Heart-Shaped Hack (33 page)

“You are so sweet,” Kate said, smiling back at him because his happiness was palpable.

“Congratulations,” the hostess said. “When’s the big day?”

“We haven’t gotten that far yet,” Ian said.

“We do weddings at the inn. You should stop by the front desk and pick up some information on the way out.”

“Really?” Ian said.

“Yes. People get married here all the time. I’ll be right back with your drinks.”

“We cannot elope,” Kate said once the hostess had walked away. “Underneath my mother’s sweet and mild-mannered exterior lies a woman hell-bent on immersing herself in the planning of her only daughter’s wedding. She’s been looking forward to it my whole life. She won’t admit it, but when I broke up with Stuart she mourned the loss of that ceremony. She hasn’t been able to scratch her itch with Chad because Kristin’s mom is just as cuckoo about weddings as she is. If she doesn’t get the chance to make her wedding fantasies come true with me, she’ll come unglued and then my dad will kill you for real.”

“Oh, I know all about your mother’s wedding obsession. After she helped me with your ring, we sat on the couch with my laptop for
hours
while we were waiting for you. She showed me flowers and dresses, we looked at tuxedos and wedding cakes. I know we can’t elope. But what about inviting everyone to come here? It shouldn’t be hard to plan, especially with your mom’s help.”

“That’s actually a really good idea.”

“Do you think she’ll be upset that we can’t have a large wedding?” Ian said. They’d already discussed the fact that only Kate’s parents and Chad and Kristin could know what had happened with Ian.

“She’ll be fine. And considering we’ll have to pull it together quickly, she’ll have her work cut out for her.”

“What about you? What do you want?”

“As long as my immediate family is here and you’re waiting for me at the end of the aisle, that’s all I care about. Maybe everyone could spend some time with us on the island before the wedding. You could meet Chad and Kristin. Just a heads-up: my brother thinks you’re crazy.”

“I’ll win him over. You’ll see. I’d want to invite Phillip and Susan too.”

“Of course,” Kate said. “Maybe we could also invite your mom.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

But Kate didn’t think he would.

Diane had thrown herself headlong into planning the wedding, and she’d already made a trip down to meet with the wedding planner and go over things with Kate. They’d decided to get married at the inn as their hostess had suggested. It was such a small affair that everything came together easily, which was exactly the way they wanted it. Kate bought a dress online, which had almost sent her mother over the edge, but once Diane saw a picture of it she calmed down considerably. The ivory bias-cut silk sheath with narrow straps was simple and understated and would look beautiful on Kate.

“Has Ian seen the dress?” her mother asked one day when they spoke on the phone.

“No. I told him he had to wait until our wedding day. He did ask about my hair. I said I was going to wear it up and attach the veil underneath. I have no idea why he wanted to know.”

“I know why,” Diane said.

“You do? Tell me.”

“Absolutely not. I’ve been sworn to secrecy.”

“You’re just giddy about it, aren’t you?”

“I can’t help it,” Diane said. “You’re going to be so surprised.”

“What do you feel like doing today?” Ian asked one morning a week before the wedding. They had walked to the Coffeehouse to pick up breakfast and were now sitting in the Adirondack chairs on the patio, drinking coffee and eating, the air around them growing steamy and humid. “Beach day at Nags Head? Lunch in Rodanthe?”

“It’s supposed to storm later, so I vote Rodanthe,” Kate said. “We can have lunch at Good Winds and then come back here and crawl into bed while it rains.”

“I like the way you think.”

“Heard from Phillip lately?” Kate asked, taking a drink of her coffee.

“I actually got a call from him this morning while you were on your walk. He said he was losing hair at an alarming rate and that what was left was turning white. He sounded worried.”

“He should be basking in the glow of a job well done now that the forum’s been shut down.”

“Phillip doesn’t bask. Despite the stress, he’s not happy unless he has a new problem to solve.”

The carding ring had been fully dismantled, but the arrests had all been carried out after Ian had been doxed, leaving him to wonder if it was actually a carder who’d discovered his identity. He’d admitted to Kate that the possibility of it being someone with a different motive worried him immensely.

“What’s got him so rattled?” Kate asked.

