Chapter 29
CHAPTER 29
PEN
I sit back and look up at the man I’ve known and distanced myself from for so long.
After leaving Leah, I made my way to my handler. I needed clearance to do what I’m about to do. It’s a risk, but it’s one I’m pretty sure is a safe bet.
“Pen, what the hell is going on?”
I cross my legs and sit back.
“Tell me what you think is going on.”
He looks at me strangely.
“Will you tell me the truth?”
I nod. “As much as I can,” I say.
“You’ve already proven your hacker skills. Do you work for the government, or are you a private contractor?”
His face screws up at the latter. He always was ethical.
I smile.
“I worked for the government,” I admit. “I retired, although I probably now owe them a huge favour or three.”
Elijah sucks in a breath, and I smile.
“Don’t worry, that’s on me. Personally, what we uncovered may win me brownie points with the powers that be. If the threat is as large as I think it is, the damage we’ve prevented is exponential. This would have left businesses vulnerable and affected the stock market. They may be owing me.”
Elijah crosses his arms over his enormous chest and scowls.
“I’m being serious.”
“So am I.” I sigh. “I’ve worked for the government for the past fourteen years. Give or take a few months. Fifteen if you count the training they sent me on.”
Elijah’s eyes widen as he takes in my words.
“I don’t?—”
I offer him a small smile.
“No, I don’t suppose you would.” I get up and put some distance between us before turning to face him. “I got myself into a bit of bother in our final year. Wasn’t as careful as I should have been.”
A wrinkle appears between his eyebrows.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m a hacker.” I fold my arms over my chest, mirroring his stance. “Always was, or at least I was, from the moment I began coding.”
His frown deepens, and I laugh.
“Why do you think I was so good at writing the code for Frazer Dawson Cyber Security, uncovering loopholes?”
Understanding crosses his face.
“When I hit eighteen, I decided to use my skills to build a life for myself and Mum. University was me cleaning up my act, learning to use my skills, shall we say, more productively?”
I stop.
“If you cleaned up your act, what changed?”
Shit! I can’t say it was you breaking my heart that caused me to relapse.
I have no one other than myself to blame for my carelessness.
I sigh.
“I hacked into places for shits and giggles . The challenge,” I say, skirting around his question. “I’d tag wherever I went, leave a calling card. I never took anything or did any damage. It was the thrill of the experience.”
“Like gaming.”
I screw up my face in a lopsided grin.
“Exactly. Gaming is the perfect substitute. That’s why my games are so popular. I design levels the gamer needs to break into the same way a hacker would. They test the best minds.” I smirk. “Drives Gabriel mad.”
“Okay, but I seem to be missing something.”
I shrug. “This one particular hack, I was careless, and I got caught. Didn’t hide myself or cover my tracks well enough.”
“When, how?”
I move back to my chair and sit down, resting my elbows on my knees and placing my chin on my clasped hands.
“Just after you got married.”
“What the hell, Pen?”
Elijah jumps up and starts pacing. “Why is this the first I’m hearing about it?”
“You were kind of busy if you remember.”
“That’s not an excuse,” he tells me, his nostrils flaring. His arms sweeping. “You were my friend. I might have been able to help. Dad might have been able to.”
I ignore his words. Robert helped me, but that’s not something Elijah will ever hear from my lips.
“Calm down,” I say.
He stops, glaring in my direction. I incline my head.
“I couldn’t tell you. They made me an offer. Either join a government team and work for them pro bono. Or go to prison. The choice was a no-brainer.”
Elijah pushes off the table and paces, a variety of emotions flitting over his face.
Eventually, he stops and spins towards me.
“What did you do for the government? I take it, it is our government?”
I laugh, earning myself another scowl.
“Now, what I did... that’s something I can’t tell you. That would land me in jail and you in a whole heap of trouble. As for the other. Yes, it was our government.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You don’t need to. It is what it is,” I tell him truthfully.
There’s more, but I have made other promises I will never break.
“Now you owe them again? Because of me?”
“Maybe? Maybe not. I’m a pretty good negotiator. I’m also a powerful businesswoman in my own right these days.”
Elijah drops into the chair next to me, and I straighten up.
He takes my hand in his. His eyes lock with mine, his thumb tracing circles over the back of my hand.
“I’m so sorry, Pen. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.”
I turn my hand over, interlinking our fingers.
“You have nothing to be sorry for. It was my own stupidity and ego that got me caught. I made myself a promise when I got into uni that my hacking days were behind me. I broke a promise to myself. Was too cocky. I have no one but myself to blame.”
The intensity of his gaze has me looking down at our hands.
“Somehow, I still think there’s more to this.”
Elijah always could read me. Explains my intense infatuation. I could be myself, and he accepted that wacky side of me.
“Don’t read into it,” I say, going to pull my hand away but finding it held fast. “It is what it is. Fate takes us down certain pathways. Some of our choosing, others not. You know that better than anyone. Sometimes, we must simply play the hand we’ve been dealt.”
We both fall silent, our eyes moving to where our hands are joined.
“Pen.” Elijah’s voice comes out strained.
“Don’t,” I tell him, pulling back and flattening my hand on my leg, pressing my fingers into the material.
“But—”
“No.”
My phone rings again, and I get up and move away.
“Tailor.”
“He’s in custody,” is the only reply I get. “Bring Mr Frazer.”
I turn to stare at Elijah.
“We need to go.”