I heard him talk to someone briefly, and then he was back. “Okay, that’s good that you caught all this early. What about your bank accounts?”
I paused while the server set down our meals, and we thanked her. “As soon as we got the calls about the reservations, I checked all my accounts. None of them had been touched, but I called my bank and had them change my password and set up two-factor authentication. They have a note to monitor the accounts for any unusual activity.
“That’s good,” he said. “It’s not a hundred percent bulletproof, but it’s pretty strong.” After a long pause, he went on, “What has Jeremy told you about me?”
“Nothing at all,” I replied. “Only that you’re his friend.”
He chuckled. “That’s Jeremy for you. My family runs a security company. I met Jeremy when he had a cyber stalker that turned into an in-the-flesh stalker way back at the beginning of his career.”
I frowned and looked over at Jeremy. “You had a stalker?”
He rolled his eyes. “That was seven years ago. I’ve never had a problem since. Tony does a great job protecting me when I need it.”
“Yeah,” Tony said quietly, “I still do—he just doesn’t know it.”
I glanced over at Jeremy, who was digging into his dinner. “I see,” I said just as quietly.
“Jeremy’s good people—family. And we take care of family.”
That tone I knew. The talk of clan, of family, and what it meant when someone became family not by blood but by something they had done. “Interesting.”
“Yeah,” Tony replied. “I’ll tell you about it sometime.”
I saw Jeremy looking at me curiously, so I answered neutrally, “Sounds good. So, what’s next?”
“I’m going to send my brother Michael down to look at your network and your computers. He’ll kick the hacker out and build up your security.”
“Oh,” I said, disappointment flooding me. “I…we’re out right now. Should I go back to the hotel?”
“Nah,” Tony replied. “Michael’s in the City. It’ll take him a couple hours to get his stuff together and get down there.”
I looked at the time on Jeremy’s phone. It was almost eight-thirty. “So, maybe eleven or so?”
“That works.” There was a pause, and Tony said, “Look, Jeremy’s had a rough time. I just need you to be good to him.”
“Nothing could be easier,” I answered with a smile.
“You really like him, huh?”
“Yes, I do. But”—I cleared my throat—“I should go before my dinner gets cold.”
Tony laughed. “Yeah, yeah. I get it. Tell Piano Man I’ll see him soon.”
I grinned. “I will.” I hung up and handed the phone back to Jeremy. “Piano Man?”
Jeremy groaned and rolled his eyes. “He’s been calling me that since we met. He teases me because I like Billy Joel.”
“He seems to think you’re pretty special. I like him.”
“Tony’s a good guy,” Jeremy said.
I wanted to ask him what he’d done that made Tony consider him family, but I doubted I’d get a straight answer. Jeremy probably didn’t think what he did was any big deal. “He’s sending his brother Michael to the hotel to look at my computers. I have to meet him there at eleven.”
Jeremy nodded. “Michael is very good. He’s the one who found my stalker.”
I frowned. “I’m sorry we have to cut our date short.”
He waved away my apology. “I’m the one who called Tony. This is your livelihood. It’s important.”
