Page 27 of Undercover Hacker

When she looked up at me, tears were running down her face. She needed time, and I was going to give it to her.

“This is far from over.”

Before she had time to give me another one of her lame responses, I shut the door. John and Antonio had gone down to the bar to get food. I normally didn’t drink before a mission, but Sophie had my emotions all over the place.

The guys were propped up at the bar, eating hamburgers, when I got there. Antonio raised his brow in question. He knew I wanted to spend time with Sophie. When I shook my head, he didn’t ask another question.

“What can I get you?” the bartender asked before I even sat down.

We were the only people in the restaurant. “Burger and two fingers of your most expensive Scotch. Put it on his tab.” I pointed over to Antonio.

“Want to explain why I’m the brunt of your mood?”

Not wanting to talk about what happened, I changed the subject. “I think we should send the women back to Ft. Lauderdale right away. After the mission, we drive them straight to the airport. We can take down Sanchez ourselves.”

Antonio popped a fry in his mouth. “From the look of frustration on your face, you are already in the doghouse. I don’t think sending Sophie away and not letting her get her vengeance is going to help you.”

He had a good point, but pissing her off to keep her alive might be the correct thing to do. The bartender set the hundred-dollar glass of Scotch in front of me. Needing to feel the burn of the alcohol running down my throat, I drank the Scotch in one gulp. I pointed to the glass again.

“I won’t let you go on the mission if you are drunk. We are going after my wife and kid.”

“Not planning on getting drunk. I’m having one more. I’ll sip the next one.”

John had been quiet since we arrived. I always thought Antonio was a man of few words, but John was pure silence.

“John, do you think we should send the women back?”

He leaned forward resting his hands on the bar top. “I would do anything to protect the women I love, but they don’t always listen. Sometimes, keeping them where you can see them is better than not knowing.”

The words sounded like they were coming from experience. We’d go in tonight, get Kat and Antonio Jr., meet at the hotel room, and come up with our next game plan. John was right. If I tried to make Sophie stay back while we went after Kat, she would find a way to show up. She’d been looking for her sister for years, and nobody would hold her back.

“Here’s the question of the hour. When the mission is complete, where are you headed?” Antonio asked.

I’d thought about that a lot of over the past few days. I had more than enough money in the bank not to work another day of my life. The CIA missions were starting to get old. Maybe it was time to settle down.

“Are you hiring?”

Antonio must not have expected that response. Or maybe he did. A sly grin spread across his face. “You’re welcome to come work for me. Since you’re rich, I don’t have to pay you much.”

Asshole.With an idea forming in my mind about how to wear Sophie down, a little of the tension rolled off my back. A run would remove the last of the tension.

“Thanks for the job. Keep this between us for a while. I want to be the one to talk to Sophie about it. I’m going to go for a quick run. See you guys in an hour.”

12

Sophie

Kicking Zane out of the room was one of the hardest things I’d done in a long time. Every time we were together, the feelings grew stronger. I needed to cut ties before I got my heart ripped out. There was no way Zane would want to be with me once he found out I couldn’t have kids. Men like Zane need to continue their family line.

Thinking I could sleep with a man like Zane and not become attached was stupid.It was supposed to be a fling. Screw the man and get him out of my system. The problem was that every time we were together, he crept into my heart a little bit.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I needed to get my emotions under control. We were meeting in Zane’s room in fifteen minutes. But when I closed my eyes, I saw his shaken look, which turned into disappointment. I could handle anger. Disappointment made my stomach curdle.

It was hard not to fall into bed with the man. His muscles had muscles. His scruff. His tongue. I had to shake my head to get rid of the images of Zane that kept coming back, leaving my body in a permanently heightened state.

Glancing at the clock, I saw I was running behind. The X-rated images of Zane had my brain going out of control. I wanted to kill him and keep him all at the same time. I knew I would never get to have him in my life permanently. For starters, his family was one of the most prominent families around. I grew up in foster care and spent my time hacking into criminals’ computers. Prestigious families like Zane’s expect to have biological kids. That choice was taken from me years ago and I chose not to burden others with my pain.

Since Zane’s room was next to mine, we had a connecting door. Every step toward the door made it feel as if my feet were sinking in quicksand. I knew I needed to face Zane. He was helping me get Kat back. But, when I reached for the door handle, the door swung open with an angry Zane on the other side. Damn, that man was hot even when he was angry. It seemed as if he could read my mind, as his angry scowl turned into a cocky grin.

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