Page 4 of Hacker Betrayed

Having a bunch of hackers as friends could be a pain in the ass.

Mia: I had to run an errand.

Kat: Oh, are you on a super-secret mission?

Mia: No.

Asher: Need backup.

I hadn't noticed Kat added Asher and CJ to the group text. My brother cleared his throat, while I ignored him for a second.

Mia: I'm not doing anything wrong. I just need to grab something.

Kat: The alligators are hungry. You can drop the bodies off at our house.

I blinked down at the screen.

My brother peered over my shoulder. "Alligators? Is that code for something?"

God, I wished. "No. She's a reformed CIA assassin. Well, if we want to get into semantics, she's still working on the reformed part. Kat runs a women's shelter and when the police can't help saving a woman because of the laws they need to follow, Kat sometimes eliminates the threat and feeds the bodies to the alligators in her backyard."

"You have some strange friends."

Mia: I don't need your gators, and before you ask. No, I don't want a gator. Remember, I live in an apartment.

Asher: If you don't need backup, why are you on the street with a man I don't know and a gun? Brock said he didn't have any missions for you.

Sebastian spun around, looking for my friends. "How does he know I'm here?"

I pointed up at the sky and waved. "Because he hacked the satellites."

Mia: I need to grab what I came for. Lunch tomorrow? I'm thinking about gator.

Kat: I'll snipe your ass. Diner at noon, and I'll bring the gang. You can tell us all about the wild sex you will have with Dr. Paxton tonight.

"Ew!” my brother groaned. "I don't want to think about your relations, but your friends sound damn cool."

They were my family, but I refused to talk to my brother about how it felt to be an outcast and not helped.

Mia: Tomorrow.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Yes," Sebastian sighed as he pulled out his gun.

"I know you didn't have to do this, so thank you."

"What are brothers for?" Sebastian winced. "Someday I might explain what happened years ago, but like I said earlier, it's not my story to tell."

"Now's not the time to rehash the past," I ground out.

I wouldn't mind sitting down and having a drink with my brother. Plus Ashlyn and I were close, growing up. Before I was handed over to Cyrus I’d planned to bring her with me when I moved out of the house. Except Cyrus’s house wasn’t a place I’d wish on my worst enemy. I missed her. Lydia and I never talked much. She focused on her studies, and since she was smart, our parents never made her deal with family stuff.

Sebastian followed me down the sidewalk and up the path to the house. He had his back against the house, and his gun gripped in his hand, as I wrapped my fingers around the doorknob. They did not lock the house, I learned as I pushed the door open. The only light in the small living room came from the moon shining through the window. Sebastian stepped in behind me.

"Something feels wrong," Sebastian murmured, lowering his gun.

I nodded.

---