Page 46 of Stripping Bare

“I don’t know what tothink.”

It didn’t take Tessa long to go upstairs and come back with her phone. She tapped in her password and handed the phone to Jonah. Unfortunately, Grimes didn’t pick up, so Jonah left a message, trying not to sound like he planned to strangle the guy. “Grimes, this is Jonah Steele. I have something I need to talk with you about, so call meback.”

His brain clicking through options, he picked up the box that had been delivered yesterday. Turned it over in his hands as if it were a Magic Eight Ball that could tell him the chances ofsuccess.

Something insiderattled.

“If you keep tossing that around, you’ll break whatever’s inside,” Tessa commented. “I don’t know how you can stand to have an unopened box sitting around. That would make mecrazy.”

“Have at it.” He slid the box in front of her, then rummaged around in the kitchen drawer for scissors. He passed them over and Tessa attacked the tape on thebox.

She withdrew a wad of packing paper and two smartphones in protective cases with Steele Trap’s logo on them. “What in the world?” She dug into the box again and pulled out controller gauntlets and what looked like military night goggles with an attached headset and mic. “What is allthis?”

“Looks like a VR—virtual reality—setup.” Jonah grabbed the phone and turned it on. A text immediately poppedup.

Luv ur work. Chk out mods to SS. CUS, $1RB@L1N

CUS. See you soon. What thehell?

“Huh,” he said. “Some dude calling himself Sir Balin had the balls to port Steele Survivor over to an app and send me his gamemods.”

“Don’t most people try to stay under the company’s radar when they do something likethat?”

“Well, I’m not a part of Steele Trap anymore, so maybe he thought I wouldn’t care.” He tapped the phone against the countertop. Something about this whole thing made the back of his neckitch.

He’d been so damn sure he could track down the source of her compromised files by the time Tessa woke this morning. Whoever had been snaking their way through the DataFort system was a pretty decenthacker.

But he wasbetter.

He just needed a plan ofattack.

And there was no one smarter to bounce ideas off of than his sister. He pulled out hisphone.

It rang three and a half times before Micki answered. “’Lo?”

“I need yourbrain.”

Her chuckle was more than amused—it was evil. “I always told Mom you’d gotten the raw end of the twin deal. And finally you’ve realized which of us got all the smarts. Only took you thirtyyears.”

“Mick, I’mserious.”

“Me too, littlebrother.”

Whatever.He wouldn’t rise to her bait this morning. “I’m trying to track down a hacker, but I haven’t been able to trace the SOB. Spent all damn night last night chasing him from one IP address to another. Every time I thought I was getting close, his path darted in anotherdirection.”

Jonah heard murmuring from the other end of the line and what sounded like the slide of sheets. Something he didn’t want to hear, since she and Gage were apparently doing the very thing Tessa wanted to do withhim.

Something he damn well wanted to do with her, but knew could be a hugemistake.

“I need your help,” he toldMicki.

“Why don’t you do something to clear your mind? Sounds like you’re knocking your head against awall.”

What he really wanted to do to clear his mind was to take Tessa to bed, but that wouldn’t do a thing to find this hacker. “Someone sent me a modded copy of SteeleSurvivor.”

“Ballsy,” Micki said. “But it could be your answer. Play it. Sink in, and something on this hacker might pop for you.Later.”

Andclick,she hungup.