Hacked ~ A Dark Horse Novel (Dark Horse Series Book 2) Read online

  “Now you’re just outright lying to me, ‘cause we both know that’s a load of bullshit.” He shook his head, teasing me. “I bet most guys are so intimidated by you, they just don’t know what to do other than crawl back to where they came from.”

  “I wouldn’t say they’re intimidated,” I countered. “They’re actually…bored.”

  Hence, the reason I very rarely dated. I had yet to find a man I had much in common with. And if they were smart enough not to be intimidated or bored by me, then there were other issues, like they were jerks, or simply weren’t interested.

  Yeah, I knew guys weren’t all like that, but I had yet to meet a boy who checked even some of the boxes, who wasn’t already married or involved in a serious relationship. I was pretty much convinced all the good ones were taken, and I was going to be the oldest virgin walking the face of the Earth.

  “Well, I’m not the least bit bored,” Gavin replied. “I think you’re gorgeous. I know you’re smart. And you like dogs. Can’t say you could be any more perfect, Charlie.”

  I turned my attention from our dogs back to Gavin, wondering if he was being sarcastic. Before I could ask, I saw the molten heat in his eyes as he looked at me, and it made me jittery in a way I’d never felt before.

  Part lust.

  Part fear.

  Part longing.

  I swallowed hard to rid myself of the ginormous lump in my throat before I said, “I’m not attractive. I’m pretty much invisible to everyone except my friends and family.”

  “Then everyone else must be blind. But I’ll tell you what…” he said in a husky voice. “I can see you clear as day, and I stand by what I said.”

  Evidently, he did, if the determination in his voice was anything to go by. Maybe that was why he made me so nervous. He pretty much knew nothing about me, but yet the way he looked at me suggested he thought I really was attractive.

  He’s the first guy who doesn’t make me feel like I don’t measure up to his standards.

  I didn’t need a therapist to tell me that most of my feelings of inadequacy came from my father. I’d spent most of my life feeling like I was nothing more than a nuisance to my father… that I didn’t measure up.

  He’d always wanted a boy—but he got me. And then when he finally got the son he’d been dreaming of, tragedy stole him away just seven years later—and I lived with that guilt every day. My mom then died of cancer two years later, though truth be told, she too had been withdrawn after my brother’s death.

  I’d spent my entire life trying to make my parents happy, yet it hadn’t mattered how many academic awards I’d gotten, or how much I accomplished. My mother remained consumed by her grief, and my father would never accept the fact that I lived that tragic day, and my little brother died. My presence only served to remind him of that, every time he laid eyes on me—and he’d never let me forget that.

  “I think Thor wants his ball.” I nodded at Gavin’s furry friend who was waiting not-so-patiently beside his master, relieved to have a distraction from my thoughts, even if my sadness was harder to shake. Yet, I managed a smile, not wanting to ruin what was turning out to be a great day.

  The beast was wiggling with excitement, obviously waiting for Gavin to do something. Since the canine’s eyes seemed fixated on the ball beside his owner’s thigh, I was assuming he wanted Gavin to toss it. I found it funny that Ripley seemed to be just as excited as Thor, even though she wasn’t really a fetcher. My girl was just feeding off Thor’s excitement.

  Gavin let the ball fly with a powerful throw that had the two dogs scrambling after it, although I’d have to say that Ripley was just more or less following Thor’s lead.

  “I think my girl is in love,” I said with a sigh as I watched Ripley start to tussle with Thor over the ball.

  “Thor is fixed.” Gavin shook his head with a laugh. “I’m just mentioning it because I guarantee that he’ll eventually try to hump her and I don’t want you worrying about it.”

  I snorted. “Ripley is fixed, too. And that’s why I got a female. I hate the whole humping-the-leg thing. It’s so annoying.”

  Gavin started coughing hard, and I wasn’t sure whether he was choking or laughing.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, concerned.

  He held up a hand. “Yep. I’m fine.”

  Gavin seemed recovered, so I assumed he was just coughing. “You sure?”

  He nodded. “Do you always just blurt out anything that comes into your head?”

  I thought about his question for a moment before I replied. “Not always. But I didn’t think you’d mind. Did I say something wrong?”

  He grinned at me. “Not at all. I like it. I don’t exactly get a lot of conversation in my line of work. It’s nice to have somebody to talk to who doesn’t have a problem saying exactly what they’re thinking.”

  “I can relate to that predicament,” I mused. “I don’t have much family around here, and all my friends are busy with work and starting families.”

  He didn’t look at me. Gavin seemed focused on a guy across the park who was casually leaning against a tree.

  Finally, he asked, “Your job must keep you pretty isolated, huh?”

  I shrugged. “Pretty much. I spend a lot of time in protective gear running tests and studying samples. There’s generally not a lot of conversation at work, and if we do talk, it’s about our project.”

  “Your project… what exactly are you working on?” Gavin asked as he continued to eye the man across the park from us.

  His question caught me a bit off guard. No one had ever wanted to know any of the details when it came to my work. Maybe it was his way of showing me he was interested. “It always changes, depending on the project we’re on, but at the moment, I’m developing vaccines for potentially deadly viruses.”

