"Mindy! That's Tom's car!" Lexi yelled out. Her heart was banging against her chest and she glanced over at her parents' cars that were parked in the driveway.

"What? Tom as in Professor Tom?" Mindy turned off the ignition and the girls sat frozen for a moment, glued to their seats.

"Yeah! I don't know what to do, should we call the police?" Lexi rubbed her sweaty palms against her thighs as images of her parents being held hostage flashed across her mind.

"Oh my God, I hope your parents are okay! I hope Cole is okay!" Mindy's voice cracked as she yelled Cole's name.

"Quick! Let's sneak around the side and look through the window to see if we can see anything." Lexi abruptly opened her door without waiting for Mindy's response and began crouch-running toward the side of the house.

"Wait for me!" Mindy whispered as she quickly followed behind Lexi.

Chatter sounds were coming from the dining area and all the lights downstairs were on. As soon as Lexi peered over the windowsill, her eyes met the back of Tom's head. He was seated at their dining room table facing...Mom and Dad? Jason laughed at something Tom said and Lexi's eyes widened. What the hell is going on? Cole appeared in view and set down a plate of the fancy sweets they typically brought out when they had guests over. Mindy let out a sigh of relief.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Lexi asked in a whisper as she tried to lift her ear to the glass. Muffled, incoherent sounds were all that could be heard.

"No idea, but should we go in?"

Lexi shook her head. "I think we should call the police. My parents clearly don't know that Tom is the hacker yet." She paused and turned to stare at the back of his head. The blonde tufts sent a swirl of something through her heart and despite the circumstances, she longed to be next to him and running a hand through his hair again. God, why does it have to be him? "We need to do something!"

"How about we ring the doorbell, and then when your Mom or Dad answers it, we tell them Tom isn't who he says he is? I'm not sure getting the police involved would solve anything. All they'd see is people having a good time at the dinner table."

There was likely some sense to what Mindy was saying, but all Lexi could hear was the sound of her heartbeat. Tom was in her house. Sitting at the table with her parents, talking so casually it muddled her mind. After a moment, Lexi nodded. "Okay, yeah, you're right. This is just so bizarre."

The girls made their way to the dark green wooden door that was at the front of the house and Mindy rang the doorbell. Lexi trembled as they waited. Soon, Cole appeared before them and a big smile emerged on his face. "Oh, hey, Lex. Hey, Mind. We were wondering when you guys would come home." Cole turned his head to shout over his shoulder, "It's Lexi and Mindy!"

The girls gasped, grabbed onto Cole's arms, and jerked him forward. Lexi moved swiftly behind him and closed the door just after hearing her mom call out, "Lexi, is that you?"

"Are you insane?" Lexi moved back to stand in front of Cole, the fire in her veins moving her words out with urgency. "Tom isn't who he says he is! Tom's the hacker! You guys need to get out now. We need to call the police!"

Cole raised a brow and Scarlett opened the door behind him. "Lexi? Mindy? What are you girls doing out here? Come on in! We have a guest that I think you'll be excited to see!"

Lexi gasped and shook her head while Mindy ran her hands through her hair. "You don't understand, Mrs. Scott, Tom is the hacker! You guys can't be in there with him!" Mindy shrieked.

Cole and Scarlett gave each other a look and...are they...are they seriously smiling right now? "What is going on? You guys are freaking me out!" Lexi glanced between them.

Scarlett turned toward her daughter and nodded back to the kitchen. "Come on in, girls. We know all about Tom being Dash."

"Wh-what? Y-You know?" Both girls stood frozen except for the rapid blinks of their eyelids.

"Yes! We know everything, now come in."

"It's good to see you, Mindy," Cole said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Come on, girls," Scarlett moved behind them and gently pushed them forward into the house before continuing, "It's cold outside."

"Yeah, one time I took that freeway like an idiot and I was stuck for ages," Jason's booming voice rang through the hallway as Scarlett closed the door behind them.

"It really is the worst freeway, you'd think they'd even out the roads at some point," Tom's deep, smooth voice sent Lexi's pulse racing and she grasped her wrists in front of her.

As soon as her eyes landed on him it was as if time stood still. It had always been a dream for Tom to meet her family, but having it happen was like watching an episode of Lost - way too confusing to keep up with. When it seemed to register that she was standing there, Tom stood up abruptly, causing the dining room chair to screech against the hardwood floor. His smile disappeared and it seemed as if her presence sent a nervous energy through him as he began to fidget with his hands. The bags under his eyes likely indicated he'd had just as much of a hellish last 24 hours as Lexi had.

"There's my daughter! Welcome home, Lex! Have a seat," Jason said, pulling out the chair beside him that was across from Tom.

Tom and Lexi's eyes stayed locked on each other's as she moved to take a seat next to her dad. Tom slowly lowered himself back down in his seat with an unmoving gaze. The corners of his mouth tilted up in an apologetic smile.

Scrapes of chairs were all that could be heard as the rest of the family took their seats around the dining table. For a moment, Lexi wondered if she was dreaming or part of some greater social experiment. Yet her thoughts were cut short by Tom's deep, sexy voice. "It's good to see you again...Lexi."

Lexi gasped. "H-how do you know? Wh-who are you?" Lexi searched his face for any clues, any signs of what could be going on right now. She glanced at her parents who were nodding encouragingly at Tom.

Tom took a deep breath in before speaking. "I'm not the hacker, Lexi." He paused and the words hung in the air. If this were an episode of Jerry Springer, collective applause from the audience would ensue. Yet, Lexi was too stunned to even make a sound and desperate for Tom to elaborate. "I work for an organization called Black Sphere that was hired by Hasan Mohammed to find the hacker. Hasan never told us he had hired others, but it seemed he was desperate."

