Hacking Mr. CEO by Anna Hackett
You Changed Everything
Mav
The cut stung like hell.
Mav ignored it and focused on his opponent.
He tried to block Remi out, his worry for her. Simeon’s voice echoed in his head. Focus on your opponent. Their every move.
People gave a lot away in a fight. In faint movements, the flicker of their eyes, the shift of their feet.
Mav had to keep Remi safe. The need beat inside him, steady like a drum.
Keep the woman he loved safe.
The Shadow attacked.
Mav released the breath in his lungs. He slammed his arm against the man’s, blocking the slash of the knife.
He bent his knees and hammered his fist into the assassin’s thigh.
The man’s leg collapsed, but he was good. He leaped back and caught his balance.
They circled each other.
The Shadow jumped onto a table and ran at Mav, knife flashing. Mav dodged, gripped the man’s shirt and yanked.
The assassin crashed to the ground and Mav got a kick in before The Shadow rolled away.
“Yeah, Mav, mess him up!” Remi yelled.
Hell. Even in the middle of a life-and-death fight, she made him want to laugh.
The assassin rose to his feet, cautious now, but angry.
Not a good combination.
They clashed again. Mav swung, grunted. He whipped his head to the side to avoid the knife, but paid for it with a fist to his gut.
Damn. He danced back. The asshole wasn’t holding anything back.
Suddenly, The Shadow whipped something off his belt and tossed it.
Fuck. Fuck. A grenade.
“Remi, down!”
Mav saw her drop.
The grenade clattered to a stop.
Nothing happened.
Shit, decoy.Mav was already whirling, but The Shadow was on him.
The knife slid into Mav’s side.
He met the man’s dark gaze and saw him smile.
Mav felt the blood run down his flank.
“No!” Remi’s scream made them both jerk.
The assassin stepped back, the blade sliding out of Mav.
He groaned. Shit. So much blood. He clutched his side.
He couldn’t go down. He couldn’t give up. He had to protect Remi.
The Shadow attacked again, and Mav blocked, and managed a front kick. But it was shaky. He was losing too much blood, and already feeling dizzy.
One leg went out from under him and he dropped to his knees.
He blinked at the blood on the floor.
The Shadow smiled, lifted the knife and advanced.
“No! You’re not taking him from me.”
Remi flew in, holding a laptop in her hand. She swung it like a bat.
It connected with The Shadow’s head.
The man snarled and swung at her. She leaned back.
Not quite fast enough.
Shit, no. Mav saw the line of red across her chest.
With a growl, she swung the laptop again.
This time it slammed into the knife and the assassin dropped it to the tiles. She hit him again, and again. She smacked the assassin’s head, chest.
“He’s mine. You don’t get to hurt him, asshole.”
Mav smiled weakly. His Rogue Angel.
“You don’t get to destroy more lives. I’m stopping you, right here, right now.”
The Shadow ducked, but she kept bashing him, fueled by her fury. She swung the laptop hard at his head. Crack.
With a cry, he fell, crashing into a table.
The back of his head hit the edge and he collapsed to the floor.
Breathing heavily, Remi kicked the man.
He didn’t move.
Good. Unable to hold himself up anymore, Mav tilted sideways and fell.
“Mav.” She raced to him. “Jesus, God.” She pressed her hands to his cheeks, then probed his side. “Stay with me.”
He felt the energy draining out of him. She made a terrified sound, then whipped her shirt off, leaving her in a lacy, black bra.
As she pressed the balled-up shirt to his bleeding side, Mav grunted.
Damn, everything was starting to hurt now.
“Remi, I love you.”
Her eyes filled. “You weren’t supposed to do that. I thought you didn’t believe in love?”
“I always have. My parents love each other so much. It’s uncomfortable catching them kissing, in the kitchen, in the hall, in the yard.”
Remi gave a hiccupping laugh. “It sounds sweet.”
“After Hannah, I cut myself off from love, hardened my heart.”
He lifted a hand to Remi’s cheek. He managed to smear blood on her skin. “You changed everything. My Remi. My hacker. My angel.”
A sob escaped her. “Oh God, Mav, I love you too.” She gulped. “I’ve been terrified about falling for you. Worried you’d leave me and break my heart.”
Like so many in her life had done.
“Never.” He stroked her silky cheek. “I want to protect your heart.”
