Simon was gently pushing her inside. He followed after her, kicking the front door shut as he stepped inside.

“What’s going on?” she asked desperately.

“Is there a way to get out here?” he barked. “A back door or something?”

Her pulse raced when she caught the grave look in his eyes. “Simon, if it’s the cops maybe I should go with them.”

“Without a lawyer? Are you crazy?” He hustled her down the hall to the living room. “At best, they want to take you down to the station for questioning. At worst, they’re here to arrest you. Neither scenario is good. If we get out now that buys us some time to clear your name.”

A loud banging on her front door made her freeze in place.

“Ms. Hall!” a loud, booming voice sounded. “This is Detective Adrian West. Open up. We need to talk to you!”

“I have to take Finn,” she said.

“No, you can’t,” he said. “If you run away with him they’ll just use it against you later. Is there somewhere you can drop him off?”

She didn’t like running away like a criminal, but if Simon was right, going with the police would be a complete disaster. Her ex-husband would use it against her and take Finn away from her. Heather refused to let that happen. “My parents are here.”

“Good, we’ll sneak out the back and have them answer the door,” he said. “Your parents can stall the cops and tell them you aren’t here.”

Finn would be safe with her parents. Leveling her shoulders, she said, “Go out the back, Simon.”

He paused.

“Don’t argue,” she hissed, throwing his words back at him. “I need to say goodbye to my parents. Then I’ll join you.”

“I’m not leaving you here,” he said firmly.

The pounding got louder.

“Fine. Wait here until I get back.” She raced into the kitchen and found her parents surrounding Finn, trying to comfort him.

“Heather, is that the police?” her mother asked, wide-eyed.

She nodded. “It is. I have to leave. I can’t tell you much more than that, but I’m trying to clear my name.”

“We can keep the police busy while you make a run for it,” her father said grimly. “We’ll look after Finn.”

She blinked back tears as she rushed up to her son and pulled him into her arms. “Mommy is going to be back soon, okay?”

Finn gripped her tightly. “Don’t go!”

Her son’s anguished wails knifed through her heart. She didn’t know how she found the strength to let him go and pull away from him, but she did. “I love you, Finn.”

As tears threatened to fall, she raced out of the kitchen and back into the living room.

She didn’t have time to get her bearings as Simon immediately reached for her hand, and together they rushed towards the back door. They slipped out together and started ducking behind nearby houses, trying to outrun the police.

“Now we have no access to a car,” she said.

“Can we catch a bus from here?” he asked.

“Yes.” She nodded and motioned for him to follow her. She altered directions slightly and raced towards a nearby bus stop.

They got to Dover headquarters less than an hour later and used the private elevator to head up to Simon’s office. When they stepped inside he locked the door behind him.

She slumped into one of the chairs, fighting desperately to keep it together. Simon had confessed his love to her and the cops had showed up on her doorstep all in one day. After he had confessed, she had invited him to dinner. Heather hadn’t been sure how she was going to handle Finn officially meeting Simon, but she had wanted the chance to try. Wanted the chance to gather her courage over dinner to tell Simon how she really felt about him. But that all seemed like something in the distant past, now that she was hiding from the police.

“What do we do now?” she asked.

“We figure out who the real hacker is,” Simon responded. “Get proof and hand it over to the cops.”

“Do you think that will be enough?” she asked.

He reached inside his jacket pocket to retrieve his phone. “I’ve been texting my lawyer. He seems to think so. One of the other lawyers at his firm is willing to take you on as a client. I know you don’t want my help, but I won’t let the police take you away from me. Don’t ask me to do that.”

“I can’t afford a lawyer like that—”

“Too bad,” he said. “I’m paying the lawyer. Whether you actually decide to use the lawyer’s services is entirely up to you.”

“A lawyer like that is too expensive.”

“It’s my money,” he said. “I’ll spend it however I damn well want. Maybe if you stopped being so stubborn you’d acknowledge that everyone needs help sometimes. Even you.”

She swallowed hard. “Fine. I’ll listen to this fancy lawyer. You can give him my cell number.”

“Good.” Simon sent off a quick text. “In the meantime, we need to find concrete evidence that clears your name.”

“Honestly, the best person to ask for help is Drew Cooper. But it’s after hours now,” she said. “At this hour Dover is mostly empty.”

“I’m going to call him.” He dialed a number and put the phone to his ear. “May I please speak to Drew Cooper?”

As she listened to Simon bring Drew up to speed on what was going on, she was far too exhausted to argue with Simon as he intervened to help her.

Simon hung up and headed over to his desk to turn his desktop on. “Drew has an idea for how to track the real culprit.”

