Page 98 of A Dose of Pretty Poison

Fuck.I really hope this shit doesn’t backfire.

I WALK IN THEdoor, feeling better than I have in over a week—which is surprising given I still haven’t slept. It could be all the sex we had last night. I swear, we just couldn’t get enough of each other. But I figure it’s more about having Cam on my side now. That I’m not alone in my war against Monty.

We’re going to bring that motherfucker to the ground.

Just as we thought, Marc knew exactly who to get in touch with. He didn’t want to know any more than the fact that we need a hacker, and I don’t blame him. I prefer it that way. Now we’re just waiting for a time and place to meet the guy.

I find Laiken sitting at the island, drinking a cup of coffee, and she smiles when she sees me.

“Hey, you. Where’d you run off to? Your note was kind of cryptic.”

Shrugging, I kiss her forehead. “Just went to the gym to talk to Cam about some things. Sorry if you were worried.”

Her brows furrow as she shakes her head. “No, I just…you seem different today.”

“I feel different.” I come closer, wrapping my arms around her. “I want you to know that Monty isn’t going to be an issue anymore.”

She places her hand on my chest and holds me back a bit, and I can tell by the look on her face that she’s thinking the worst. It makes me chuckle.

“Don’t worry. I didn’t do anything to him.”Yet.“I’m just not going to let him get to me anymore. I still don’t like him, or trust him for that matter, but Idotrust you. And that’s all that matters.”

The smile that stretches across her face shows her relief. “Thank you.” Standing up, she hugs me tightly and then kisses me. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

In the worst timing ever, a yawn pushes its way through and forces me to break the kiss. Laiken giggles as I pout.I want to kiss my wife, dammit.

“You okay?” she asks amusedly.

I nod, rolling my eyes as I yawn again. “I’m fine. I just don’t sleep very well after we fight.”

“I get that. I don’t either.” She picks up her phone off the island and types something into it, then puts it down. “What do you say we go cuddle in bed and watch a movie? You can take a nap.”

“Don’t you have work in a few hours?”

Her phone dings and she smiles as she glances at it. “Nope. Just got Blake to fill in for me.”

Thank you, Blake.

My grin widens as I grab her wrist and pull her up toward the stairs, since carrying her probably isn’t in the best interest of either of us right now. But a day spent in bed with my girl should more than fix that.

And as I lie with my arms wrapped around her, I know there isn’t a thing in this world that I wouldn’t do to protect her. Even if she doesn’t believe she needs protecting.

I FEEL LIKE I’Min some low-budget black ops movie. The kind where you dress in disguise and go to a secret location. When Cam got a reply from the hacker, he called me and pretended to need my help with something at the bar. I hate lying to Laiken, but I had to. If she knew what we were really up to, she’d lose her shit.

And I’d probably loseher.

Cam follows the instructions in the message, knocking twice, then three times, then once. It takes a minute or so, but the door finally opens. The guy standing on the other side is not at all what I thought he would look like. You always picture hackers as computer nerds. Not this one, though.

He looks like your average college student, complete with a pair of plaid pajama pants and bed hair. The only thing that tells me we’re in the right place is the massive computer setup I can see from the doorway.

“You Marc’s friends?” he questions.

Cam nods. “Yeah. I take it you’re—”

But he can’t finish his sentence because the guy shushes him immediately and gestures for us to come inside. When he shuts the door, it looks like we just walked into some kind of panic room. He locks at least six deadbolts, and three chains.

“Sorry,” he murmurs. “When you do what I do, you tend to make some enemies.”

---