Hacker Revelation (White Hat Security Book 5) Read online

  I’d been trying to get information about her husband or where they lived. If she didn’t give me the info soon. I was going to follow her home some night. Not in a creepy, serial-killer way, though. At least, not for her.

  “I’m okay. I need to study for my GED. I’m taking the test tomorrow.”

  Lily’s son, Tommy, was the reason she fought for a better life. “Mom’s going to pass the test. Then we’ll move away from Greg.”

  A shadow came across Lily’s face. I needed to figure out a way to protect Lily and Tommy or eliminate Greg. Antonio kept telling me I couldn’t help everyone. But over the last two weeks, I’d become close to Lily. We had formed a bond instantly, and she was part of my family now. I would do anything to protect her and her son.

  I took a seat at the round table and joined Lily and Tommy. “You’re right. Your mom will pass tomorrow. You know why your mom is going to pass?”

  The little man climbed into his mother’s lap. Her wince of pain didn’t go unnoticed. “Duh. Everyone knows. My mommy is the smartest.”

  “You’re so smart,” I told him. “I bet you will be a doctor when you grow up.”

  “Nope. A policeman to protect my mommy from bad men.”

  Those words broke my heart, and when I looked up, Lily’s eyes had a sheen to them. I thought Tommy might like to spend time with Antonio and Asher at AA Security. The little man would enjoy being told stories about the bad guys they had taken down. He would also get to spend time with good role models.

  “You will make an awesome police officer.” I pointed to the group of kids that played in the corner of the room. The center had added an area with toys and a jungle gym inside so the mothers could work on studies and keep an eye on their kids. I had learned that women who were abused at home didn’t like their kids being out of sight. “Why don’t you go play with Chance while I talk to your mommy?”

  Tommy jumped off Lily’s lap and ran toward his friends.

  When the little man reached the jungle gym, I asked my burning question. “Now, tell me why you are walking with a limp, favoring your left side, and wincing when someone touches you?”

  “How can you tell?”

  “I have a skill set.”

  She let out a sigh before answering. “Everyone around here talks about their past except you. How did you get this skill set? Were you a cop?”

  I’d been asked many times about my past. It had become a joke. I made up a new story each time I was asked, and now everyone wanted to hear what the next story would be. The kids loved to hear the stories I made up. The previous day, I had told them I was an ex-circus clown on the run. The foundation didn’t ask questions because Alexander Ross Sr. had brought me to the center and told everyone I was a new volunteer. Alexander Sr. was Antonio’s dad, and everyone at the clinic adored him.

  Something about Lily made me want to tell her the truth, but we needed to get her help first. “Stop changing the subject and answer the question.”

  “Tommy was having a hard time sleeping. Greg was supposed to be at wor—” Lily reached up and covered her eyes. The sound of her sob made my anger rise. “He got fired. Said it was my fault.”

  Any man that blamed the mother of his child for being fired deserved a slow, painful death. It looked like Betty and I were going hunting again. Betty was my sniper rifle. On second thought, Greg didn’t deserve a quick death. He deserved to be tortured for hours.

  There was no way Antonio would let me turn the basement into a torture chamber, so I mentally made a list of items I would need for a storage locker. My loving husband wanted me to acclimate myself back into society after being a world-renowned assassin. I didn’t think it was fair that Antonio still got to hunt people down and take them out.

  “Did you go to the hospital to make sure you were okay?”

  “Yeah. I have a broken rib. The doctor said it will heal in time.”

  Lily needed to find another place to stay. She used the outreach center for help with her GED, but she didn’t feel it was appropriate to take a bed when so many women lived on the street.

  “You can’t go home. I’m having one of Antonio’s men pick you up and take you to a safe house until we figure something else out.”

  The look on Lily’s face told me all I needed to know. She hadn’t planned to leave Greg. Many women stayed in abusive relationships because of fear or because they thought it was normal. Deep down in my gut, I felt Lily stayed because she didn’t think she could do any better. Years of being belittled had taken a drastic toll on her self-esteem.

