Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87618 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87618 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
I close my eyes. It’s strange vocalizing this. I’ve always known why I steal deep down inside, but I’ve never said the words out loud before.
I’m an impulsive person, but above all, I yearn to have a sense of control over my life and my surroundings. Living under my father’s roof hasn’t always been the best for my self-esteem, but the second I started breaking into places I didn’t belong—
Well, suddenly, I was the one in charge, and nobody could stop me.
“Thank you for sharing that with me.” He puts a hand on my thigh. It’s big and warm, and a shiver runs up my spine. “I really meant it when I said I want to know you, Riley.”
“Yeah? I’m not just some random Irish wife?”
“Well, you’re that, but we’re in this together now.” His fingers tighten their grip. “For better or worse.”
I push his hand away. “Mostly for worse.” I turn my back on him, suddenly too aware of what we’re doing. He’s getting closer and closer, he’s touching me, we’re lying in bed together in the middle of the night, and it’s too much. I know where this goes. I know how it ends.
With me barefoot and pregnant.
Good luck robbing anything with a big old baby bump.
Maybe I shouldn’t retreat, but I’m also not ready to take that next step.
“Goodnight, Alexan,” I say, pulling the covers tighter around me.
“Goodnight, wife,” he says softly in that beautiful velvet voice of his. “Wear the shirt tomorrow night.” Then he shifts over to his side of the bed, giving me much-needed space.
I close my eyes and smile into the darkness.
Maybe I will.
Chapter 14
Alexan
Numbers scroll across my screens as I drink coffee. My feet are up on the desk, and soft classical music is playing through my stereo system.
The watch is connected by a long cable to my main PC system. It’s entirely air-gapped, which means it’s not connected to anything at all, with no possible way of transmitting any data.
I run the watch through my diagnostic system, and so far, I’ve found nothing interesting.
Except for a whole lot of encrypted data.
Which means it’s useless, at least without the key.
I’ve been in this business for a long time. I’ve gone up against some very talented hackers in the past, and mostly I’ve come out on top. Generally, I’m very good at what I do. My hacker name, Permafrost, has a very good reputation among the underbelly of the dark web.
But this is some extremely advanced shit.
I’ve seen good cryptography before. Most of the publicly available cryptographic protocols are very solid. They’re crackable with some computing power and a little luck, but it would probably take me at least a few months, depending on which one they used and the length of the passcode.
Except this is something new.
It’s bizarre, and it’s powerful.
“Good morning, husband.” Riley steps into my office. She beams at me, looking a little too perky for seven in the morning. Sunlight streams through the window and catches in her auburn hair, and I’m struck by how truly beautiful she is. My wife’s in a simple pair of tights and a long t-shirt with not a speck of makeup on her face, and she looks like heaven. Plump lips, upturned nose, high cheekbones. Those cute Irish freckles. And a body that makes me shiver with pure want.
I nearly lost control last night. Lying in bed with her and keeping my hands to myself was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I had to distract myself, and the only topic I can think about these days is her.
Which only made me want to touch her even more.
It’s probably a good thing she turned her back on me. I have to remember that this girl got me tangled up with the Black Mantis. There’s a serious chance that we both end up dead at the end of this, and I’ve got only pretty little Riley to blame.
“Can I help you with something?”
“No, I don’t think so.” She sprawls on the couch a few feet away. I glance at her legs and thighs, jaw flexing. I’m tempted to bury my face between her legs. Focus, Alexan. “Just seeing what you’re up to.”
I gesture at my screen. “Right now, I’m reminding myself how we’re in deep shit.”
“That bad, huh?”
“That bad,” I agree. “There’s no way I’m going to crack this before Mantis decides to come kill us both.”
“You can’t do that thing?” She waves a hand in the air before making a muscle. “You know, brute force?”
I snort a little laugh. “How do you know what that is?”
“I watch TV.”
“Okay, well, no, I can’t brute force this. My system’s got a lot of compute power, but it’d still take—” I do the quick math in my head. “Something like ten thousand years to crack it.”