Misunderstood Hacker

by Linzi Baxter

  “What the fuck is going on, Jessica? I know Brock withholding information from you was not what led to that scene in your office.”

  I was too upset to talk about anything. I shook my head, and Neal ran his hand through his hair.

  “Once we get to my apartment, you will explain what’s going on.”

  10

  Jessica

  The ride to my and Neal’s building took forever. Tommy was sitting in a chair in the lobby, reading the paper. His face lit up when he saw us.

  “Hello, my Jessica. Where is that brute of a man you were with before?”

  Not wanting to explain, I said, “He’s probably at work.” I heard Neal mutter under his breath, but I wasn’t in the mood for a long conversation. “Have a good day, Tommy.” I turned and walked toward the elevator.

  On the ride up, I was clutching the photos to my chest, worrying someone would take them away. Neal stayed quiet, but the look on his face showed how disappointed he was in me. His phone kept chirping every two seconds. More than likely, it was Brock trying to get information.

  I walked into Neal’s apartment and went straight to the liquor bar. The slamming of the door startled me and let me know how pissed Neal was.

  Neal was pinching the bridge of his nose, trying to calm his anger before he spoke. “Jessica, you need to tell me what the fuck is going on. Because if you were mad at Brock for withholding information, you would be mad at me as well. And what’s in that envelope you are holding onto for dear life?”

  I took a swig of over-priced scotch. The burn felt good. I sat on the black sofa in Neal’s living room, motioning for him to join me. Once he sat down, I was able to talk.

  “I care about Brock deeply.”

  Neal scoffed next to me. “That showed earlier. You cut him off. He’s defeated and won’t stop texting me.”

  The thought that Brock was still worried about me made me feel a tad better. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m still mad at you both for withholding information. Brock lied to me when I asked. And keeping things from Patty is wearing on me.”

  Neal leaned back on the couch. “Okay. What’s in the envelope?”

  I handed the envelope over to Neal. I had seen the top photo before. It was in the things my father had recovered from the scene. I also knew Neal had seen them. He slowly peeled the envelope open, removed the contents, and flipped through the pictures.

  “Fuck. You need to tell Brock about this.”

  “No!” I screamed. I didn’t want Brock to see those photos. I had just torn my heart out of my chest so he wouldn’t have to see them. When this was all over, and if I was still alive, I would beg for his forgiveness.

  Neal jumped up and paced back and forth. His Italian leather shoes were clicking against the marble floor. “Why not? These men aren’t stopping. I can’t protect you. My skills end at erasing people’s identities. I don’t have the military background that Brock and Sam have.”

  “I don’t want him to see those pictures,” I whispered. The only reason I knew Neal heard me was that he dropped to his knees in front of me.

  Neal grabbed my chin so I had to look at him. Once again, I had tears running down my face. He used his thumb to wipe them away. “Jessica, my queen, Brock already saw those pictures months ago. He had access to them when we were looking for whoever was after Patty. Those photos were in the file. What worries me is the note inside.”

  I scrambled to get away. I hadn’t seen a note. Once I had glimpsed the photos, I put them back in the envelope. What the hell did the note say?

  Dear Jessica,

  We will meet again and soon. Here are some photos of our time together. Next time, you will not get away. You need to pay for what you have put me through.

  See you soon, and remember, I always have eyes on you.

  Axmed

  By the time I finished the short letter, my body was shaking. All I wanted was Brock. I more than wanted him here. I needed him.

  Neal pulled me onto his lap and rubbed my back. It was soothing, and I closed my eyes for a moment. Before I knew it, I was asleep.

  Brock

  After Jessica left her office, I felt lost. I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to grab her and shake sense into her, but I would wait for Neal to call and tell me what the fuck was going on. I needed time to clear my head. I headed back to headquarters to work out.

  I was on my fourteenth mile on the treadmill before Mia interrupted my thoughts.

  “What did that treadmill ever do to you?”

