The Hacker Pushes Her Luck Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Happy Ending at 88%

  Half Title

  1 ~ What Did You Do With The Cat?

  2 ~ Duty, My Fireball!

  3 ~ That’s A Brilliant Move!

  4 ~ Wanted: Schrödinger's Cat — Dead And Alive!

  5 ~ She’d Just Remembered Something!

  6 ~ Your Magic Is Coincidence

  7 ~ Mind. Blown. Again.

  8 ~ A Paranormal Jane Doe

  9 ~ She Kind of Gives Me The Creeps

  10 ~ That Bad, Huh?

  11 ~ The Eyes Don’t Lie

  12 ~ Pieces Of Shell Everywhere

  13 ~ The Whole Blarney Stone Thing

  EPILOGUE ~ An Angel With Attitude

  Thank you!

  Book Club Questions

  About the Author

  Books by Heather Horrocks

  Acknowledgments

  Copyright

  Excerpt: #0.5 Jingle Belle ~ free with newsletter sign-up

  Excerpt #7: The Contestant Flies Off the Handle

  Thanks again

  THE HACKER PUSHES HER LUCK

  Moonchuckle Bay Romantic Comedy #6

  Heather Horrocks

  Dedicated to my wonderful son, Ryan Horrocks, who is the closest our family has to a hacker. You probably even understand “Pi” (I’m pretty sure you get that from your father). Thanks for patiently answering all my pesky computer and Photoshop questions — and for being so sweet to me, in general. I love you lots.

  And to Mark, who hacked his way into my heart. I’m sure glad you did.

  THE HAPPY ENDING IS AT ABOUT 88% ~ ENJOY!

  In case you’re like me and want to know how close you are to the end of a book, and because there are pages that come after the end of a book (copyright, book club questions, about the author, excerpts, and — in some boxed sets — more novellas), I just want to let you know that ‘The End’ of this book is at approximately 88%. Enjoy.

  RECEIVE A FREE BOOK — click here.

  DISCOVER HEATHER’S OTHER BOOKS.

  Heather Horrocks has written numerous books. If you’re new to her writing, see her romantic comedies and funny mysteries at www.BooksByHeatherHorrocks.com.

  OTHER MOONCHUCKLE BAY BOOKS (in order):

  #0.5 Jingle Belle (free)

  #1 The Artist Cries Wolf (free)

  #2 The Bridesmaid Earns Her Wings

  #3 The Director Gets a Grip

  #4 The Fireman Finds His Flame

  #5 Elvis Gets His Groove Back

  #6 The Hacker Pushes Her Luck

  #7 The Contestant Flies Off the Handle (May 31, 2017)

  The Hacker Pushes Her Luck

  Copyright © 2017 Heather Horrocks

  What Did You Do With The Cat?

  AS LYDIA HAMILTON PASSED THE signs welcoming her to Moonchuckle Bay, she glanced at the gas gauge — and groaned. The display said she had only enough gas left for one more mile.

  Good luck, don’t fail me now!

  She’d lost track of how much gas was left because she was listening to the latest culinary mystery from Diane Mott Davidson featuring Goldy Bear — a heroine who loved to cook almost as much as Lydia did.

  She made it down the freeway exit on mere fumes and rolled into the closest station, Phillips 666.

  Thanking her lucky stars, Lydia climbed out and stretched, enjoying the warmth of the June sun.

  It had been a six-hour drive from Grand Junction, since the only roads into Moonchuckle Bay that were passable by passenger car came out of either Cedar City or St. George, Utah. Since she drove a car, she’d taken the shorter Cedar City route.

  She filled her white Honda Civic’s tank, admiring her brand new car as she did so. She’d bought it as a gift to herself when she’d graduated from Johnson and Wales University culinary school in Denver. She was the first in her family to attend culinary school. They’d discouraged her at first, because they figured if you can use magic, why go to school? When they saw how happy it made her, they changed their minds, and now were enthusiastically proud of her — her cousin Calista was even attending now.

