Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Jamie
I hear someone shout my name from across the street. Looking over my shoulder, I find Tucker with his arms raised above his head to flag me down.
“I have to get to class,” I call over to him.
He lowers his arms to his sides and shakes his head. “No, get over here.”
“I can’t. I’m gonna be late.”
“It’s important.” Tucker motions for me to meet him in front of Penn Hall.
He looks serious, so I hurry over to the other side of the street. “I can’t be late. What’s up?”
Tucker hands me a crumpled slip of white paper. “I got The Queen’s e-mail address.”
I snatch it from his fingers and stare down at the address in surprise. “How did you get it?”
“Someone who gives her info had it.”
I raise an eyebrow. “And how did you get it?”
He shrugs. “You know me. I have my ways.”
“Are you sure it’s legit?” Tucker nods, and I continue, “It could be complete bullshit.”
“Trust me. This is her e-mail address.” He slaps me on the back. “Now, go find her.”
“This might not be enough,” I admit.
He shoves his hands into the pockets of his track pants and shrugs. “It’s better than nothing, right?”
“Yeah. An e-mail is a start. I’ll see what I can do.”
He tips his head at me. “Get to class. I’ll see you at the house.”
I flash a quick smile. “Thanks, Tuck.”
He spins around, his arm raised in the air to wave.
Instead of heading to class, I practically run toward my house.
Five minutes later, I’m sitting in front of my desk.
The four computer monitors come to life when I hit the mouse.
Each screen has different programs and browsers open.
I choose the one on my left and type so fast the keys bang.
First, I try an e-mail trace, but as I expected, the IP address leads me nowhere. It’s the same result I get every time. So, I go back to the third monitor on my desk and open the tab for the dark web chat room where I first found my lead.
Before The Queen came into my life, I considered myself more of a Red Hat hacker, a vigilante of the hacker world.
I used tactics such as forcing another hacker to upload malicious code to shut down their system.
I did it to Cece at the Gamer Nation Con.
But lately, I’ve gone over to the dark side.
I have become one of them—a Black Hat, the people I try to stop—and she made me do it.
I hate to even ask Maverick for a favor because I know what owing him means. But I have to know the identity of The Queen. My fingers hover above the keys, nerves shooting through my body. I hope this is worth it. Whatever price I have to pay better lead me to her.
The green cursor blinks against the black screen, and bile rises from my stomach, choking me.
I met Maverick years ago after he beat one of my dad’s games.
He was the first person to do it. My dad was in shock that he whipped through all fifty-seven levels in less than twenty-four hours.
I was even more impressed. It had taken me two weeks to accomplish the same feat.
Since then, we’ve become friends, mostly online.
He helps me when I’m in a jam, but he never works for free.
I considered asking him for help months ago, but I wasn’t ready to pay the price. Now, I have no choice. For my sanity, I need to know the identity of The Queen. I have to look her in the eyes and say Game Over.
* * *
I rush into the bedroom Tucker shares with Trent, bursting through the door. Standing in the entryway, I stare into the dark room, tugging at the ends of my hair.
“Ever heard of knocking?” Tucker growls.
His girlfriend, Sam, pulls the blankets up to her chin, so I must have interrupted something, but I don’t care. I finally found The Queen and all because of Tucker’s tip.
As I enter the room, my eyes adjust to the darkness. “I did it,” I tell him.
“We’re kind of in the middle of something here.” Tucker gives me an attitude. “What’s your deal?”
“I found her,” I announce.
Sam and Tucker sit up, their eyes focused on me. I sit at the edge of Tucker’s bed, still in disbelief after all these months of chasing after her.
“I didn’t get a name, but I got an address. It’s owned by a holding company.”
“I don’t get it,” Tucker says. “A company owns the blog?”
I shrug. “I’m not sure yet. I have to check it out.”
“You need to get some sleep first,” Tucker snaps. “Dude, you look like shit. And maybe get a shower, too.” He waves his hand at the space between us. “You don’t smell so hot either.”
I laugh at his snarky comments. “I’ve been working on this all day and night. I didn’t exactly have time for a shower.” Leaning forward, I grip a chunk of my hair between my fingers, resting my elbows on my thighs. “I’ve finally found her.”
“What’s your deal with this girl?”
