Chapter 65
Sterling leaves.
Hal is twitchy, the way Louis used to be when he was hiding something. Alarm bells are ringing in my head. He darts his eyes over to the computer again. Something is definitely wrong.
While he’s distracted, I pull my knees into my chest, hugging with one arm. Nothing to see here, just a girl getting comfortable in the middle of a hostage situation.
The recorder is still in my pocket, and if Sterling were here, I can imagine the little look of self-congratulations he’d wear.
I argued that having my phone out would look less suspicious while talking to Tegan, but I can see now that he was right.
Finding the recording button is as easy as reaching into my pocket and pressing.
No unlocking a screen, no finding an app, no concern I’ll accidentally press stop through the material of my shirt.
Just one simple click that I hide by clearing my throat.
“You don’t think they’ll bring me some water if I ask, do you?” I joke softly.
If I’m right about this—and I’m hoping I’m not—I can’t spook him.
“I’d be more worried about them discovering your boyfriend out there,” he says.
Against my will, my face heats. “Not my boyfriend,” I correct.
Maybe I was imagining it earlier. Is there any chance it isn’t a response to the—oh, I don’t know—traumatic experience of being held hostage in the middle of a Monday?
I’m certainly not going to jeopardize my career to ask a boy if he likes me.
My spine pops when I stretch. “I definitely didn’t wake up this morning and expect this.” It’s the truth, but not the reason I’m bringing it up.
There’s something that’s been nagging away at me about Hal. It’s grown the longer we’ve been in here. It’s like what Sterling said about gut instinct.
There’s a story here; I simply need to uncover it.
Hal hasn’t responded. I’m not sure he even heard me.
I keep my tone light, conversational. “How old are your kids?” I ask, finally getting his attention. “You asked about family before,” I explain.
“Three and five.”
“Exciting ages. My ma said those were the best and worst years for her and pa. Apparently, my brother and I liked hide-and-seek so much that she considered getting us to wear bells.”
“Yeah, I’ve been there.” He chuckles. “Lola, my youngest, started coughing one night and wouldn’t stop. Scariest thing that’s ever happened to me. By the time we got to the hospital, she’d gone from red to purple to white. We thought we were going to lose her.”
My heart breaks, only saved by the phrasing. Were. “How is she now?”
As he blinks, his eyes shine with unshed tears. “Better. Hasn’t happened again since, but after, I spent six whole months sleeping on the floor of her room, listening to her breathe. And I still wake up in the middle of the night, terrified.”
“I’m glad she’s okay.”
Hal says nothing, staring into a distance I’m suddenly sure is dark and tormented.
“She has a good dad.”
He opens his mouth, but a quiet beep cuts through the silence, and he stills.
It came from the computer.
The same one he said wasn’t working.
I’m on my feet in seconds, but Hal is too. I barely have my fingers around the thumb drive before my head is slammed into the desk. It’s quick and dirty, and I slump to the floor in a heap. My head is pounding.
He ejects the thumb drive and pockets it, standing over me.
“What is that?” I ask.
“It’s my winning lottery ticket.”
The computer screen shows a customer profile.
“You’re taking … people’s information?”
“You’d be surprised what some people are willing to pay for a few letters and numbers.”
Actually, I wouldn’t.
“Why do this?”
“So my daughters can afford to live. So my mom can stay on her medication. So we don’t have to starve. Why the fuck else would I risk it?”
“Whatever’s in the vault isn’t enough for you?”
He laughs, and—oh.
“You’re not after that, are you?” I ask. “This was the real plan.”
“Had to get back here somehow, didn’t I?” His smile is no longer reassuring. “What they take can be tracked. This right here? Ain’t no one even gonna know it’s missing.”
“You’d really sell out thousands of people just to save yourself?”
“Yes!”
“You’re no better than the people you hate.”
“Lady, I don’t give a shit what you think about me.
You know why? Because I’m about to solve every problem I’ve ever had, and I’m going to sleep well at night, knowing I took care of mine and my own when no one else did.
You think the fucks on the board of directors will give a shit about today? About you?”
“What would your daughters think?”
“Fuck you. Don’t you talk about my kids.”
“Hal, you think you’re sticking it to the same unethical corporations that put you in this position, but I promise you, you’re only going to hurt people who are in the same situation as you.
The people at the top? They have protections in place, and insurance, and lawyers.
I understand why you want to do this, and if your only target was the assholes running the show, I would close my eyes and pretend we didn’t have this conversation, but—”
“But what?”
My blood runs cold.
“But I can’t let you condemn thousands of people just to save yourself.”
“Then I’m sorry,” he says. “Because you’re never going to get the chance to tell anybody about it.”
Crashing into me like a boulder, he wraps his hands around my throat and squeezes. There’s no hesitation, only desperation in his eyes. He’s bigger and meaner, and I’m not strong enough to pull him off me.
* * *
Make Your Choice:
you get the upper hand (go to 69)
Hal overpowers you (go to 70)
go back (go to 53)