The Ghost and The Hacker (Dark Fire Book 3)

by Ivy M. Jones

  Copyright © 2016

  This ebook is licensed for personal use only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to others. If you would like to share this book, please recommend its purchase from Amazon Kindle ebooks. Should you have gotten this book without purchasing it, please remove it from your device. Thank you for respecting the author's proprietary rights.

  Dungeons

  In The Dark

  Rebel

  That Hot Summer Night in Meridian

  The Lady Jane, Unmasked

  The Night Lies

  Fixed

  Twists

  ---

  The Rockstar and The Pussycat

  (Dark Fire, Book 1)

  The Player and His Best Friend's Sister

  (Dark Fire, Book 2)

  The Ghost and the Hacker

  (Dark Fire, Book 3)

  Special Thanks to Officer Dan W. for his help in getting Zach out of legal trouble.

  With apologies to J and V for all the peanut butter sandwiches that you ended up eating while I wrote this.

  Dear Readers,

  I wanted to include the metamorphosed playlist I blogged about. You'll catch some of them later when Zach builds his playlist, but in the meantime, this compilation is perfect to listen to while you're reading.

  The Reason – Hoobastank

  Easier to Run – Linkin Park

  Let Her Go – Passenger

  If You Only Knew – Shinedown

  Bitter Sweet Symphony – The Verve

  Walking With The Ghost – Tegan and Sara

  One Year Of Love – Queen

  Here With Me – Dido

  Asleep – Emily Browning

  Wishing You Were Here – Chicago

  Locked Out Of Heaven – Bruno Mars

  Far Away – Nickelback

  Zak and Sara – Ben Folds

  The Luckiest – Ben Folds

  Bless the Broken Road – Rascall Flatts

  Enjoy!

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Sarah

  "Sarah..."

  I rolled over at the sound of my dad's voice. It had to be really early in the morning- It was still dark outside. Why the hell was he waking me up this early?

  "Wha?" I managed.

  "It's Zach. Something happened." My eyes flew open at his words.

  "What's wrong? Is he okay?" I could feel the bile rising in my throat. What could have happened that my dad would be waking me up in the middle of the night? My dad- the Police Chief.

  "Are you awake?" He seemed to be grappling with how to tell me something important. I wasn't sure if making sure I was awake was a stall technique or if he was making sure I was ready to hear it.

  "Sarah Jennings. Sixteen. Lakemont, Pennsylvania. Lead singer for Random. Four-point-oh GPA. Valedictorian." I cleared my throat. "Do you want my locker combination?"

  "You're awake." My dad was silent a little longer and this time I knew it was because he was grappling with how to tell me something.

  "What happened to Zach, Dad?" Tears started welling behind my eyes and I registered the sting of holding them back. "Is he dead?"

  "Oh, Sarah... There's no reason to think that."

  "No reason to think that?" I parroted, fingering the friendship bracelet at my wrist. It's match lived on Zach's wrist.

  "We got a call," my father clarified. "A whole rash of them, actually. Alarms going off in most of the shops along Main Street. When we got there, each of the places had been busted into. Windows smashed, registers cracked open. Cash gone. We spotted Zach's dad, Roger, hopping into his truck a couple of blocks away, so we stopped him. We asked him what he was doing out in the middle of the night and he said that he and Zach had a fight. He said that Zach took off so Roger followed him. He thought maybe Zach would head to the bar for the night, stay there for the night since he had the key. Roger said he was out looking around when he heard the police sirens and got worried Zach was in an accident. He said he was getting into his truck to follow the sirens, but then we stopped right behind him at the curb."

  My dad took a deep breath, "You know this isn't public knowledge, right? You're on your honor here..." I nodded and he continued. "Well, Roger said he thought he saw Zach around the corner, near the boutique store. It was the last store where an alarm went off, Sarah. If Roger saw his son near that store, then it looks like Zach might have been breaking into shops for cash and then took off."

