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Utah
On their walk, she and Phoebe didn’t run into anyone they’d met yesterday. Although there were plenty of new people to return smiles and waves to.
Everyone is so friendly here.
It was a great neighborhood, and she could see herself living there.
She speculated how much money she’d have to make to be able to afford a home like Liam’s. A lot more than her current salary—which at least afforded her a roach-free one-bedroom in a semi-decent neighborhood, but nothing like this community.
Utah had never profited from her illegal hacks. She knew if she did, she’d be unable to enjoy anything she bought with the ill-gotten proceeds.
She was a hacker with a conscience. Was that an oxymoron?
Thinking about the couple with the sick babies who were no longer half-a-million-dollars in debt because of her, she didn’t think so.
Utah wondered what they thought when they got the notice in the mail saying their account had a zero balance. She hoped not having the stress of being buried in medical debt eased some of their burden.
It had been the mother of all hacks, but after reading the couple’s story, Utah had gone down a rabbit hole of people with similar circumstances who ended up bankrupt, and she couldn’t let that happen to that sweet family.
After she’d breached the hospital’s system, she noticed another self-pay account with an astronomical total and wiped that one out, too. Then another. And at that point, she figured in for a penny, in for a pound, and kept going.
Regret hit her almost instantly the minute she shut her computer down. She knew she’d gone too far.
She probably could have gotten away with erasing the debt of the family with the sick babies, but what she’d done was too big. Law enforcement was going to be working on this case—probably vigorously.
She’d been a wreck ever since. Sunday night at Liam’s was the first time in over a month that she’d gotten more than a few hours of sleep.
The orgasms he’d given her were also appreciated.
There was a skip in her step when she turned onto Liam’s cul-de-sac. Hiding out at his place was exactly what she’d needed.
As she and the dog approached his driveway, she noticed an older model blue minivan parked where her Civic hatchback had been until last night when he had her move it into the empty stall of his three-car garage, next to a black Ford F150 he said he used in the winter.
Her Fitbit read 10:30, and she deduced the vehicle probably belonged to Janice, his cleaning lady. That was confirmed when she walked in through the garage and the smell of cleaner hit her. Moving further inside the kitchen, she found a woman with silver streaks in her dark hair on her hands and knees mopping the wood floor. She had a navy-blue bandana covering her head and wore black yoga pants, a pink t-shirt with what looked like bleach spots on it, and a pair of black Skechers tennis shoes. Yellow rubber gloves covered her hands and extended all the way to her elbows.
Utah quickly scooped Phoebe up and stepped back. “I am so sorry! I didn’t realize the floor would be wet.”
Janice leaned back on her ankles and wiped her forehead with the back of her gloved hand.
“It’s fine. It should be dry there anyway.”
Utah nodded toward Phoebe in her arms. “I’ll just take her around to the back until you’re done.”
The woman’s face softened with a smile when she looked at the pooch Utah was holding. “This must be Liam’s new dog he told me about.”
Utah nuzzled the top of the cocker spaniel’s soft head and replied, “This is Phoebe.”
Janice stood up and approached her. “So that would make you Utah. I’m Janice. It’s nice to meet you.” She held up her rubber-covered hands and wiggled her fingers. “I’d shake your hand, but…”
Utah laughed. “I totally get it. It’s nice to meet you, too.”
“I’m almost done in here, if you can wait a few minutes until you walk through.” She turned and went back to her spot on the floor.
“Do you need help?”
“Oh, no, but thank you for the offer.” She laughed. “That’s both kind and unusual.”
“Unusual?”