“Well, despite you being a billionaire and having gazillions of dollars, I love you, Maverick Rivera.”
“Some women like the billions.”
She scowled. “Not me. I like your brain.” She kissed his forehead. “And your friendly, open personality.”
His lips quirked.
Then he saw movement behind her.
His breath froze in his chest. “Remi.”
She spun.
The Shadow rose. There was blood on his face. He scooped up the knife off the floor, and started toward them.
No. Mav tried to move, but his body wouldn’t obey.
Remi tensed, hovering over him protectively.
She had no weapon.
Fuck.
Suddenly, he heard a high-pitched whine. Then all the walls of glass in the atrium shattered.
Four men in black body armor burst into the huge space.
They raced toward them, holding black assault rifles up and aimed.
Vander stepped forward, face set and hard behind his rifle. “Drop it.”
The Shadow looked at the men, then dropped his knife.
“Boone,” Vander said.
Mav recognized Boone’s tall form. The man yanked out plastic cuffs and advanced on The Shadow.
“Clear,” a deep voice called.
One of the other men had circled around, checking for any more enemies.
Remi gasped. “Killian?”
Her boss nodded at her.
The fourth man, Ace, lowered his rifle and pulled out a tablet. “Okay, let me get the cops in here.”
Vander and Killian crouched beside Remi and Mav.
“Help him, please,” she said.
Killian slid a backpack off. He pulled out a first aid kit.
“Hang in there, Rivera.” Her boss started working on Mav’s wound.
“The asshole hacked the security gates,” Ace said. “The police have been stuck at the front gate.” Ace smiled. “There.”
Seconds later, the wail of sirens split the air.
There was the noise of an internal door opening.
The four men whipped their rifles up. A man with a wild cloud of brown hair and large eyes stumbled in, a half-eaten candy bar in his hand. He froze, looking at the guns. Then he dropped his gaze to Mav.
“Mav-man, you’re bleeding.”
Mav let out a strangled laugh. “I know, Rollo.”
“Shit.” The man bit into his candy bar. “What did I miss?”
“A crazed assassin,” Mav said.
Rollo nodded. “Cool.”
Remi pressed her head to Mav’s and held on. “Don’t leave me.”
“I’m not going anywhere, angel.”
* * *
Remi
I was in love with Maverick Rivera.
It made all sorts of emotion swell inside me.
He loved me back.
We had survived.
We had beaten The Shadow.
I stayed close to Mav’s side, my fingers tangled with his. I’d put my shirt back on and we were both covered in blood. I glanced over to where The Shadow was handcuffed on his knees and surrounded by police.
Vander and Boone were talking with the cops.
I heard Mav grunt in pain. Killian was still working on his wound.
“It’s deep,” Killian said.
“Hurts.”
I clutched Mav’s hand tighter. “Come on, tough guy. It’s just a scratch.”
He tried to smile, but slumped, his eyes closing.
“Mav. Mav!” Hot panic was slick inside me. “Killian!”
My boss cursed. “He’s lost too much blood. We need the paramedics here.”
“They’re coming in now,” someone called out.
My heart was racing like galloping horses. I leaned over Mav. “Don’t you dare leave me, Maverick Rivera.” Pain cleaved me open. God, maybe it was me. People just couldn’t stay. “I love you, dammit, and you said you loved me.” My voice broke.
Killian was focused on putting pressure on Mav’s wound, but he sent me a look filled with sympathy.
“I love everything about you,” I continued to whisper to Mav. I pressed my cheek to his hair. “Your brain, I told you that already. Your honesty. You don’t pretend to be anything except who you are. I actually like your grumpiness. I like working with you. I like hot sex with you and your big—”
Killian made a choked noise.
Then I heard a low, pained chuckle.
“Mav?”
His gorgeous, brown eyes looked up at me. “I love you too, angel. It’s going to be okay.”
“Coming through!” a deep voice boomed.
The paramedics pushed in.
“Step back, ma’am,” a man said.
“He needs blood,” Killian said. “Stab wound to his left side—”
I got shoved back, and I watched them work on him.
I suddenly felt cold. I wrapped my arms around myself but it didn’t help the shivers.
A strong arm wrapped around me and I looked up into Vander’s rugged face. The man was hot, but he was still scary.
