Page 26 of Hacker Salvation

“Okay.”

The next couple of hours moved slow. I wanted to get out of the hospital room and figure out a plan. Neal and I had come up with an idea—I would go to Santa Clarita and see what I could find, while Gabriel and Jacob would head to Nicaragua to see if they could come up with another lead.

Annabella had fallen asleep on my chest. I liked having her in my arms. The doctor finally walked back in to let us know a nurse would be by with the discharge papers. Annabella woke up and climbed off the bed. It felt so empty without her next to me.

I was changing back into my regular clothes when Annabella’s phone rang. Her face went from pale to bright red as she looked at the display. She angrily swiped her finger across the screen. “Where the fuck are you?” she screamed into the phone.

I mouthed for her to put it on speaker.

“They’re going to kill me.”

11

Annabella

Iwas no longer shocked that Nate had called. Anger had replaced all the feelings I had for the man. I might’ve screamed at him for a good ten minutes before I let him talk. Telling him our pretend engagement was off hadn’t needed to be said at that point, but I’d done it anyway. I had let out a week’s worth of anger, sadness, and betrayal into one conversation.

The part that hurt the most was that Nate hadn’t called because he’d wanted to clear my name. He’d figured he would help clear my name when he was no longer running from the men after him. No, he’d called because he wanted to know if Brock could help him. His location had been found, and he and Pedro were on the run again. My jaw hurt from clenching it. John had agreed to help Nate the second he’d asked.

John looked up from the map on the dining room table. We had only been home from the hospital for an hour, and John was back to work, trying to help my ex-best friend find safety. I wanted Nate to go to the police, but he was convinced they were one of the reasons he was running. And what made me mad was that he wouldn’t tell us who he was running from or why people were after him.

“Why are you mad, Annabella?” John asked. “I thought you would want to help your friend.”

“He’s the reason you got hurt. A bomb was put in my car. And now you’re helping him run when the media and police think I killed him. Why aren’t we demanding that he turn himself in? The man I spoke to on the phone earlier is not the friend I used to know. He’s a selfish ass.” I reached up and wiped the tears from my eyes.

John walked over and pulled me into his arms. My hands pressed against his hard chest. He ran his hand down the side of my face, and the gentle touch made me fall for him even more. “I’m not helping him for his own good. We’re getting him to a safe location so he’ll tell us what’s going on. Tomorrow, we will go and see him. I will make him give proof of life, or I will haul him in. But Annabella, whoever is after him is also after you. I’m not doing this to clear his name. Really, I don’t care what happens to him, but we need to figure out who is behind this so you’re no longer in danger.”

When he put it like that, it made sense. “Oh.”

He leaned in closer, and I ran my tongue across my lips. “Oh? Is that all you have to say?” The corner of his mouth turned up. He rested one hand on my hip, and I couldn’t hold back any longer. I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his. John ran his hand through my hair, bringing me in closer as he deepened the kiss. My body felt like it was going to melt.

John pulled back and rested his forehead against mine. “What are you doing to me, Annabella?”

Before I could answer, Neal came through the kitchen door. I tried to pull back, but John kept a tight grip around my waist. Neal set his computer on the table. “John, do you have a sec?”

John grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the table. When I went to sit in the chair next to him, he pulled me onto his lap. Things felt right with John. When I was around him, I felt safe and protected, unlike the men I’d tried to date in Hollywood over the years. Jake Gilinger was the last man I’d dated before I decided to marry Nate. The more I thought back to the time I had agreed to marry Nate, I realized it might’ve been to get back at Jake more than to help out my friend.

Jake and I had dated for six months. We’d met on a dating app when he’d been working as a bank manager. I didn’t know he was trying to become an actor until it was too late. I took him to my movie premiere and introduced him to some producers and other friends in the business. Four months into our relationship, he told me he got a movie deal. I didn’t think much about it. I was happy for him. But once the ink dried on the contract, he stopped calling. Then I’d seen his picture in the tabloids saying he and his longtime girlfriend were getting married.

My gut clenched at the thought of being used.Will John do that?

When he looked at me, it was with concern. “Do you not like the plan?”

“What plan?” I hadn’t heard a word he or Neal had said.

“We’re leaving first thing in the morning and meeting Nate and Pedro at the base of Kagel Canyon.” He ran his hand down my arm. “If you don’t want to see Nate, you don’t have to go.”

“I want to go. I have so much more to say.”

John tilted his head. “Are you sure? I need to know if something is bothering you.”

I placed a fake smile on my face. “Everything is fine.”

He looked like he wanted to say more but turned back to Neal. They were looking at a map of the area where we planned to meet Nate. I glanced up at the clock and saw that it was close to midnight. I couldn’t hold back a yawn.

“Let’s get you to bed.” John’s demanding tone did something to my body. I wasn’t used to demands, but when he did it, I wanted to melt at his feet.

John and Neal finished up their plans, and we walked upstairs. The doctor had said John would need to be woken up every few hours. Our rooms were across from each other at Daisy’s house. John leaned down and gave me a kiss on the lips before he turned and walked through his door. I hurried into my room. I threw the lid to my suitcase open and searched for something cute to wear to bed. John wouldn’t know what hit him.

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