Page 42 of Hacker Betrayed

Patty closed the lid of the laptop she was on and pulled a computer from her bag. “I might have a trail on the person. Give me a second.” I hovered over Patty as she typed shit I didn’t understand on the command line of her computer.

My phone buzzed, and I glanced down to see a message.

Lucas: Hey, mom! Where are you?

Me: I’m at your aunt Ashlyn’s warehouse. Aren’t you supposed to be in school?

Lucas: Zack sweet-talked my teachers into letting me do my work from home. I’m at Paxton’s place. I wanted to surprise you, but Zack made me text.

Holy shit, I was in shock. I told Zack everything was clear yesterday morning, but I didn’t want Lucas to fall behind, and now everything was taken care of? Amazing.

Me: I’ll be home soon.

Lucas: Love you, mom.

I scrolled down my contacts to Paxton’s name. I didn’t expect him to reply immediately.

Me: Lucas is at your house. I’ll explain later.

Paxton: Cameras alerted me, and Brock called.

Me: Why aren’t you in surgery?

Paxton: I had a meeting. When I found out about Lucas, I bumped the surgery.

Me: You didn’t have to.

Except his gesture warmed my heart.

Paxton: I wanted to. Once I finish the meeting, I plan to head to the house. You can take your time.

Patty’s voice pulled me away from my phone. “Damn, I’m good! Like really good. Brock and Sophie aren’t even close to as good as me.”

Jessica peered over her reading glasses. “Let’s not rub your hacking skills in my husband's face. You know how much it hurts his little hacker ego. Then I’m the one who has to suffer while he figures out how you accomplished whatever you just did.”

Jessica was one hundred percent right about Brock’s broken ego when he heard of some of Patty’s hacks. The man would lock himself in his lair, aka the office, for hours typing away at code.

Patty smiled. A strand of her purple hair fell from her messy bun. “I’ll send my brother-in-law some candy, but no way am I keeping this shit from him. He sure as hell doesn’t keep his hack hidden from me. He and Neal planted bugs in my network when they came for my wedding. You realize how unromantic it is when Baby Shark starts playing while you and your husband are having sex? Or how they programmed all my channels to the news? They know I hate watching that shit. Most of the time, it lies about how I’m running my country. And those two assholes gave secret coding lessons to my daughter. She’s six. I love my little girl, but she’s the devil. She’s perfected her glitter bomb and added in the programming she’s learned. My life will be hell. I pay a hundred thousand dollars in hazard pay to my nanny. Now, are you all done stealing my thunder?”

“Are you going to explain why you think you are the best?” Jessica asked. “Or do you want me to use my twin power and read your mind?”

“Growing up, Dali—sorry, Mia and Sebastian had the twin power thing too,” Ashlyn said. “They were super close.”

When I was eighteen, I spent time with Ashlyn, but I should have paid more attention. My sister seemed so lonely.

“I know this is all hard,” I sighed. “Once we get this person behind bars, maybe we can start having lunch together or hanging out.”

Patty stuck her lip out. “I miss girl time. It’s not the same over FaceTime. Sam’s going to have a hard time getting me back on the plane. As for your statement about the thief. Do we have to put the person behind bars? At your parents' party the other night, I secured ten barrels of acid. I haven’t figured out how to transport them back to Shialia, but Kat worked out her bulk discount.” Patty winced. “I think Kat will fit in well with your mafia family. The man she dealt with was in his eighties, and she threatened to take a bat to his good leg. Before I could apologize for what she said, the man barked out a laugh, gave her a discount, and invited her to his family's Sunday dinner.”

Ashlyn leaned forward and pointed at the screen. “I like hearing these stories, but can you let me in on what you found?”

“Sorry, we sometimes get off track.” Patty turned back to the screen and typed in a coordinate. She had the same software on her computer we used at Blackwood. The software would tap into a set of satellites run by Nova Satellite Security out of Houston. Antonio and Brock paid a hell of a lot of money for their system access. The Black brothers were friends with them, but didn’t cut them a discount. “Give it a second, and I’ll have the aerial view of the location.”

“Just like that,” Ashlyn asked. “Jordan and I tried to hire a hacker, but they didn’t get us any information.”

Patty snorted, a sound only close friends of the queen experienced. “Oh, did you miss the part earlier, when I declared myself the best hacker in the world?”

“Technically, you didn’t make that declaration, sis. I’m not sure how yours and your husband’s ego fit under the same roof,” Jessica grumbled.

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