  "That can't be right, Dad." My voice wasn't defensive. I was simply stating a fact. "That's not like Zach at all."

  "He's a person of interest, Sarah. And he's gone. That makes it look bad. Plus, the everyone's looking at how screwed up his dad is. He's from the wrong side of town. His momma's gone. And everyone knows he was fighting with his dad a lot. There's no question that Zach might have finally left."

  "It's just not possible, dad. He might have left, but he wouldn't be breaking into stores. Did you check his dad out? I'd believe it if he was responsible..."

  It could be that simple.

  "He was clean. No money, no marks from breaking windows. Nothing. We had to let him go." Dad was quiet for another minute and I held my breath, knowing there was more to it. Worried what it could possibly be.

  "Sarah, you guys have been together for a couple years. If you know where he might be, you have to tell us..."

  I exhaled the breath I'd been holding. Of course that was what he wanted to know. Of course.

  I wanted to cry.

  Zach didn't do it. I knew that, could feel it in my bones, in my heart. If I told my dad where to find Zach, was it like handing him over?

  But if they found him, then they would know he didn't have the money and he'd be let go. Everything would go back to normal.

  Right?

  "Sare-Bear!"

  Through a maze of people, I can see my best friend, Lucy Henry, wave at me like a crazed bird. Her bright red top and canary yellow puffy jacket just further the bird image. She might as well be squawking.

  "Lucy!" I run toward her, catching her in a hug and spinning around a few times. The weight of my luggage keeps us spinning for an extra turn.

  When our spinning finally ends, I note that most people have ignored our outburst completely. The rest toss us bored looks or roll their eyes. Apparently, people do run-hugs all the time in LaGuardia.

  "I have the absolute best news!" Lucy takes my hands in hers, forcing me to drop my luggage.

  I pull my hands back, fully intent on keeping my luggage close. I heard enough warnings from Dad about keeping my bags on my person at all times when traveling. I wasn't about to take a chance when I was thirty feet from the doors leading to the streets of Queens.

  "You're getting married and I'm the Maid of Honor?"

  "Ha. Ha. Ha." Lucy rolls her eyes at the joke we've had going since she almost got married senior year. We've been friends since she butted into my life freshman year, so I can get away with poking fun at her. Leaning down, she grabs my rolling bag and starts toward the door. "I've got a taxi with the meter running. Let's walk and talk."

  I hike my giant duffel up my shoulder and resettle my backpack over my back, then run after her. We're settled in the cab, my luggage in the trunk, before I have another chance to ask her about her good news.

  "Ready for this? So Dark Fire started here in the city before they exploded and they're going to do about a dozen I Heart NYC shows over the next few weeks as a special thank you to the folks here. And I just happened to hear through the gra
pevine about one of their super-secret locations! We're gonna see Dark Fire! Live! Tomorrow night, baby!"

  "Holy shit! Really? God, I love it here already!" We laugh and joke until the taxi pulls up in front of a derelict building.

  "Will I get tetanus from touching the doorknob, Lucy?" I quirk a brow.

  "No. More likely you'll get it from the stairs. There are a few random pokey things on the way up." And with that, she holds the door open for me, allowing me to pass into what will become my very first apartment in New York City.

  I am vibrating with excitement despite the smell of urine, bag of trash, and horrifying domestic argument we pass on the way up to our door. The location isn't optimal and the building is abysmal, but it's New York City... Anything can happen. And after nothing but failures up till now, I'm banking on the positive.

  The proof of that positive was that I am already set to start my new job on Monday and Lucy is taking me to see Dark Fire on Saturday night. My face is starting to hurt from all the smiling I'm doing.

  When we reach the door, Lucy digs through her purse until she comes up with a nondescript set of keys, which she promptly passes to me.

  "These are yours," she whispers as if conveying a holy relic or something. "Would you care to do the honors?"

