Heart-Shaped Hack(59)

“So they’re all thieves?” Kate asked pointing to the user names running down the length of the screen.

“Pretty much.”

Kate used her thumbs to gently knead the tight muscle on the back of Ian’s neck.

“Oh yeah, right there,” he said.

“What will happen next?”

“Once we have enough evidence, we’ll round up the worst offenders. Many of them will see jail time. If they’re smart, the ones that are left will scatter.”

He turned his chair around and pulled Kate onto his lap, which was one of her favorite places. His long legs were strong and solid underneath her, and she loved it when he wrapped his arms around her and held her that way.

“Kiss me,” he said.

She pressed her lips to his and dipped her tongue into his mouth. “Like that?”

“Just like that,” he said, pulling her in for another.



For lunch, they picked up sandwiches from Mona’s because Kate won the coin toss after stating she could not eat Thai food one more time. Ian insisted the sound of the TV wouldn’t bother him, so she watched a movie after they finished eating. Kate knew he was telling the truth because he was so immersed in his work he didn’t look away from the screen when the movie ended and she stood up to stretch and go to the bathroom. The sunken whirlpool tub caught her eye when she was washing her hands. A nice, relaxing bath would be an excellent way to pass the time until Ian was finished.

She searched the cabinet under the sink while the tub filled, but Ian didn’t have any bubble bath. She’d have to remember to bring some the next time she visited. When the water reached the level she desired, Kate undressed and lowered herself into the tub, hitting the button to turn on the jets.

Now this was a bathtub.

It was big enough for two, even if one of those people was a six-foot-four-inch man. Kate could see herself buying one of those little air-filled pillows and maybe a tray where she could set a book and a glass of wine. She’d suggest to Ian that they should spend more time at his place, and that he need not look farther than his bathroom if he wanted to find her.

After ten minutes of the pulsing water massaging her body, Kate felt incredibly relaxed. She turned down the jets and rested her arms along the side of the tub, eyes closed. She opened them when she heard the door open.

“You don’t have any bubble bath,” she said, knowing he could see her body clearly under the water.

“Thank God.” He stripped off his T-shirt and unbuttoned his jeans in one fluid motion. After he removed the rest of his clothes, he eased in behind Kate and wrapped his arms around her.

“I wasn’t trying to distract you,” she said. “I just couldn’t resist this tub.”

“It’s okay. I’m officially done for the day.”

She rested her head on his chest and angled her neck so he could reach it. He kissed it and laughed.

“What’s so funny?” she asked.

“I was not specifically invited to join you in the bathroom, but here I am. Pressed up against you, even.” He skimmed his palms down her breasts.

“You are not a good rule follower.”

“The worst,” he said. “It’s the hacker in me.” He kissed her neck again and gave it a little nip that made her shiver despite the warm water.

“Kate, I have to go.”

Her body tensed and he tightened his hold. “When?”

“Soon. Within a month or two.”

That meant the end of April at the latest.

“Once the arrests are made, those who managed to elude us will be extremely motivated to find out who brought down the forum. I’ll be on borrowed time.”

“Do you know where you’ll go next?”

“No. The only thing I know for sure is that I want you to come with me.”

Their commitment to one another was deep enough that Kate had already known he’d ask. She thought she’d been prepared for it. But the reality of packing up and leaving everything behind was something she’d have to carefully consider.

“How would it work?”

“We’d pick a destination. Someplace large enough to get lost in. Preferably warmer this time.”

“Texas?”

“Anywhere but Texas,” he said, and his tone left no doubt about whether he had any desire to return to his home state. “I’d shift to my private-sector clients for a while. You could do whatever you wanted. You could find another nonprofit to work for, although you wouldn’t have to work at all if you didn’t want to. You could volunteer somewhere if that’s what you’d rather do. The possibilities are endless.”

“Would we ever stop moving?”

“I hope so. Living in rented apartments at thirty-two isn’t the same as twenty-two. Someday, maybe soon, I’ll say no to the next government assignment and put down roots somewhere. Buy a house. Share it with a beautiful brown-eyed girl. But even so, the risk of someone finding out who I am will always be there.”

She was silent for a moment. “You said you’d asked two women in the past ten years to come with you. Why did they say no?” Kate knew Ian had been single for about a year when he met her and had been with his previous girlfriend for nine months. But she didn’t know anything about the two women he’d asked before asking her, and she was curious about their reasons for declining.