Page 20 of Jezebel’s Liberation (Hellfire Hackers #1)

“ Y eah, 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, I created Hellfire 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 about my club,” Soul growls.

“If you remember, dear brother,” 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 have never been 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, I want 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 Hellfire never 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? Your brothers?”

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. ”

“Demon didn’t know shit,” Jez says, a little calmer.

I nod in agreement. “He had no idea what was going on until I broke in looking for her.”

“You broke into her house?” Soul asks incredulously.

Demon puffs out his chest. “He also got the shit knocked out of him.”

“It was a lucky shot, and if I’d known you were there, things would’ve ended up differently,” I reply nonchalantly.

“Idiots,” Jez mutters. “Soul, let it go. You know now. The club was never in any danger from my team. I have everything locked down securely. Besides, I’ve wiped everything from my computers and transferred it all to Fort and Lock since I’ll no longer be working for you.”

Grim lifts his hands and starts signing, and Jez translates for my benefit. “How many hackers are on your team?”

“Five,” I respond for her. “Six, including Jez.”

Jez starts to sway on her feet. She’s too damn stubborn to admit that she needs to rest. Demon catches her movement as well and lifts her up and sits on the couch with her in his lap.

Lucky bastard!

She squirms to get up, but he holds her tightly until she realizes she’s not going anywhere.

“Demon, my sister is off fucking limits,” Soul scowls.

Demon shrugs. “Sorry, Prez. Jez has been mine since we were kids. Not you or anyone else will keep me from her anymore. So, if that means I lose my patch, then I fucking lose my patch.”

Malice grins. “You’re the little shit who kissed Jez after school, and she wouldn’t tell Soul who it was,” he accuses playfully.

“Guilty,” he admits.

“Motherfucker,” Soul complains without any heat behind his words.

“You’re not going to lose your patch. I’m actually pretty impressed you didn’t cave, and I’ll deny that all the way to my grave if anyone asks.

” His face slowly hardens, and his voice turns deadly.

“But if I find out you or Phantom hurt my sister in any way, no one will ever find your bodies, I guarantee you that.”

I put my hand out for him to shake, and surprisingly, he accepts. “You don’t have to worry about that, I’d kill myself before I hurt her.”

“Me, too,” Demon agrees.

“I’m surrounded by Neanderthals,” Jez quips. “I never said I agree to any of this.”

“But you will,” I sing-song.

Grim’s laugh reverberates off the walls. “I think you’ve finally met your match, Jezebel.”

Jez flips him off but snuggles back into Demon’s embrace.

“Invite your hackers to the clubhouse,” Soul insists. “I want to meet the people who work with you and see them for myself.”

I glance over at Jez. A crease has formed in the middle of her forehead as she thinks about his proposal.

“We’ll ask them to come,” I offer. “We can’t make them, though. You have to remember you’re dealing with hackers, and they normally don’t leave their caves.”

“You did,” Soul points out.

“Yeah, but Jez and I are obviously built differently.”

“Obviously,” Soul agrees. “Try to get it done. A week from Friday.”

We’ll see if we still have a team after we confess what’s happened.