“How?”

“We figure out which credit card was used to take funds out of the executive account. If we find the credit card that paid off the electricians, we’ll find the hacker.”

Heather frowned. “Isn’t that kind of information hard to get? Not to mention the privacy issues involved.”

“Yes, it’s hard to get. At least legally anyway.”

Her eyes widened. “What are you talking about? Are you seriously trying to get that information illegally?”

“It’s the only way,” he said, pounding away at the keyboard.

“Simon, I forbid it,” she said. “You cannot risk going to jail to save me.”

“Too late,” he said. “I’ve already started. Which means I’ve broken the law already.”

She groaned. “There’s no way your lawyer advised you to do this.”

“I don’t always listen to my lawyer,” he said.

“But you expect me to listen?” she cried, her infuriation mounting.

“Yes, I do. Because I love you.” His gaze lifted to hers and his breathtaking blue eyes narrowed. “Now, be quiet so that I can work.”

The way he said he loved her without hesitation was making her stomach do flips. She felt like a giddy schoolgirl all over again, and it took everything in her power to not melt into a puddle right then and there. “What exactly are you doing?” she demanded.

“I’m hacking into Dover’s financial information,” he said. “I’m going through every company-solicited credit and debit card to find the spy.”

“You’re hacking against the hacker,” she said.

He nodded. “It’s time to fight fire with fire.”

There wasn’t a chance in hell of convincing him to stop what he was doing. Not with that determined light blazing in his eyes.

She let out a sigh. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Yes,” he said. “Monitor my phone. Tell me when there’s an incoming message from my lawyer. Or... the police.”

Heather got to her feet, walked over to him, and took the phone from his desk. While he did whatever it was that he was doing, she returned to her seat to anxiously watch all incoming messages on his phone and her phone as well.

Hours crept by. She paced while he worked. Eventually, she went into the break room to make some coffee and grab some snacks for them.

While she sipped her coffee, a text came through her phone. She searched through her messages again, and her eyes landed on a recent text from her new lawyer.

“What is it?” Simon asked.

“My lawyer has been in touch with the police and believes the cops came by to question me. They were trying to use it as a threatening tactic to see if I would confess.” She sighed. “But my lawyer also says that if we can get proof that clears my name, the police will back off.”

“Does he say how much time we have?” he asked.

She grimaced as she reread the message. “He says, considering the time, we can probably hold them off all night until around eight o’clock tomorrow morning.”

He glanced at his watch. “So, we’ve got what? Eight hours?”

“Is that enough time?” she asked with a frown.

“We’ll see,” he said, his lips forming a grim line.

It felt like ages crept by before his fingers stopped flying across the keyboard. He cursed under his breath.

“What is it?” she asked.

“It can’t be.”

“Simon.” She shot him a pleading glance. After hours of sitting around while he did all the work, she refused to let him avoid her questions. The hacking scandal had put her through hell and she had the right to finally get some answers.

“The hacker is a board member,” he said.

“Which board member?”

He rubbed his eyes. “It’s... Everett.”

“What?!” Shock made her jump to her feet. “Everett Eastman? He’s the most senior board member!” She ran every possibility through her head, dread filling her as she realized the impact. “If Everett is the hacker, do you know what this means?”

“That Dover’s most senior employee has been plotting to destroy it for months,” he said. “Maybe even years.”

“You’re certain?” she asked.

He nodded and looked at her. “It’s no wonder he was so eager to blame you for everything. He’s been spying on us this whole time. He put my former assistant up to the insider trading. He paid the electricians. Plus, he personally hacked into my home system. A lot of people think he’s just some executive in a suit, but Everett knows tech inside and out. He has the skills to hack into my system if he really wanted to.”

Her heart sank like a stone, her body breaking out in a cold sweat. That was why Drew had wanted her to keep his investigation quiet. Everett Eastman was so powerful that if he had discovered anybody was on to them, he could have gotten rid of them with one board meeting.

“Do you want to talk to your lawyer?” she asked, handing his phone back to him.

“Yes. I’m going to send the information to my lawyer through an encrypted email.” He took his phone from her.

“Won’t the police be concerned about receiving information you obtained illegally?” she asked.

“Not if it’s enough to get them a warrant to search Everett’s home,” he replied. “That’s what we need to do right now. Get them to focus on a different suspect. If my lawyer can get the incriminating evidence to the police, it should be enough to put you in the clear.”

She chewed her lower lip. “What if it isn’t enough?”

His jaw clenched with determination. “It has to be.”