  Not wanting to talk, I continued my run, hoping it would make the heartache go away. Not taking the hint, Mia climbed onto the treadmill next to me.

  “She’ll get over it.”

  How did Mia know what was going on? “Did you talk to her?”

  She shook her head. “No. You look like someone stole your favorite toy. From what you said earlier, Jessica just found out you were keeping things from her. I put two and two together.”

  I slowed the treadmill down. “She left me and wants nothing to do with me.”

  Mia let out a bark. “Boy, men are stupid. You pissed her off. Give her some time.”

  “She went home with Neal,” I grumbled. Logically, I knew he wouldn’t hit on her. Emotionally, I was jealous. I didn’t understand why she wasn’t mad at him or why the fuck he hadn’t called to tell me what was going on.

  Mia was about to speak when my phone rang. I looked down and saw Neal’s name flash across the screen. I couldn’t swipe the screen quick enough. I answered the phone and shut down the treadmill.

  “What that fuck is going on, Neal?”

  Neal grumbled something about military men being hotheads before answering. “Calm down. Jessica is fine. We’ll be at the meeting tomorrow.”

  “Why is she so upset with me? You withheld information from her too.”

  There was a long pause before Neal answered me. “She received some photos at work today. Jessica didn’t want you to see them. She thinks you would look at her differently.”

  My stomach dropped. I hoped it was the photos I thought they were. “What photos, Neal?”

  “You already know. There was also a note inside she hadn’t seen until we got home. It says he’s coming for her soon.”

  “Fuck. I’m on my way.” There was no way I would let Jessica out of my sight for even one night until we made sure this fucker was dead. Last I talked to Sam, Axmed was still in prison.

  “She’s already asleep. I will bring her over tomorrow.”

  “No.” Not waiting to hear his opinion, I hung up and headed toward my office. I grabbed my go bag and the work I needed to do. I sent a text to the team letting them know to be at Neal’s house in the morning.

  Jessica was sound asleep in the guest room when I got to Neal’s. She looked so peaceful. I would do anything to keep her that way.

  I hacked into Ross Enterprises to look at the video footage. CJ would call me in the morning to give me hell about hacking in, but I didn’t want to ask for access. I pulled up the footage monitoring the desk of Jessica’s administrative assistant, Joana. She was opening mail. I could tell when she got to the photos of Jessica because her face went pale. I rewound the video feed, looking to follow the package.

  The person who put it on her desk hid their face from the camera and wore gloves. That ruled out fingerprints, but we had one clue to work with. It was a woman, though someone could have hired her to deliver the photos. She looked familiar from behind, but I couldn’t place her.

  Blood-curdling screams brought me out of my concentration. I rushed to Jessica’s side. She was thrashing on the bed.

  I gently put my hands on her shoulders to shake her. Her skin was clammy and cold. “Jessica, sweetheart, wake up.”

  Her pretty gray eyes opened and shut a few times before focusing on me. “Brock?”

  I brushed her blond hair from her face. “Yes, sweetheart.”

  “You came, even though I was a bitch.”

  “I will always
come when you need me. You want to talk about what just happened?”

  “Can you lie down with me?”

  I stripped to my boxers and climbed into bed behind her. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into my chest. It felt like home. I could feel her body relax when I pulled her into me. “Are you ready to talk about it?”

  Jessica was quiet for a while. I assumed she didn’t want to talk about the nightmare.

  “The reason I went with Neal earlier was that someone sent me photos of me being tortured. I didn’t want you to see them.” I could tell by the hiccup in her voice she was crying.

  Not wanting to have this conversation without seeing her eyes, I turned her so she was facing me. I swiped my thumb over her cheek to wipe away the tears.

  “Why would you think the photos would make me care any less for you? It might be too early to say this, but I love you, Jessica.”

  “How can you love me after seeing those photos? They make me look weak and degraded.”

