He walks out of my office and into his, getting ready for the meeting he’s about to head into, which will give me the perfect opportunity to get to know my new surroundings. But I don’t know how much time I actually have, considering I have no idea where this meeting will be or for how long. And if I had to bet, I’d say he’s watching me through secret cameras installed all over his office.
I have to be smart. There’s no way I can simply head for his desk and log in to hisputer. There has to be a reason.
But nothing says I can’t getfortable in my new space. Walking toward his desk, I nce at the glossy desktop, a leather nner sitting neatly in the corner, but I pretend I’m simply looking out at the beautiful view of the city.
With my cell in hand, I tap out a message to Riley without looking like I’m doing anything out of the ordinary.
Emilia
Window open. Storm may pass through. Will send weather updates when possible.
Trantion: I got the job. I’m in. Will send info when I can.
Seconds tick by before she responds.
Riley
Bring an umbre.
I exhale slowly. If I can’t save Nate, his life is over. He’ll probably be killed in prison. The thought of him dying is like a razor de to my heart. My brother is all I have left of the fucked-up family I was born into.
My eyes close, and I see Nate taking me for ice cream when he was like fifteen and I was around eight. Those days were the times when I forgot how awful my life was. When I actually had fun.
It would be another two years before I started cutting, when the pain of my existence became too much to bear.
I was one of those kids who enjoyed going to school because life at home was worse than anyone could imagine. When I was around ten, the men my mother brought home would try to touch me. Others hit me for fun, pped me around when I said something they didn’t like. But Nate was always there, defending me. He was the only normal I knew.
My mind races, reying the day he saved me, when he nearly killed that man. If he hadn’t stepped in, I might not have made it out alive.<hr>
AGE FOURTEEN
The cigarette burns low between Lloyd’s fingers, the ash curling like a slow, deliberate threat. I feel his eyes on me as I move in the kitchen, him on the sofa while my mom isid out on the floor. Drugged up, not dead.
I think…
“Get me a beer,” he slurs, eyes ssy, that ugly grin spreading over his face like grease.
I nod, forming a barely there smile, my stomach twisting as I open the fridge and remove the cap before walking up to him.
When I try to hand him the beer, he grins at me, his dirty fingers lingering on the top of my hand. “Can’t be this pretty and not expect me to look.”
My heart beats faster.
Run. Just run and don’t look back.
But where can I go? Nate has a life. He has a job. I can’t make myself his responsibility.
As I inch away, my pulse thuds against the thin skin of my throat. When I try to take another step, his hand snatches my wrist and the beer falls on the floor, spilling across the carpet.
Crap. My head grows lightheaded when he gets to his feet.
“Now look at the mess you’re gonna have to clean up.”
“Uh, it’s okay. You-you can sit. I’ll clean it.” I rush for the kitchen to get paper towels.
“Oh I know you will.” He crowds my space, his fingers inching up my stomach as I’m backed into the counter.
Hisugh is like acid on my skin. “Don’t be so scared. Your mama likes it. You’ll learn to like it too.”
His hand reaches toward the hem of my tank top, fingers thick and cracked from whatever work he does when he’s not trying to touch girls like me.
And something inside me snaps.
When I notice the ss ashtray on the counter, my hand moves without thinking. I grip it, swing it, and feel it connect. Hard.
The sound is sickening. Something wet and solid all at once.
“You little bitch!” Blood spills from the side of his head.
Not waiting a second longer, I bolt toward the door, sprinting out of the house as fast as I can. I don’t wait to see if he’s chasing me. I can’t afford to.
The pounding of my heart drowns everything else as I push myself harder. Only when I’m on the city bus, twenty dors from Mom’s purse in my pocket, do I let myself slow down.
A small cry escapes when the bus pulls away, and I press my face against the cold window, trying not to sob. But by the time I reach Nate’s apartment, the tears are already drying on my cheeks.
I bang on the door. Fist after fist after fist.
Please be home!
And when it finally opens, he takes one look at me and goespletely still, eyes filled with rage.
“What happened?”
“He tried to touch me. Mom’s boy-boyfriend.” I will my heart to stop beating so fast. “I hit him, then I ran here. I’m sorry!”
“Em.” He grabs my shoulders and looks right at me. “I’m your big brother. I’m the one who’s sorry. This ends today.”
Relief washes over me, and I throw my arms around him, finally letting out all the suppressed emotions, crying against him as he holds me for I don’t know how long.
