Chapter 1

LUKE

“Wait, you’re calling us to tell us you’re chasing a catfish at midnight on a Friday? That’s either peak determination… or wildly unhinged.”

One of my best buddies Grayson Dixon’s voice echoes through my car’s Bluetooth as my tires grip another slick mountain curve. Pines line either side of the narrow road, tall and ghostly in the mist—like arboreal monks judging my life choices.

“I’m calling to tell you I’m not making it to The Summit tomorrow,” I say, ignoring his commentary. “Tell the others. I’ll Venmo my share for Callum’s group gift.”

“Oh, so this is the bail-and-vanish call,” Overbearing Best Friend #2 Connor Reeves cuts in, his baritone dropping into the chat like an unsolicited calendar invite. “Very on-brand.”

“I have a legitimate reason,” I mutter, squinting through the rain-smeared windshield. “I think someone hacked my SecureMatch profile.”

A beat of silence.

“Shit,” Grayson swears. As the founder of the dating app for mature professionals who don’t give a damn about meeting up on apps where choreographed dances dominate, I’m guessing this is the last thing he wants to hear. “I…haven’t heard anything about this kind of thing from my guys.” He clears his throat. “But to be clear…is this an actual cybersecurity emergency or another compatibility spiral?”

“It’s purely professional curiosity,” I snap. “Someone’s tampering with my data. Forcing my profile to match with the same woman. Over. And over.”

My fingers tighten on the steering wheel. “And I don’t like being played. Not in life. Not in code. Not by a stranger using algorithmic witchcraft.”

“Alright, Mr. Nobody’s Mark,” Grayson says. “Where’s this trail to the hacker lead? Silicon Valley? The Cayman Islands?”

“A B&B in Alder Ridge.”

“That’s not a real place,” Connor says.

“It’s a small town near Snoqualmie Falls,” I clarify. “Forty-ish minutes outside Seattle. Population: mystery. Elevation: red flags.”

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