Page 2 of The Hacker (Dominion Hall #5)

ELIAS

I leaned back in the creaky office chair, the fluorescent lights of the Crescent Ballet’s cramped office buzzing like a swarm of pissed-off wasps. My fingers hovered over the keyboard, the screen’s glow casting shadows across my knuckles.

The company’s network was a goddamn sieve—holes so wide a script kiddie with a YouTube tutorial could’ve waltzed through. Whoever had breached it wasn’t even trying that hard.

That’s what pissed me off most. Sloppy work. No respect for the craft.

Teresa Sneed, the ballet’s office manager, hovered behind me, her coffee-stained blouse radiating nervous energy.

She’d called me, almost begging, her voice tight with panic over the phone two days ago. Phishing scheme , she’d said. Some glitch . I’d almost laughed. A glitch didn’t scrape financials or sniff around for guest lists. This was deliberate, surgical, and it was escalating fast.

I hadn’t owed her a favor, despite what I’d told Vivi. That was just me being polite, smoothing the edges of a truth too messy to unpack in casual conversation.

Teresa and I had a history—a weekend fling years back, all heat and no substance. It fizzled as quickly as it sparked, but we’d stayed friendly enough. Distant, sure, but friendly.

When she called, I’d been surprised, maybe even a little flattered. A job like this? A chance to flex my skills, hunt a hacker, maybe send another asshole to the feds—or worse? Hell, it was practically a vacation.

But now, as I dug into the network’s logs, my jaw tightened.

This wasn’t just a phishing scam. The intruders were after everything—benefactor records, financials, guest lists.

And then, the thing that made my blood run cold: the dancers’ personal data.

Names. Addresses. Phone numbers. The kind of shit that could turn a casual hack into a fucking nightmare.

Vivi stood behind me, too close, her presence like a live wire sparking against my skin. I could smell her—sweat, sharp and human, mixed with something floral, maybe jasmine. It was intoxicating in a way that made my gut twist.

I didn’t like it.

Didn’t like how it stirred something in me, an old itch I’d sworn I’d never scratch again. Longing. Hunger. The kind of shit that made a man lose focus, make mistakes.

I’d buried that part of me years ago, after the last time I let someone get too close. Promises were made to be kept, not broken. But fuck, she was testing me without even trying.

“Elias,” Teresa said, her voice cutting through the hum of the ancient desktop. “What’s happening? Can you fix it?”

I didn’t look up, my fingers flying across the keys as I traced the intruders’ path.

“They’re scraping everything,” I said, my tone clipped, professional.

“Benefactors’ data—bank accounts, donation histories.

Financials for the company. Guest lists for the gala next month.

And …” I hesitated, my eyes narrowing at the screen.

“They’re pulling the dancers’ personal info. Names, addresses, the works.”

Vivi sucked in a breath, and I felt her shift closer, her arm brushing the back of my chair. My spine stiffened, but I kept my eyes on the code. Focus, Dane. Focus.

“Why the dancers?” Vivi asked, her voice low, edged with something sharp. Not fear—anger, maybe.

Defiance.

It suited her, that fire. Matched the red curls spilling loose from her bun, the way her green eyes had sparked when she’d teased me about skydiving.

I didn’t answer right away. Couldn’t. Because a part of me—a stupid, irrational part—wondered if she was the reason this felt personal. Her name was in that database. Her address. The thought of some faceless creep out there, hunting her, knowing where she lived …

My hands froze for a split second before I forced them to move again.

“Could be leverage,” I said finally, my voice colder than I meant it to be. “Blackmail. Or worse. Doesn’t matter why. They’re in, and they’re not being subtle.”

Teresa’s hands twisted together, her knuckles white. “Can you stop them?”

I snorted, already deep in the system’s guts. “Already am.”

My fingers danced, isolating the intruders’ connection, severing their access with a few precise commands.

They were good—not great, but good. They’d used a VPN, bounced their signal through dozens of servers, but I’d seen better.

I slipped a pack of tracers into their stream, a little gift they wouldn’t notice until it was too late.

My spiders, as I called them—custom scripts I’d built over years of chasing assholes like this—were already crawling through their system, hunting for a foothold.

I’d find them. And when I did, I’d handle it my way.

Vivi leaned in, her breath warm against my shoulder as she peered at the screen. “What’s that?” she asked, pointing at the lines of code flickering by.

