something.”
“Any idea what for?” I ask. He shakes his head. “Why didn’t you say no?”
“I got the feeling I didn’t have a choice.”
Comply or die. Can’t say I wouldn’t do the same. “Did you catch her name?”
“She never said it,” he answers. “The others just kept calling her boss . Anyway… the next morning, she put me on a helicopter and flew me down here with her two goons and two other hackers she hired to do the same thing. About a week went by and then…”
His voice falls and I see the fear in his eyes. “What?” I ask.
“I guess they got what they wanted out of us,” he says slowly. “They lined the three of us up and I watched as they shot the others dead.” He points to his eyes. “One bullet through each eye, like a damn execution.”
A chill runs down my spine. “How did you escape?”
“A bomb struck our building during the raid,” he says. “They got distracted for a moment and I ran like hell. I didn’t get very far, just hid out in another warehouse in the compound but then that one got hit, too. When I couldn’t get out, I sent that fake intel.”
I nod. “And three days later…”
“You and Fox showed up to dig me out.”
I sit back, wheels spinning in my head. “That’s quite the story.”
“It’s all true, Caleb,” he says. “Every word.”
“It sounds crazy.”
“You don’t believe me?”
I pause, studying his deep, green eyes, looking for any tell I can find that will show me if he’s lying but I come up short. “It’s not completely unbelievable.”
“Then you’re gonna love this,” he says, opening his laptop again. He brings up the security footage and pushes play. “Meet the two goons that brought me down here.”
I stare at the footage, watching as the bald man and the bearded man pass by the cameras. “They’re the ones that killed the other hackers?” He nods. “Are you sure?”
“I wouldn’t forget those faces. They’re here… somewhere,” he murmurs and his eyes shift around again as if he’s being watched.
“You’re safe here, Carson,” I tell him. “No one’s going to find you out here.”
“I’m not worried about me. I’m worried about the next poor boy that gets caught in their crosshairs.”
“You should go to Rhys with this—”
“I’m not about to admit to
Similar Books
