Shelter for Elizabeth (Badge of Honor: Texas Heroes Book 5) by Susan Stoker

to see if I can. Others do it to find stuff to blackmail people with or to steal from them.”
    “Whose computer have you hacked into?”
    “I don’t think you want to know.”
    “Mine?”
    “No.”
    “Why not?”
    Beth thought about clarifying how hacking into her email server was different from getting into the files on her computer, but decided it was easier to deal with the question at hand.
    “Why not? Pen, it’s not a challenge. I could probably guess the password to your computer in like three seconds. Besides, you’re my friend, I wouldn’t do that to you. But…see this little piece of paper over the built-in camera on my laptop?”
    Both Cade and Pen nodded after Beth turned her screen to face them. “I meant to ask you about that,” Pen told her.
    “It’s because anyone who hacks into your hard drive can take it over and if you don’t have your webcam covered, the hacker can use it to spy on you and record whatever it is you’re doing in view of the camera.”
    “What? Seriously ?”
    “Seriously.”
    “That’s so gross.” Penelope visibly shuddered. “I can’t believe people would do that. I know, I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am anyway.”
    Beth smiled at her friend’s naiveté—then looked down at her computer when the alarm she’d programmed in to let her know when someone was trying to enter it through the backdoor went off. “What the fuck? Oh no you don’t, you bastard.”
    “What?” Cade’s tone lost any and all teasing. He looked around as if there was a physical threat in the room.
    “Some asshole is trying to access my hard drive. Heh, he’s obviously a novice, he should’ve seen the trap I had set up. What’s he doing…oh shit, no way. Okay, it’s on, you piece of shit.”
    Penelope and Cade looked at each other. Cade noticed the smirk on his sister’s face and narrowed his eyes, wondering what brought it on. She was up to something, but he had no idea what. At the moment, he was more concerned about Beth.
    Her fingers were flying over the keyboard and she was muttering under her breath. He could see lines and lines of code scrolling across her screen. Cade had no idea how she was able to read anything because it was moving so fast, but she obviously could, because she alternated between being happy when she’d done something to keep whomever it was out, and swearing when the other hacker got around the blockades she put in place, as quickly as she put them up.
    It was obvious she’d tuned everything out but whatever was going on with her computer. It was cute as hell, but also a bit unnerving that she could forget he and his sister were even there.
    Finally she sat back with a disgruntled huff and swore. “Dammit all to hell.”
    “What?” Penelope asked.
    “He got in.”
    “And? What does that mean?”
    “He won.”
    “Did he get your info? Are you gonna be broke now? Am I gonna have to visit you at the homeless shelter downtown?” Penelope joked.
    Beth looked at her friend in disbelief. “You think I keep anything sensitive on my computer? No way. As soon as the alarm went off, all my passwords were automatically changed, and they’ll continue to update every forty-five seconds until I stop the program.”
    “How will you know what they are so you can log into your stuff?”
    Beth didn’t bother to answer, just rolled her eyes.
    “Okay, so you’ve figured that out already. How do you know he won? Was it really a competition?”
    “How do I know he won?” Beth turned her screen again so both Pen and Cade could see it. There were electronic fireworks going off on the screen and the words “I WON” were flashing on and off as well.
    Cade coughed into his hand, trying not to laugh. It really wasn’t funny, if Beth’s pissed-off face was anything to go by, but whoever the hacker was had a pretty good sense of humor.
    Penelope’s phone pinged with a text. She looked down and grinned.
    “What’s so funny?” Beth asked, obviously still