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I watched as he took a few deep breaths before squaring his shoulders and opening the door. He stared at the man on the other side for a moment before stepping back and gesturing for him to enter. Ryker stepped in, and my body reacted. The man I’d met at the bar, who’d made my insides flutter, was standing right in front of me. It was hard to reconcile him with the guy I knew online who had broken my heart.
His intense eyes watched me, scanning from top to bottom, almost like he was checking me over. It wasn’t sexual at the moment, but more of an assessment of my physical well-being.
“How are you doing today, Fin?” he asked, that dark and delicious voice bringing goosebumps to my skin.
“Better, thank you.” I hadn’t meant to sound so curt, but it rolled out of its own violation.
“You look beautiful,” he said, and I only stared at him, lifting my coffee.
“I know,” I finally said, not knowing why I was being so rude. He smiled, making me think he liked my sass, and I pushed that aside. I didn’t need him to like anything.
“Should we gather around the couches? It might be more comfortable,” he offered, gesturing toward the furniture.
Sighing, I acted put out to have to move, taking my cup of coffee, I rose and walked over. I sat in the middle, Asa and Milo on either side, and I felt safe. Cohen remained standing, leaning against the wall, ensuring we were protected from all angles.
“What do you have to say for yourself,Blackhawk?” I said, narrowing my eyes at him. I wouldn’t make this easy for him. He had a lot of explaining to do, and I wasn’t going to let him off the hook just because he had nice eyes and a sexy voice.
“I think I should formally introduce myself. I’m Ryker Jenson. I first met you online as Oblivion. Over the course of that year, we became friends. There was a lot of flirting, and I thought things might change once you turned eighteen, but then I never heard from you before our last mission.”
Fury rose up in me, and I was thankful to have the two men beside me, or I might’ve stood up and thrown my perfect coffee in his face, and it was too good to waste it that way. Rolling my eyes instead, I scoffed before taking a sip of my healing liquid.
“Have something to add?” he asked, almost like he was amused.
“That’s rich coming from you.”
“It seems we’re back at the impasse of yesterday, little hacker. Care to explain what grievances I’ve caused?” he asked, calm and collected. He had the nerve to smile at me, daring me to fight him.
“First of all, you were the one who never showed up that night. I was there, and Obsidian was on comms with me until the police showed up. I was arrested and charged with breaking and entering. I got off with community service only because of my parent’s connections. My whole future was almost washed down the drain that night because you set me up to take the fall. Don’t even get me started on Mongoose.”
Ryker’s face hardened, and he moved closer, making my whole body tense. “Finley, that’s not what happened. Dex was with me on comms, so I’m not sure how he could’ve been in two places unless he was lying to one of us. I waited for you, but I went ahead when you were thirty minutes late.”
“Likely story. I’m not falling for it. I know what happened. I have the mug shot to prove it.”
Ryker held his hands up, approaching me like a scared animal and pissing me off even more. I wasn’t the one remembering things incorrectly.
“I’m not saying you’re wrong. I believe that you were arrested. I just think there’s a flaw in both of our stories. Where did you go that night? Let’s start there.”
“The high school. I was told to steal the budget for that school year.”
Ryker tilted his head, observing me. “And who sent you that information?”
“You did.” He shook his head, my hackles rising again at his dismissal.
“No, I’m not saying you’re wrong. I’m saying it wasn’t me. Did you happen to crack the code I sent you the other day? It was access to a drive with all our conversations on it. I thought I was showing you our history, but it seems it might be even more important than I realized.”
I looked up at Cohen, who was shuffling his feet, scratching the back of his head. “Did you?” I asked. Observing him, I was certain he knew something.
“Um, yeah. Sorry, with everything that happened yesterday, I forgot to mention it. There are conversations, like he said. Here, I’ll grab them.”
“It doesn’t prove anything. You could’ve deleted things.”
“You’re right, but I didn’t. But I can show you what I received from MKG on our last mission.”
Huffing, I sat back, still cradling my mug. Taking another sip, it was more to have something to do while we waited. Asa put his arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his chest. Milo didn’t overtly touch me, but his body pressed into mine, offering me comfort on both sides. Ryker’s jaw tensed as he watched Asa and me, making me smile a little.
Cohen walked out with his laptop and sat on the coffee table. Once the server was open, he turned it around and handed me his computer. Ryker moved around the back of the couch, making me nervous now that I couldn’t see him. He leaned over my shoulder, pointing to a folder.
“You can look at all of them later. I’m not hiding anything, but check this one first so we can clear this up between us.”
