Page 54 of Fire Peak

“I reached out, and that was their answer.”

“It doesn’t make sense…Oh my God. It does.” Her face lost all its color. “That’s what they wanted all along.”

He struggled into a sitting position, already reaching for his shirt. It made sense to him too. That was why Hobbs had wanted him to locate her.

“They went through my father because…well, as a threat. Because they know I care about him the most. I don’t know how they know that, but they do. Text them back. No. Call. He said to call.”

“Let me handle it, okay? Let me find out what exactly they want.” He pulled up the number, but she grabbed his hand before he could call it.

“Wait. You need to know what you’re getting into.”

His stomach roiled. He was already in deep with this woman; what if it turned out that she was involved in some really bad shit, something he couldn’t live with? Something he wouldn’t want his daughter around? Before Hailey, that wouldn’t have been a consideration. Now, it had to be.

“Yeah, I can be more help to you if I know.”

She nodded, closed her eyes, then nodded again, almost as if she was arguing with herself. This must be so hard for her, breaking her habit of secrecy. Gingerly, she pushed herself out of the bed. Probably to put some separation between them before she spilled her guts.

Once she’d pulled on a loose sweater over her ribbed tank, she faced him again. “I’m a hacker. A good one. For years now, I’ve been selecting the worst corporations I can find, ones that are doing damage or ripping people off, even breaking laws themselves, which isn’t really that hard to do. I hack into their financial systems and set up recurring micro-donations to certain carefully selected nonprofits. The amounts are so small that no one notices, but they add up over time. Before anyone can catch on, I go back in and change the code back. It’s just a little wealth redistribution, you know?”

“Take from the rich, give to the poor?”

She flashed a ghost of a smile at his Robin Hood reference. “Sort of. More like, take from those who damage and give to those who heal. Many times, I know that even if I got busted, they’d never turn me in because I’m diverting dirty money anyway. They wouldn’t want to risk it.”

Good intentions. Risky actions. But all in all, he couldn’t find it in his heart to judge her. Fear for her, yes.

“And Hobbs?”

“With Hobbs, it was different. I wanted revenge because they’re the ones who screwed over my father.” Passion choked her voice, made her turn away for a moment. When she went on, he could barely hear her. “And I needed money to get my dad out of prison so he could get treatment. I took too much, maybe I got sloppy. I figured that’s why they sent you after me, and I returned that money. But I think I was wrong.

Nick thought it over, and agreed. Hobbs could have reported Charlie to the FBI, who investigated cybercrimes. But they hadn’t. They’d called him in instead.

They’d wanted her to hack something for them. They still did. And to make sure she did it, they’d paid a visit to her father to scare her.

This was his fault. He was the one who’d told them how important her father was to her.

“You’re not doing it,” he said flatly.

“Doing what?”

He’d lost her in his thought process. “This so-called job. Not happening. They probably want you to do something illegal. They think they have you cornered because of what you did to them. And as extra incentive, they visited your father. You can’t do it, Charlie. If you do, they’ll have you forever.”

She started toward him, wincing as her bandaged thigh flexed. She must have forgotten she was hurt. Something told him she forgot all about herself when it came to protecting her father.

“I don’t care. I’ll figure it out. Call them. Let’s find out what exactly they want.”

He gripped her by the shoulders. “Call your father first. Make sure he’s okay, that they’re not still around.”

She nodded and searched through her clothes for her phone, hands trembling.

But she got no answer to her call.

“I did this. I should have stayed away from Hobbs. I was thinking with my anger, not my head. I have to fix this.” Her voice was so shaken that he barely recognized his brave Charlie.

He put a hand on her shoulder but she shook him off. “Call them. Tell them I’ll do whatever they want so long as they stay away from my dad.” She swung around, her gaze dark and desperate. “I just don’t want him to get hurt.”

His heart ached for her. “What about you, sweetheart? Who’s going to make sure you don’t get hurt?”

Her eyes flickered as she caught his endearment. “That’s my problem. Not yours. Make the call.”

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