“Hacktivists. They’ll rattle anyone, even Phillip.”

“Hacktivists? Hackers who are activists?” Kate knew the combination of those two words couldn’t be a good thing.

“That’s exactly what it means. They’re socially and politically motivated. Largely nonviolent, but they care deeply about their agenda and will pursue it at any cost. It’s keeping Phillip awake at night.”

“Are they really that bad?”

“They make the carders look like Boy Scouts. But unlike cyberthieves, they’re not profit oriented, which makes them much harder to stop. They just want to be heard.”

“So if they don’t steal, what do they do?”

“They launch denial-of-service attacks, which send so much traffic to a website that it crashes. They help themselves to confidential information because they believe very strongly in free speech. Government agencies are frequent targets, which is why Phillip asked me to do the pentesting. He doesn’t feel the current systems are as secure as they need to be.”

“What do you think?”

“I think he’s right to be worried.”

“Sounds like it’ll be quite a challenge,” Kate said.

“I’m looking forward to it. I’ve never gone this long without hacking into something.”

“Frankly I’m surprised you don’t have the shakes.”

“When did that mouth get so smart?” he asked, grinning and pulling her toward him for a kiss.

They’d brought their laptops to the island, and Ian had secured an anonymous network connection for them. Kate had been relieved to learn that he could no longer detect the presence of a backdoor on her computer, but she still felt uncomfortable using it.

“The longer you use it, the more convincing it will seem, in case they check back,” Ian said. “We’ll gradually phase it out and I’ll set you up with a new one.”

They were planning on returning to Washington a few days after the wedding, having decided that a summer on Roanoke Island was the perfect honeymoon and neither of them minding that they’d done things out of order. “Let’s go someplace tropical in January,” Ian had said. “I’ll be itching to get out of the cold by then.”

Kate was looking forward to the next phase of their lives, and she knew Ian was eager to get back to work. Though he swore to Kate that the time they were spending at the cottage was everything he wanted and needed, it was the most idle he’d ever been in his life. He was ready to buy a house and wanted to connect with a Realtor as soon as possible; in the meantime, they’d live in Phillip and Susan’s guesthouse, which did not thrill him.

“It won’t be long before we have our own place,” she reassured him. She didn’t mind the guesthouse for the same reason she didn’t mind the small cottage they were currently living in. She needed closeness more than she needed space. For a little while longer at least.

Kate’s family and Phillip and Susan were due to arrive on the island the next morning, and Kate and Ian had booked them rooms at the Tranquil House Inn. Ian had invited his mother, but she’d left a voice mail saying she’d be unable to attend and hadn’t given a reason. Ian shrugged it off, and Kate didn’t press him about how he really felt. Someday maybe she’d be able to facilitate a reconciliation between the two of them.

Kate had expected to be busy, maybe even a little stressed out, but Diane had triple-checked every detail, leaving Kate with nothing to do but relax.

“I’m going out to get a haircut,” Ian said.

Kate looked up. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I would expect any man marrying my daughter to get his hair cut before the most important day of his life.”

“This is the second time you’ve mentioned your daughter.”

“Shelby is
our
daughter.”

“You’ve already named her?”

“You can name our son.”

“William.”

“Oh, sweetness. How long have you had that picked out?”

“Since I was about twenty-three. William Ian Bradshaw has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? We can call him Will for short.”

“William was my dad’s name, but everyone called him Bill.”

“Then William would be a perfect name for our son.”

Ian nodded and smiled, looking quite touched. “What name did you have picked out for a girl?”

Kate shrugged her shoulders. “I can’t remember. What name did you have picked out for a boy?”

“Didn’t have one.”

She smiled.

Ian enveloped her in a bear hug. “We are such a good team, Katie.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

Ian was waiting for Kate at the end of the makeshift aisle on the deck overlooking Shallowbag Bay. Phillip and Chad stood next to him, all of them sweltering a bit in their tuxedos. An August wedding might not have been their best move, but neither he nor Kate wanted to wait for cooler weather.

