Page 20 of Hacker Betrayed

"You have a good kid. Kicked my ass in basketball." He then waved toward his wife. "Do you still need us? My wife and I need to have a little conversation about what goes on a grocery list and how stopping to set up a sniper post can't be added after the fact." He held up a white slip of paper which listed bread, eggs, and milk, but at the bottom she'd written “sniper post.”

"You're so damn dramatic, hon," Kat replied. "You get to go to work all day. I stay home with our kids and get to have no fun."

"Woman." Antonio took two gigantic steps across the patio, swooped down, and threw his wife over his shoulder. "You come into the office and drop the kids off in the daycare. You worked three missions last month. I'm close to hiring a live-in nanny and strapping your ass to the bed while I'm not home." His hand came down on her ass as he marched toward the door that led to the house.

Kat raised her hands and looked through her red hair. "I'll text you. But remember, the girls are here for you."

I sat in the chair next to Lucas. "How are you doing?"

"He's in the house, right?" Lucas asked and glanced at the house.

"Yes. Things are so complicated and confusing, even for me. He's about to leave, but I wanted to give you the option to talk with him. This is your choice."

"I don't want to hurt you, Mom."

I pulled my son into my arms. "You could never hurt me. Let's head to the study, and you can talk with him for a little while."

The smile on my son's face stretched from ear to ear. My hand rested on his back as we headed to the kitchen where everyone else had congregated. Donovan and Paxton talked low but immediately stopped when we entered the room. My son ran across the room and wrapped his arms around Donovan. Paxton came to my side and pulled me close. "Should we step outside the room?"

"Yes."

Paxton pulled me against his chest, and I rested my head against it. His arms wrapped around me felt good. My feelings for Paxton kept growing, and I wasn't sure how I wanted to handle them. My life was currently in danger, and I wasn't sure what to do about Lucas. I wanted more than anything to bring him into my life full time, but his safety was more important than my wishes.

CHAPTER6

Ashlyn

Istared down at the spreadsheet and tried to figure out where I'd gone wrong.

I hoped the issue with the calculations was as simple as a wrong number or formula in a cell of the spreadsheet.

I'd spent all my life living in a house that didn't care about anyone. This was supposed to be my way out, but the numbers were wrong. Millions were missing.

If I didn't figure out how the accounts were bleeding dry, I would have to close the company I worked to build. None of my parents' money went into my clothing business.

The door to my office swung open, and my little sister Lydia sauntered in. My parents spoiled her rotten; she lived off Mom and Dad's blood money. Sebastian was so far into the business he didn't care about anything but making our parents happy. Dalia left me years ago.

Lydia’s heels clicked against the marble floor as she headed for the guest chair next to my desk.

Her tight red skirt slid up her thigh.Typical.

Sometimes I wished I could have abandoned the family, like Dalia. "What are you doing here, Lydia?" My sister coming into my office in the middle of the day and expecting me to drop everything for her annoyed me. I'd thought about adding her to the list of people security was not to allow in after she took three of my designs from the workroom and wore one to the club and gave away the other two.

She only ever came to my office because she wanted something. Most of the time it was to gain access to one of my contacts for a new designer purse or shoes. Of course, then she would expect me to pay for her purchase because she blew through her ten-thousand-dollar-a-month allowance before the first week was over.

"I can't just come and see my sister?" she sighed in feigned sadness. "It's not like you ever call or come visit me."

"I was at our parents' house this morning."

"Only because Dad demanded you come. I'm not sure the last time you stepped foot in the house before that. I miss you, sis. We don't hang out or talk about what is going on in our lives."

I closed the spreadsheet and leaned back in my chair. "What are you here for? We both know it's not to catch up."

My chair squeaked as I shifted to give my sister my full attention. Unlike my siblings, I hadn't touched a single cent in my trust fund. Some days I contemplated taking a few thousand out just for a better office chair or something other than ramen noodles. But then I’d be no better than them.

She abandoned the pretext, getting to the point. "We need to throw Mia a huge party. I think we can use your warehouse and have the party catered. When I first had the idea, I considered Mom and Dad's house, but your main floor of the building was empty when I walked through the warehouse. Seems like you aren't using the space."

"My place of work is not an event venue. Furthermore, I don't give a shit about her coming back. She left years ago." All Mom and Dad cared about was Dalia, growing up. My sister promised to take me with her when she married Cyrus. Except she left without a word. Then I saw her years later in my parent's office. The news said she had died, but she hadn't. Once again, she walked out the door, leaving me in the hell we grew up in. The only thing she ever cared about was herself.

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