“I know her code,” I whisper. “It’s beautiful. She’s a real architect. It feels familiar, but brand new.”
“That stuff’s over my head.”
“It’s like being an artist and appreciating the painter for each swipe of their brush. She’s a genius.”
I’ve never been so impressed with anyone.
The Queen is the real deal.
A brilliant hacker.
A skilled coder.
And I’m dying to meet her in person.
“Sounds like you’re in love with her,” Tucker says.
I chuckle at his stupidity. “For all I know, she’s a man hiding behind a screen name.”
“She’s a woman.” Sam clears her throat. “Or, so I heard.”
“I hope so,” I mutter, unsure why I care so much The Queen’s a woman. Not like it matters.
“Okay, now get out,” Tucker jokes, though I’m sure he means it.
I nod. “I have to go find my girl.”
Why am I calling her that? Because she knows me. I know her. I can feel it in her words, in her code, in every single step she takes to bring us closer.
“Shower,” Tucker says. “Girls don’t like guys who smell like barn animals.”
“Dick.” I laugh and then bend down to punch him in the arm. “Thanks for the tip, Tuck.”
“Anytime.” He waves his hand in my face. “Now, go.”
* * *
Fear shoots through my body as I park my Tesla out front of a brownstone off the Ben Franklin Parkway. At this hour, the city is silent. A few cars whoosh by, but the streets are mostly desolate. Hesitant, I push the door open, hoping this isn’t another trap.
It took Maverick hours to ping her IP address to narrow it down to this location. I stare at the address on the paper in my hand, double-checking its accuracy before I reach for the door handle. It’s open. I have a feeling The Queen is waiting for me. She has to be. This is all part of her plan.
From the beginning, she baited me to see how far I would go to find her. And now, I have. But it feels like she orchestrated this meeting as if she left me a few breadcrumbs on purpose. It was too easy this time. After chasing her for months, this makes little sense.
The inside of the brownstone is empty, the only light coming from upstairs.
I climb the stairs and follow the light, which leads to an open door at the end of the hall.
A woman with her back turned to me types feverishly on the keyboard in front of her, her gaze fixed on dozens of computer monitors spread across the desk.
It’s like a hacker’s paradise, the room filled to the brim with every gadget imaginable.
She swivels in her chair, a long head of black, curly hair whipping around to face me. “JJ,” she says in the frigid tone I still remember so well. My blood runs cold from the sound of her voice. “You found me. About time. You’re not as good as you used to be.”
I was so sure I knew her code.
I was right about Cece being involved.
“My name isn’t JJ,” I spit back. “Don’t call me that, Cece.” I enter the room, hesitant to get too close to her. “It was you all along?”
She smiles, holding out her arms, leaning forward to bow in her chair. “Wasn’t I masterful? A genius, some would say.”
I grit my teeth in anger as I approach her. “You tried to ruin my friends’ lives. You even made my girlfriend hate me.”
“I did a lot more than that, and I did it for you, baby.” Cece blows me a kiss. “I left little Easter eggs for you to find me. I told you I’d come back for you.”
I shake my head, laughing. “You’re sick and twisted. What’s wrong with you?”
Cece gets up from the chair, and when she runs her long fingernails down my arm, I can’t move.
No one is like Cecelia Carmichael. She’s toxic, like poison slowing running through my veins.
One touch from her infects me, makes me weak.
And yet, as much as I hate her out of habit, I lean into her as she presses her lips to mine.
“You’re The Queen,” I whisper against her lips.
“I’m your queen, Jamie. And every queen needs her king.”
She stole my game. The characters become king and queen of the fantasy world I created. Now it all makes sense. Her reason for calling herself The Queen was right under my nose, and I was too stupid to see it. I’ve been working on a new version of the game she re-coded and passed on to her father.
Ever since Shannon came into my life, I started tweaking the idea I envisioned a long time ago. She was my muse, must have been, because I haven’t written a single line of code since Shannon walked out of my life.
And with Cece in front of me, I realize Shannon’s the one.
She’s the one who inspired the new game.
She’s the one who truly gets me. That’s why the ideas flowed so well when she was around, why it was so easy to write the code for the game I know my father will love.
It could be one of our greatest products, but I need Shannon back to finish it.
Cece’s words slice through me and rage bubbles up inside my chest. I step back, pushing out my hand to keep our distance. “You are nothing to me.”
