Free Ctrl Z by Danika Stone

deepening the kiss, tongues moving together in an impatient rush of
desire. A moan of frustration slipped out as her fingers began to tug at Jude’s
belt. He shifted in the narrow seat, but there was barely any room, and the
button wouldn’t open; she moved to his chest instead. Indigo was panting, her
tongue darting into his mouth, her fingers impatient on his shoulders, tracing
the lines and angles of him. Jude ran one hand up from her hips to the soft
curve of her bare breast, while the other dropped between them, tugging the
lace impatiently aside. She rocked against his fingers, wild with need.
    He’d just shifted his hips forward, trying to make room
where there was none when a loud knock on the window interrupted the two of
them. The two of them jumped apart, laughing.
    The cab had stopped without them realizing, the driver
watching them in the mirror.
    “You want to come inside?” Indigo panted.
    Jude let his head fall against the back of the seat, eyes
pressed closed as if in pain.
    “Yes, of course,” he groaned, “but I can’t.” He
lifted his head, brows crinkling together. “Marq and I have a new project.”
    “The one you were talking about,” she said.
    “Yeah,” Jude growled, his hand sliding into her hair. “And I
promised I’d put in at least a couple hours of coding tonight.” He kissed her
fiercely, before pulling away again. “It’s just something I’ve gotta do.
Alright?”
    She nodded.
    “You want me to walk you up?” Jude offered.
    Indigo smirked, imagining the dealers who hung out by the
elevator and what they’d think of this man who looked like he’d stepped off the
wrong train.
    “Nah,” she laughed. “I’m good. You get going.” She reached
out, smoothing her palm against Jude’s cheek. He caught her fingers.
    “You’re making it hard to leave….”
    Indigo giggled, the tightness of her chest easing.
    “Then I should let you go.”
    She straightened her shawl, tucking the clutch under one arm
and opening the door. In seconds she was inside the building, watching the cab
pull away. With Jude gone, her expression changed, the flame of her smile
guttering out until only old pain remained. If she’d been a movie house actress
at dinner tonight, now she was a faded marquis poster, edges ragged and
curling.
    With a tired sigh she pulled off her heels, and trudged,
barefoot, up the dirty stairs.
     
     

Chapter 7: View from the
Fifteenth Floor
    Jude finished programming just after dawn. On the floor sat
a sheaf of papers from the OpenSolaris Unix system, corners marked with sticky
notes. He’d done a trial run of the Trojan twice, watching how it functioned
within a protected system, then gone through the code by hand. In the last few
days, Marq’s concern had become manic, the tension spreading by degrees until
Jude felt like there was a person watching over his shoulder.
    He saved the Trojan onto a hard drive, and then a backup
onto a spare jump drive, tucking both into the inside pocket of his jacket. He
stumbled across his room, only to find himself caught in the image in the
mirror; he ran a hand over his stubbled chin, shocked by the red-rimmed eyes
and haggard face that greeted him. He might want sleep, but he needed a shower.
    Unexpected pounding at the door had him jumping.
    “Yeah?” he croaked
    Elliot opened the door.
    “You’re already up,” he said in surprise. Three empty
Mountain Dew bottles lined the windowsill; chip bags and papers littered the
floor. “Programming again?”
    “Uh-huh,” Jude said through a yawn. “Finished about an hour
ago.”
    “Great! You can hit the gym with me.”
    “No can do, bro. I’ve gotta grab a shower.” Elliot’s face
fell. “Sorry, buddy. Me’n Marq have a meeting downtown.”
    Elliot nodded, but didn’t move. He was staring at the pile
of Unix pages, and Jude belatedly wished he’d put them away. He could see the
annoyance in his friend’s downturned mouth.
    “Look Elliot, since you’re up,”