Heart-Shaped Hack(81)

He took one hand off his box of food and patted his pocket, and her eyes tracked his movement. A brace peeked out from the cuff of Zach’s shirt. It was the same type of brace Ian sometimes wore when his wrists became sore from spending too much time on the computer. “Left it at home again. Sorry.”

“That’s okay,” she said. “Just make sure to bring it next time.”

“I will.” He rose, hoisting the box a little higher in his arms. “I’ll see you next month. Unless I don’t need to come in.”

“Take care.”

“Thanks. You too.”

As soon as he left, she walked to the file cabinet and retrieved Zach’s intake form. She called the phone number he’d given her during the intake interview, but it wasn’t a valid number. When she put his address into Google Maps, nothing came up.

She told herself she was being paranoid. Lots of people had tired, red eyes. Lots of men let their hair grow a bit long. It would not be unusual for someone who worked in a warehouse to wear a wrist brace. New clients did ask for her by name, all the time. People didn’t always carry their IDs on them, and occasionally her clients would falsify their personal information.

But a hacker would protect his identity at all costs.

Especially one whose sole reason for visiting the food pantry had been to catch her in a lie.





CHAPTER FORTY

Kate landed in Chicago at seven, which left her with forty-five minutes to kill before her flight to Indianapolis. The phone Ian had given her pinged as she was walking down the aisle to exit the plane, and seeing his name on the screen filled her with happiness. He’d given her the time and space she needed, which had been wise of him because the longer she’d been home, the more the hurt had faded, and in its place was a feeling of persistent and aching yearning.

Ian: Cinnabon?

Kate: Thinking about it.

Ian: You should.

Kate: Not the best choice for dinner, but maybe I will.

Ian: Have some wine too. That’ll make it better.

Kate smiled, weaving her way around the passengers as she walked and typed.

Kate: Wine makes everything better. : ) Ian: How are you?

Kate: I’m okay. How are you?

Ian: I’ve been better. I miss you so much.

Kate: I miss you too.

Ian: Have you been thinking about us?

Kate: I think about us all the time.

The interaction made her feel good, and she wanted to prolong their conversation. She pictured him sitting on the couch in the guesthouse, typing out a text. After stopping at Cinnabon, she sat down at a nearby table, ignoring her cinnamon roll as she stared at her phone, waiting for him to respond and wondering why it was taking so long. She was so deep in thought that the scrape of a chair being pulled back startled her.

“Here’s what I think,” Ian said, sitting down next to her. “You are cut out for this, Kate. You’re smart and you’re fearless. I understand that being with me comes with a unique set of challenges, but I firmly believe we can overcome them.”

Kate stared at him in shock. Even if he’d left the minute he realized she was on her way to the airport, her flight was shorter than his. “How did you…?”

“I figured you’d go home, so I waited for you to book your ticket and made sure to take off an hour before you did. I’m seriously going to pitch my services to American Airlines. They have no idea how much they need me.”

He reached for her hands. “I wanted to see you. I wanted to talk to you again. I love you, and I know we can make this work.”

Passersby gave her worried glances when she started to cry.

“They were out of her favorite,” Ian explained. “I’ll get her something else.” He pulled her in close and rubbed her back, and the way he smelled and the feel of his arms around her was so familiar and good and him. She wanted to stay there forever. Finally she lifted her head and reached into the Cinnabon bag for a napkin to wipe her eyes.

“You okay?” he asked, brushing the hair back from her face.

She nodded and clasped Ian’s hands in hers, running her fingers over his knuckles. “A hacker came into the food pantry yesterday. He’d been in twice before.”

He looked alarmed. “How did you know he was a hacker?”

“I didn’t at first, and I’m still not sure. His story was good, and he’d obviously put some thought into it. He was quite friendly. Really had me fooled.” She explained the ruse Zach had used and how he’d asked for her by name but had never mentioned who’d given him the referral.

“I checked the dates on his paperwork. The first time he came in was right before I asked you to look at my computer. I was my normal self that day. Happy, smiling. If he was a hacker, that means they were already watching me. The second time he came in, I was a complete mess. Red eyes, tears. The whole nine yards. When he came in yesterday I thought I was being paranoid, but he always had an excuse about why he couldn’t show me his ID, and he was wearing a wrist brace the way you sometimes do. After he left, I discovered the phone number and address he’d given me were bogus. I was feeling pretty down, so I don’t think I aroused any suspicion.”

“I’m sorry, Kate. I never wanted anyone I love to be messed up in this.” He wiped the tears that were running down her face. “I’ve been thinking a lot about the future, and I’ve decided to start a new company. I’ll have plenty to keep me busy because I’ll have to start over and build it from the ground up. Phillip needs someone to do pentesting on government systems so they can be strengthened, and I told him I’d do it. There’s no infiltration. Nothing undercover. Just hacking and coding. It’s not nearly as warm as I’d hoped, but the DC area makes sense because I’ll have to spend more time at headquarters than I did before. I don’t want to live in the guesthouse forever, so I’m going to buy a house. For us.”