  “Lydia Hamilton?” a woman’s voice called out.

  Lydia turned to see an Amazon striding toward her. Her brunette hair lay loose upon her shoulders and her strong eyebrows emphasized vivid green eyes that seemed cold and calculating. She’d have been pretty — if she hadn’t felt so predatory. Lydia couldn’t read auras, but she definitely got a wary vibe. She wondered why. Surely it wasn’t the woman’s intimidating height. Or her shiny green pantsuit. Or the fact that the irises of her eyes were slightly more football shaped than round. Maybe it was just that no one in town besides Elvis should know her name. “Yes?”

  “I’m Jade Monroe.” The woman’s chilly smile didn’t quite reach her eyes as she extended her hand. “I’m so glad to meet you. Elvis asked me to watch for you and take you straight to him. He’s excited to meet his new pastry chef.”

  Those words should have relieved Lydia’s wariness, but the woman’s demeanor made her pause. Still, she didn’t want to be rude, so she put out her hand. The woman had a strong grip.

  Lydia said, “I have my own car.” Duh. Right here beside me.

  “Of course you do.” The woman gave a dismissive wave. “You can just follow me.”

  A white panel van pulled up at the pump beside them. Good, because this woman was giving her the creeps. Now there was someone else there in case something happened. A Plumbing Experts employee who, if the logo could be believed, did the job right ... guaranteed! It also stated that a flush beats a full house.

  Lydia didn’t take her eyes off Jade, but out of the periphery of her vision, she could see a tall man climb out of the van, walk around to the back, and open the back doors.

  Jade stepped closer to her. “Elvis hasn’t stopped talking about you since he received your resume. It’s been Lydia this and Lydia that. I can’t tell you how glad we are that you’re finally here.”

  Well, that made her feel a little better. “I’ll enjoy working with him.”

  It wasn’t every day that a chef got to work with Elvis — the Elvis Presley, who was now living as Elvis Smith. Elvis Sightings, a new restaurant that would be serving all of the King’s favorite dishes — many of which included grape jelly and peanut butter — would be opening in two months. He also wanted to provide first-rate desserts, and that’s where she’d come in.

  Jade was now so close that she was making Lydia uncomfortable. She started to back away from the woman when someone grabbed her from behind and put a big hand over her mouth to stifle her scream. Within mere seconds, she was thrown into the back of the white van. The tall man jumped in and the woman slammed the doors. Trapping Lydia.

  No! This isn’t going to happen, she thought.

  She kicked at the man, her foot striking his knee, and he swore, punching her in the jaw with his big fist.

  Stunned, she toppled over — and the instant she hit the floor of the van, he trussed her up like some kind of calf at a timed rodeo event. Then he thrust a gag into her mouth.

  Fear froze her heart and limbs while adrenaline rushed through her. Her jaw ached where he’d hit her, and she hoped he hadn’t broken anything.

  Had she just been kidnapped? How was that even possible?

  Come on, good luck. Any time now.

  The van’s side door slid open and the woman in green slid in gracefully. In an almost conversational tone, she told the driver, “Drive her car to the park we found on the internet. I’ll follow you in a few minutes.”

  The man grunted and climbed out, slamming the side door behind him.

  The woman scrunched over and walked bac
k, kneeling beside Lydia. She rubbed Lydia’s arm, and the touch was cold, almost reptilian. Lydia shivered.

  “Don’t be afraid,” Jade Monroe said. “We have big plans for you. We need some good luck, and we’re going to use yours to get what we want. You’re perfectly safe with us.”

  Without thinking, instinctively, Lydia shook her head no.

  The woman smirked and rubbed Lydia’s arm again. “And we’ll take it whether you want to share or not.”

  That wasn’t the way it worked, but even if she had been able to talk, she wouldn’t have said anything else. Cut off from her sisters, her powers were weaker. But no one could take her good luck from her.

  She just knew, from her experience throughout her thirty years of life, that any moment now something would happen to rescue her. Her good luck sometimes took its time, but it always kicked in.

