Page 1 of The Tech Guru's Heart

Chapter One

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“THANK YOU SO MUCH FORpicking up Rylie’s cake, bro,” Warren rumbled through the phone line.“You’re totally bailin’ me out.”His brother’s voice was filled with a groan as he muttered, “Can’t believe I forgot to pick up my son’s birthday cake.”

Link Rawlins smirked as he listened to his eldest brother’s lamenting tone.“It’s fine,” he assured, shaking his head as he pushed his cart out of the grocery store.His brother’s mate, Patricia, had ordered the massive, two-flavored sheet cake nearly two weeks before for Link’s nephew’s birthday.Rylie was turning eighteen.“I was in the area.”

“Whywereyou in the area?”Warren asked, sounding confused as hell.“You hate going into town.”

What his brother said was true.Link did indeed hate going into town.He much preferred ordering his groceries online and having them delivered.Link absolutelylovedthe invention of the Internet...well, everything computer-related, really.

Link worked for the Shifter Council in their cyber division, mainly as a hacker, and he preferred staying behind the scenes and out of sight while still helping his friends, family, and paranormals in general.

Having realized the importance of the invention of computers from the get-go, Link had been quick to invest in stock in those companies.He’d been right, and he’d made himself and his family independently wealthy.For the most part, Link didn’t bother leaving his home except for family gatherings, to go to work at the computer lab at Shifter Headquarters, or to go somewhere to shift into his musk ox form.

“Link?”

Hearing Warren’s prodding tone through the earbud in his ear, Link admitted, “I can’t get my favorite ice cream from my usual delivery service, and I’m out.I didn’t want to wait the three to five business days the other company takes.”

Warren’s deep chuckles sounded in Link’s ear.

“I wanted some,” Link mumbled, rubbing his hand over his thick beard in agitation.“Mint moose tracks is the best.”

Link still couldn’t believe he’d eaten the last of it two days before, and he hadn’t even realized it.

“Well, your mistake saved me,” Warren told him, sounding an odd mixture of amused and relieved.“Let me know when you get home, and I’ll set up a time to come grab it.”

“I can just drop it off on my way home,” Link offered.“It’s not a problem.”

“I don’t want Rylie to know,” Warren countered.“It’s supposed to be a surprise, and he’s home right now.”His tone filled with pride as he told him, “He thinks we’re waiting until next weekend so we can celebrate his birthday and graduation together.”Issuing a deep chuckle, Warren claimed, “This bash tomorrow’s going to surprise the hell out of him.”

“That it will,” Link agreed, smiling as he thought of the surprise party scheduled for the next afternoon.“Well, I’ll be home in a bit.I’ll text you.”

“Thanks, bro.Talk soon.”

Warren disconnected before Link could reply, but he wasn’t put off by it.That was just his brother’s way.

Link carefully placed the sheet cake in the cargo area of hisHummer, then closed the door.He climbed into the cab and grunted appreciatively, enjoying the smells filling the space.His mouth watered, and he looked forward to getting home so he could eat his dinner and relax.

After several days of setting up discreet tags on all the other cyber guys’ IDs for Councilman Colearian, Link was looking forward to some downtime.Someone in their employ was willing to leak information to outsiders.His or her antics had come to light when it had put a couple of mates in danger.The council needed to know who it was.

Link felt damn proud that his friends had vouched for his integrity.As a result of their trust, he’d been tasked with figuring out who the leaker was.That meant needing to track every other employee’s action, online and off, as well as getting access to their banking files...without them knowing.

Considering Link was looking into other hackers, it wasn’t an easy task, and he’d put in a shit-ton of long hours.He’d finally succeeded in writing code to track the last of the guys just that morning.With how satisfied Link felt, he wanted a treat...hence, the ice cream.

After a hot shower, Link had realized he was out of his favorite.He’d immediately climbed into hisHummerand driven to town.Since Link was already out and about, he’d placed an order into his favorite Greek restaurant, too, and the scent of the lamb gyros in the bag on the passenger seat was making his mouth water.He’d picked them up right before his brother had called.They would be perfect with a glass of wine, and his ice cream would be dessert.

Then maybe I’ll log online and kill some zombies.

Link enjoyed a number of online games where he could team up with others and kill zombies or vampires or other monsters.Usually, he could find one of his cyber buddies around, and they were always happy to have him join whatever team they were on.Due to how busy Link usually was, he couldn’t get online often, but the guys knew how good he was when he was around and always welcomed him.

Looking forward to unwinding, Link started his vehicle toward home.He heard his earbud beep, alerting him to an incoming call.His friend’s name flashed on his vehicle’s display.

Reaching up, Link hit a button on the earbud, accepting the call.“Hi, Rigel,” he greeted.Smiling, he couldn’t help but tease, “Why aren’t you busy sexing up your new mate, man?”

Rigel Patterson was an enforcer for the Shifter Council and was newly mated.He’d recently met and bonded with a human named Tucker Rolden.The pair had hit a few speedbumps along the way, but they were working it out.

“I wish I was,” Rigel replied, and Link was surprised to hear the anger in his normally friendly and fun-loving buddy’s tone.“Tucker just got a call from his sister.Their father’s there at her apartment, causing trouble.”

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