Page 202 of Wrecked
His phone rang with a call from his mom.
Here we go.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Nicky, I have the worst news,” his mom said. “Tommy was killed.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It was work related. I don’t know anything more.”
“Thanks for telling me. How are you holding up?”
“I’m very sad, but I know his work was dangerous. Dad and I are so relieved you work in an office. So much safer.”
“Yeah, me, too.” He paused. “I’ve got good news to share.”
“Oh, I’d love that.”
“Addison’s moving in with me.”
“That’s wonderful! I’m happy for you, honey.”
Stryker was calling, so he ended the call with his mom and answered. “What’s happening?”
“I found the point of entry for the security breach at your company,” Stryker said.
“Had to be Tommy.”
“Yeah. He got in through Margaret Larson’s email,” Stryker explained. “Mags is your GM, right?”
“Yeah,” Hawk replied. “How’d he do it?”
“He sent her a photo of the two of them,” Stryker said. “Embedded in the pic was an executable microprogram that created a VPN connection between the two machines. From there, he gained access to your clients, found the ones he wanted to target, turned on their cameras, and posted the videos. He’d cloaked his IP address, but I traced it back to the photo. He wanted to be you, bro.”
“Looks that way, but he went too far,” Hawk said. “Thanks for getting back to me. How’s married life?”
“You know, I didn’t think it would be different—”
“But it is,” Hawk said, finishing his sentence.
“Yeah, it is. I’m happy. Hey, Em, you like being married?” He grew quiet, then laughed.
“What did she say?” Hawk asked.
“She told me she’s happy now, but you should check back in a few hours.”
On a laugh, Hawk hung up.
He rode the rest of the way in silence, his thoughts on Addison. Would she say yes? Would she want to spend her life with him, butnotmarry him? Asking Addison to marry him was a big step, but he was ready to take it.
He pulled down her street, parked out front. She walked outside, pulling two large suitcases. He hopped out.
“Hey!” she called out.
“Hey, baby.” He lifted the heavy bag, set it in her SUV, then pulled her into his arms.
She peered into his eyes, then ran her fingertip between his eyebrows. “That worry line should be gone. What’s wrong?”
