Total pages in book: 177
Estimated words: 169272 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 846(@200wpm)___ 677(@250wpm)___ 564(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 169272 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 846(@200wpm)___ 677(@250wpm)___ 564(@300wpm)
We cuddle while I rub Henn’s arms and back to create friction, until, eventually, when he’s all warmed up again, I settle against his chest.
“How was it possible to register all those cars in Greg Smith’s name?” I ask. “Don’t you need ID to buy a car and register it?”
“Sweetheart, I hate to tell you this, but fake IDs are exceedingly easy to create for people like me and my hacker buddy. That wasn’t the slightest hurdle for either of us.”
“Oh, wow. You really are Denver, aren’t you?”
“In the flesh.” He squeezes me. “But always for a good cause. I promise you that. I mean, except when it came to Greg Smith. I wanted to destroy that fucker for sheer vengeance. I’ve never done that before: avenged someone I love. Normally, I go after horrible people who’ve never harmed me, personally—pedophiles, rapists, embezzlers, white-collar criminals— so it’s easy for me to keep emotion from clouding my judgment.”
“Maybe you went after Greg Smith so hard because you had a hunch what he did to me was only the tip of the iceberg.”
“As much as I’d love to say that’s the case, I can’t. I went after him, simply to avenge you. That was my only motivation.”
I pat his bare chest. “Thank you for doing that.”
“I put you in harm’s way.”
“Meh. It all worked out in the end. Honestly, it makes me swoon to find out you were hell-bent on avenging me like that. I wouldn’t have expected that of you. You’re normally so chill.”
“Not when it comes to you.”
I nestle into him. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, too. More than there are stars in the universe. Now, please, try to get some sleep, love. You’ve been through a lot. We’ll talk tomorrow, for as long as you want.”
“Okay. Goodnight.” I close my eyes and command sleep to come. But it’s not too long before I realize I’m still way too wired for my body to comply. “Henny? Are you still awake?”
“Yes, love.”
“Will you tell me one of the secrets you’re planning to tell me tomorrow? Try as I might, I can’t fall asleep, and I’m dying to know what you’re going to say.”
“Do you want to take one of the sleeping pills the doctor gave you at the hospital?”
“No. I’ll fall asleep eventually. In the meantime, pretty please tell me one of your secrets. Your biggest one.”
Henn pauses. And then, “My hacker handle is Bluebird. I chose it way back in middle school because it’s a symbol of happiness and prosperity, and that’s what I was hoping to bring to the world with my online crusades.”
“I love that.”
“You’re now the only person in the world, other than me and Deputy Director Leach and her team, who knows Bluebird’s real-world identity. Well, actually, a few top-level contacts in the international intelligence community know it, too. But that’s it. I’ve never even told Josh and Reed my handle.”
“Wow.”
Henn squeezes me. “So, you see, my beloved, way back in middle school, it was my destiny to meet you—my perfect match—the perfect birdhouse for the little bluebird that is my soul.”
Electricity courses through me. “You’re the perfect birdhouse for my soul, too. But even so, let’s never forget neither of us is perfect. Let’s promise to work on revealing our imperfections to each other, from this moment forward.”
“Well, I think we discovered one of my biggest imperfections over the past twenty-four hours: arrogance. I thought I could control everything in my real life, the same way I control my online world, and I couldn’t have been more wrong about that.”
“You’re not arrogant. You’re the humblest person I know. The fact that you’ve resisted bragging to me about whatever you did in DC is pretty damned impressive. Whatever it was, Deputy Director Leach made it sound like a really big deal.” I’m shamelessly fishing—hoping that whole situation is one of the big secrets Henn is planning to reveal to me tomorrow.
“Real subtle, Hannah.”
I laugh. “A girl can try.”
Henn pauses a long time—much longer than right before he revealed his Bluebird handle to me a moment ago. Finally, he says, “Would you like me to tell you, confidentially, what I did in DC now, or save it for tomorrow?”
I jerk my head up. “Now!” I sit up and look down at his face in the moonlight. “Please. I’m dying to know.”
“Really? I couldn’t tell.” He reaches up and gently touches the angry contusion on my cheek as he speaks. “The work I did there was top-secret. So, even though I’m only going to give you an overview and not reveal any micro-details to you, you still can’t tell a single soul what I’m about to say.”
“I promise.”
“As far as I’m concerned, you’re my wife. People who are married can say anything they want to each other, and nobody can ever make them spill it beyond the marriage. Did you know that?”