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"And that's why I do all that crap. I can't let people know that the very scandalous Delancy Matisse III is a computer hacker. No one can ever connect the two."
"Why not?"
"Because of the people I hack for."
That did not make me feel better.
"I think I'm going to need another drink for this," I said as I stood and walked around my desk. I quickly poured myself another scotch, took a sip, and then turned back to Delancy.
"Okay, hit me with it. Who do you hack for?" If it was my grandfather or anyone associated with my grandfather, I was going to strangle Delancy.
"It's less of a who and more of a what."
I lifted my eyebrow again and stared at Delancy for a moment before walking around my desk to sit down. "Explain."
"There is a group of people like myself that work in the shadows of a corrupt system to make sure that the victims of violence do not fall through the cracks. We dig into places that the authorities cannot to provide evidence for trials, create new identities for people needing to hide from their abusers, and make sure that people can sleep at night without being afraid of the boogeyman. We can go where others cannot."
Delancy scooted forward in his chair and started tapping at the desktop with his finger. "What you need to understand is that the people we help have nowhere else to go. They have tried to go through the normal channels to get help and were either denied or not given the help they need."
I frowned as I tried to follow what Delancy was telling me. "Can you give me an example?"
"Without naming names, I can."
I nodded. "That's fine. I'm just trying to wrap my head around what you are saying."
"An example." Delancy's brow creased for a moment before he nodded, almost to himself. "Okay, I've got one. Say you have a married couple. The husband is a police officer and he's abusing his wife. She can't go to her local police station to file a restraining order against him because all of his cop buddies protect him. So, where does she go? What does she do to get away from her abuser?"
I shrugged because I really had no idea. I had never been in an abusive relationship. I had never had to file a restraining order. I wouldn't even know how.
"We can help her get away from her abuser, find a good divorce attorney, and build a case against her abuser, but to do that we have to go outside normal channels because those normal channels are working against her."
"Why would you want to hide that? It seems like that would be something you could be proud of doing."
"I'm a hacker," Delancy replied. "That's not exactly legal."
Yeah, okay, I could understand that one.
I took another sip of my scotch and then leaned back in my chair. This was a lot to take in. I never would have expected Delancy to be a hacker, but I guess that was the whole point of his antics.
I just wasn't sure where that left us.
"My grandfather hates me," I started. "He pretty much wants me dead."
Delancy inhaled sharply. "Then why put you in charge of Brooklyn?"
"Hugo and I suspect that he is setting me up."
Delancy's eyebrows lifted nearly to his hairline. "Setting you up?"
I nodded. "I am a illegitimate heir to my grandfather's kingdom. In my world, knocking an heir off, illegitimate or not, is highly frowned upon so he can't just kill me. He has to have a reason."
"What could constitute a reason to kill your grandson?"
I chuckled at how innocent that question was. "If I wasn't an heir, he wouldn't need a reason."
"But you said you were."
I nodded again. "Hugo and I have figured out that my grandfather is setting me up for failure. Being made to marry you is the first part of his plan."
