Heart-Shaped Hack(58)
“Do you want me to help her? Because I’d be happy to.”
“Yes. But it needs to be anonymous. She’s very proud, and it’s hard enough for her to accept help from the food pantry. But I don’t want you to give her any of your money.”
She could tell by his surprised expression that he hadn’t seen that coming. “You don’t?”
“No. I want you to find the most obnoxious thief who’s bragging the loudest and just take it. It’s not fair. Samantha works hard and has three children who never asked to grow up this way. And yet there are people out there who steal and have more than they’ll ever need.”
“Write down her name for me and I’ll take care of it.”
Kate thought about how relieved Samantha would feel upon receiving the money. How the kids would pick up on the fact that their mother was no longer stressed out and afraid. “Something so wrong shouldn’t feel this good.”
“Ah, she understands me now.”
“I always understood you, but now I can feel it for myself. Thank you for helping her. It means a lot to me.”
Ian pulled her close and kissed her forehead. “Anytime, sweetness.”
After lunch she put on her coat and got ready to walk back to the food pantry. Before she returned to the couch to say good-bye, she lingered near the entrance of the room and watched him as he tapped out a message on his phone. She admired the perfect angle of his nose, his well-defined cheekbones, the square line of his strong jaw, his mouth. Ian was gorgeous, there was no doubt about it, but it was the mischievous sparkle in his smile that gave him the extra edge.
He looked up suddenly, catching her in the act, and her cheeks flamed. “Did I just bust you staring adoringly at me, Katie?” He crossed the room, and when he reached her he leaned in for a closer look. “Aw, I’ve missed those blushing cheeks.” He tickled her, and she pulled his hands away.
“Did you know that when you smile, your whole face lights up and there are little crinkles right here in the corners of your eyes?” Kate said, pressing lightly on them.
“I do now.”
“You make me really happy.”
He held her face tenderly in his hands and kissed her. “You make me really happy too.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Kate ducked her head against the biting wind that was blowing straight out of the north as she and Ian walked to Dunn Brothers for breakfast one Saturday morning at the end of February. The smell of dark roast coffee beans and the sound of light jazz greeted them when they walked through the door.
“I’ve had about enough of the cold,” Ian said, letting go of Kate’s hand and stomping the snow from his boots.
Kate removed her hat. “Thank you for being willing to endure it anyway.”
“There isn’t much I wouldn’t do for you,” he said, dropping a kiss on her forehead.
Once they had their coffee and breakfast sandwiches, they sat down at a small table in the corner.
“I have to go back to my place after breakfast,” Ian said. “There are some things I can’t take care of from my laptop.”
“Okay,” she said.
“Come with me.”
Usually whenever Ian needed to work at his apartment during the weekend, Kate occupied herself with a number of different activities: she called a friend to go shopping or to meet for lunch and a movie. She went to Pilates or ran errands or cleaned her apartment. But lately he seemed to want her near him all the time. And since there was no one else she wanted to spend her time with as much as she wanted to spend it with him, she smiled and said, “Sure.”
When they arrived at Ian’s, Kate made herself comfortable on his couch. She’d brought her laptop and busied herself sending e-mails and working on a few things for the food pantry. Ian settled in at his desk, and soon his fingers were furiously tapping the keyboard.
An hour later she walked over and stood behind him, massaging his shoulders.
He groaned. “Ah… that feels good.”
Kate looked at the blinking cursor on one of the computer monitors. “Who’s Phantomphreak?”
“Me.”
“Seriously? That does not sound like you.”
He let out a short laugh. “It wouldn’t be my first choice for a screen name, but I needed something that would fit in. Phreak refers to a type of hacking using phone lines. Phantom is my own little inside joke.”
“So this is the forum?”
“This is it.”
“And you’re monitoring their activity?”
“Yes. Gathering information, engaging when necessary.”
“How did you get them to trust you?”
“A fabricated yet credible backstory that can be verified by a Google search goes a long way. That and patience.”
Kate read the words appearing on the screen. The interactions seemed mostly an exchange of insults interspersed with racial epithets.
“Do they always speak to each other this way?”
“It’s posturing, mostly. Everyone’s a badass on the Internet.”
“Is it tedious?”
“This part is. I greatly prefer the hacking end of it—plugging security holes and intercepting information—versus watching a bunch of low-life thugs brag about all the credit card numbers they just ripped off.”