  “Nothing secret?”

  “No. Not really. Why?” Okay… maybe this was getting just a bit odd.

  His blue eyes locked on mine. “Charlie, I know you really don’t know me. But I need you to do something for me. Okay?”

  I frowned at him, just noticing that the guy Gavin was watching was slowly moving closer to us.

  “Do you have a leash for Ripley?”

  “Yes.” It was hanging from the back pocket on my jeans. I was literally sitting on it.

  “Call her and put on her leash.”

  “Why?”

  “Please just do it,” he rasped.

  He called Thor, and the two pups raced back to us together. Gavin was quick to pull a short leash from inside his jacket and clip it to his pup’s collar. I did the same with Ripley just on instinct.

  I had no idea what was wrong with Gavin, but he’d suddenly become deadly serious. It prompted me to do what he told me to do.

  He stood and held out his hand, and I didn’t hesitate to grasp it as I got up. “Gavin, what’s wrong?”

  “Walk with me,” he insisted.

  His pace was brutally fast, his long legs eating up so much ground as he moved forward that I was trotting next to him with Ripley in tow.

  We went through the gate of the park, and walked directly to a vehicle parked on a side street. Gavin pulled out a set of keys and with a click of a button, he was opening the cargo area of a luxury SUV. Thor took the jump into the vehicle easily, but Ripley hesitated. Without missing a beat, Gavin picked her up and placed her with Thor in the back, then lowered the cargo door.

  “I’m sorry to scare you like this, but we need to go,” he said urgently.

  “I can’t just leave with you,” I argued. That would be insane.

  “You have to, Charlie. I don’t have time to explain, but I swear on Thor’s life, you’re in danger. Your life depends on it,” Gavin answered huskily. “Please. I’ll explain as soon as we’re out of here and you’re safe.”

  I’d been a city girl most o
f my life, and I knew better than to hop into a vehicle with a man I didn’t know. But my gut instinct told me I could trust Gavin, and with his words sending a shiver of fear down my spine, I hopped into the car the minute he opened the passenger door, hoping I hadn’t just made a huge mistake.

  “Seatbelt,” Gavin insisted as he got in behind the wheel, started the SUV and shot out into traffic. “And I need you to pull the battery out of your phone.”

  “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” I asked breathlessly as I buckled myself in, and started fiddling around with my cell battery.

  “Shortly,” he answered abruptly, his focus on driving and checking out the surrounding area.

  “For God’s sake, Gavin. Tell me what the hell is going on. You’re scaring me.”

  “That’s the last thing I want to do,” he replied remorsefully. “I’m truly sorry. I was hoping I’d have time for you to learn to trust me before this all went to hell.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Obviously I do trust you or I wouldn’t be in your car with my dog.”

  “Yeah. That’s a very bad idea by the way,” he chastised with a hint of one of his smiles, which eased the knot in my gut just a little.

  “You’re stalling,” I told him.

  “Maybe. But that’s because there’s no easy way to tell you this.” He entered the freeway and gunned the engine.

  I growled in frustration. “Tell me what?”

  “That somebody wants you dead.”

  CHAPTER 3

  Gavin

  Well, fuck! This hasn’t exactly gone as planned.

  Problem was, I just didn’t have the time or the luxury of getting to know Charlie before I told her the truth about why I’d been looking for her. Honestly, I couldn’t even believe she’d gotten into the vehicle with me. Damn! That could be dangerous.

  Mental note: Teach Charlie not to get into vehicles with strange men.

  I was both pissed off and relieved that she was sitting here beside me. And I wasn’t quite sure how to rationally deal with the two entirely different emotions at one time.

  The asshole who’d been watching Charlie didn’t appear to be following us. When we’d gone out the gate of the dog park, he’d still been a fair distance away. And we didn’t have a tail.

  I didn’t think it was a coincidence that the guy hadn’t taken his eyes away from Charlie, but maybe I’d jumped the gun just little. Though better safe than sorry. Right now, I was suspicious of anybody who was watching her that closely.

  “I-I don’t understand,” she said awkwardly.

  She sounded terrified now, and my heart sank. She was so sweet, so adorable that the last thing I wanted to do was upset her. But hell, she needed protection right now, and I wasn’t going to take any chances. I had no idea why somebody wanted her dead, but until I figured it out, she needed to stay away from any place she normally frequented. Nobody knew me. I wasn’t associated with her in any way.

  If anybody could hide her, it was me.

  “Please don’t be afraid. Not of me,” I said in a milder tone. “I’m here to help you. I didn’t search you out to hurt you. I was just worried someone would get to you before I could warn you.”

  “You were looking for me? Us meeting up wasn’t an accident?”

  Smart woman! “I was looking for you because somebody put a paid hit out on you, Charlie. I don’t know why, and I don’t know when it will happen. But I’m worried that you’re already under surveillance. That man at the park… I didn’t like the way he was looking at you.”

  “That’s crazy,” she answered, sounding confused. “I don’t have any enemies. I’m a scientist. Why would anybody want to murder me?”

