Page 14 of Unlocking Ruin

“Because it’s not done right. You’re not a one-night thrill.”

“What are you, a stalker who cares?”

“Some would argue savior.” He reaches up and scratches his jaw as he takes a slow step forward. The space between me and the bookshelf shrinks to nothing. I feel solid oak against my back and his sharp blue eyes pressing into my chest. “How did you hack into BANKS Corp?” he presses, whiplashing me with the subject change.

My knuckles turn white around the hidden can of pepper spray. “Skill,” I reply sharply.

“I wonder what else you’re skilled at?” he purrs under his breath.

“I bite,” I growl, flashing my teeth. “And I don’t let go until I leave a scar.”

“I’m a collector of scars, Rylan. To have one carved by your hands, or shaped by your teeth, would be an honor.” His chuckle is sinister, filled with dark pride. “What if I offered you a job?”

Is he kidding? Of course he is.

“Wow, look at me getting a job less than twenty-four hours after I graduated; that must put me in the top one percent.” My words are venomous. “Yay, I can pay off my student loan debt.”

“I’m serious.”

“My schedule is full.” The wood presses painfully into my spine as I try to inch back. I need a little more space so the spray won’t hit me.

“Is that why you almost failed this semester? You were busy becoming a thief?”

“I failed because it’s boring,” I bite back, clenching the pepper spray tighter.

“You were a straight-A student in high school.”

“Because I had to participate. Frank worried teachers would look into our ‘home life’ if I failed and dropped out.”

Why did I admit that?

“Then why attend college?”

“Frank and my mom forced me to. They applied for scholarships, and I got them.”

“Do you always listen to Frank and your mother?”

“Fuck you.”

Just because you’re an adult doesn’t mean you have free will. I stayed because I had a twisted hope my mother would love me; would consider me a classic car she’d love forever and not just an outdated model she was ready to trade in.

“So you want the world to think you’re stupid now? This way they don’t suspect you could hack into BANKS Corp.”

“I don’t care what the world thinks. The last semester was exhausting because it was so boring. This place taught me nothing new,” I reply, suddenly feeling insecure.

“So you’re a genius.”

“Geniuses have ideas.”

“What do you have?”

“Nothing. I did as I was told, and look where it got me. Left behind,” I reply, resting my index finger on the trigger of the pepper spray. Slowly, I begin to pull it out.

“Did someone tell you to return the money?”

“Yes, my conscience,” I admit. I move, yanking out my hand and aiming. He moves, but the spray fans out and hits him.

He bends over, trying to shield his eyes. “Fuck!” he roars, as the spray lands on his face. I keep spraying, stepping back as he tries to swat my hand away.