Page 41 of Hacker Identified

"Escaping. Sophie's making breakfast, but I can call in Jessica or other reinforcements."

I shook my head. "No. You won't let me walk by without an explanation, will you?"

"Nope." Kat leaned against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest. "Either you're running from Zack or heading somewhere he doesn't want you to go. I'm all about a woman's independence and not needing a man by our side all the time. But things with you are still a little shaky."

This was the exact lecture I didn't want to have with Zack. He wouldn't want me to go and compromise my safety if he couldn’t come along. A protest wouldn't be good for Zack's image.

"I'm going to go help some friends." Last week I’d told Kat about the group I worked with and some of the changes we had accomplished by protesting. We ended up in handcuffs and a few times in jail. But one out of every ten times we tried, we succeeded. That was one tree or nature preserve we saved, and I enjoyed that part of my life. Zack had said he would support me if we were together, and I planned to continue with my endeavors, but what challenges would my life bring him?

Kat grinned. "You're going to a protest, and you think Zack will say no or want to come with you? Don't tell anyone this, but you might have just jumped to the top of my friend list. Sneaking out to do something you know is wrong. And the possibility of you getting arrested is high. So, at least now I won't be the only one getting bailed out of jail."

Shit. "I'm not trying to end up in jail. In the last two weeks, my identity was exposed, my father got a pardon for his crimes, I almost died not once but twice, my job asked me to resign, and I have no clue what tomorrow brings. Oh, and a sexy ass man keeps insisting on marrying me."

"And you want to do the protest because you need to feel like you haven't completely lost yourself," Kat said quietly. "I would jump in front of a bullet for my husband any day of the week. That man completes the other half of my soul. When I thought he was dead, I had this ache nothing could fill for years. With all of that said, sometimes I need to remind myself that I'm more than a wife and mom. Don't let anyone take that part away from you. It will cause you to get resentful. Yes, you will need to make a compromise, but there is always a way to do anything you want. Like for example, me going with you."

I shook my head. "Kat, you don't have to do this. We spend hours handcuffed to a tree while construction workers scream at us."

"Sounds better than going into the office. Jessica is doing a financial audit on AA Security. Last year she and Antonio argued for hours over certain transactions and how to categorize them. I'll tell him that I want to show you where I keep some of my gators. It's near the Everglades. I’ll leave out the part where we plan to stop off to do a little protesting."

"Kat, I don't want to cause a fight between you and Antonio. I'll send you the location, but please stay here."

Kat tossed her head back and laughed. "I do things all the time to cause Antonio to get mad. Then he brings me here to the dungeon and spanks my ass. The kids are too old now and tend to barge into our bedroom when they feel like it, which makes having sex harder. Hence why so many people complain about us doing it in the office. But nothing is better than when we play, and I submit to him."

This was the first time she’d openly said anything about the club. The night before Zack had pointed to a door in the lobby and said it led to Sanctorum.

"I promise I'll call you if I see any signs of danger."

The door to the right flew open and only missed hitting me by an inch. Zack stepped into the hall, his hair was messy, and he had no shirt on. He threw his arms around me and pulled me in tight. "Fuck. I was worried sick about you."

"I left a note."

He didn't pull back. "When I didn't find you in the apartment I ran straight to Brock's office and had him search the cameras and he found you here. Why didn't you wake me up?"

Kat patted my arm. "I’ll let you two work this out."

I nodded. "I didn't want to bother you, but Willy texted, and everyone’s meeting at a site near the Everglades."

Zack released his grip and stepped back. "You planned to sneak out and go to a protest without protection?"

"You heard Antonio last night. Ash is in custody, and my father took down the bounty on my head. So, I didn't see any reason I would have to stay locked away in this fortress. For two weeks, I've had people on my ass every second, and I wanted to feel normal for once."

"Normal," Zack parroted the word. "All you had to say was you didn't want to be with me anymore. I know my life is a lot to take in."

He took what I said wrong. "I'm not trying to leave you or escape. If I weren't worried about the slim chance we could get arrested, I would love for you to come with me. But I never want to jeopardize your future."

"Except you didn't let me decide what I'm willing to do," he said. "I don't see any problem with being handcuffed to a tree with you or a bulldozer. Let's head back upstairs and let me change unless you want me to go without a shirt."

"You're not going to drop this, are you? So, my only option is to stay here or bring you along?"

"Yes. We know your father has other plans. He is giving us a false sense of security."

"Fine let's go get you a shirt." I sure as hell didn't plan to let everyone stare at Zack's sexy ass chest.

Chapter14

Hannah

My boots sunk into the soft dirt when I jumped out of the Range Rover. The Florida marsh was even prettier than any pictures online. Unfortunately, the Marshal's office had dictated where I could live, so moving to Florida and working in the Everglades was impossible.

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