  Holding my breath, I put the key in the lock and turn it, hearing the shiiick of the first deadbolt coming open. I flip the next one in quick succession. When I move to the knob, Lucy makes a little motion, indicating that I needed to fiddle with the lock slightly, so I do, before turning the handle and closing my eyes.

  When the door is open, I likewise open my eyes.

  It is a tiny, nearly empty dump. And I love it.

  Lucy closes and locks the door behind us, careful to pull the security chain, and makes a wide circle with her hand indicating the apartment.

  "I've painted every room and I got some dishes from a resale shop a few days ago for the kitchen. I also ordered your new mattress for you like you asked, which should be here this afternoon. And I got you this..." Pulling something fabric from the seat of the sofa, she whips it so she's holding it open like a banner.

  It 's a t-shirt with I Heart NYC in big black and red letters.

  "Lucy, if I were a lesbian, I would marry you!" I hug her.

  "I tried that junior year, remember? Couldn't do it. Women are insane. But hey, you'd be my first choice for homosexual life partner, too," she giggles.

  After unpacking, laughing way too damn much, some pizza, and the delivery of my new mattress, Lucy walks me around the block to point out the sights.

  "Best coffee in five blocks, and it's less than a buck, with free refills if you sit," she explains, pointing to a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant. "Do not go in there," she says, pointing to a store. "Really good Pad Thai," she says, pointing to yet another place, moving on.

  Finally, when we've walked a half dozen blocks from the apartment and I am thoroughly lost, she points to a neat-looking club just off the sidewalk.

  "And that's where we're going tomorrow night. We'll want to get there early and make sure we can get good seats."

  My whole body is vibrating, I'm excited but the momentum of the day has started to wane and I can feel my energy level dropping.

  "I'm pretty beat, Lucy. I need some sleep."

  "Oh! Of course! I'm so excited that you're finally here, Sarah. And I'm glad you finally got out of Lakemont."

  We begin walking back in the direction of our apartment- I think. Lucy continues, "You know it was the right thing, don't you? You're not feeling guilty or regretful that you finally said goodbye, right?"

  "I hadn't really thought about it, to be honest," I admit. "I mean, the move here, the new job... It all happened so fast."

  "Probably the only way you ever would have taken the opportunity. I know you. You were so entrenched, you were letting life pass you by. Think of all those experiences you missed because you were stuck behind your computer."

  "Yeah, but I never had a bad experience and ended up regretting it." I tilt my head at her as a joke. There are a lot of experiences in Lucy's life that she's admitted she isn't proud of. Yet, inside I sigh. It's true that I often missed experiences, but the one experience I wish I'd gotten, I was denied the chance at. That ship sailed away eight years ago.

  "How's your mom taking it all?"

  I shrug and kick a cigarette butt on the sidewalk. "She'll live. She was sad, but she knows I needed this. I think maybe she's a little relieved. With Dad gone, I'm like a little carbon copy reminder all the time. Now, she can move on a little, maybe."

  "In other words, she cried when you told her, but helped you pack." Lucy always could read my subtext so well.

  I grin. "Yup."

  "Well, no more tears, Sarah-bear. You're in New York City. Everyone comes here for a new beginning. And you can get one, too."

  I smile and fist-bump her as we come upon our new apartment's front door. I ignore the urine, trash, and yelling once more, not letting anything get to me. But in the dark un-quiet of the city, with the constant traffic and people outside of my window and the new mattress below me, my mind goes back to experiences and ships. I think of all the experiences I missed, waiting for that ship that silently sailed off into the sunset, never to be seen again.

  Zach

  "Alright, we've got about twenty more minutes before we go onstage. Any questions about the rotation?" Cy's voice snaps me back to the present.

  "You said we're still taking requests?" Justin says, raising his hand like a third grader.

  "I said we might, if Dean gives us the okay." Cy pushes his hand over his head, messing up the gelled red-brown spikes, and tosses his head to indicate where Dean, the manager of The Tap, is perched on a stool near the edge of the stage.