  “No!” she shouted. “He will hurt your friends.”

  At her shout, everyone’s attention zeroed in on us. I waited for everyone in the room to go back to their conversations before I said, “I’ve taken on men ten times worse than Greg, and so has my husband’s staff.”

  “So you’ve said.”

  I ignored her remark and changed the subject. “I want to see if any of you ladies want to take a self-defense course. I can teach it in the craft room if we move the tables.”

  Lily’s shoulders tensed at my words.

  “If the violence is too much, I understand. You ladies mean so much to me. I want you to have all the things necessary to take care of yourself. But I understand if it is too violent.”

  “No, I want to learn on one condition. Tell me who taught you. I think you came here to heal something yourself, and if you don’t talk about it, you won’t be able to.”

  My story was so messed up that I highly doubted she would believe it. Over the years, I’ve made a lot of enemies who tricked me into thinking they were on my side. It was hard to trust people, but something about Lily made it easy to trust her. Deep down, I knew she wouldn’t betray me. She reminded me a lot of my sister’s friends, Bridget and Jessica.

  I took a deep breath. “You won’t believe me.”

  “Try me.”

  “I’m a retired assassin for the CIA.”

  Lily laughed so hard that she winced from the pain. “Oh my god, that is so funny.” When she noticed I hadn’t laughed, she sobered up quickly. “You’re serious?”

  “I said you wouldn’t believe me. But I’ve left the life behind.”

  “Umm, can you do that?”

  Most people in my position didn’t leave the CIA. They worked the job until they died or were eliminated. CIA agents were bred to protect the country, but Juan had forced me into it. I loved doing the work to protect the nation and our freedom, but it was so lonely, and I missed the family I had lost. While I was working for the CIA, I didn’t know they were still alive or I would have left earlier.

  Zane, Sophie’s boyfriend, was President Zack Tucker’s brother. It wasn’t Zane that called him, though. My husband did it. Antonio called the president of the United States and demanded he let me retire from the CIA. I was a little mad at Antonio for demanding I leave the only job I knew, but I understood where his demand came from. He had lost me once to the corruption in the government, and he wouldn’t let it happen again.

  Zack had asked to speak to me before giving Antonio his answer. Over the years, I had met the president a few times when I was briefed on cases.

  “POTUS allowed me to retire. I decided to take him up on the offer. I wanted to give back and help people in need.”

  “POTUS?”

  “President Zack Tucker.”

  “You’ve met the president of the United States?”

  Zack and Zane were two of the nicest men I knew. It had taken Zane a little while to get off his ass and go after my sister. He was pigheaded. Zack ordered Zane to clean up the CIA. Last I had heard, POTUS wanted Zane to take over the director position.

  “Sure. My sister is engaged to his brother Zane.”

  A loud scream interrupted our conversation, and we both looked toward the children’s play area. One of the kids had tripped on a toy fire truck and fell. Tommy and his friend played on the other side with a couple trucks.

  Seeing that Tommy was all right, Li
ly looked back at me with wonder in her eyes. “I want your life. You are the most fascinating person I’ve ever met.”

  On the outside, the life of an assassin sounded cool, but it was extremely lonely. But I hadn’t had a choice. Juan had threatened the only thing I cared about. Antonio Jr. was my life, and if keeping him safe meant I had to keep doing what Juan asked, I did. In the end, I got my husband and sister back, so maybe the years of loneliness had been worth what I had now.

  In two months, it would be Antonio Jr.’s birthday. It was the first we’d get to spend with my family. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I had a perfect life, and I wouldn’t go back to change anything.

  “You have an amazing boy, and you’re working on your GED. I’ve no doubt you are going places. We all need help from time to time.”

  “When was the last time you leaned on someone?”

