Page 102 of Rivals Next Door

Alex chuckled, and I grinned as I leaned over to kiss him.

“I’ll rub your feet when we get home, Princess,” he promised.

Home. Getting my feet rubbed. Music to my ears…

He threw an arm over my shoulders and purred, “I’ll rub other body parts if you want me to.”

“Contain yourself, you horndog.” I snickered. “As much as I wouldn’t mind having sexy time, I’ll probably fall asleep in the middle of it.” It happened last week, and I was mortified. Alex, however, had laughed it off.

“We’ll see…” he said. “You were amazing out there.”

“You weren’t even there.”

He held up his phone. “I had eyes on you the whole time.”

“You did not hack the security cameras,” I scoffed.

“Only because I couldn’t be in there with you, and I had to make sure you were safe.”

“The burly bodyguards weren’t enough?”

“Not for my comfort.”

I sighed. I always felt so cherished and safe with him. “As long as you only use your powers for good…”

He gave me a peck on the forehead. “I will. I promise.”

I studied his profile as he turned to look out the window as we whizzed past buildings, cars, and pedestrians. “Alex?”

He turned to me.

“Why did you make it seem as if I was the only one involved in exposing Weaver?” He instructed Elena to leave him out of it. I was being hailed as a “brave hero” for taking on corruption in the technology and medical sphere by taking down Weaver. “I hate that you’re not getting the recognition. You’re the real hero.”

“If it weren’t for you, Weaver wouldn’t have come up on my radar,” he stated. “And you are a hero, Liv.”

“No, I’m not the one who?—”

“I prefer to remain anonymous,” he interrupted. “You know that.”

“I do, but I wish you’d tell me why.” For the last few months, I’d been dying to know what the White Knight really stood for. Would he ever satisfy my curiosity? I harrumphed and stuck out my lower lip.

Alex blew out a breath as he eyed me with amusement. “I never could deny that pout. Fine, that crazy reporter who busted me a few years back wasn’t so crazy. The White Knight is my hacker name. I just spun a story in the media that I got the name for my expertise in cybersecurity as a cover.”

“I knew it,” I said.

“There are three of us who work together. We hack systems just to expose criminals. I’m talking about the worst of the worst like human traffickers, weapons dealers, you name it. Then, we anonymously feed the information to the authorities.”

I gawked at him, utterly intrigued.

Alex chuckled. “Close your mouth, Liv.”

I lifted my jaw, which practically touched my lap, and snapped my mouth shut.

“The other two hackers in the circle…. we don’t know each other’s identities… I tried to identify them, but hell, they’re as good as I am so I got nothing. Since that report put me on blast, I’m pretty sure they know who I am though, but it seems they’re only interested in doing good, so I’ve had no problems. If I ever delve into the underworld of serious hacking again, I’ll need a new identity. The White Knight is done for.”

“How did the reporter get wind of your work?” I asked.

“Some jackass at the feds leaked a bunch of government files.”

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