Lexi's lips parted and she looked toward Mindy who had the same dumbfounded look. She turned back to Tom as he continued, "Black Sphere is a large private intelligence agency and they assigned a couple of us to go undercover at the university." Tom looked down and squeezed his eyes tightly for a moment. The pained expression on his face shattered Lexi's heart as her mind was trying to process his words. "I've been working on trying to find the hacker for the past few months."

"Wh-what?" Lexi's mind flurried with as much energy as when she worked on complex code.

Tom nodded before continuing, "I joined the university as a professor in hopes to find a student that excelled beyond others. And thought maybe the hacker would somehow reveal themselves through the coursework I assigned. I never suspected you, Lexi. But at the top of the list was a mystery Bex who seemed to fit the bill. I worked every night to try to follow the trail, but every time, I would hit a wall. It didn't hit me until the second time I messaged Bex," Tom cleared his throat, "the second time we messaged, Lexi, was when I realized Bex wasn't the hacker. I called Hasan up and he confirmed the news that there was another firm trying to solve it. He wouldn't give me any names, but said that the firm able to figure it out would get the reward."

"It's true, Lex." Jason furrowed his brows as he spoke. "We called Hasan and he confirmed it to me. Tom's been here for hours and we've been talking through everything. Every claim he's made, we've checked and it's all true."

Tom grabbed a phone from his pocket and set it down in front of him. The black case confirmed it was Lexi's. "Everything didn't click until last night. When you revealed yourself as Bex, I was shocked. I didn't know what to think. I would've never imagined that the woman I fell madly in love with would also be an undercover agent, working toward the same goal as me. And when I was able to hack into this phone, I found out -"

"Wait! What did you say?" Lexi stood up from her seat and all heads turned to her.

"I'm so sorry. I had to hack into it to come and find you and tell you everything."

"No, not that! You said you never imagined that the woman-"

"I fell madly in love with," Tom said, finishing Lexi's thought.

"Y-you love me?"

The group laughed and Cole rolled his eyes. "That's the part that you react to out of his whole story?"

Lexi's cheeks reddened and she shook her head. She couldn't believe the turn of events. Hearing those words from Tom and hearing that he wasn't the bad guy, was sending overwhelming waves of relief and joy throughout her body. Tears began streaming down her face. All she wanted at that moment was to be back in his arms.

"Lexi. Please, you have to believe me." Tom reached his hand across the table and Lexi clasped it, nodding quickly with tears still slowly trickling down her cheeks. It was an amazing feeling to have his touch on her again and an even more amazing feeling hearing her real name emerge so wonderfully from his lips. "I'm so sorry I wasn't honest with you about who I really am, and I'm so sorry for the hurt I must've caused you. It was killing me not being able to tell you everything and when I found out your address this late afternoon, I couldn't waste another second. I came here to find you. I found your parents and brother and explained everything to them."

"Tom! I'm so sorry! I'm sorry I just assumed the worst! I've been so awful to you. I lied to you, this whole time."

"But I did the exact same thing! And so how could I blame you for that?" When Lexi didn't respond, Tom continued. "I can't tell you how much a relief it is to have this out in the open with you."

Scarlett interjected, "Tell her what you told us!" Tom gave her a questioning look before Scarlett continued. "The amazing person thing!"

Recognition lit Tom's face and he nodded before giving Lexi a look so serious it caused her to tremble slightly. "I tried so hard to keep my distance from you in the beginning, but I just couldn't. Each time you looked stressed or sad, I wanted to make you smile. It killed me that we had so much going against us. You're the most amazing person I've ever met. When I told you yesterday I didn't deserve you, I meant it. You're kind, smart, funny, family-oriented, and have such a tenacious spirit. You inspire me daily and I hope to be half the amazing person you are someday. And despite everything against us, God still led me to you. He kept prompting me to go back to you, to always be there for you." Tom paused a moment before he delivered the words that flew her to the moon and back. "I love you, Lexi Scott."

Lexi smiled uncontrollably and squeezed Tom's hand. "I love you, too."

Scarlett and Mindy had full tears running down their faces and Scarlett grabbed a tissue. "I didn't think it was possible but he topped the first time he said it!" Scarlett said through sniffles. Jason coughed, seeming as if to hide his own emotion.

Tom stood up abruptly. "Uh-um, Mr. Scott," he started before turning to Jason, "would it be alright if I kissed your daughter?"

Jason laughed. "You're too polite, kid." He turned to Lexi with a smile that threatened to spill another well of tears out of her. "Our Lexi is a grown woman. She can decide for herself."

"Just kiss me!" Lexi yelled out and without wasting another millisecond, Tom made his way around the table, placed his hands on the sides of her face, and pulled her in for a kiss. When his lips met hers, everything melted away. All of the anxiety and pain of the last twenty-four hours seemed to vanish into thin air. His soft lips were gentle and Lexi wanted to devour them all night long. Yet, Tom broke from her lips and rested his forehead against hers.

"Barf, that's gross," Cole muttered.

Lexi turned and glared at him with a playful frown, "Grow up, Cole!" She turned back to Tom and the pair stood there, hugging. Heat radiated through Lexi's chest and weightlessness made her want to fly.

***

Okay, I want to hear all the thoughts! What did we think of this chapter? Is this what you expected would happen? Do we like how it was revealed? Thanks for reading, voting, and commenting! ♥️