~~*~~

SIMON WAS USED TO PULLING all-nighters, but none of them had ever stressed him out like this. The minute he sent off the evidence against Everett to his lawyer he glanced at his watch. Eight o’clock was fast approaching.

His phone rang, and he answered it immediately. It was his lawyer. After a brief conversation Simon hung up the phone and glanced over at Heather.

She was sitting in a chair, staring at her phone with sadness in her eyes. He recognized that look instantly. That look always did something to his heart.

“You miss Finn, don’t you?” he asked gently.

“Yes. I do.” A sigh escaped her throat and she got up. “What did your lawyer say?”

“It’s good news,” he said. “He’s sent the evidence over to the police and they’re about to get a warrant to search Everett’s house. In the meantime, I have to call an emergency board meeting.”

“Why?”

“Heather, for weeks the staff at Dover has believed you were guilty of a crime.” He got up, so sleep- deprived that he had to hold on to the desk to steady himself. “It’s time we clear your name once and for all.”

~~*~~

AT NINE O’CLOCK SHARP, Simon stepped into the board room with Heather by his side. The board members were already seated, the room abuzz with tension as they all spoke to each other, obviously curious about the nature of the meeting. Linda and other department heads were also present, looking as baffled as the members of the board.

Simon spotted Everett sitting smugly at the head of the table. Everett wasn’t speaking to anyone, preferring to sit above it all like a king looking down on a bunch of commoners.

A long time ago Simon might have felt sorry for Everett. But his love for Heather didn’t allow for that kind of sentiment anymore. Everett had almost destroyed Heather, and it was time to set things right.

He motioned for Heather to sit by his side as he took his seat at the other end of the table.

“I’m sure you’re all wondering why you’re here. So, I’m not going to keep you in suspense,” Simon said loudly over the din. “I called this meeting to clear Ms. Hall’s name.”

“Oh?” Everett’s eyes narrowed. “What’s this, then?”

“I’m sure you’d like to know,” Simon snarled.

“Simon, what is the meaning of this?” Everett demanded in exasperation.

“You are the hacker.” Simon pointed his finger at Everett.

An audible gasp sounded in the room.

“How dare you!” Everett shot to his feet. “This is outrageous!”

“So, you’re saying you didn’t use your company credit card to pay off the electricians who came into my apartment building?” Simon asked evenly.

“I...” Everett faltered, and his eyes darted around. “Listen, Simon. I can explain. It’s not what it looks like.”

“So, explain it then,” Linda said from her seat. “What innocent explanation could you possibly have for paying off the very people who took photos of Simon’s servers?”

Pure fury twisted Everett’s face into a scowl. “I don’t have to explain myself to the likes of you. I’ll pay whoever I damn well please.”

“So, you admit that you paid them,” a board member said. “Why?”

“Because I’m through with Dover,” Everett said, his voice dripping with scorn. “All these years I’ve given to this company and yet you all slavishly go along with whatever Simon wants. I’m useful to this company, too!”

“How useful can you be if you’re hacking into the CEO’s system?” Heather piped up. “If you had a problem you should have faced it like a man. Instead, you threw me under the bus to get away with it.”

“It wasn’t personal,” Everett muttered. “You were collateral damage on my way to the success I deserve.”

“What you deserve?” Heather got up and glared at Everett.

Simon watched her in amazement, completely transfixed by the way she was standing up to one of the most powerful men in the world. A man who had tried to crush her like she was nothing.

“The success you wanted was built on the back of Simon’s hard work,” she went on. “Not to mention, if this was all about you getting your due why did you steal Simon’s ideas?”

Everett swallowed hard and held his hands up. “Now, see here!”

“Answer the question,” Heather said icily.

“Fine.” Everett scowled at her, rage burning in his eyes. “I stole his ideas. I never did have Simon’s raw talent. So, I needed something to start my new company. I don’t know why the hell you’re all staring at me, when half the time Simon shares his ideas for free. For free. Can you imagine?”

“I share my work to benefit humanity,” Simon said. “There are rules, Everett. Rules you have overstepped.”

Everett balled up his hands. “I don’t need to listen to you. I’m starting my own company.”

“So, you’re not working with VLA and Dover’s other rivals to sabotage us?” Heather asked.

“At first I wanted to jump ship and go with VLA. That’s why I got Xander to give them Dover’s insider secrets. If I could butter up the higher-ups at VLA I’d get a much bigger paycheck out of them.” he said. “They value profit over whatever sentimental nonsense Simon keeps trying to peddle. But then I thought... why should I leave one pair of shackles for another pair? I’m going to start my own company in England.”

“With my ideas,” Simon said.

