“Sorry, Ivy. I’ll be right back,” Byte said, interrupting Ivy mid-story, and stood from her chair and exited the restaurant.
Ivy watched as Byte followed a man in a wheelchair outside. Who was he? And how did Byte know him? He was young, maybe a few years older than Byte, and not her type.
The spy in her wanted answers but the friend wanted to respect Byte’s privacy. Ultimately, the spy won out. She couldn’t protect Byte if she didn’t know the danger.
She hadn’t expected to be so close to the couple when she exited the building near the alley. Being shielded by the dumpster, she heard the anger in the man’s voice.
“Dani, you need to listen to me.”
“Stop calling me that, Aaron.”
“What I call you is irrelevant when you are in danger.”
“Stop being so dramatic. I’m not in danger. No one can find my true identity. You’re one of the few that knew me back then, and I know you won’t tell anyone.”
“Of course, I won’t, but there are other ways of figuring out who you are. You and I both know that better hackers appear every day. You may be the best today, but it’s unlikely you will be tomorrow. Even you said you were being domesticated little by little.”
Domesticated,Ivy repeated.Byte had said that once before, when she missed something in her data collection. What trouble was Byte in, that Aaron, whoever he was, was worried about her enough to track her down? And how did he track her? Byte was a fiend when it came to their identity, especially her own.
“Aaron, I’m fine. I have the same filters you have. I know someone’s been poking around, but it’s a kid. He’s harmless. He’s curious. Heck, he even patterned his moniker after mine. Yottabyte is not a threat to me. Now, I have to get back before Ivy comes looking for me. Please don’t mix my two worlds again. ALIAS has no idea about Karma, and I want it to stay that way.”
“I still don’t know why you don’t involve them. We are after the same type of people.”
“Because we get them apprehended, not killed.”
“From what I’ve seen, ALIAS doesn’t always assassinate them.”
“Just drop it.”
“Fine, but call me tonight. I want to make sure you are okay.”
Ivy could hear the anguish the young man was experiencing. Whatever was concerning him was a real threat, even if Byte didn’t think so. And what in the world was Karma?
“I promise. Now, go home. You don’t need to worry about me.” Ivy watched as Byte leaned in and kissed the man’s cheek. She didn’t miss the emotion on the man’s face. He loved her… that much was obvious, but did Byte see it? She wasn’t the most observant person when it came to human emotions. Ivy didn’t have time to contemplate the matter with Byte turning toward the front of the restaurant.
Slipping back inside, she passed by the restrooms, washed her hands, and returned to the table still holding the used paper towel.
“You okay?”
“Sure. Sorry. I just thought I forgot something on the bike, then realized I didn’t come here on it. I swear I’m losing my mind.”
And her ability to lie, Ivy thought. She didn’t know what Byte was involved in, but it was time to reach out for help.
Twenty minutes later, Byte went to her apartment, turned on her laptop, and opened her tracking app. Aaron had been right. Yottabyte had been trying to identify her. She still believed it was some kid’s curiosity, but just in case it wasn’t, she hacked into his IP address and deleted all his searches. If he was interested in tracking her down, he’d have to start all over. She was sure this would stop a thirteen-year-old from searching for her. The kid had better things to do than research her all over again.
Not that it would’ve stopped her at thirteen, she reminded herself.
CHAPTERTHREE
Hunter wanted to scream. He’d spent hundreds of dollars for the tickets, and he couldn’t keep his brother off his phone. Who was he texting so much? And why had Kyle thrown his phone on the concrete? He was lucky it hadn’t done anything more than scratch the protector.
“Kyle, what’s up with you?”
“Nothing,” the boy obviously lied.
“Come on, let’s get out of here. Clearly, this isn’t where you want to be.”
Realizing he was disappointing his brother, Kyle lied again.