I fought the urge to shift away from her. “Locking them out,” I said, keeping it simple. “Kicking their asses to the curb.”

She laughed, a soft, throaty sound that hit me like a shot of whiskey. “You make it sound easy.”

“It’s not,” I said, but a corner of my mouth twitched. Damn it. I was showing off, and I knew it. For her. The realization burned, and I shoved it down, focusing on the task.

With a final flourish, I slammed the system shut, erecting a temporary firewall that’d hold until I could rebuild the whole damn network. The intruders were gone—for now.

I leaned back, cracking my knuckles. “System’s locked down,” I said, glancing at Teresa. “But your security’s a joke. I’ll need to rebuild it from scratch. Firewalls, encryption, the works. Stuff even the NSA would sweat to crack.”

Teresa exhaled, her shoulders sagging. “You can do that?”

“Already planning it,” I said, my tone brisk. “I’ll stick around, get it done. You’ll be Fort Knox by the time I’m through.”

It sounded like bragging, and I hated it. Hated how Vivi’s presence made me want to puff out my chest, prove something.

I wasn’t that guy.

I didn’t perform for an audience.

I worked alone, always had.

The job was the rush—cracking systems, outsmarting the other guy. Not this. Not her.

But she was watching me, her lips parted, her eyes bright with something I couldn’t read.

Curiosity? Respect? Whatever it was, it sank into me like a hook, pulling at that buried thing I’d tried so hard to kill.

The possessive demon inside me stirred, clawing at its cage.

It wanted her. Wanted to know her, claim her, keep her safe from whatever was out there.

I told myself it was the job, the challenge, the thrill of the hunt. But I wasn’t that good a liar.

“Thank you, Elias,” Teresa said, her voice soft. “I didn’t know it was this bad.”

“It’s worse,” I said bluntly, standing to stretch my legs. The office felt too small with Vivi so close, her scent still lingering in the air. “But it’s handled for now. I’ll come back tomorrow, finish the upgrades.”

I didn’t need to come back. I could’ve done the rest remotely, patched the system from my place. But the words were out before I could stop them, driven by that same reckless pull.

I needed an excuse to see her again. To figure out why she got under my skin like this.

Vivi tilted her head, her curls catching the light. “Tomorrow, huh? You sure you’re not just sticking around for the rosin fumes?”

I smirked, despite myself. “Tempting, Red, but I’ll pass. Got enough to keep me busy.”

Her laugh hit me again, low and warm, and I turned away, busying myself with shutting down the computer. I didn’t trust myself to keep looking at her. Not when every glance made that demon growl louder.

Teresa’s phone buzzed, and she stepped away to answer it, leaving me alone with Vivi for a moment. The silence stretched, heavy, charged. I could feel her watching me, and when I finally glanced up, her eyes were on mine, unflinching.

“You’re good at this,” she said, her voice quieter now, almost serious. “The whole … computer genius thing. It’s kinda hot.”

My pulse kicked up, and I hated how much I liked hearing that.

“Don’t get used to it,” I said, aiming for dry but landing somewhere closer to gruff. “I won’t stick around long.”

“Too bad,” she said, her lips curving. “I could use a thrill like you.”

The air crackled, and for a second, I forgot how to breathe. She was flirting, and I was falling for it, my control fraying like cheap rope. I opened my mouth to fire back, but Teresa returned, her face pale.

“Elias, that was the bank,” she said. “They flagged some transfers. Small ones, but … they think it’s tied to this.”

I nodded, already mentally mapping the next steps. “I’ll trace it. Whoever these assholes are, I’ll find them.”

I didn’t tell her the rest—that my spiders were already burrowing into the hackers’ system, that I’d probably have their location by the time I got home. Or that I’d deal with them personally.

I’d taken down worse than this—corporate spies, black-hat collectives, even a cartel’s tech guy once.

These guys? They were local, I could feel it. Sloppy, overconfident. I’d have them begging for mercy before the week was out.

“Get some rest,” I told Teresa, grabbing my jacket. “I’ll handle it.”

I glanced at Vivi one last time, and the demon roared, its claws sinking deeper. She was trouble, the kind I didn’t need but couldn’t resist. I told myself I was staying for the job, for the challenge.

But as I walked out into the humid Charleston night, the truth burned in my chest.

I was coming back for her.