How to Hack a Hacker - A.J. Sherwood Page 0,21

half of the city.

But that meant he was close. Ten minutes away, in fact.

Facts careened through his head like a ping pong ball. The alarm had gone off for almost forty-five minutes before it had succeeded in waking Kyou. Forty-five minutes was a long time for people with a vendetta to work with. Kyou checked the dark web for any hints of a hit posted to take out Brannigan Genovese.

He found one in seconds.

Fucking dammit! It wasn’t taken yet, but that was only a matter of time. A short amount of time, as the hit was a cool million and of course the contract was fucking open. First come, first served. That would be snatched up fairly quickly. Kyou stood there shaking with indecision for three seconds. It felt like an eternity as his mind raced through possibilities. Ivan was still likely asleep at this point and on the other side of the city. So were Ari and Carter, and they weren’t ready to move out; they were focused on house repairs. That meant it was Kyou, and only Kyou, who was the feasible choice in snatching Brannigan up and into a safe house before a hitman could find him.

Was he overreacting? The possibility was there, but Kyou couldn’t think rationally where Brannigan was concerned. Emotions swirled through him, almost too fast to label and name—anxiety, panic, fear. This was too soon. He wasn’t ready. Not for any of this.

Determination knocked it all aside. He wasn’t ready, fine. When had Kyou ever been perfectly ready before shit hit the fan? He couldn’t let it stop him from safeguarding Brannigan now. That was the priority over everything else. Kyou swore some more, but even as the words poured out of his mouth, he was locking his computer down to prevent tampering, snatching up keys and wallet, and hurtling out of the apartment.

He kept the tracking beacon up on his phone so he could keep an eye on Brannigan’s whereabouts. His Jeep roared as he fired it up and backed it out of the space. Usually it was the guys intercepting a target and moving them quickly out of the line of fire. It felt strange to do it himself. Surely it was that role reversal making his nerves hop and tangle together like live wires.

No. No, it probably wasn’t.

Kyou shoved the thought and feelings aside as he made his way to the park. The red traffic light nearly gave him a hernia. How did the guys do this on a regular basis? Move, knowing that seconds counted? He much preferred life on the other side of the screen over doing this in real life.

He thumbed through his contacts, dialing Brannigan’s number, hands flexing nervously over the wheel as he waited for the man to pick up. He’d never called Brannigan from his actual phone before. Sign of the times, as Aiden would put it.

“Hello?”

“Bran, it’s K.”

“Hello, K.”

“Meet me at the east park entrance. The one across from the Starbucks. Now.”

The jittery tone got through to Brannigan, and he asked sharply, “What’s going on?”

“The O’Conners just put a hit out on you. Open contract, for a million dollars. Move, Bran!”

Something like the sound of a book snapping shut, and then the pounding of footsteps going at a dead run came through the speaker. Brannigan was running but didn’t sound out of breath. Then again, he was one of those disgusting people who routinely exercised. “Are you sure? Wait, are you coming to get me yourself?”

“Yes, I’m damned well sure, which is why I’m having a hernia right now. And yes, I’m coming to get you myself because this contract has been live for over thirty minutes and I’m the only one close to you right now.” Kyou spied an open spot near the park entrance. It was meant for fire and emergency, but he didn’t care as he swung into it. “I’m in a green Jeep, pulling up now. Get in.”

He hung up as he saw the man. Brannigan was definitely in ‘off’ mode, wearing jeans, tennis shoes, and a white cardigan that made him look like a model. Then again, the man could just be wearing boxers and look like a model. It likely had nothing to do with the clothes. He had a book tucked up under his arm, phone clutched in his free hand. Spotting the Jeep, he went straight for it, yanking open the door.

Then stopped dead and stared, green eyes flaring wide. There was an astonished quality