  I tried to keep my anger under control. I wanted to kill those men for what they did to her. “If I read the report correctly, there were eight men holding you. You couldn’t have fought off eight men. No one could have. Why should that make you look weak?”

  “I think seeing the photos, the connection between Doug and Axmed, not being kept in the loop, and trying to keep this all from Patty is making me crazy.”

  Understanding where she was coming from and wanting to do anything to make her happy, I said, “Tomorrow morning, the team is meeting here at nine. We have a call scheduled with Patty and Sam. I will keep you in the loop with everything that is going on.”

  “Brock?”

  “Yes, sweetheart?”

  “I love you too. I was so wrapped up in my own misery today that I never asked how your case went.”

  I didn’t want her to know I almost died in a bomb explosion because the FBI’s team had been compromised. But I knew I couldn’t keep things from her anymore, especially with the team coming over in the morning. So I told her how I double-checked the video feed to find out the tech guy was lying about what was going on in the building.

  “Why do you have to do fieldwork? I don’t want to lose you.” Her words made the crappy day a lot better.

  “I’ve been in worse situations than I was in today. How do you think I feel with you in danger? I don’t want to lose you, either. It’s late, and we have a big day tomorrow. We can talk more later.”

  Jessica rolled back over on her side, and when I pulled her into my arms, I became extremely hard.

  I heard her giggle, and it sounded like music. “Do you need me to take care of that?”

  “No.” I grumbled, “Let’s get some sleep.”

  11

  Jessica

  The laughter coming from the living room woke me from my sleep. I reached over to Brock’s side of the bed to find it empty and cold. The memories of the previous day came plunging down like a bucket of icy water. I had been so wrapped up in the withheld information and the pictures that I hadn’t even thought about the mission Brock had gone on. It had gone FUBAR—fucked up beyond any repair. I had learned what FUBAR was from being around Brock’s team.

  Not wanting to miss any information about my case, I hurried into the shower to get cleaned up. The shower helped me wake up and feel like this might be a better day. Hoping someone had a lead on the case, I dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and a tight black T-shirt. Ever since my divorce, I had started to wear clothes that fit me. Doug had made me self-conscious of what I wore. Brock made me feel like the most beautiful person in the world.

  As I walked down the hall, the murmur of voices became louder. When I rounded the corner, the number of bodies in the room surprised me. Neal was standing in the kitchen with Sophie, making breakfast. Brock was sitting at the kitchen table. Brock’s laptop screen was displayed on the big-screen TV in the dining room. His fingers were flying across the keyboard, and different windows kept opening on the screen. I didn’t understand anything he was doing.

  Mia and John were sorting through papers on the other side of the table. Antonio, Asher, and CJ were in an in-depth discussion.

  “What do you fellas need me to help with?” All the faces turned toward me with similar looks of apprehension. “No, don’t give me that look. We need to find this fucker and stop him. Only forty-six percent of violent crimes are cleared by the FBI. If we don’t find this man, we are helping to lower that statistic.”

  Brock got up, walked toward me, and wrapped me in his arms. His hair was still wet from a shower, and his woodsy smell made me moan. His chuckle brought me out of my daze. “We have work to do now, but tonight, you are all mine.”

  His words made my nerves ignite, and I didn’t care if anyone noticed. I’d been waiting months to sleep with Brock, but he kept wanting to take things slow.

  Neal cleared his throat from the kitchen. “When you guys finish humping each other, we can eat.”

  Breakfast was full of laughter and good-natured ribbing. But the ring of Brock’s cell phone brought breakfast to an end, and soon the dining room table resembled the war room at Blackwood Security.

  “Hey, Boss. Do you have Patty with you on the phone?… Okay.” Brock pressed a couple buttons on his phone. Then I could see and hear Patty and Sam on the big screen on the wall.

  “Sam, if you don’t tell me what the fuck is going on—” Patty stopped talking when she saw everyone on the screen. Her face lit up, but after a couple seconds of looking around, she knew the call wasn’t just for fun.