  “I wish I knew the answer to that question.” Even though I didn’t detect anyone following us, I still weaved in and out of traffic on the way to my house, keeping an eye out for anybody tailing me.

  “There’s nobody after me,” she answered with certainty.

  “No old, pissed-off boyfriends?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear her answer.

  “None,” she answered immediately. “I haven’t had a date in years.”

  Damn! I didn’t want to admit to myself how glad I was to hear that. “Work? Anybody there?”

  She let out an exasperated sigh, but it took her a few moments to answer. “No. I don’t think anybody there wants me dead.”

  Her hesitation to answer caught my attention. “Something happened. What?”

  “Nothing worth killing somebody over,” she said hastily.

  “Tell me.”

  “I found out something strange a day or two ago. That’s all.”

  “What?” I prompted.

  “I’m involved with a research team, right now we’re working on a vaccine for a potentially deadly virus. When I finished some of my research, I gave it to my boss Thursday night. I picked it up from him yesterday morning so I could keep adding to my notes, but along with my work was an additional folder with some other research inside it, as if he’d grabbed both by accident or they’d stuck together or something. It appeared to be studies and tests on a deadly virus to see how it can be replicated and grown rather than looking for a vaccine. And from what I could tell, it was level four biohazard rated—the worst of the worst. We don’t deal with viruses at level four. There are only a small number of labs that can.”

  “What did you do when you found out the information wasn’t yours?”

  “I took it into my boss, Doug Whitman. Explained that he’d accidentally given me another file. But when I asked him about the level four virus and where it was being tested, he looked sort of freaked out, though he tried to hide it. He snagged the file from me, and made up some excuse. Said it wasn’t anything we were working on at our lab, but a friend’s research that he was reviewing, since that the information was sensitive and I couldn’t share any of the details with anyone.”

  “Did he say anything else about the file?”

  “No. Other than his warning to not tell, he didn’t want to talk about it—said it was his friend’s research and none of our concern. I tried to tell him that I was worried. The virus is deadly. And according to the data in that file, it looked to me like somebody was trying to find a way to spread it instead of eradicating it. Something like that could kill off millions of people. I tried to make my boss realize just how dangerous it could be if it got released, but he just told me it was nothing to worry about, and not to share the information because it was just a simulation of what could happen.”

  “Did you believe that?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, why would anybody need that sort of data if they weren’t thinking of using it in that way, though… I suppose it could be that they were trying to find a way to counter it. But… I don’t know. It didn’t feel that way.”

  Everything was pointing in that direction. “So this virus… you think it could be used as some kind of biological warfare?”

  Shit! It was a horrifying thought, but what if Charlie had accidentally interfered with a study on biological warfare? The money to be made from selling off information like that to other countries was astronomical. However, most of the countries who would want that type of thing were not our allies. That was probably the scariest part.

  “Honestly, yes. The methods of replication and some of the other information looked exactly like it was being designed to be used as a weapon. I know it’s not logical—”

  “It is logical in an insane type of way, Charlie. Think about it. Biological weapons are highly sought out in some countries, and the payment would be enough to make somebody incredibly rich. Someone could use the virus to manufacture a dirty bomb, which is a hell of a lot more difficult to detect.”

  “But, we’re scientists. We use our knowledge to do good things,” she answered, sounding confused.

  I shook my head, just a littl
e bit enchanted by how naïve Charlie was when it came to being bad. “Money, or even the possibility of being filthy rich changes people.”

  I didn’t want to tell her that some people were just inherently evil. I was certain she knew those people existed, but I wasn’t sure she’d even encountered them up close and personal.

  I’d seen enough cold-blooded murderers in prison to make my skin crawl, bastards who would slit somebody’s throat and wallow in the blood without a hint of remorse.

  “Okay,” she finally answered. “But that still doesn’t explain why anyone would be after me. Even if somebody at the lab is working with deadly viruses to try to make a biological weapon, I’m certainly not the one doing it.”

  “If what you saw was their research to make those weapons, you’re a threat to the whole organization. I guarantee it goes a hell of a lot higher than just your boss, and there has to be more people involved in this crime. Something worth that much money is worth killing for in some people’s mind. Keeping it a secret is essential. They can’t risk having you go to the authorities. It’s likely why they put a hit on you. I’m just glad I came across it on the dark web.”

  “You found the hit on the dark web? Why were you there?”

  I was relieved that she didn’t sound accusatory. She just sounded…confused. Not that I blamed her. Just taking in the fact that somebody might want her dead was probably a lot to handle. Hell, I was used to it. I’d made a lot of enemies. But Charlie was just doing her job. I vaguely wondered if she’d ever even gotten a parking ticket.

  I answered as I got off the freeway. “You can call it a hobby, I guess. One of my personal missions is to hack the dark web, and try to find a way to obliterate it from the internet completely. It’s a nest for pedophiles, murderers, sex trafficking, and a lot of other things we could do without in this world. So I spend my free time hacking into the information available and trying to block it or dismantle some of the operations there.”

  She shuddered. “So that’s where you ran into the hit on me?”