Hacking Mr. CEO (Billionaire Heists #3) by Anna Hackett

I sat in the rumpled covers, knees to my chest.

Shit. What did I do now? If I continued this hack and handed over the Calix Project, I could be abetting enemies of my country. I could endanger soldiers’ lives.

If I didn’t, I was condemning Mama to die.

Tears welled and rolled down my cheeks. On top of all of that, Maverick Rivera had vowed to hunt me down and have me arrested.

I hadn’t felt this alone since before I’d come to Mama’s foster home.

I couldn’t share with my family.

I couldn’t share with anybody.

I had no idea what the hell I was going to do.





Mav


Early the next morning, Maverick strode into his trainer’s gym.

Simeon was a former Israeli soldier. He liked to beat Mav, Zane, and Liam’s asses on a regular basis.

Growing up, Mav had been pretty decent with his fists, and Simeon had honed that.

Mav’s eyes were gritty. He’d slept badly. He’d spent half the night working to find his hacker. He’d spent the other half twisting and turning in his bed, gnawing on his anger.

Fucking hacker.

Another selfish woman thinking of no one but herself. Like Hannah. His hacker said it was for a loved one. He snorted. Excuses. The same as Hannah had used.

He got on the treadmill to warm up. He ran hard and fast until he was sweating.

Then he walked over to the large climbing wall.

A good, hard climb was what he needed.

He pulled on a set of climbing shoes, yanked his shirt off, and clipped a chalk bag to his belt. He pressed his hands to the wall. No harness. He was up for a free solo climb.

He picked the hardest route. He moved upward and leaped to grab a handhold.

Grunting, he pulled himself up the wall.

Soon, his muscles burned. Good. He wanted the pain. It pushed out everything else. He dusted some chalk on his hands.

He shouldn’t be this angry. He didn’t even know his mystery hacker.

He wasn’t focused, and missed the next handhold. His body slid partway down the wall, and he muttered a string of curses. He managed to catch himself.

“What the hell are you doing, Mav? You fall, you’ll break your neck.”

He glanced down. Zane, Liam, and Simeon were watching. Zane and Liam were both frowning. Simeon had his arms crossed over his chest.

Mav took a deep breath, and finished the last few meters of the climb.

He took his time climbing down.

“What’s going on?” Liam asked.

Mav stripped off the chalk bag. “Nothing.”

Zane stabbed a finger at the wall. “That was not nothing.”

“I’m just working out some things.”

“So do it with a harness on,” Zane said.

Simeon’s eagle-eyed gaze was on him. “Woman trouble.”

Shit. Mav kept his face blank.

Zane shook his head. “Mav doesn’t let women close enough to cause him trouble.”

Liam nodded. “They get a few hours of his time in a swanky hotel room, that’s it.”

Mav grunted, and grabbed his water bottle. He stayed silent.

Zane’s eyebrows winged up. “Shit, it is a woman.”

Mav scowled. “No.”

“Who is she?” Liam asked.

“Are we going to work out or what?” Mav demanded.

“Avoidance,” Liam said. “Definitely woman trouble.”

Mav sighed. “No, I have a hacker problem.”

Simeon watched him intently. “And the hacker is a woman?”

They weren’t going to let it go until he gave them something. “Yes.”

“Ah,” Liam said.

Zane smiled. “Really?”

“She’s after the Calix Project.”

“Oh, shit,” Zane said.

“Big military project,” Liam told Simeon. “National security.”

Mav ran a hand through his sweat-damp hair. “I’ve been tracking her movements, and talking with her for a few days.”

“You liked her,” Liam said.

Mav heard understanding in Liam’s voice. He’d been in a similar spot with Aspen. At first, he thought she’d been blackmailing him.

Mav shook his head. “This hacker is just another user.”

“What are you going to do?” Zane asked.

“Protect my project, then track her ass down and hand her over to the police. I spent half the night enhancing my tracker program. I will find her.”

“Okay. If you need any help, we’re here,” Zane said.

Liam nodded.

Mav’s chest tightened. “Thanks, guys. Now, can we please spar?”

They paired off. Mav faced Simeon on the mats. The man might be several pounds lighter, and several decades older, but it paid to never underestimate Simeon.

An hour later, Mav was sweating and breathing hard.

He dodged Simeon’s kick, but a second later, took a punch to the side.

He grunted.

“Your head’s not in the game,” Simeon said.

Mav stomped to his water and chugged. His phone chimed, and he snatched it up and thumbed the screen.

He hissed. He stared at the map and the glowing, red dot on it.

His tracker had worked.

He’d found her.

Sunset Park in Brooklyn.

He smiled.

“Uh-oh, he’s smiling,” Liam said.