  I grabbed the piece of paper in front of me and tore it into pieces. Thinking about the call we got from Ant’s school yesterday reminded me how I leaned on Antonio. “Our son went missing yesterday. Someone is after my sister and me and would use my son to get to us. I leaned on my husband, Antonio, for help.”

  If it hadn’t been for Antonio, I might have lost my mind. At the school, he maintained a calm demeanor and ordered people to do what he needed. When I learned he had put a tracking device in our son’s sneakers, I was angry that he had hidden something so important from me but happy, too, because we had found our son so easily.

  Antonio admitted he put a tracker in my shoes, too, so when we arrived home, I checked the inside of my shoes and found the device. I had agreed to keep it in place until we found Juan. Once Juan Sanchez was six feet underground or in the tummy of the alligator I kept fed, I’d be ditching the tracker.

  Lily grabbed the pencil from the table and pulled out her study materials. “That is one thing I will never do—lean on a man for help.”

  “Well, you are going to lean today. One of Antonio’s men will pick you up. You need time to heal. Not all men are like Greg. Let’s get you back on your feet, and then we can find someone for you.”

  “Nope. Never going to date again. Tommy is the only man I need.”

  After I thought Antonio had been shot and killed in the cafe, I closed my heart to love. I knew what true love was and thought I couldn’t feel for anyone else what I felt for Antonio. Lily, on the other hand, had dealt with an evil bastard. She didn’t understand true love and how to put all your trust in one person’s hands.

  Antonio’s face flashed in my mind. “Closing your heart to love won’t help. In time, you’ll find a man you can trust.”

  “I’m worried I won’t get to that place in my life. Greg is never going away.” She shrugged her shoulders. “If I move on, he could hurt anyone I date. Why would I do that to someone?”

  “Oh, honey. Don’t worry about Greg. I will have Antonio and his team look into him. We will make sure nothing happens to you.”

  “I don’t have money to pay for his services.”

  “We aren’t going to charge you.” Lily didn’t need to know that I would pay for the services. I had decided it was time I used my trust fund to help people. Juan had used it for years to destroy people’s lives. It was time the money was used for good.

  “I can’t expect you to do that for free. When I find a job, I will pay him to help me.”

  “How many ways do I need to say this, Lily? We will not take your money. Have you ever heard of the Ross family?”

  “Yes. Those people are rich. I believe they fund this outreach center. What does that have to do with anything?”

  “I’m married to Antonio Ross. Yes, they are rich, and I have a lot of money of my own. We don’t need you paying us. Let us help you. When you are on your feet, you can pay it forward.”

  Lily looked at me, appearing slightly stunned. “Fine.”

  “Okay, get back to studying. I’m going to talk to Lisa about setting up the class. I will be back tomorrow. Stay safe.”

  I reached into my pocket, pulled out my phone, and sent Antonio a text asking him to have one of his men pick up Lily and her son and take them to a safe house. His reply came back immediately, telling me Jacob would pick them up in an hour.

  Jacob was one of the newer men that worked for Antonio. He had left the navy two months earlier. He was on the shy side and didn’t talk much.

  I went back to where Lily sat. “Lily, a man named Jacob will be here in one hour. He is your new bodyguard. Please don’t give him any trouble.” When it looked like she would argue, I held up my hand. “Please let me do this, if not for you, then for Tommy.”

  She shook her head, stood up, and wrapped me in a hug. “You are an amazing woman.”

  Lily went back to her table to study. I felt the weight of the world lift from my shoulders, knowing Lily would be watched by one of Antonio’s men. I was positive she would pass her GED tomorrow—she nailed every practice test she took—and the foundation would help her find a job.

  I walked down the hall in the back of the building toward the shelter coordinator’s office. The white walls were filled with artwork made by the kids that had passed through the shelter. The pictures showed such hope and happiness.

  When I arrived at Lisa’s office, the door was partially open. I knocked and pushed the door open. “Hey, Lisa. Do you have a second?”

