Page 107 of Lethal Vengeance
For some reason, I look over at Sterling. He’s sitting nearby. “I’m not sure. Can we skip that part?”
She hesitates for a second. “We can fill out the rest of the information, but to complete the document, we’ll need a last name.”
I nod to show her I understand.
Leaning forward, she continues to the next piece of information. “I assume you want to keep his first name. What about his middle name?”
I turn my head to look at the screen. “What middle name?”
She squints. “Roberto.”
My stepfather. This proves Sophia loved Gabriel. “Yes, let’s keep it. Also, let’s put his last name as Lopez.”
“If someone looks for him, it’s better if you change the last name,” she states softly.
“What name is on the certificate?” I ask with a frown.
“Lopez. Gabriel Roberto Lopez,” she reads. “Didn’t you know?”
Gabriel had Sophia’s last name, too. “Not Morales? You’re sure?”
“I’m sure,” she replies. “Are you okay?”
I lift a shoulder. “I don’t know.”
“Why don’t we put this one aside and work on yours?” she states firmly. “Zane told me you were dead. That’s great. It’s like having a blank slate.”
Uneasy, I glance at her. What did Zane tell her? Did he give her my life story?
Her hand reaches over and grabs mine. “It’s okay. I probably should have told you a little about myself before jumping into all of this. Knowing might make you feel more at ease.”
“My real name is Henley. Henley Night. My last name used to be something else, but after a crazy stalker tracked me down, I had to die. Or at least the old Henley had to die,” she begins with a laugh.
Her story reels me in immediately. I find myself completely fascinated by this seemingly innocent-looking woman who’s actually a hacker genius, who went after a murderer, and ended up gaining the freedom to live her life again. Minus the crazy stalker.
“And where are these men who helped you?” I murmur.
She swivels and points to three exceptionally handsome men behind us. One is tall and fierce looking, obviously the Thiago in her story. Next to him is a lean man with tousled hair. She described Mateo as a sexy professor, so that’s undoubtedly him. Which leaves the impeccably dressed man as Grayson.
“Which one did you end up with?” Curious to see if I guessed right.
She blushes. “All of them.”
“Sorry, did you say all of them? You’re dating all of them? Lucky woman!” I exclaim.
“No, it’s forever. Permanent. They’re stuck with me,” she says cheerfully. She laughs at the expression on my face. “I love all three of them, and they love me. We live and work together. Although we have separate companies.” She shrugs. “It works because we want it to work.”
“I’m surprised, but that’s amazing. It’s pretty brave of you, all of you, to throw traditional convention out the window,” I remark.
For the first time, her smile disappears. “I didn’t choose to be a hacker. I was forced into it by my stalker. The police weren’t any help. If I hadn’t found Marcos, I’m not sure I’d be here today. My skills provided me with food, shelter, and a life. Traditional convention labels hackers as criminals and yet, not once did the world wonder how I became one, nor did it help me. Marcos did. He founded this rescue foundation. Why? Because his brother-in-law, an accountant for the cartel, murdered the rest of his family. Marcos saved his remaining family by using his own skills, some of which weren’t legal. I’m not going to hide because the world thinks what I did or do is wrong. It’s why I continue to use my skills to help these rescues even when I own a multi-million-dollar business.
“Screw traditional convention. I choose to live the life I want. To be happy. I fucking deserve it,” she says fervently. “I don’t know all of your story, but if you had to die to get to this point, it means something got royally screwed up. People don’t go to extremes unless they feel they have no other choice.”
“I certainly went to extremes,” I remark with a sad smile.
She shrugs as if it doesn’t matter. “You know, if you ever want someone to talk to, give me a call,” she says, writing down her number on a sticky. “And don’t beat yourself up. You can only make decisions for the road you see in front of you, not the one behind or the ones up ahead.”
I squeeze her hand. “Thank you. I appreciate it. I know I want to keep my first name as Quinn. It’s important to me, but I’ll have to let you know on the rest of the names for both me and Gabriel.” I look over at the wall. “Maybe next time, you can introduce me to your men.”