Kate and Steve’s arms were linked, and she held a bouquet of raspberry-colored roses in her left hand as they waited for the ceremony to begin. Ian had never seen anything more breathtaking than Kate in her wedding gown. Three months of lying on a beach and swimming in the ocean had turned her skin golden brown. The diamond headpiece he’d surprised her with, which had made her cry, shot out brilliant prisms of light and only added to her radiance. Looking at her reminded him how close he’d come to losing the best thing that had ever happened to him, and he was going to get choked up if he thought about it for too long. There weren’t many things that scared him, but not having Kate by his side was one of them.

There had been moments during their stay on Roanoke Island that had sliced through his heart, like the time Kate burst into tears after saying she liked the confines of their cottage and the island because she always knew where he was. Before he’d received the tear-filled voice mail she’d left him on his birthday, he’d never heard her cry. Before she’d stepped onto that plane and realized he was alive, he’d never
seen
her cry. Every single one of the tears she’d shed had been his fault, and he vowed not to ever make her cry again unless they were happy tears.

The faint notes of the wedding march filled the air, and Kate and Steve walked slowly down the aisle. When they reached the end, Steve bent down and whispered something in Kate’s ear. Ian hoped it wasn’t a last-minute plea for her to run, but he wouldn’t be at all surprised if it was. Steve kissed his daughter, and then he and Ian shared a look. An unspoken agreement passed between them: You will not hurt my daughter again. You will not put her in harm’s way. Earning Steve’s trust would take time, and Ian would be on probation with him for a long time, maybe forever. The reasons were justified.

Diane had convinced them to write their own vows. After the wedding officiant welcomed everyone and completed the invocation, he nodded at Ian. Phillip handed him a folded sheet of paper, and Ian recited the words he’d written.

“I love you, Kate. You’re beautiful and kind, and from this day forward I vow to be your partner, your lover, and your friend. I will be faithful, devoted, open, and honest. I will cherish you, I will keep you safe, and I will provide for you. I will never hurt you, and I will do everything I can to show you that you made the right decision when you chose me. I promise that life with me will never be boring. You mean the world to me, and my love for you will never waver.”

Her big brown eyes were swimming in tears by then, but the smile never left her face.

Now it was Kate’s turn. She gave her bouquet to Chad in exchange for her vows. “I love you, Ian. More than I’ve ever loved anyone. I promise to be your faithful partner no matter what life throws at us. I want you to know that I love you just the way you are because it’s part of what makes you special to me. I promise to always believe in you and support you and love you. I trust you and will stand proudly by your side. You are my one true love, and from this day forward, and all the days of our lives, you will have my heart.”

A tear ran down her face, and he let go of her hands just long enough to wipe it away. The sound of Diane, Susan, and Kristin sniffling could be heard as they proceeded to the exchange of rings.

“Kate, I give you this ring as a sign of my love and commitment,” Ian said as he slid the diamond-encrusted wedding band Phillip handed him onto her finger.

Chad gave Ian’s ring to Kate.

“Ian, I give you this ring as a sign of my love and commitment.” She slid the matching platinum band onto his finger.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Ian leaned down and whispered in Kate’s ear. “This is our first kiss as husband and wife, and it will forever be known as the number eight.”

He held her face gently in his hands and gave her a deep openmouthed kiss with tongue. But he dipped her at the end, just so she wouldn’t confuse it with the number five.

She loved that.

Their guests applauded loudly.

He had never been so happy in his life.

They moved inside to the comfort of an air-conditioned reception room where they dined on fresh seafood and beef medallions. After a few drinks, Chad announced he was going to give a speech.

“Oh no, here it comes,” Kate said softly.

Ian laughed and put his arm around her.

They were sitting at a long table set for eight. Chad was sitting next to Kate, and he stood and cleared his throat. “First of all, on behalf of Kristin and myself, I’d like to congratulate Kate and Ian on their special day. May you have many years of wedded bliss. To my little sister, Kate: I love you and I wish you a lifetime of happiness with Ian. Clearly, you love this guy
a lot
. To my new brother-in-law: you have impeccable taste in both automobiles and women. You’ve brought excitement to the Watts family, the most we’ve seen in a long time. Or ever, for that matter. Something tells me there’s more to come, and I’m okay with that as long as Kate is. It’s kind of cool having a hacker in the family, even if you are a bit of a wild card, and I look forward to getting to know you better. Take good care of my little sister.”