White-Hot Hack

by Tracey Garvis Graves

  Shortly after Joshua Morrison walked out of prison, Charlie had been sitting in his office at FBI headquarters on an otherwise normal Tuesday when a message popped up on his computer screen: WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE. Charlie had known immediately who’d sent it, and before he started dating Jade, it hadn’t bothered him much. “My badge came with a gun,” he’d told Ian. “I’m not concerned.”

  But even after he’d fallen in love with Jade, he kept her at arm’s length because he worried about putting her at risk. She set him straight one day and told him that after she lost her husband, she vowed not to worry about things that might never happen. She lived her life in the moment, and Charlie decided that sounded like a good plan for him too.

  They ate dinner on the lawn with a breathtaking view of the ocean. Adults and children alike gathered at a long rectangular table and dined on blackened snapper and marinated tuna caught fresh that morning. There was shrimp and steak and crab, and so many side dishes that Kate reminded everyone to save room for birthday cake.

  They brought it out after dinner—a large sheet cake for the guests and a small single-layer cake for the birthday boy. Kate stuck a candle in the shape of the number one into the center of it, and after she lit it, they all crowded around Spyder to sing. On the third stanza, everyone but Ian’s mother sang, “Happy Birthday, dear Spyder,” because Ellen had never been able to call her grandson anything but William.

  Kate stripped him down to his diaper when they finished singing and set the small cake on the tray of his high chair. He grabbed fistfuls of cake and smeared frosting in his hair, and when all that was left of it was a smashed pile of sticky crumbs, they took him swimming because a dip in the ocean would always be infinitely more fun than the bathtub.

  The sun sank lower on the horizon, and the sky filled with streaks of pink and orange. The excitement of the day had finally caught up with Spyder, and he’d fallen asleep facedown on Ian’s chest, still wrapped in his beach towel. Kate, Kristin, and Jade were watching as Shelby and Molly dipped wands into a bucket of soap suds and ran across the grass, their giant bubbles trailing behind them. Diane, Susan, and his mother joined them.

  “You were right,” Ian said. “There are a lot of women here.”

  “Quite a few men too. Must be hard for a loner like you.”

  Ian laughed and took a drink of his beer. “My wife may have convinced me life is more enjoyable when you’re surrounded by family and friends, but you can be replaced.”

  “I’m not gonna lose sleep over it, Bradshaw. We both know I’m the only one who can put up with you.”

  “You’re not the only one,” he said, because if he had to choose the person responsible for turning him into the man he was today, Kate would win in a landslide.

  “How are things going with the company?” Charlie asked.

  “We’ve got more work than we can handle.” He and Kate had grown the business at a steady rate, but they took on only the clients that interested them, and if the assignment couldn’t be done from their home office, they passed. They put in no more than three to four hours per day; less if they didn’t feel like it. And when Ian needed legal services, he need not look farther than across the breakfast table. He quite liked having his own in-house attorney.

  Shelby took Grandma Ellen’s hand and attempted to pull her away from the group on the lawn, no doubt because she wanted to sing another song and knew her grandmother would always listen. His mother said a few words to Kate who smiled and nodded her head. He’d noticed that she always deferred to her, as if she wasn’t sure of her place, but Kate never once made it seem as if she didn’t have every right to be there. Maybe she came by it naturally; the Wattses were remarkable when it came to forgiveness.

  “Do you miss it?” Charlie asked, and Ian didn’t have to ask him what he meant.

  “Sometimes. But if you live your life convinced you’re missing out on something, that’s exactly what will happen.”

  “What are my two favorite hackers up to?” Kate asked when she joined them on the deck.

  Ian shifted Spyder so there was room on his lap for her.

  “You don’t even want to know,” Charlie said.

  “Don’t believe him,” Ian said. “He’s all talk.”

  Shelby spotted them and ran to join the rest of her family. She plunked down on Kate’s lap, and Ian wrapped his arms tightly around all of them.

  “Looks like your lap is pretty full there, Bradshaw,” Charlie said.

  Ian smiled at Kate. “Nah. I’ve got the perfect amount of room.”

  Later, Kate’s parents, his mom, and Phillip and Susan lingered at the kitchen table drinking coffee. From across the room, Ian caught Kate’s eye and beckoned her with the crook of his finger. When she reached him, he put his arms around her.

  “Our beach?” he whispered in her ear.

  “Yes,” she said.

  Shelby and Spyder were fast asleep with no shortage of adults in the house available to do their bidding should they awaken and need anything.

  The full moon cast its glow on the water as Ian drove the golf cart past the security building and Rob’s bungalow. Their destination was half a mile farther, tucked inside a small cove. It was private, and they were the only ones who were allowed there.

  Kate spread a blanket out on the sand and Ian popped the cork on the bottle of champagne he’d brought to surprise her.

