Title: Heart-Shaped Hack
Series: A Kate and Ian novel
Author: Tracey Garvis Graves
Publisher: Inkslinger PR
Release Date: 25th August 2015
BLURB supplied by Inkslinger PR
When Kate Watts abandoned her law career to open a food
pantry in Northeast Minneapolis, she never dreamed it would be this difficult.
Facing the heartbreaking prospect of turning hungry people away, she is
grateful for the anonymous donations that begin appearing at the end of each
month. Determined to identify and thank her secret benefactor, she launches a
plan and catches Ian —a charismatic hacker with a Robin Hood complex—in the
act.
Ian intrigues Kate in a way no man ever has. But after
learning he’s snooped around on her personal computer, she demands retribution.
Impressed with her tolerance and captivated by her spirit, he complies and
begins to slowly charm his way past her defenses. Time spent with Ian is never
boring, and Kate soon finds herself falling for the mysterious hacker.
But Ian has enemies and they’re growing restless. In the
hacking world, exploiting a target’s weakness is paramount, and no price is too
high to stop an attack. And when Kate learns exactly how much Ian has paid,
she’ll discover just how strong her love is for the man who has hacked his way
into her heart.
Kate was taking a break and having
coffee and a muffin at Wilde Roast Café when Ian slid into the booth and sat
across from her. He was wearing a lightweight cream-colored sweater with a
tan-and-green-patterned shirt underneath, and he smelled good.
“Hello again.”
Confused, Kate looked around. “Where did
you come from?”
“I walked in the door like everyone
else.”
“Do you live nearby?” Kate lived in the
St. Anthony Main neighborhood of Northeast Minneapolis. The food pantry was
conveniently located on SE Main Street, which was a short three-block walk from
her apartment. The quiet brick-paved street was lined with restaurants, shops,
and a movie theater and included a stunning view of the Mississippi River and
St. Anthony Falls. There were also bars that featured live music and plenty of
green space in nearby parks.
He shook his head. “Not really.”
“Then why are you here?”
“I felt like talking to you again.
You’re seated, so you probably won’t try to strangle me this time.”
“How did you know where to find me?” She
was tucked away in a back booth instead of one of the tables near the windows
that looked out over SE Main, so it wasn’t like he’d walked by and spotted her.
He held a steaming cup of coffee and
blew on it to cool it. “I tracked your credit card activity. According to
Capital One, you bought a cup of coffee and a muffin here twelve minutes ago.”
“You tracked my credit card?” Her voice
sounded rather loud and shrieky.
He held a finger in front of his mouth.
“Shh, Katie Long Legs. That information is for your ears only. How’s your
coffee? Would you like a refill?”
Kate did not appreciate being shushed,
but she lowered her voice. “Are you some kind of cyberthief?” she whispered.
And since when were criminals so well-dressed and impeccably groomed?
“I did not steal your credit card
number. I simply accessed your account to see where and when you’d used it
last. Then I came here.”
“If you wanted to talk to me again, why
didn’t you just go to the food pantry?”
He looked at her like it was obvious. “Because
you’re not there. You’re here at this café.”
“If you’re not a cyberthief, then what
are you?”
“I’m a hacker.”
“Is there a difference?”
“Most definitely.”
“When you said you steal from the rich
to give to the poor, I thought you were kidding. Is that how you get the
money?”
“I don’t steal it. I appropriate it from
people who shouldn’t have it in the first place. Then I give it to those who
are more deserving.”
Kate twisted her napkin. “I can’t keep
the money. I’ve already spent the first two donations, but if you come back to
the food pantry with me, I can return the most recent one. It’s still locked in
the safe because I wasn’t planning on going shopping until tomorrow.”
“No, Katie. I don’t want it back. It’s
for you. It’s for the babies.”
“It’s wrong,” she said quietly.
“Is it?”
“It’s against the law.”
“Trust me when I say the people I took
it from don’t want the law involved any more than I do.”
“What are you saying? That you’re a
thief who steals from other thieves?”
He wrinkled his nose, and it was
adorable.
Stop! Thief!
“It sounds so distasteful when you say
it like that. I prefer master appropriator of ill-gotten funds. You can call me
master for short.”
“I have lots of things I’d like to call
you. Master is not one of them.”
Tracey Garvis Graves is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal,
and USA Today bestselling
author. Her debut novel, On the Island,
spent 9 weeks on the New York Times bestseller
list, has been translated into twenty-seven languages, and is in development
with MGM and Temple Hill Productions for a feature film. She is also the author
of Uncharted, Covet, Every Time IThink of You, and Cherish.
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