“Soon we’ll be like family,” she coos. “Your family will merge with mine. It’s time for us to get back together. That’s the most logical thing for us to do. It’ll look good to investors.”
I tilt my head back and laugh. “You’re fucking crazy. I don’t want you anymore, Cece. When you walked away from me, I learned how to live without you. I realized I don’t need you. I don’t want you in my life.”
She steps forward, her nails scraping against my arm. “You need me, Jamie. I know you do. That’s why I made all of this happen. I wanted you to see how much we need each other.”
I shake my head, jaw clenched as I think about everything she’s done. “No, you ruined my relationship with Shannon to make me miserable, to make sure I was alone.”
“I watched you from afar. You weren’t miserable without her, Jamie, so don’t even try to lie to me.
The only person you thought about was The Queen, which means you did nothing but think of me.
You still love me. I still love you. Everything’s finally falling into place with us. I did this so we could be together.”
I shake her off, moving backward until my shoulder hits the wall behind me. She follows, closing the distance between us. No matter where I move, I can’t escape her. Cece has always known how to hurt me, how to make me suffer. As usual, she’s done a good job.
“What do you have on my dad?”
She smirks at my question. “Oh, nothing. Just a little something I cooked up to help coerce the merger.”
“Whatever you found is a lie, and you know it. My dad isn’t a fraud. He didn’t steal from those games.”
Another smirk stretches across her lips. “Maybe, maybe not. I guess it depends how you look at the code.”
“What did you do?” I lean forward to grip her shoulders, staring into her cold, blue eyes. “You fucking bitch, so help me God—”
She cuts me off before I can finish, her hand outstretched to cover my mouth. “It’s nothing I can’t undo.”
I peel her fingers from my lips. “Then undo it. I’m not fucking working for your dad. Neither is my brother or sister… or my dad.”
“See, I knew this would motivate you to decide.”
“What’re you talking about?”
“You were so set on playing pro hockey, but we both know you’re a gamer. That’s who you really are. Hockey is just a hobby for you.”
“That’s not true,” I snap. “I love hockey. I’m good enough to play in the NHL.”
“But that’s not your true calling. I’m only trying to push you along, help you reach your full potential.”
I sigh in frustration. “What do you really want, Cece?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” She rubs her lips together, staring up at me with greed in her eyes. “I want you.”
“Too bad,” I grunt. “We can’t always get what we want.”
Done with this conversation, I exit the room and rush down the stairs. She follows behind, gripping my arm as I attempt to leave.
“Don’t go, Jamie.” Her tone is soft, pleading. “Don’t throw away the last ten years. We belong together. You know it.”
I spin around to face her, my hatred for her burning through me.
“You broke up with me, Cece.” Something inside me snaps when all the feelings I’ve tried to suppress flood through my veins, causing my hands to tremble.
“I waited for you to change your mind. It’s been three years, three fucking years of waiting for you.
And this is how you get my attention? You only came back because I was happy with someone who wasn’t you. Now, I don’t even want you.”
She sniffs away fake tears, all part of the show. Cece is an excellent actress. When we were kids, she used to mimic the voices and expressions of the characters from our favorite video games. Though she’s an amazing coder, acting is her true calling.
“I’ve always loved you, Jamie. When I broke up with you, it was because we were moving apart for college. I thought it was better that way. Because I knew we would find our way back to each other.”
“Well, your plan backfired,” I shoot back. “Too much time has passed. You’ve done too many things to make me hate you. Now that I know you’re The Queen, I can put all of this behind me. So, I guess, in some ways, I should thank you. Because now I can move on… without you.”
She covers her mouth with her hand and gasps, the tears now falling from her eyes.
Mascara streaks slide down her cheeks. They might be actual tears, but I doubt they’re real.
Unable to look at her anymore, I push open the front door.
One last time, I look back at her. To think I ever loved someone like her breaks my heart all over again.
“Cece.” Her eyes find mine. The corners of my mouth turn up into a wide grin. “Game over,” I say with a wink before I leave my first love behind.
I hear glass breaking from inside the house. Something hard hits the door behind me, followed by Cece’s shrill voice. My smile widens as I slide behind the wheel of my car.
I’m finally ready to move on.
Now, if only Shannon will forgive me.