Page 48 of The Hitch
I shake my head, and he deletes them. His fingers flurry over the keyboard, checking systems, networks, anything for possible vulnerabilities. It's truly amazing to watch. In movies, hackers usually have the black terminal screen with green text. That's a farce—something Hollywood cooked up to seem exciting and glamorous. Sure, he uses the command shell, but it's not like that ridiculous TV show where two people type on the same keyboard to make hacking "faster".
Within moments, he looks up at me with a grim expression. "Nothing. Not a trace. No bugs, no diversions, nothing."
I lean down beside him, taking in the information on the screen. He's right. Of course, he's right. He's the best, and that's why I have him on my side.
"Not unusual. Phones are vulnerable—you know this. Connect to one shady public Wi-Fi network, and they're in. But your home network is safe." Roman still looks murderous. "This also means, of course, that we can't track themback."
"Roman. You know I trust you implicitly. My next question is very important. Is Melody safe here?" I straighten my back and look down at him.
"As long as she stays inside, yes."
An unhinged cackle rumbles in my chest. "Oh, she'll hate that."
"Do you think she'll hate being alive more?" He's not laughing. He's deadly serious as he stands with unflinching eye contact. I shake my head. "Then she'll fucking learn to live with it."
Melody eyes her new flip phone with irritation. "This sucks."
"Harder to hack, love. No Wi-Fi, no apps. You can text and call." I lower my voice and lean in, kissing her cheek. "It sends pictures, though."
Finally, that gets a laugh out of her. "Such a horndog. Does it receive pictures?"
"Of course," I say and stand. With my own new flip phone, I pull my pants out and snap a photo of my cock. She cackles at the sight, and I send the photo, her phone buzzing a few seconds later.
"You're not even hard!" She launches herself backwards onto the couch, tears rolling down her cheeks as she laughs.
"Do you want me to be? That's averyeasy fix." I dive on top of her and pepper her with kisses, giggling along with her.
"No! No, I'm still so sore. Have mercy on your poor, long-suffering wife!" She sticks her lower lip out in a pout. God, that womandoesthings to me.
"You won't be suffering. You'll be writhing in ecstasy, begging me for more. Tell me I'm wrong."
"Fucking hell. You're not wrong." Melody sighs with a roll of her eyes. She readjusts herself and snuggles into my side, making little noises like a puppy. Fuck, my heart is going to explode.
And it almost does when our playful joy is interrupted by someone pounding on the door. Melody jolts with surprise, concern written across her face.
"Who the fuck is that?" I snarl out and stomp to the door. Looking through the peephole, a cold sweat breaks out on my brow. "Motherfucker."
Melody
Dante swings open the door with annoyance. I gasp at the sight of Detective Ella, who hones her vision in on me.
"Hello, Melody. Congratulations on the wedding." She doesn't sound very happy for us. She sounds harsh, hateful. It makes my skin crawl as I join my husband in the doorway.
"Um, thank you. What are you doing here?" I ask timidly.
"Noise disturbance. A neighbor called. May I come in?" Ella peeks around me, taking in the view of our living room.
"Do you have a warrant?" Dante steps between me and the policewoman. God, he's practically snarling at her like a junkyard dog.
"Why would I need a warrant? I'm visiting an alleged victim of a crime." Ella puffs out her chest and leans in closer to Dante. "And investigating a noise disturbance."
"Then no the fuck you cannot come in. You have the wrong house. Bye, now." Dante slams the door shut, but Ella blocks it with her shoe.
"Melody, didn't you say this man was stalking you?" She leers around Dante's shoulder and smiles at me. There's no joy in her expression. There's no compassion. Only malice. "Do you think you might be paranoid? I'd suggest seeing a therapist about that."
"If you speak another word to my wife, I'll have you so wrapped up in legal tape you won't be able to breathe," Dante growls. Actually growls! And for some reason, that lights my insides ablaze. My feral man. Shit, I might actually like him.
"No need for that, Mr. Lyons. Enjoy your day. Just remember, we have wings everywhere." Ella removes her shoe from the door and walks away, whistling like some fucking weirdo from a movie.
