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“Sure,” Heavy said. “Christ, you’re a scary bastard.”
“Thanks,” I said with a chuckle. Then I read the message from Iris,you’re going to regret this.
Nah,I wrote back.But I will see you real soon.And with that, I shut down most ofHyperion, save for one corner where I had Iris trapped. It would take her hours, if not days, to get out of there.
And in the meantime, I now knew where she worked. By the end of the week, Friday at the latest, I’d finally know who she was.
Looks like you’re gonna get that face-to-face after all, Iris,I thought as I stood up and grabbed my jacket.But I think I’m gonna enjoy it a hell of a lot more than you are.
Sara
The last place I wanted to be on a Friday was walking intoMoxi, but there was an all-staff meeting that I could not miss—nor could I keep ducking work and school. However, every step away from my apartment, from the desk I’d vowed not to leave until I found Lia, made my stomach twist with guilt, fear, and a cold, sinking despair.
All I could hold onto was that I was fairly certain that Mr. Hype had taken down most ofHyperion, which had to mean I’d been getting close. He’d trapped me in a corner of the servers, where I’d managed to glean a bit more information, but nothing that told me where Lia was.
Crossing the brightly lit lobby, filled with the sound of shoes hitting marble, the chimes of badges being used to enter the building, and the whoosh of automatic doors letting people through the security gates, I was in a state of half-distraction when a cold feeling crawled up my neck. I suddenly had the sense that someone was observing me, watching me, and I stepped out of the flow of traffic, pretending to adjust my bag, and check my phone. All while glancing around the lobby, trying to see if there was some burly Italian-looking dude scowling at me or—
“Good morning,” chirped a voice in my ear and I jumped, almost dropping my coffee. “Oh, sorry.” I turned and saw the sheepish face of Taisha, one of my favorite co-workers and friends standing there. My other two favorites, July and Morgan peered curiously over her shoulders. “Wait.” Taisha, who was petite, with deep brown skin and honey-colored eyes, tilted her head to the side. The movement made me think of Lia and my gut clenched. “Did we just startle you, Sara?”
“Impossible,” Morgan drawled in her warm, southern accent, her pink cheeks bright from the cold, and deep red hair fluffing from under her winter hat. She poked Taisha’s shoulder playfully. “Everyone knows that you can’t get the jump on Sara.”
“Are you okay?” July asked, studying me. She was a tall black woman with bright red frames and long braids. “You’ve been out sick most of the week, right?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I’m a little out of it. Good morning.”
“You’re for sure out of it,” Taisha said indignantly and gestured at my coffee. “We always go to theNews & Honeyfor breakfast on Fridays.” Her eyes slit. “How could you forget.”
I almost laughed. “I’ve had a bad week.”
“Want us to get you your usual sandwich?” Morgan asked, also eyeballing me. “’Cause girl, you look like you need to eat. Or nap.”
“I hope you’re not bailing on clubbing tonight,” Taisha spoke up with a flash of her eyes. “We’ve been planning this outing for weeks.”
“Yeah, your friend Lia was also gonna come, right?” July smiled at me. “We can’t wait to finally meet her.”
That was tonight?I reached up and rubbed my forehead, steeling myself to keep from crying. “Right, right.” I swallowed. “Um.” They were all looking at me expectantly and the floor felt too far away. For a moment, I wanted to break down and tell them everything, but I couldn’t let anyone else get near this.
Deep down, too, I knew they’d want to help, but I was already playing a risky game looking for Lia. If anyone else got wind that we were looking for her, if they assumed she was too much of a risk to hold onto—she could become collateral damage.
If they hadn’t killed her already.
“Sara?” Taisha asked and touched my sleeve. “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” I said, and shook myself, smiling at them. “Lia had to go out of town for work, so it’ll just be me tonight. And I will take that sandwich, thanks.”
“Okay,” Morgan said dubiously, exchanging a glance with July, while Taisha crossed her arms. “We’ll see you in fifteen, then. Gotta hustle so we don’t miss the all-staff.”
I nodded and watched them go, then turned and made for the elevator bank beyond the gates. My brain whirled with tired ideas, wondering if I should go out tonight and keep up appearances. I couldn’t forget the feeling from earlier, that I was being watched, and would it make sense to go out, to pretend I wasn’t trying to hack into the heart of one of the biggest criminal organizations in the northeast?
But how could I go out and party, how could I forget what was happening to my best friend? I swallowed hard as I jabbed the up button. Did I want to forget?
Or maybe you need to start thinking outside the box,whispered a voice inside my head.If the Sons of Celt own bars and clubs, the Michaelson family must.
I let out an excited breath. Wait, that was perfect. I could poke around, maybe find someone in the organization, maybe steal their phone or get their information—
“Don’t thinktoohard, Tailor,” said a chuckling voice, too close to my ear, and I jerked away. “What—I just don’t want you to hurt yourself.”
Every fiber of my body locked up as I half-turned, stiffly nodding and trying not to grimace at the man who’d appeared next to me. The all-staff meant that he –the worst– would be on-site atMoxitoday. Zakary Frole.
