Chapter 36
thirty-six
The autumn evening is slowly approaching, but before the night’s festivities, I need to handle some business.
Theta’s vice president isn’t waiting for me at the warehouse like he said he would.
I’ll give him five minutes before I leave.
It was just a quick background check on some girl he’s probably interested in anyway.
Will only take me five minutes to gather a report on everything.
But as I skirt through the alley, mask pulled taut, I feel eyes on me…
Standing still, I scan my surroundings, sensing someone. My jaw tightens as I unlock the door and slide it open.
Inside, things are quiet, other than a buzz from the fluorescent lights. But the air is disturbed with a familiar scent I can’t place. Patting my pocket, I check for my knife and pull it out, then creep toward the computer room. Everything is off. Even when I flip the switch, no lights come on.
“Who’s there?” I ask the void.
A tiny breath responds.
Blade held up, I reach for my phone’s flashlight, but before I dig it out, a robotic voice freezes me.
“Abby Meyerson. Your first crush. She was raped and murdered by…” The voice hesitates. “Reggie Blackwell.”
I can’t breathe. Who is this? One of my brothers messing with me?
“Yeah…”
“She liked your family’s money. And thought you were a dork who played too much World of Warcraft. You even cheated by buying gold, then setting up currency farmers for you in the game so you could wear the best armor, correct?”
“Who are you?” With a swift movement, I pull out my phone and flash the light around until a curvy figure covered with a full-face mask appears hidden behind a shelf in the corner.
“My V? You were a cheater. And a cute one at that…” She holds up a picture of me in braces. Thick glasses. Playing on my old rig in my room. A picture one of my brothers must have taken back in the day.
My shoulders drop as I tighten my lips. I’m half-pissed. And half-impressed. But fully going to punish her.
I rush over to Olivia and grab her around the waist, hoist her over my shoulder, and smack the shit out of her ass as she squeals and drops her voice changer.
“Did you just fucking stalk me?” I ask.
“Serves you right!” she yells through a laugh. “You did it to me!”
I place her in one of the empty seats and pull her closer to me as I squat in my office chair.
“How’d you learn that stuff about me?”
“I’m not supposed to tell you.”
Sitting back, I snort a chuckle. “Okay, either Oz or my brothers.”
She shrugs. “I may have run into one or all of them on campus.”
“Good to know whose side they’re on.” I would slit their throats, but my parents and my aunt and uncle wouldn’t like it.
“You want to tell me about Abby?” she asks softly.
Shaking my head, I smile behind the mask.
“It used to hurt. But yeah. She was just the first in line to show me that most people didn’t care about much, except money.
A family name. And she was my first tip-off that Reggie Blackwell was a monster.
But now? It feels as if that chapter is closed.
Like it all doesn’t matter. Now that you’re in my life. ”
She’s quiet for a moment. “I get that. Is that why you took an interest in me?”
“I didn’t learn about your connection until after that first day I saw you during orientation. But knowing your history just added fuel to the fire already raging inside me.”
“And that’s when you started following me. I never knew.”
“I…kept a low profile. You were busy with…other interests.” Like Hunter. “And I did it to make sure you were safe.”
Her head tilts slightly. “From Reggie?”
“From everyone who wasn’t me.”
She goes to pull off her mask, but I stop her. “Leave it on. Someone’s coming soon.”
“Who?”
“A Theta. If you’re going to learn some hacking and stalking with me, then you gotta keep your mouth shut. Just be a quiet accomplice.”
She nods, and the door to the outside hall shudders as someone enters the warehouse. Without me saying anything, Olivia slips under the desk, hidden by the darkness of the space.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
A little giggle is her only reply before a knock on the metal resounds through the room. I warm up my rig and call out, “Come in,” still worried about what she’s up to. At least she’s hidden from view.
Tade Kim enters, stoic and quiet. His only acknowledgement is a head nod.
“You want intel?” I ask, booting up the system and disguising any potential Olivia noises in the room with some music.