When I’m calmer, he grabs his keys from the foyer and growls, “Get in the car.”
I know where he ns to go and what he ns to do. I should try to stop him. But I don’t want to. And once Nate’s made up his mind, there’s no stopping him anyway.
He drives fast. The kind of fast that makes the tires scream when he brakes in front of the house. He kicks the door open without a word, and we step inside.
Lloyd is still on the sofa holding a rag to his head when his eyes connect with Nate’s, then mine. And for the first time since we met, there’s real fear in his eyes.
“Go pack your shit. You’re done here.” Nate doesn’t look at me as he says that, his attention on the man who tried to hurt me, and I know what’s gonna happen as soon as I head for my room.
I don’t watch the whole thing, but I hear it. The grunts. The smack of fists against bone. The begging. And when I finallye back out, a duffle over my shoulder, Nate’s knuckles are split and bloody, his chest heaving.
Lloyd is on the floor next to Mom, his face bruised and unrecognizable.
“You’re with me now. No one’s gonna hurt you again.” He takes the duffle from me and we head back into his car.
Maybe this hell is finally over. No more filthy hands reaching for me in the dark. No more needles in the cushions. No more Mom screwing random guys in the kitchen.
Just me and Nate.<hr>
After I got out of there, I thought I could forget that part of me, but that never happened. We can’t outrun our past. Scars are lubies for the broken, always singing the name of the person you tried to kill inside you.
My phone buzzes, ripping me out of the past. When I find Konstantin’s name on the screen, I force myself to focus.
Konstantin
Need you to log on to myputer. Use code Lev459821 to get in, then open the folder named Odessa Holdings that’s on my desktop. There’s a spreadsheet. Send me the ount number at the top.
Tessa
On it.
The leather of his chair sighs beneath me as I sit. I tap the keyboard, and a password prompt appears. I type in the code, knowing exactly who Lev is just as theputer grants me ess.
And just like that, I’m inside. I locate the folder he mentioned, open the spreadsheet, and send him the ount number.
Konstantin
I should be done here in thirty, then I’ll need some additional spreadsheets prepared. Think you’ll be able to handle that?
Tessa
I think I can handle anything, sir.
I add thatst part on purpose, knowing how much he liked it when I did itst time. And him liking me is the goal here.
Konstantin
Keep calling me sir and I will have to give you a promotion.
Tessa
Are you really that easy to please?
Konstantin
You’ll have to wait and see.
Iugh to myself. He’d lose his mind if he ever knew how easily I was able to deceive him. Konstantin is the kind of man who prides himself on having the upper hand, but it’s men like him who fall the hardest.
Knowing I don’t have much time before Konstantin gets suspicious about why I’m still on hisputer, I click through a few folders, feigning normal activity. One folder catches my eye.
Consulting.
It sounds innocent, but nothing about this man ever is. Inside are subfoldersbeled in all caps.
VULTURE.
CINDER.
THORNHILL.
I click on one. ess denied.
Then another. Same result.
A message shes.
ess requires secure authentication.
My heart skips. I grab my phone and snap a few photos of the file tree and the lockout screen. Then I text Riley under the desk, hoping the boss doesn’t see it on his cameras.
Emilia
Just found something. Sending now. Tell me what I’m looking at.
It takes less than a minute before my phone buzzes.
Riley
If I had to guess, it looks high-level military grade. Possibly custom-built, but I won’t be sure unless I’m in.
I nce over my shoulder. The office is still quiet. No sign of Konstantin.
Emilia
What do you need?
Riley
There’s a tool I can use to piggyback into his terminal so I can try to bypass this. Like a remote backdoor ess. It’s government-developed, so it won’t trigger his security or show up in his logs.
But you have to install it manually. From hisputer.
Shit. This better be quick. If he catches me, it’s goodbye Emilia.
Emilia
Okay. Send me the link.
I get it in seconds.
Riley
Type it into his browser. Once you open it, it’ll run silently. You won’t see anything on the screen. Just give it ten seconds, then shut the browser and erase everything. I’ll handle the rest.
Emilia
Got it.
Riley
Text me when it’s done.
I copy the link into Konstantin’s browser, my nerves thundering. One unexpected return to the office, and I’m done for.
The screen stays nk. I count to ten, then close the tab and erase the history.
Emilia
Done.
Riley
I’m in.
I’ll start unpacking what I can. But, Em, this may lead to nothing. I want you to prepare for that.
Emilia
Just find what I need.