Page 4 of Hacker Salvation

Addie let out an aggravated sigh. “You know I can’t move until I solve Mom’s case.” She took a deep breath. “Don’t start. I know Mom went missing twenty years ago.”

“Okay.” I blew up another balloon. Brock stood across from me, blowing up balloons. His wife, Jessica, sat in the chair next to us and tied the balloons after we filled them up. Brock raised a brow at my conversation, but I waved him off and continued. “I just miss my baby sister.”

Brock and I had gone through basic training together, and he knew how much my sister meant to me. Yes, our father was still alive, but neither of us had talked to him since the day we’d turned eighteen. Addie had used my signing bonus to head off to school, and I had gone into the navy.

“You act like we never talk,” Addie teased. “We talk every day, John. Now, don’t forget to FaceTime me when Annabella shows up.”

I glanced toward the front doors of the women’s shelter. Six women who Daisy had helped rescue from a sex trade were assisting her in putting balloons around the entrance.

I had met Annabella a couple of times since flying out to Los Angeles to help Daisy with the new shelter. Daisy meant a lot to me. Five years ago, Brock, Sam, and I had rescued her from a man who’d held her captive for ten years. Three months ago was the first time Daisy had stepped foot back in California since she’d been rescued. Her time back hadn’t gone as planned, and someone from her past had tried to make her pay. She’d helped expose the sex-trade industry and was still running from her old captor. Because of her bravery, six women were safe, and now she was trying to help others.

I grabbed another balloon from the pile. If I didn’t cut the conversation with Addie soon, I would never get her off the phone. “Look, I need to help set up. If or when Annabella shows up, I will call you.”

Addie’s voice turned sweet. “You’re the best big brother.”

“You don’t need to suck up. I already told you I would call you when she shows up.” I would do anything to make my sister happy. Annabella was one of the people she looked up to for her charity work. One of Annabella’s charities donated money to people with agoraphobia. I couldn’t help but close my eyes as I thought of my mother, who’d suffered from agoraphobia. She’d barely been able to leave the house, and that was one of the reason’s Addie believed someone had taken Mom and she hadn’t run away.

The other reason Addie cared about the cause was because she had borderline agoraphobia. It was something she didn’t like to talk about, but I’d picked up the cues early. When we’d spoken the night before, she had said she planned to meet her new client at a local coffee shop. But that morning, she said she’d talked to him over the phone. Addie hired qualified people to collect data. She analyzed the cases and came up with scenarios.

Silence filled the line for a second. When Addie finally spoke, her voice shook slightly. “Um, John, I had someone else show up to the house today as well.”

The hairs on my neck instantly stood up. “Who?” It came out as more of a demand than a question.

“Dad.”

I loosened my grip on the balloon, and it flew through the air, letting out a screeching noise. My words were stuck in the back of my throat.

“John?”

“What did he want?” I growled.

“To talk.” Addie’s voice was soft. “He’s sober now and wants to see you too.”

“Pass.” I ran my hand through my hair and noticed Brock had stopped blowing up balloons. In fact, everyone had stopped working and was staring at me. “Hey, Addie, I need to go. If Annabella shows up, I’ll call you.” I might’ve upset my sister, but I didn’t have time to process the info that my dad had shown back up after fifteen years. He had checked out many years before Addie and I left the house.

She sniffled. “Don’t be like that, John. He’s all the family we have left.”

It bothered me when she was upset. I sighed and rested my hip against the table. “I need time to process what you said. I’ll give you a call back soon, pip-squeak.”

“Okay, big bro. Talk to you soon.”

“Bye.” I clicked off the phone and shoved it in my pocket.

Brock was still staring at me. Jessica and everyone else had gone back to work. But my boss knew something was wrong. “What’s going on, John?”

“My dad showed up at Addie’s house this morning.”

“Fuck.” Brock’s voice was deep and full of concern. “Do you want me to send Mia up there? I know your sister knows who she is.” Everyone knew about my sister’s agoraphobia, and she was nervous around people she didn’t know.

“I will talk with her tonight, but we need to be here for Daisy. This is more important at the moment. When I talk to her later, I will ask her if she wants me to send someone up there. She probably won’t want anyone.”

“We could send someone just to keep an eye on her,” Brock suggested.

“I’m not going to lie to my sister. Maybe we start looking into my dad and see if he’s stopped drinking and gambling. I don’t want Addie to let him back into her life and for him to let her down again.” There were many times Dad’s bookies would show up to the house, demanding money. I worried Addie would fall for some sad story and give him any money he asked for.

Brock rolled his eyes. “Your dad has lived in the same house since you were a kid. He sobered up three years ago and works as an accountant for a locally owned firm. I haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary.”

I didn’t know if I should be happy or mad that my friend had looked into my dad. “Do you make it a habit of watching everyone’s family members?”

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