“He’ll be fine. Mav doesn’t let anything keep him down for long.”
Boone appeared, holding a blanket, and he wrapped it around me.
“You’re shaken up,” Vander said. “It’ll pass.”
“Oh, I think I’m entitled. We were chased by a crazed assassin, and my…man is hurt. I’m going to enjoy every second of my shock, thank you.”
The corner of Vander’s mouth twitched. “You’ll be fine. I like you, Solano.”
“I could probably like you too, but you kind of freak me out.” I cocked my head. “How many ways do you know how to kill a man?”
He grinned, and the air got stuck in my lungs. Yep, Vander Norcross was hot.
“Too many.” His smile vanished.
I glanced over and saw some other paramedics wheeling stretchers across the room. I spotted Ruben and Tisdale. “Are they okay?”
Vander nodded.
“Did The Shadow hurt anyone?”
“He killed a couple of security guards.”
“Damn.” I felt sorry for the families.
“Those two should be fine, though. The gunshot wound might be touch-and-go.”
“Hey, she has a cut,” Mav called out.
An older, grizzled paramedic nodded. “We’ll get someone to deal with it.”
“Now,” Mav ordered.
I rolled my eyes. “Well, being stabbed hasn’t diminished your bossiness.”
He scowled at me. “I want you taken care of.”
And dammit if that didn’t make me feel mushy.
Then they loaded him onto a stretcher.
“We’re on the move,” a paramedic said.
I grabbed Mav’s hand. Did his face have a bit more color in it? “You’re going to be fine.”
He scowled. “You’re still bleeding.”
“I’ll get it dealt with. Stop fussing.”
We reached the ambulance. The other paramedic, a competent woman about ten or fifteen years older than me, opened the doors.
I turned to Mav. “I’ll see you at the hospital—”
“No.” Mav grabbed my hand. “You’re coming with me.”
“Mav—”
“Get on the stretcher.”
“There’s no room!”
His hold on my hand was like iron. “I’m not letting you go. I’m not leaving you.”
My heart melted into a big pile of goo.
The female paramedic straightened. “Mr. Rivera—”
“My girlfriend is coming with us,” he ordered.
I stilled. “Girlfriend?”
“Woman, I don’t care which label you use.” He tugged me closer, his palm to my cheek. “Mine.”
Happy tears welled in my eyes.
The paramedic huffed. “I was going to say she can come, but you didn’t let me finish. Nice speech, though.”
I grinned at her. “It was, wasn’t it? He’s in love with me.”
“I’d hold on to that one, honey.”
I met Mav’s gaze. “I think I might.”
They loaded Mav in and I sat beside him. I wasn’t ever letting go.
At the hospital, they finally made me let go, and whisked him into an examination room.
Jeez, my hands and clothes were covered in a lot of blood. I did not want to see myself in a mirror.
The doors burst open, and Zane and Liam rushed in, their women right behind them.
Uh-oh.
The men saw me and stumbled to a halt. Their gazes took in the blood, and they both looked speechless.
“Um, hi,” I said.
Zane’s gaze raked me, snagging on my hands. All the color left his face.
“Oh, it’s fine. Mav’s fine. He’s got a stab wound, but—” I powered through the small hitch in my voice “—they said he’d be fine.”
“Bloody hell.” Liam released a breath.
“So that blood is Mav’s?” Zane asked.
I swallowed and nodded. “Most of it. He’s going to be fine. They said he’d be fine.”
“Easy, Remi.” Zane took my arm. “You said most of it. Is some of it yours?”
I blinked. “Maybe.”
“Come on.” He looked around. “Nurse, we need somewhere for her to clean up. And she has a nasty cut on her chest.”
Wow, Zane’s bossy tone was almost as good as Mav’s.
The nurse’s brows drew together.
Liam stepped in with a charming smile. “She needs that blood off her, and to get off her feet.”
Dazzled, the nurse blinked. “Sure. Exam Three is free.”
“That’s my man,” Aspen murmured with a grin.
Monroe took my other side. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”
“They said he’d be fine.”
“Then he will be.”
“I’m in love with him.”
Monroe smiled. “I know.”
“How do you handle being in love with a billionaire?”
“By remembering that you love the man under the billionaire most of all.” Monroe met Zane’s gaze and the pair shared a smile.
Then they hustled me into the exam room.