  Lisa Alvarez was in her late fifties. She had worked for the shelter since the day it opened. Lisa was nothing but positive with the women and kids that came through. She took the time to help everyone and make sure they were getting the best care she could offer.

  “Sure. What can I do for you?”

  “I was wondering if I could host a self-defense class for the ladies.”

  “Oh, we’ve wanted to do one for so long, but the shelter couldn’t afford to bring in an instructor. Any tips you have for the ladies will help. You’ve done so much since you started volunteering. It means the world to these ladies.”

  I felt like I hadn’t done enough. The classes would give these women a bit of a fighting chance, and it might help to boost their confidence.

  “Thank you for letting me help and teach the class. I want to give back. I would like to start the classes this week if you could coordinate getting people to take them. Any day is fine for me to teach.”

  Lisa looked excited. “It sounds like a plan.”

  “After a few classes, I can bring some volunteer men.” When Lisa looked like she would protest, I added, “I understand some of the women might shy away from them. But these are men I trust completely to help the women learn the best way to take them down. The women can practice on them.”

  Before I left, I let Lisa know about Lily and that I was hiring a bodyguard for her. Lisa told me I couldn’t afford to fix every woman’s problem, but she didn’t know I had a billion dollars sitting in the bank or that I would use all the money to help these women get on their feet.

  “Have a good night,” I said to her on my way out.

  3

  Antonio

  For the past month, I hadn’t been able to keep the smile off my face. My dead wife was alive, and we had the most beautiful son. I couldn’t remember how many nights I had lain in bed wishing for my wife back or wishing I had died in that café with her. When her face had appeared in that op folder, I thought I had lost my mind.

  I was in the briefing room, and the men who sat around me would do anything I asked. For the past month, they had worked to track Juan Sanchez. Every time they got close, he slipped out of their hands. The bomb planted in Sophie’s car was too much. We needed to get this guy off the streets.

  “Sitrep,” I barked.

  The men in the room were used to my abrupt attitude, and that Juan was still on the loose had my nerves on end. I couldn’t lose my wife again, and she was one of Juan’s main targets. Thankfully, Kat trusted me to take care of the situation.

  CJ leaned back in the chair opposite me. “Good morning to you too. I had
hoped, since you were finally getting some, you would be a bit less brusque.”

  Asher and CJ had been living together for the past eight months, and a few weeks ago, Asher had finally proposed.

  But CJ worked for White Hat Security, not AA Security. “Why are you here?”

  Asher leaned forward in his leather chair. “Stop with the attitude. He’s helping us with the Sanchez case.”

  I shook my head. “Sorry, CJ. I’m on my last nerve. We need to find this guy. I’m sick of looking over my shoulder.”

  The door to the conference room swung open, and Zane stepped in. Zane had started to work at AA Security a week ago. For the previous couple of months, he had helped his brother, President Zack Tucker, clean up the CIA. But Zane wanted to be close to his fiancée, Sophie, and that meant leaving the CIA. He also wanted to find Juan as badly as Kat and I did.

  “Looking over your shoulder for what?”

  “If you would show up to work on time, you would know,” I snapped.

  Zane lowered himself into the chair next to mine and picked up the operation file. “I’ll ignore your attitude. Sophie is nervous about driving by herself, and that woman takes forever to get ready in the morning.”

  At Zane’s words, guilt hit me in the chest. Zane wouldn’t have been late for work if he didn’t have a reason. Zane had mentioned the other day that Sophie still hadn’t driven a car by herself since she’d been trapped in her car, sitting on top of a ticking bomb.

  “You’re right. You need to take care of Sophie. As I was telling these guys, I’m sick of Sanchez, and we need to take him down. I want him dead, and I don’t care what your brother wants, even if he is the president of the United States. He needs to learn that some people are better dead than alive.”

  “I agree. Zack won’t give the kill order even though he knows what happened with Sophie. There is no way I’m bringing the man in alive.” There was no hesitation in Zane’s voice. He and I were on the same page about Juan. We both planned to kill him and not turn him over.