  Kick in now, she implored, and tried to send out that intention, even though her gift was the random sort and came and went as it pleased.

  Being a good luck charm was usually a good thing.

  Give Dr. Walter Clemmons, PhD, M.D., a history problem, and he’d answer it. Present him with a mathematical equation, and he’d solve it. Assign him a diplomatic errand, and he’d pull it off. But this? This was hardly fair.

  Why had he ever let Tyberius Thrakos convince him to head up the new Supernatural Oversight Council office here in Moonchuckle Bay? He had a thriving business. He didn’t need the hassle of running the local office of the London-based organization that governed every supernatural in the known world — and in parts of the universe that humans knew nothing about. And yet he’d let his old friend convince him this would be a good idea.

  He was so going to punch Ty the next time he saw him. Or beat him soundly at chess.

  The large screen on the wall showed the faces of three members of the London headquarters of the SOC — Supernatural Oversight Council. His new assistant, Heidi Simmons, a werewolf, sat to his left at the conference table. His two-person IT Department — a French vampire named Jareth Sang and a genie, Ginnie Djeffreys — sat to his right. Three more agents sat around the table. Finally, Michael Murphy, a vampire, who was on loan to the office to head their legal department. His wife, Princess Dixie of the Garden Court, had attended as his assistant.

  Hiring was still going on, and as many supernatural groups as possible were to be represented by the employees working in the new Moonchuckle Bay Council office that he would be overseeing.

  He shook his head again at his new title — Walter Clemmons, Director.

  Before they’d even opened their doors, before all the positions were even filled, before he’d had a chance to complete his own training, somebody had hacked into their computer system.

  The three London blokes staring at him from the screen were technically training him and helping set up the office, but at this moment they were letting him sweat it out.

  The one in the center was Owen Quincy, head of the SOC’s SOC team. Yes, the Supernatural Oversight Committee had a Security Operations Center. And that center had a 24/7 CSIRT Team — Computer Security Incident Response Team — whose job it was to spot any problems. Owen’s team had spotted a big problem.

  Owen asked, “What are you doing about the break-in, Walter? In our firewall logs, data was exfiltrated. The egg could be in jeopardy. It may hold the second dragon in the entire world. We can’t risk losing it.”

  Walter nodded. “My computer team is doing a great job, but I’m still feeling vulnerable. I’ve hired a top-notch consultant who doesn’t know anything about our systems to see if she can find any vulnerabilities.” He turned to Jareth and Ginnie. “This is in no way a vote of no confidence in your team, but it’s always good to have a fresh set of eyes.”

  “A cybersecurity expert?” Owen asked.

  “Yes. Jade Monroe will be arriving today. She comes highly recommended.”

  Heidi asked, “What exactly is a cybersecurity expert?”

  Walter motioned to the IT guys, giving them the floor.

  Ginnie Djeffreys explained. “An ethical hacker. They earn the big bucks — anywhere from $250 to $1000 an hour — because they have the specialized software and know-how to infiltrate computer systems. And to find out where others have infiltrated yours, if you’re the company hiring them.”

  Jareth added, in his light French accent, “Also known as white hats, they’re independent agents who hack into systems to test and improve cyber security for the organizations who hire them.”

  “Thanks.” Heidi nodded. “Will this expert have more expertise than our IT Department? Even the London Department?”

  Jareth snorted. “Some of these guys have mad skills. They like working alone and breaking in. This Jade person will be able to look at the code and tell us where the break-in occurred.”

  Walter looked between Jareth and Ginnie. “What’s the status on the break-in?”

  They exchanged glances and Jareth cleared his throat. “No further damage detected. It looks like they went into the records of supernaturals in town, but captured nothing of value.”

  “We can be thankful for that, at least,” Walter said.

  “We have another problem,” Owen said. “My team found an indication that there are people who want to get their hands — or claws — on the dragon’s egg.”

  Ty and Mara’s egg was in danger? That thought made Walter’s heart go cold.