  While Cy and Justin talk about requests they prefer, Griffin pulls me aside slightly and whispers conspiratorially into my ear. "Dude, I've got a weird feeling about tonight. Justin's being all weird and shit about Andy and now I'm getting this strange sense of deja vu, because, well, we have been here before. And I can't shake this feeling like something weird is going to happen tonight." He pauses and runs a hand down his face and then through his short-cropped dark brown hair. "Hit me or something. I can't shake this off."

  "Is that rhetorical or do you really want me to hit you?" I pull my fist back, waiting.

  "Asshole. It was a joke. I just meant that I need some help getting back in the zone."

  "Okay... Umm, I think Nicki's out there tonight." I shrug, looking out through a gap in the curtains and then back to Griffin to see if it helped. "That's all I got."

  "Would you shut up? Jesus! Justin's five fuckin' feet away," he hisses at me. I smile, knowing full well I'm being an asshole. Oh well. If he's going to crush on Justin's cousin, he should have the balls to come right out and tell Justin. And Justin's cousin. And not me. And especially not to me while we're drunk at four AM with two chicks making out with one another for our viewing pleasure.

  Of course, in return, I admitted that I'm a wanted man. Falling in love for me is right out.

  Sex is fine. But I really wasn't interested in Griffin's revolving-door relationship style. And I had my initial year of fun after the band went big, outrunning ex-marine boyfriends who came home to find their girlfriends in bed with a rockstar.

  Once the money made it possible, I made sure my fun to came with a price tag that guaranteed discretion. Hell, who am I kidding... Discretion and the safety of knowing there was no risk of them getting attached. Rockstars could afford high priced call girls, but I only did it when I needed to let off some steam. I really didn't want to be known as that guy. And I really didn't want the guys to know I was only bothering with sex once in a blue moon.

  Now, don't get me wrong; I open doors and I pull out chairs. But any girl who gets that kind of treatment is not a girl I plan to fuck. That way, there are never any sweet feelings to confuse a girl about where she fits in my life. Either I fuck her, money changes han
ds, and that's all there is, or I'm a gentleman. Dark Fire's marketing department likes to play me up as the nice guy, the one who doesn't fall all over anything with tits. Which is true.

  After that first year, I was a fucking boy scout when it came to our fans. But it was all an illusion.

  Which was the story of my life.

  Great. Now Griffin's BS about having a weird night is settling onto me.

  The roaring crowd snaps me back once more.

  Even at a much lower volume because of the small crowd, it still does something to me. I might stand behind a keyboard and sing back-up vocals, but the crowd fills me with life. It's as if being on stage somehow simultaneously makes me anonymous and safe, and exposed and in danger. It's always such a rush.

  The four of us move to the stairs leading off the side of the stage and bound up. As we each break free of the curtain, we begin waiving. The crowd is going nuts. Tonight, we are a complete surprise to a crowd used to seeing local small-venue groups. I take a moment to scan the crowd and I find Nicki sitting at one of the small tables near the front of the stage. At her elbow was Justin's umm... Girlfriend?

  Yeah, I'm still not clear on that.

  If your cousin dies right after knocking up some random chick, and she shows up at his door and you answer, that does not make you the new responsible party in my book. I'm not going to be an asshole about it- He really did seem to like her. I'm just sayin'.

  Around them, other tables are filled with girls, seemingly from ages fifteen to fifty. There is room to stand, but not much and those at the tables are pinned to their seats by the sheer number of people in the audience.

  If I had to guess, our show tonight is not quite the surprise we were hoping for.

  There is a flip of red, like a ponytail, which catches my eye and I try to seek it out. I'm not entirely sure what it is that's drawing me, but something makes me look for the owner of that ponytail.

  Cy plows into me from behind, unaware that I'd stopped to look around. He was looking out at the audience and waving when I catch him into a weird high-five/fist bump thing to cover the stumble. He gives me an odd look, probably wondering what I was staring at, but I just shake my head.