  Before she could open her mouth again, Sam pulled her onto his lap in front of the computer.

  “Sitrep,” Sam barked into the computer, meaning he wanted an update from the team.

  Brock leaned forward so the speaker would pick up his voice.

  “Jessica received another package yesterday. A note inside said they would be coming soon.”

  “Wai—”

  Sam put his hand over Patty’s mouth again. “If you don’t stop interrupting, I will put a ball gag in your mouth.”

  Patty folded her arms across her growing belly and pouted.

  “Continue,” Sam snapped.

  “So far, they’ve tried to run her off the road, left threatening messages on her penthouse walls in blood, bombed her work car, and sent her the pictures of her kidnapping. Sophie found intel indicating that Doug had been in contact with a Mujahideen group before he died and had been funneling them money. The Mujahideen are under the impression that Axmed will get out of prison shortly. Once he escapes, they plan to come after Jessica.”

  Before Brock could continue, Sophie spoke up. “From intel I have gathered, the group believes Jessica has information they don’t want her to know, and Doug was trying to sell her back to the group.”

  Patty narrowed her eyes. “Who is your contact?”

  Sophie shrugged her shoulders. She was wearing a pair of black slacks and a white button-down shirt. She was constantly put together, but deep down, I had a feeling Sophie was the most violent individual in the room. “You know I can’t say who my contact is.”

  “I will figure it out. I know you’re up to something.” My sister was like a dog with a bone. Patty would dig until she found the information she was looking for.

  “Do you happen to know where this terrorist organization is?” Brock asked.

  “The group’s current leader, Abshir, has been making numerous trips to Africa.”

  “Africa?” Sam asked. “Somalia?”

  Brock’s hands went for his laptop, and his fingers started to fly across the screen. Two images appeared on the screen. “Fuck,” he murmured under his breath.

  Sam ran his hands through his hair. “My exact thoughts.”

  “What am I looking at?” Neal asked.

  “The case we are working on with the FBI. The group we are trying to take down is the same one that is after Jessica. They’re trying to break her original kidnappers out of jail. The reason we didn�
��t put the two together is that we didn’t know who was trying to break Axmed out of jail. His group was dismantled when he was imprisoned, and we didn’t know who the new leader was until now.”

  “Sam, are you going to interrogate the leader’s men?” John asked.

  “I can’t.” Sam looked tired. Shialia must be having more problems than Sam was letting on. “Some of the King’s men have been compromised and killed the members of Axmed’s group. We think they were worried his co-conspirators would talk. I’m working on contacting some of the brothers I used to work with. We need to figure out what they are after before Axmed pulls a Houdini.”

  My gasp had everyone turning toward me. I had a quick flash of being tied to the wall in my cell while a man beat me with a whip, tearing at my skin. I caught the scent of copper from the blood running down my back.

  Brock

  This was why I had kept information from her. I didn’t want her slipping back into the past. I lifted her into my arms and took her back to the guest room. I laid her down on the bed and went to the bathroom for a cold washcloth. As I dragged it slowly over her face, her eyes finally focused.

  “I don’t know why I keep getting flashbacks.” Her voice was still shaky.

  Fuck. This situation was getting out of control. “Why don’t you call your sister? I will finish figuring out our next step. I’ll go over everything with you when we talk about it later tonight.” I kissed her on the forehead, grabbed her pink phone from the nightstand, and handed it to her.

  I closed the door slightly before heading back to the dining room. Sam was still on the screen, but Patty was gone. I assumed she was talking to Jessica. Hopefully, Patty and Jessica would be able to calm each other down.

  I was sick of being one step behind. “Neal, I want to know how that woman delivered those photos.”

  Neal was sitting with Sophie at the other end of the table. His fingers were flying across the laptop in front of him. Mia and John were comparing notes between the FBI case and Jessica’s old case.