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“Yeah, you, pretty boy. Talk.”
Jez stiffens beside me, and Demon takes a step in my direction. I’m not sure if he realizes he’s doing it, but the minuscule silent show of support causes my chest to tighten.
“About?” I counter, crossing my arms over my chest.
Soul may be able to use his power to bully everyone else, but it won’t work on me.
“How about we start with why the fuck you’re here?”
“How about you take the attitude down a notch?” Jez bites out.
Her brother heaves a sigh. “Fine. Would you care to explain why your presence is still necessary in my precious sister’s home?”
I huff out a laugh, unable to stop it. Fucker just can’t help but to be a dick. “I’m here because I want to be,” I tell him. “And I’ll leave if or when Jez asks me to.”
Soul glances from me to Demon to Jez and then back to me. “Right. And how do you know her?”
I look to Jez, and she jerks a nod, silently giving me permission to divulge the truth.
“I’m part of Hellfire Hackers. We’ve worked together for several years?—”
Soul’s brows dip in confusion as he addresses Jez. “You work for someone else besides the club?”
Jez rolls her eyes. “No, IcreatedHellfire Hackers. The night me and Grim picked you up from the airport, I realized that starting the MC and wanting to rid the world of scumbags, I’d need help.”
“You told them aboutmyclub,” Soul growls.
“If you remember, dearbrother,”Jez hisses. “You wouldn’t have a fucking club if it weren’t for me and Grim.”
Soul throws his hands in the air. “They’re fucking hackers, Jez. They could’ve found whatever they needed to know about you or us.”
“How fucking stupid do you think I am?” Jez shouts. “They work for me, not the other way around, and I only hired the best. We’re a small team. The jobs we do haveneverbeen related to those that the club has been involved in. Anything involving the MC is completed by myself, Lock, and Fort.”
“They still could’ve found out,” Soul insists.
I step in between the siblings when Jez’s fist starts to ball up because I wouldn’t put it past her to knock him on his ass. Hell,Iwant to knock him out for talking to her that way, but it wouldn’t win me any brownie points.
“As I was saying, I’ve been working with Jez for years,” I explain. “Her having another hacking life outside of Hellfirenever even crossed my mind. The only reason I’m here is because she went missing, and I did the one thing we all swore we’d never do.”
“Enlighten me,” Soul commands.
“I hacked into her cameras.” I rub the back of my neck. “It was incredibly hard, but I eventually broke through her firewalls. Took me a while to figure out what the hell was going on and where she went.”
Jez sits on a chair with a knowing smirk on her face. She knows how hard her shit is to hack. I worked for two goddamn days cracking the encryption for her security system. I’ve never seen anything like it.
I don’t know what’s sexier… her brain or body? Fuck it, I love everything about this woman.
Soul points at Jez. “This is exactly what I’m talking about. Any one of them could’ve gotten into our shit.”
Anger rises inside me. “Back the fuck off.”
Soul takes a menacing step toward me. “Or what?” Demon tugs me backward but stays by my side, and Soul shifts his eyes to him. “You picking this asshole over your family, Demon? Yourbrothers?”
Demon rears back as if he’s been slapped, and Jez jumps out of her chair. I grab her as she lunges toward Soul.
“I’ve had just about enough of your condescending ass,” Jez hollers.
“What do you expect from me, Jezebel?” Soul asks with a hint of hurt in his tone. “You’re telling me that you’ve had this secret life for years, never felt you could confide in me, and some guy I’ve never heard of comes to save you because you were too damn stubborn to ask for help. And now I have a patched brother keeping secrets for you.”