Page 35 of Royal Hacker

“Do you want to explain what you found, or are you going to sit here and make us guess who your friend is?” I snapped at Neal. Jessica, Bridget, and Brock were all surrounding his screens, waiting for his answer.

Neal pointed at the picture. “This is Brett Murphy. He went to MIT with Patty and me. He always had a crush on her. When we graduated, we went our separate ways, and Patty and I opened Black Hat.”

Jessica moved closer to the screen to get a better look. “Wow, he looks a lot different. He used to be stick thin and have long shaggy hair.”

“That’s why I couldn’t place him when I saw his photo from the deli,” Neal said. “I don’t understand why he is after her—we haven’t heard from him in years.”

“He was stealing money and information from companies and selling it,” Jessica said. “Patty found out, and they got into a big fight. He told her what he was doing because he thought she would work with him and they would be together. Instead, she tipped off the feds. I bet if you look closer, he’s been in jail for the last ten years.”

My phone vibrated in my pocket. I looked at the screen, and it was an unknown number. Normally, I didn’t answer blocked calls, but it might be our attacker, and there was no way I was going to miss that call.

“Yes.”

“Sam?”

Holy shit!It was Patty. She was still alive and on the phone.My pixie is still alive.

“Patty? Are you okay? Tell me where you are, and I will come get you.”

Patty’s voice sounded groggy, like she had just woken up.

“I don’t know. I’m chained to a wall in a room that looks like mine. Sam, I’m scared.”

19

Sam

I put the phone on speaker. Everyone gathered around the table to catch what Patty had to say. My heart was beating so hard, I felt like it was going to come out of my chest. I looked around the room, and people’s faces showed relief—which made me mad. There was no time to feel relief until Patty was in my arms, where she belonged.

I needed to get as much information as possible out of Patty. Then we could figure out where she was so we could get her back. “Patty…” My voice cracked; my emotions were swirling all over the place. I was relieved Patty was alive, but terrified because we still had no clue where she was. “I love you, my pixie. We will find you.”

“I love you, Sam. If I don’t—” Her voice cracked, and a sob came through the phone. The sound of Patty crying broke my heart. “If I don’t make it, just remember I will always love you.”

“Let’s not talk like that. We are going to find you. How did you get a phone? Did he leave you one?” I needed to get her talking about things we could figure out. It ripped my heart out of my chest to think she wouldn’t live past this.

“I bought a burner phone and attached it to a concealed purse. The purse was around my stomach,” Patty said between hiccups.

That’s my girl.I should have been mad she’d hidden the phone from me. But all I could muster was pride that she’d thought of something that had helped protect her.

Neal was the next to ask a question before I could figure out our next move. “Patty, did you buy a phone with GPS or a basic phone?” With Neal’s question, my hopes started to rise. She could pull up her location and let us know where she was.

Patty sniffled then spoke again. “I looked for one with GPS, but the store didn’t have any. They only had the basic phones stocked.”

I wanted to scream. It seemed every time we caught a break, we were set back again. I needed to figure out her soundings.

Patty’s voice was weak and tired. “I don’t know who it was. I had a quick cup of hot chocolate. I wanted some fresh air. I drank half a cup, and on the way back, I started to get sleepy. When I reached the elevator, everything was getting fuzzy. Someone walked up behind me and stuck a needle in my neck. I don’t know how long I’ve been out, but I woke up a couple minutes ago. Sam, I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you… This is all my fault.”

“I’m not mad, pixie. I understand you have been under a lot of stress. Let’s just talk about how to get you home. I need you to tell me everything you can. If he comes back, hide the phone but don’t hang up.”

“I don’t know who took me. I woke up in a room that looks identical to mine at the penthouse. But all the windows are painted on the wall. The door looks like a steel vault at a bank. My right wrist is chained to the wall above my bed.”

I will kill that fucker. The only person that can tie down Patty is me.I needed to curb my anger. I didn’t want Patty to sense that I was close to losing my shit.

“Neal, pull up the cameras from Patty’s penthouse. I want to see a visual of her room. If this guy made a duplicate of Patty’s room, we might be able to use that to our advantage. Maybe we can find something to help her escape or take this fucker out.”

After taking a few breaths to calm down, I asked Patty to tell me about how she was tied to the wall.

“It’s like a cop cuff attached to a chain that connects to the wall. The wall looks like concrete. I think I’m in the basement. Do you know who—” Patty stopped talking, and I heard a bunch of scratching on the other side of the phone.

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