Page 16 of Deadly Hacker

The call ended, but the smile lingered on Emma Jean’s face. She looked forward to these weekly phone calls, however brief. When she’d first moved out to Nevada for college, she had called them twice a day. The homesickness had been heavy, but the weight had slowly lifted over time. Nowadays, Las Vegas felt like home, just in a different way.

Emma Jean got up and dressed for a run, hoping to enjoy the sunrise outdoors. But before she could lace up her shoes, her phone rang again. She picked it up swiftly; it was Miguel.

“Hey, everything okay?” she answered.

“Yeah, yeah, totally. I’m sorry for calling so early. Did I wake you up?” he asked.

“No, I’ve been awake since five. What’s up?”

Miguel sighed in relief. “Oh, good. I knew I could count on you to be up at the crack of dawn. I have a major favor to ask you.”

“Shoot.”

“So I have this new client; he’s super cool and strong and kind of famous locally. He’s a big deal on social media, basically a micro-influencer. He wants to do the usual cardio training I offer, but he’s also interested in yoga. I told him you’re the best, and he practically demanded that we work together. I know you usually work a half-day on Mondays, but you think you could come in early today and help me with this session?” Miguel asked.

“Of course. I’ll bring coffee. You still on that lavender latte kick?” she said.

Miguel chuckled. “You know it. Oh my god. You’re the best.”

“Any time. Okay, I’ll be there ASAP,” said Emma Jean.

“Cool. You’re a lifesaver, Emma Jean.”

“See you soon,” she said, and hung up.

Far from being disappointed to lose half her day, Emma Jean jumped into action and was out the door within fifteen minutes. She eschewed her bicycle and took the car today so she could hit a drive-thru for coffee, then drove up to the Sunrise Business Complex. True to its name, the actual sun was rising behind it as she arrived.

Carrying a cardboard tray of coffee drinks, Emma Jean smiled up into the pink and blue sky. She felt energized and excited before even taking her first sip. Despite her parents’ advice, Emma Jean was all too happy to spend more time at work. Being far away from her roots, it was comforting to walk into the gym. It was her home, and her coworkers were like family.

As she stepped off the elevator, she passed by Kaylee giving a spirited monologue about the complex’s security system to another interviewee. In stark contrast, the man was dressed in dark clothing and seemed fully uninterested in Kaylee’s spiel. He had a dead, expressionless look on his face as he slowly, methodically peered around the gym. When his eyes landed on Emma Jean, he didn’t look away. Not even when they made eye contact.

He just stared. His eyes rolled slowly down her body and back up to her face without an ounce of recognition or shame. A shiver rolled down Emma Jean’s spine. She looked away.

She told herself to just keep walking. There was a chance he just had a very unsettling resting face. Emma Jean would never want someone to judge her based solely on appearance, so she extended the same grace to this stranger.

When she mentioned the guy to Miguel, he simply laughed. “As long as he doesn’t scare away my clients, I don’t care who they hire to watch the door.”

“Yeah, for sure,” Emma Jean replied with a smile. She doused herself in work and let the paranoia take a back burner for the time being.

Sure, that guy might not make a perfect replacement for Franklin, the former security guard, who was jolly and ready with a smile. But the gym was only getting more popular over time—maybe theyneededa more intimidating guy guarding the entrance.

CHAPTER7

RAD

Rad surveyedthe Shining Star from behind dark shades as he stalked through the back entrance for a special Wednesday night mission. There was a card counter, a repeat offender, who kept scamming other players and the casino out of money. Normally, the pit boss and security team could handle the occasional cheater on their floor. But tonight’s target was a bigger nuisance than most. He changed up his appearance and wore surprisingly subtle disguises to get away with more cheating. He had a quiet way of manipulating the other players while he counted their cards and swindled the honest casino-goers out of their hard-earned money.

At first, Mikhail had planned for the security team to take the cheater into a back room and rough him up, the standard procedure for a repeat offender. But his wife, Annika, had urged him to beat the guy at his own game—a game of wits rather than brute violence. Mikhail had rarely accepted advice in his single and reckless days, but now that he was a husband and father, he was more amenable to new ideas. Besides, Rad knew that Annika had grown up surrounded by the mafia world herself, as the daughter of the formerly powerful Baranovs. She had the instinct, even if she came from the wrong family.

Rad understood how Mikhail could soften to his wife’s suggestions. Rad had only met Emma Jean one time, and he was already wrapped around her finger. He wondered what advice she would give in this situation. All of the ‘research’ Rad had done on her, pulling information from her social media accounts and her past, confirmed that she was a capital-G Good Person. She could never fathom the dark, twisted world Rad lived in. She would probably ask him to forgive and forget, let the card counter off with a warning. Perhaps she would suggest letting the authorities take care of it.

He pondered what she would do if she found out what he did for a living. She might even call the cops on him. As much as he wanted to be honest with her, Rad knew he had to keep his double life a secret from her, as well. At least until he could sufficiently win her over. He planned to see her again on Friday, unbeknownst to her. Rad was determined to charm her, despite everything working against him. He had known from the first moment he laid eyes on her that there was no other option, no greater jewel than Emma Jean. He would stop at nothing to woo the beautiful yoga teacher.

But tonight, he had a more perilous mission.

He walked into the back room of the casino to find his team already assembled. There was Luka, the Sokolov enforcer, scowling at him in the corner. He wore a hooded black sweatshirt and black pants. He had his muscular arms folded over his chest. One of his hands played idly with the edge of a small knife. The casino’s floor manager and a couple of big, burly security guys stood waiting for commands. The manager looked nervous. He didn’t want to fuck this up. Mikhail was not especially forgiving. And then there was a pretty young cocktail waitress named Lily, who seemed excited for her role in the evening’s mission.

They all fell silent and attentive when Rad walked into the room. He took off his shades and smiled at them. He cleared his throat and cracked his knuckles.

---