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

upset.
    Penelope turned her phone to Beth and showed her a picture of a computer screen, which looked exactly like Beth’s did. The text message under it read, “Tell Elizabeth, I win.”

Chapter 9
    “ W hat the hell , Pen? You know who did this?” Beth asked in disbelief, looking ready to lurch across the room and strangle her friend.
    “Yup.”
    When Penelope didn’t say anything more, Beth put her computer to the side and stalked over to her friend. Before she got to her, Cade grabbed her hand and pulled her down next to him. “Easy, sweetheart. You can’t kill my sister in front of me. I’d have to call my friend Dax and I’d be an accessory to murder and do twenty to life. Then you’d be the one visiting me in the penitentiary.”
    Cade felt good when Beth didn’t pull away from him, but gripped his hand hard.
    “Who is it?” Her question was geared toward Penelope.
    “My friend, Tex. He’s a computer genius who helped get the teams in to save me. I’ve only met him once, but have talked to him many times.”
    Beth’s eyes narrowed. “So why did he hack into my computer?”
    “Probably to see if what I told him was true.”
    “Pen, I love you, but I swear to God if you don’t start making sense, I’m gonna email every news agency I can come up with, pretend to be you, and tell them you’re dying to finally tell your side of your story.”
    Cade saw his sister pale, and squeezed Beth’s hand in warning. “Beth…”
    He saw the remorse on Beth’s face as soon as the words left her mouth. “I’m sorry, Pen. You know I wouldn’t do that. But shit. Really? Who is this guy?”
    “Look. All I heard from the men who rescued me is how great this Tex person is. How he can hack into anything, how much he’s done for them, and how no one is as good as he is. I just…when you were talking about getting into my computer and keeping those jerks from accessing my info, I wanted to introduce you to Tex. All I said was that you were good and maybe you could help him out someday.” Penelope fingered the pendant around her throat nervously as she spoke.
    “And he hacked into my computer as a result?”
    Penelope shrugged. “I guess he wanted to know if I was exaggerating or not.”
    “So, now that he got through, I guess he knows you were exaggerating.”
    Beth’s computer made a weird dinging noise again, and Cade let go of her hand as she lurched across the cushions to pick it up. Her fingers darted over the keys again and she said under her breath, “I’ll be damned.”
    “What now?” Penelope asked, leaning forward to try to see her screen.
    Beth looked up. “He restored my firewall and repaired the hole he made. Not only that, but, look…” She turned the computer and showed Cade and Penelope the note on the screen.
    Tiger was right. You’re good. Want a job?
    “I don’t get it. Who’s Tiger?” Beth asked in confusion.
    “That would be me. It’s what the guys who came in to rescue me called me,” Penelope said sheepishly.
    “Hmmmm. Wonder what kind of job he’s talking about?”
    “Uh, one with computers?” Penelope said as if Beth had a couple of screws loose in her head.
    “Hey! I haven’t had the chance to talk to Daxton or Cruz yet about you working for them,” Cade complained. “But now that I think about it, it’s probably better if you work for him. You know…with your penchant for illegally hacking into Fortune 500 databases and all.”
    “She doesn’t do it to steal stuff,” Penelope huffed, sticking up for her friend.
    “Well, I’ll think about it and contact him later.”
    “What? Beth! You should take Tex up on it!” Penelope urged.
    “I’m busy. I’m hanging out with you guys. Besides, my heart hasn’t gotten over the shock of someone breaking into my computer yet.”
    Cade smiled. It was amazing how different Beth was when she was at home in her own space and comfortable. He liked it. He liked her .
    Penelope hadn’t told him much about the men