  “We’ll beef up security. We’ll call the hospital and have them set up a secure room in the paranormal wing.” He looked at his assistant. “Heidi, would you please call Manfred and tell him what we need?”

  “Yes, sir.” Heidi stood.

  Owen nodded approvingly. “Now, tell us more about the hacker.”

  Though Walter loved old books, he worked with high tech. His laptop was state-of-the-art, he wore an Apple watch, used an iPad, and had the latest phone. He was no slouch in the technology department, but he knew when it was time to pull in the top guns. He held up a folder. “Jade Monroe has a stellar resume and reputation. She can apparently hack into just about any system. For sport, she got into the human systems at Langley and Scotland Yard. Just for fun.”

  He didn’t mention that she was also arrogant and rude, or at least she’d given that impression over email. He didn’t care about that. He needed someone to solve this problem ASAP.

  “Good,” Owen said. “We haven’t had this problem before. I’m sorry that dubious honor fell to you, Walter.”

  Walter shrugged. “I can’t say I’m overly thrilled with it, either. But we’ll get to the bottom of it. I intend to keep this town safe.”

  Owen nodded approvingly. “Good. We’ll check back in with you. Keep us posted.”

  The screen went blank, and Walter said, “Let’s get to work, folks.”

  As the others left the conference room, Walter looked down at the delicate ring on his hand, set with colored quartz found only in Scotland's mountain regions, resized to fit his little finger. A memento of his wife, and a constant reminder to him to not make mistakes. Walter never made mistakes.

  Not since he’d married a human. He’d had centuries of regrets, and he wouldn’t make that mistake again. He wouldn’t make a mistake in the office, either. It would run efficiently, and they would make the computer system impregnable to hackers.

  He hoped Jade Monroe arrived quickly. The sooner she did, the sooner this little problem could be resolved.

  Firefighter and dragon Tyberius Thrakos — known to his friends as Ty, and father of the egg in danger — stuck his head in and gave a rueful grin. “I understand you’ve just had your first major meeting. Sorry I led you to such problems when I talked you into this, old friend. What can I do to help you get the office up and running?”

  From Lydia’s trussed-up place on the floor of the van, Jade Monroe’s seat looked infinitely more comfortable. After leaving the gas station, they’d met the man at the park as planned. Now, according to the conversation between her two kidnappers,
they were driving around the edges of Moonchuckle Bay. Lydia wasn’t sure where they were headed.

  The woman sat in the chair and swiveled it back to look at her captive. Her cold smile creeped Lydia out.

  Standing, she worked her way back to Lydia and rubbed her arm in that creepy manner again. She tugged out the gag.

  Lydia tried really hard not to gag. When she finished choking, she swallowed several times.

  Jade said, “I want that egg.”

  “What egg? What are you talking about?” Lydia didn’t remember talking about an egg during any of her emails or phone calls with Elvis.

  “I’m talking about more power and prestige than you can possibly imagine.”

  “What about Elvis?” Lydia was confused. “You said he’d sent you.”

  Jade gave an ugly laugh. “You sap. Did you wonder why you were lucky enough to catch Elvis’s eye without even sending him your resume?”

  Lydia’s eyes widened. She had wondered that.

  “I sent him your resume so he’d hire you, to get you into town. We needed you here to make our plan work. I set the whole thing up, you twit. And I’ve been hired by the Council because somebody hacked into their system. It should be pretty easy for me to figure out, since I’m the one who did it. We just need that last piece of information. The security code to the nursery at the dragon’s house.”

  “I don’t know anything about this.”

  “I know.” The woman seated herself again. “Did you know there are only three creatures that can become a Dragon’s Flame?”

  Lydia shook her head no.

  “Another dragon, of which there are none, a Swan-Maiden or Swan Prince, and crocodile shifters.”

  Lydia didn’t know where the woman was going with this. “Why do you need me?”

  “Because we need your luck to pull this off. It will be the crime of the century. Of the millennium.”

  She patted Lydia’s arm and pointed to what looked like a laptop bag on the floor beside Lydia. “You and this bag are all we need.”