Page 21 of Hacker Salvation

Daisy and I figured it would be a good idea for me to dye my hair and cut it. Since she was good at hair and makeup, I planned to let her do whatever she wanted. The producer of my latest movie might be mad when I went back to work, but I didn’t know if or when that would ever happen. I made sure each of my movie contracts didn’t dictate my hair color or style. That was one of my nonnegotiables. If I wanted to change my hair, a wig or extensions could be worn on a movie set to make my hair look the same.

“I love the blue, but it might stand out too much,” Daisy said. “You’re going to another country to find the person you’re being framed for murdering.”

I placed the bright-blue hair dye back on the shelf and grabbed the brown color. If we found Nate and I was cleared for his murder, I would need to dye my hair back to blond. Red would be hard to get out.

The two of us made it in and out of the store without being seen. “See? We don’t need the men to do everything,” I said.

“Daisy’s—I meanmyass is going to be so red tonight. Aaron told me before he jumped in the shower that we were to wait for him.”

When Daisy had been held captive for so many years, she’d started to speak about herself in the third person. When she started to date Neal and Aaron, Daisy worked with her therapist to help her stop speaking in third person. She had worked hard to stop in the past three months, but every so often, she had to catch herself. I knew she belonged to the local BDSM club. I still couldn’t believe she enjoyed being a submissive after what her captor had done to her.

“Daisy, I didn’t mean to get you into trouble. I’ll talk with Aaron and Neal when we get home.”

Daisy smiled from ear to ear. “Oh, I’m looking forward to my punishment. It’s been a while since I did something this bad. Maybe Aaron will bring out the deer hide flogger.”

I pulled the passenger door open and slid into the SUV. When my ass hit the seat, I heard a click followed by a ticking noise. Daisy pulled the driver’s door open, but before she could climb behind the wheel, I yelled, “No! Stay out, Daisy. I need you to call John.”

She backed away from the car and pulled out her phone. The ticking of what I assumed was a bomb seemed to echo through the SUV. Each tick counted down the seconds until I died. Maybe Nate really was dead. Why else would someone try to kill me? I slowly turned and watched Daisy pace back and forth.

After a few seconds, she pulled her phone away and dialed another number. Finally, she started to talk to someone. Her hand went to her mouth, and tears began to stream down her face. She nodded her head and continued to chat. Her hands were flying through the air with each word she spoke as she started toward my side of the SUV and opened the door. Finally, she took the phone away from her ear and tapped the speaker icon. “Okay, what am I looking for?”

“Do you have a mirror in your purse?” Aaron asked.

Daisy stepped back and dug through her purse until she pulled out her foundation. Then she started to lean into the car.

I shook my head vehemently. “Stop, Daisy! I don’t want you to get hurt.”

She ignored me and used the mirror to look under my seat. “Okay, the bomb has a clock. We have forty-five minutes. There are a lot of wires.”

“Okay,” Aaron answered. “Step back. I’m on my way. The second we hang up, I will call Gabriel and have him meet me there. He is one of Brock’s top bomb experts. Then I will call Neal for an update. I love you, Daisy. Step back and be safe. If anything changes, call me.” The phone went dead.

“What is John doing?” I asked.

Daisy looked past me, and her eyes started to water. “He will try to make it.”

“Try to make it? I’m sitting on a fucking bomb. Tell me what’s going on.”

She still had tears running down her face. “Someone took control of the brakes and gas pedal of my car.”

“I need more than that. Are they okay?”

Daisy took a deep breath. “Neal didn’t tell me much. I called Neal first since he was supposed to be with John. Neal is going to stay with John. When I called Aaron, he was on his way to the accident.”

Two years ago, I had a role in an action-adventure movie. There was a scene at the end in which I was tied to a chair with a bomb underneath. The ticking had seemed so real when I did the scene that it was easy to put myself into a place of danger, but the real thing was ten times scarier.

My nose itched, but I was scared to make a move. I wanted John. Over the past couple of days, he had been there to answer questions and make me feel safe. He was an overprotective ass, but at that moment, I wanted his overprotective ass to come save me from being blown up. I had no clue who Gabriel was. The only thing I knew about him was that he was going to be one of the captains on our boat along with Jacob.

“Are we sure this Gabriel is any good?”

Daisy looked up from her phone. “Brock only hires the best. Gabriel was a Navy SEAL. His specialty is in bombs.”

With each tick of the bomb, my nerves frayed even more. “Daisy, you should go stand by the store. What happens if this thing goes off early or if I move and cause it to go off?”

“Not happening. When I looked, we had forty-five minutes. Now we’re down to forty-two. Gabriel will be here soon and look at the bomb. Then we’ll be on our way home.”

“Do you think you’ll get the flogger you wanted?” I needed her to keep talking to me and drown out the sound of the bomb. “I know you said earlier John went to the same club as you guys. Does that mean he’s a Dom like Aaron?”

Daisy wiped the tears from her face. “Yes. John is a Dom and has been in the lifestyle since I’ve known him.”

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