Page 27 of Hacker Identified

“Stop!” I tried stepping around Antonio, but the large man blocked my path. “Douglas isn’t really Douglas. We can break this all down later. His father is my dad’s second in command. He doesn’t seem very worried about you calling the cops.”

Kat stepped next to Antonio.

“Come on, Zack,” Angie said. “You plan to believe this crazy woman over your oldest friend. She keeps spouting off that Douglas isn’t really who he says he is. Why would he fake his identity for all these years, and furthermore, how could he possibly pass all the background checks required to work for you?”

Dad would do whatever it took to get someone inside with the president. It ensured the agendas my father wanted might get passed. Once I figured out who he was, Douglas pushing the zone change made perfect sense. “With the right amount of money, it’s easy to manipulate a background check.”

“She’s right.” Zane ran a hand over his face. “I’ll call the local FBI field office and have them escorted to a cell until we figure out the next move. Then, while I wait for them, we’ll lock them up in the cells at my house.”

Only Angie hadn’t dropped her gun. With the mention of the FBI, she raised it again and pointed it toward Zack. “I don’t think so. You’ll let me walk out of here.”

“No,” was the one-word Zack said before he fired his gun.

Angie’s screams echoed through the foyer, and she dropped to the ground, clutching her thigh. Antonio used the distraction to swipe his leg out, causing Douglas to lose his balance and fall forward. Kat stood over Douglas with a gun trained on him. Sophie grabbed the weapon Angie had dropped. The team worked in tandem so fast that I barely had time to register that Angie and Douglas lay on the floor, cuffed. Texan helped Art sit up. Blood covered Art’s face, and he had a hand pushed to the back of his head.

“I’ll call you once we have them both in a cell,” Zane said.

“This one has a bullet wound. Let’s finish her,” Kat said.

“No,” Antonio growled. “We will let the FBI deal with her. Kat, you help Zane and Sophie get these two back to Zane’s house and in the cells. I’ll stay here and watch over Zack, so Texan can take Art to the hospital.”

“Go,” Zack said.

Texan’s jaw ticked like he wanted to argue, but he assisted Art out the front door. Zane, Kat, and Sophie followed behind with Douglas and Angie in tow. A trail of blood drops followed behind her.

Chapter8

Zack

Ipulled into the open parking space a block from the municipal building. Hannah had yet to utter a word during the twenty minute drive from the house.

“I’m sorry,” I said, breaking the silence.

Her brow furrowed as she glanced up from her phone. “For your crazy assistant and Douglas trying to kidnap me for the award my father put on my head?”

“Yes.”

Hannah shifted in her seat and looked at me straight on. “Zack, my father will do everything in his power to keep me silent,” she paused. “That’s why your idea about us getting married is full of holes. Furthermore, I’m putting you at even more risk, because you don’t have protection.”

Except we did. I’d caught sight of the tail, a black SUV behind us. The vehicle belonged to my brother. Antonio took my safety to the next level, but wouldn’t hesitate to bill me for the time AA Security guarded my ass.

“Hannah.” I grabbed her hand. “My mom always complained that I would never drop an idea. Or stop until I achieved what I wanted. I can admit she was right.”

“I can see that. Like how you wanted to build a library on protected land.”

“Yes.” I shrugged, no point in denying her claim even though it was really Douglas. “Another time was when I woke up to the tabloids making it look like I was hitting on a close friend’s wife. At the time, I knew I had to find a girlfriend or fiancé to make them shut up. The thought of even paying an actress crossed my mind.”

Hannah tugged her hand from mine and crossed her arms over her chest. “Don’t worry, I fully understand this is just a contract. I don’t understand why you still want to go through with it though. There has to be a hundred other women better suited for you and with less baggage. Besides, in six months or a year, we will call it quits, because the contract ends. The tabloids will be even worse, and everyone will blame me for our falling out, because Zack Tucker, play boy and sex symbol can do no wrong.”

“If we ever end things, I will take the full heat of that particular conversation. But here’s the thing—the moment I sat next to you at the bar, I felt a connection.”

The left side of her lip tilted up. “Because nobody ever expressed what a hot-headed dick, you could be.”

The list of people who would try to put me in my place was a mile long. “You’re wrong, Zane and Texan tell me all the time. Don’t forget, Antonio holds nothing back, and Kat will express her feelings if she’s pissed about something. I remember at least once she burst into the oval office with Secret Service steps behind her.”

“Family doesn’t count. I bet every woman you dated or wanted to date fell at your feet and hung on every word out of your mouth.”

“The same way men look at you. The guy on the bench hasn’t taken his eyes off you.”

---