“Yeah,” is all he gives me. The man’s always seemed one of few words.
I don’t look away from the screen. “Name?”
“Zoe Griffin.”
I pause. Griffin… That may be Apollo’s relation. Not his sister Athena, though.
Despite that, my fingers fly over the keys. It’s simple. Too simple. The real distraction is Olivia under my desk. Close enough, I can feel her breath on my thigh, through my jeans.
Then, without warning, she unzips me slowly. I clench my jaw and lock my attention on the monitor. Hips raise off the chair as I try to adjust.
“You good?” Tade asks.
Clearing my throat loudly, I nod. “Fine.” I click through files. “Why Zoe?” Mainly, I try to form a distraction. Especially as I feel Olivia dig inside my jeans and pull out my firming cock.
The heat of her breath surrounds me until I throb in her grasp. This is…getting to be too much.
“She’s just... I need to make sure she’s aboveboard. Not brandishing weapons or anything. Maybe doesn’t have any, uh, ties to certain families.”
Does he mean the mafia?
Olivia’s tongue traces the head of my cock until I have to stifle a groan. My fingers type faster. Her lips press against my shaft, up and down, slowly, like she’s about to take her time swallowing everything I’ve got. My pulse races as the air gets caught in my lungs.
“No, um. No family ties it looks like. Older half-brother is a professor in kinesiology here at NU, though.”
“Oh,” he says. “What’s his name?”
“O—” Oh shit. She delves down onto my full length. The swell of her tongue surrounds the tip until I lean forward to stop myself from coming too soon. “Odin Griffin.”
“Huh.”
Tension strains my voice. Blood pounds in my temples as I try to hold myself back and act casual. But Olivia’s mouth works me over until I think I’m about to explode all over her face. Slyly reaching down, I grip the base of my dick.
“Nothing else, really,” I huff out. I can’t help how erotic it sounds. “And has an 87% average in psych.” Somehow, that comes out pornographic.
“Okaaay…” Tade responds, as if he’s worried about me.
Using my other hand, I grab the desk edge to steady myself as Olivia slides her mouth over me in a steady rhythm.
“Why didn’t you use Theta’s hackers?” I ask.
“Because they have big mouths. Not like Vanq Wysh Veil.” He stands and shoves some cash on the desk. “This good enough?”
I don’t need the money and usually donate it to various charities. But he doesn’t need to know that. “Yeah,” I grunt.
Fortunately, he leaves, and I slump back as Olivia pulls everything from my balls. Clutching her hair, I hold her where I need her most as she swallows me down. My hips jerk. Legs quiver. Head drops until my neck is fully exposed.
“Fuck, baby!” I yell, and I feel her breath stutter in a little giggle.
She squirms out from under the desk, wiping her mouth, and tears off her mask. “You didn’t like that?”
I yank her up and into my lap, teeth grazing her jaw. “You’re going to be the death of me.”
“You wouldn’t have it any other way.” She’s right. And I’d let her kill me slow.
Holding her for a good, long moment, I savor having her as mine once again.
“Can you look up something for me?” she asks suddenly, staring at the screen in front of her.
“What’s that?” I say, half blitzed out of my mind.
“Naomi said she was working on a private story. Had notes… Could you hack into her system and find out what they were?”
Sitting up straighter, I smile. “Yeah, Monarch. Let’s do that.”
For the next hour before we have to separate and get ready for the party, I show her some techniques. Coding. She helps me soft hack some passwords with her knowledge of her best friend. And once we get into her cloud drives, we find what we were looking for.
“She was collecting evidence on not just Reggie… But more politicians.”
I nod, feeling the heaviness of what got Naomi killed. “Looks that way.”
Olivia pauses in contemplation.
“Maybe we could do something with this.”
My hand brushes over her back. She used to be the girl who was too scared to disobey. And now? She’s coming up with even better strategies to take down more people.
“Maybe we could.”