  “There are no strawberries,” he said as he filled their glasses.

  “You’re slipping, Bradshaw.”

  “I brought birthday cake instead.” He unwrapped it and fed Kate a bite from his fingers.

  “Who needs strawberries?” she said as she licked the frosting from his thumb. “Cake is so much better.”

  They shared the cake, stopping occasionally to take a drink of champagne and exchange sugary kisses. “I’m as sticky as Spyder,” Ian said when they were done.

  “Then it’s straight into the ocean with you.”

  “Only if you join me.”

  “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” She took his empty champagne glass and laid it on the blanket next to hers. “Take off all your clothes.”

  He shook his head slowly, as if he couldn’t believe her request. “It’s always the same with you, Katie. ‘Take off your clothes, Ian. Turn around in a circle, Ian.’ I’m starting to feel objectified.”

  She grinned. “I’m waiting.”

  He stood and stripped off his shirt. Unbuttoned his shorts and let them fall.

  “Keep going.”

  He put his fingers in the waistband of his boxer briefs and they landed on the sand. He gave her a lengthy, three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view of his body. “Stunning, isn’t it?”

  “Humble as ever.”

  “Come here.”

  She went to him and he stripped her of her clothes. Her skin glowed in the moonlight, and he knew it would feel every bit as soft as it looked. With his finger, he traced a path that started just below her ear and ended at the curve of her hip. He took her by the hand and led her into the water.

  “Are you happy?” he asked as they floated on their backs in the warm water, their fingers interlocked. He didn’t mean only at that moment.

  She squeezed his hand. “It’s everything I’d ever hoped for.”

  Nothing was more important than what they’d built together. It hadn’t been without its ups and downs, but he felt certain Kate would agree that the love they shared and the life they’d created had been their biggest adventure of all.

  THE END

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  The amount of research required to write a book with a story line about hacking often felt daunting during the eighteen months it took me to write Heart-Shaped Hack and White-Hot Hack. By the time I was done, I’d read fourteen books on the subject and filled two binders with information I found online. Not all of this information made it into the book, but it was instrumental in helping me determine how much the reader would need to know.

  I was t
hrilled to discover last summer via an article in Wired magazine that hackers had successfully taken over the controls of a Jeep Cherokee while it was being driven. I had already planned for the hacking of Kate’s Spyder to play a big part in the book, but it was wonderful to have a resource for exactly how it could be done.

  Though I tried to educate myself as well as I could on how various hacks and social engineering assignments could be carried out, I have taken liberties in the name of creative license and/or clarity.

  All mistakes are my own.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I am deeply grateful for the contributions, assistance, and support of the following individuals:

  My husband, David, because his encouragement means more to me than he’ll ever know.

  My children, Matthew and Lauren. Thank you for being patient—again!—while Mom spent all that time with her laptop. I love you both.

  Elisa Abner-Taschwer, Stacy Elliott Alvarez, Hillary Faber, Peggy Hildebrandt, Erika Stone Gebhardt, and Tammara Webber. Thank you for every bit of your beta feedback, for your encouragement, and for helping me to see what I could not. Special thanks to Dr. Trish Kallemeier and flight paramedic Rick Kallemeier for their medical expertise regarding broken bones and surgical procedures during pregnancy.

  Sarah Hansen at Okay Creations. Your talent is immeasurable. The covers for this series are truly my favorites, and I’ve spent a ridiculous amount of time just staring at them.

  Anne Victory of Victory Editing. Thank you for your eagle eye and your words of encouragement. You helped me in more ways than one.

  Jane Dystel, Miriam Goderich, and Lauren Abramo. You are truly the trifecta of literary-agent awesomeness.

  Special thanks to the book bloggers who have been so instrumental in my ability to reach readers. You work tirelessly every day to spread the word about books, and the writing community is a better place because of you.

  I want to express my sincere appreciation to the booksellers who hand-sell my books and the librarians who put them on their shelves.

  My heartfelt gratitude goes out to all of you for helping to make White-Hot Hack the book I hoped it would be. Words cannot express how truly blessed I am to have such wonderful and enthusiastic people in my life.

  And last, but certainly not least, my readers. Without you, none of this would be possible.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Tracey Garvis Graves is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal best-selling author. She lives in a suburb of Des Moines, Iowa, with her husband and two children.

  She can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/tgarvisgraves and Twitter at https://twitter.com/tgarvisgraves, or you can sign up for her newsletter at http://traceygarvisgraves.com to receive her latest updates.

  OTHER BOOKS BY TRACEY GARVIS GRAVES

  On the Island

  Uncharted (On the Island, 1.5)

  Covet

  Every Time I Think of You

  Cherish (Covet, 1.5)

  Heart-Shaped Hack (Kate and Ian #1)