“Oh, for bloody sake, Simon, you have no idea how to sell your work properly,” Everett said dismissively. “All you care about is making people’s lives better.”

“You’re horrible,” Heather breathed.

“I might be horrible, but don’t think for one second your boyfriend isn’t exactly like me,” Everett said to her. “For all his platitudes, Simon is just as ambitious as I am. Just as hungry for success. He wants power just like I do.”

“I’m nothing like you,” Simon shot back. “I don’t flout the rules.”

“That is nonsense and you know it, Simon,” Everett thundered. “You’ve been sleeping with this woman, forcing our legal department to work overtime to clean up your messes. There’s nothing to you. You can act like you’re too good for the press. Too good for the rules. But all you have are your bland platitudes and your ideas. You can try to dress up your relationship with Heather as some kind of love affair, but you’re not capable of emotions that deep. Don’t screw her and pretend she’s anything more than the office whore.”

Everett’s words inspired such a rage in him that Simon didn’t even realize he had moved across the room and gotten into Everett’s face.

Heather pushed her way in front of him and placed her hand on Simon’s chest. “Don’t do this,” she pleaded. “It’s not worth it. Everett isn’t worth going to jail.”

Her touch was pulling him out of the haze of his rage, but that didn’t stop Simon from clenching his fists. If he could beat Everett senseless without upsetting Heather, he’d do it in a heartbeat.

“Even if by some miracle it turns out you’re innocent, you’re through,” Simon warned with a growl. “Nobody talks about Heather like that. Nobody. You’re fired, Everett. Get the hell out.”

Everett opened his mouth to shout a retort, but the board room doors swung open and uniformed police officers muscled their way inside. Suddenly the board room was utter chaos as board members scrambled out of their seats, no doubt trying to get as far away from the police as possible.

Panic flashing in his eyes, Everett jumped back. “They’re not here for me, are they?”

Two uniformed officers approached Everett. The taller cop grabbed Everett by the shoulders.

“Everett Eastman?” the cop said. “You’re under arrest.”

“What is the meaning of this?” Everett demanded. “You don’t have any proof.”

Linda appeared, holding up her cell phone. “I recorded your entire outburst.”

“No.” Everett struggled against the police officer as he slapped handcuffs on him. “Do you know who I am? How dare you! Unhand me!”

“We’ll be taking that recording,” another officer said, reaching for Linda’s phone. “Not that we need it since we found all the proof that we need at Mr. Eastman’s house earlier this morning.”

“I’m innocent,” Everett said. “Arrest Heather. Or Simon. They’re guilty.”

“A likely story,” the officer who had cuffed him said. “We’ve got proof that you tried to frame Heather Hall. That will be added to your list of charges.”

“So, you’re not here to take me away?” Heather asked in a small voice.

“Of course not,” the cop muttered. “You’re Heather Hall, correct? Well, you’re no longer a suspect. We’ve been tracking this hacker for months. Thanks to Mr. Diesel, we now know who it is and we’ve got all the proof that we need.”

The police officers started to drag Everett away as he struggled and shouted threats at them.

“I’m going to sue your entire police department,” Everett raged. “You have no right to do this to me!”

Even when Everett had been hauled off by the police they could still hear his muffled shouts and threats echoing outside. Finally, the noise died down and the board members all started speaking at once, their shock evident.

“It’s over,” Heather forced out. “It’s actually over.”

Relief swept over him and he pulled her into his arms. He held on to her so tightly it felt like he would never let go of her. The woman he loved. She was safe. She was free. Maybe all their problems hadn’t been solved, but at least now she had cleared her name.

Then a thought made him pull away from her. Simon had told her the truth about his feelings. For the first time in his life he had opened up to another person. What if that backfired? What if she threw his feelings back in his face? After the awful way he had treated her, he wasn’t even sure he deserved her love.

He took a deep breath. “About what I said when I came to your house yesterday evening—”

“Simon, I love you, too.”

“You do?” His heart swelled at her words. It hadn’t backfired. He hadn’t chased her away at all. He cupped her face between his hands and looked into her eyes. Those hazel eyes that were now brimming with tears. Happy tears. She did love him. Of course, she did. “You do.”

“I love you,” she said softly. “I always have.”

Happiness didn’t even begin to describe how he felt in this moment.

There was only one thing left to do. Taking her hand in his he turned to face the board, giving them the signal to quiet down. When they stopped talking he leveled his shoulders, straightening up to his full height. “I have an announcement.” He paused for emphasis. “Effective immediately, I’m resigning from my position as the CEO of Dover.”

THE END