Kinsley:Promise me that you’ll make sure I never drink again.
Kolby:You alive?
Bodhi:We have food for you whenever you’re ready.
Unknown:Last night was a bad decision but at least I got something out of it. Can you send me that picture when you get a chance?
My thumb stopped over the last message.
I’m going to kill him.
I furiously typed out a message, just to delete it and then retype it again. Nothing I wrote encapsulated my fury quite like the feelings that were storming through my mind. After a few more minutes I finally settled on one and hit send.
Touch me again and I’m calling the police.
15
Silas
The police?
I laughed at her text as I took a bite of my sandwich, watching the feed from the camera that was now in her room. The picture sucked, and there was no audio, but it was something. I almost choked when I watched her pick up my jacket. Realizing I left it in her room had been quite the surprise. My priority last night had been taking those god-awful clothes off her and getting rid of them. I turned to where they were now, looking at the remnants of them in my trash can. Annoyingly, the leather turned out to be real and not easy to ignite.
The fact I had left my jacket in the first place showed how much she affected me.Was her chaotic behavior starting to rub off on me?
The answer was clear as I let my eyes scan over the name that now adorned her thigh—my name, the one that should be tattooed there.
My phone vibrated against the desk, cutting through my thoughts as Ember began to get dressed. Not taking my eyes off the screen, I answered. “Yeah.”
“You’re welcome,” Knox immediately replied.
I leaned forward a fraction, resting my jaw in my hand. “For what?”
“Getting you full visuals,” he replied. “Within a day.”
On the monitor, Ember was now walking through her room, brushing her hair. As she threw her hair up in a ponytail, she hit the corner of her dresser and winced.
“On Ember?” I asked.
“Yup. You now have access to everything.”
My fingers tapped my cheekbone as I continued to listen to him and watch her. I couldn’t decide if I was entertained or mildly concerned for her coordination, because she ended up hitting the same corner three more times. Either way, I kept watching and counting the hits in my head like some personal scoreboard.
“Security cameras for her house were the obvious starting point, but I went further and hacked into the smart appliances inside too. Fridge, thermostat, anything that’s connected. And the bookstore? Every camera feed there now also belongs to you.”
Ember pulled on her shoes, disappearing out of frame. “How do I get to it?”
“Same app as the tracker that’s on her phone.”
I pulled the phone away from my face and switched through the many different feeds I could now access. They were all labeled with different areas and items. Clicking on ‘kitchen’ I caught her again like I’d never lost her.
“Oh, and last night?” Knox added. “Handled.”
“And what exactly did you handle?”
“I wiped you. Every camera you passed—gone.”
Fuck. Something else I hadn’t thought about. She was actively destroying every thought process I had. “Huh. Has anyone ever told you that you’re pretty good at this stuff?” That thought reminded me of the next thing I needed him to work on. “Speaking of,” I said, picking up the chain that I had piled on my desk. The delicate metal was cool against my fingers as I palmed it to snap a picture. Then I took another picture of the tracker that was hidden inside.
