Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
“You look pretty good yourself.”
“Oh? Really?” he teased, rolling his eyes, the left one having blood in it, making the green look strange, like a Halloween costume. Owen’s face was caked in dried blood, and there was a cut across one cheekbone, which had dried into an ugly scab. “I’m thrilled to hear this.”
“Listen, I’ll get you to a plastic surgeon when we get home and—”
“I like scars. I find them incredibly sexy, and imagine the stories I can come up with for people.”
“You can just tell the truth. It’s plenty badass. You’ll have all the guys thinking how hot it is and—”
“There’s only one guy I want to think it’s hot.”
I shook my head.
“No? You’re doubting my honesty?”
“I can’t even protect you,” I blurted, unable to stop the words from tumbling out, as tired and broken as I was, my normal filter completely gone. “Why would you ever—”
“Stop that. If it wasn’t for you coming here to save me, I’d be dead.”
“But I haven’t saved you,” I said, my voice cracking in pain as my vision blurred. There was no stopping the hot tears from welling up in my eyes. I had no control; all my defenses were gone. I hated feeling vulnerable, and it made everything worse that I was breaking down in front of Owen. “I’ve failed you, and I must look weak, and—”
“Enough, Jared.”
I turned away, unable to look at him.
Owen carefully, gently took my face in his hands. “I was scared. I was so scared,” he told me. “And not because I’m a child, but because I thought I’d never see you again and you’d never know how I felt.”
I tried to ease free.
“No, just listen,” he stressed and took a breath.
I was shivering with pain as I stared at him. The welts and cuts on my back were open and oozing ichor and blood, and I was still running a fever, my system working through its normal steps to try and withstand the infection ravaging my body, not helped in the least by the small portion of food and only limited amount of water. I was breaking down, and soon, I’d be no help to him at all.
“I’m not a child. I don’t have a child’s fears. And I’m not afraid of dying, you understand? What I was scared of, before you showed up, was that due to my cowardice, you would never know how I truly felt.”
“You’re not a coward,” I argued. “You’re brave and smart and—”
“But I was afraid to tell you because I didn’t want to lose you, and then when I was brought here, I realized I was going to end up losing you anyway. I had to tell you, it was the only thing to be done. If I’m not honest with you, the person I love most in the world, who can I be honest with?”
I could only stare into his deep emerald eyes.
“Now, shall I tell you what Suwan has me doing?”
“Yes,” I said, relieved he was changing the subject.
He took my hand in both of his, holding tightly, which I loved.
“It’s illegal,” he teased me. “You’re not going to like it.”
“Really?” I said drolly.
“Well, you know, you’re a stickler for rules. There was that whole thing with the DEA.”
“Would you please just—”
“He has me buying cryptocurrency. He had me create an algorithm—a worm—that could back door a handful of government and private financial accounts and skim off small amounts of funds undetected.”
“And you’re using those funds to purchase the crypto?”
“Yes.”
“That’s ingenious.”
“It is, since, as you know, once the stolen money is converted to cryptocurrency, it can’t be traced as easily.”
I nodded.
“What do I do, Jared?”
“You keep doing it.”
“Well, of course I’m gonna keep doing it!” He was irritated with me. “They’ve threatened to make me watch while they disembowel you if I disobey!”
“They’re going to get around to that eventually anyway,” I said darkly.
Owen was glowering at me. “That is not something I’m thinking about at the moment. I will remain hopeful because I know your friends. I know the people in your life, and they will come for us. I just wish they would hurry.”
I chuckled, and it hurt, but really, Owen Moss had a great gift for stating the obvious.
“Don’t laugh,” he snapped at me.
It was good advice, since doing so only made it worse.
“Ow, ow, ow,” I complained.
He shook his head at me. “It’s your own fault. You shouldn’t laugh at the person who loves you.”
That sobered me up. “No,” I agreed.
“So, in preparation for later, when we’re out,” he said, glancing at me, checking to make sure I was on board with “later,” as in there would be one and I was optimistic, “I’ve been laying breadcrumbs so we can find all the accounts.”
“You realize that if they discover what you’re up to, we’re sunk.”