Chapter 42 #2
He shook his head, more tears falling down his red cheeks.
“No. You ran to us and grabbed the knife from him. He was so surprised, he didn’t move.
You were in a white nighty, covered in blood.
You looked like something out of a horror movie.
You stabbed him in the chest and collapsed.
No one saw, so I pulled you to the alley.
If anyone saw what you did… My dad was the boss.
They would have killed you. I tried to stay with you, but the cops were called when someone saw his body.
You wouldn’t get up. You saved me. I was no one to you and you were like an angel of death, injured and limping. Even with that, you ran to us and…”
“Your dad?”
Kernel hesitated. “Dead. Blamed on a rival gang. Cops didn’t care enough to investigate anyway. Probably thought they attacked you, too, if they found you right after.”
“No. They thought I was held somewhere.” I shrugged. Daniel’s body tensed around me, his grip tightening even more. It almost hurt, but it was also grounding and comforting.
“I’ve been looking for you for nineteen years. I thought you died but I kept looking for the girl with the white hair. I’m so sorry.”
I sighed and wiped both of my cheeks with my palms. “So what now, Kernel? You go back to attacking my friends?”
He shook his head. “I do whatever you want, Lydia. I became Kernel to find you.”
“You hurt people.”
“I know.”
“Fix it.” My voice was stable now, cold and in control.
“Tell me how.”
I felt Daniel’s heartbeat and breathing get faster, but he stayed quiet. They all did.
“Start with the hack you did with Mason Corp algorithms. Why did you do it?”
“I was hired, and the algorithms were the easiest way in. Brilliantly developed—couldn’t have written better code myself. I tweaked it to do what I needed.”
I nodded. “You’ll answer any questions we have?”
“I do whatever you tell me.” He sounded determined.
“Send us a way to contact you. Answer whatever Daniel asks.”
“Can I meet you?”
Daniel’s voice stopped me from answering. “No. Be grateful I don’t kill you. For now.”
Kernel didn’t react and just repeated his question, so I answered, “No. For now.”
He answers only to me?
A few windows popped up and immediately closed on the screen.
Terry blocked the transmission again and frowned. “There’s a new app installed. I think it’s some sort of messaging app, but I’ll check it out to make sure it’s safe to use.”
Cole stood up and stretched. He looked like a giant tattooed mountain. “I’m leaving. Call me when someone needs to die.” He jerked his chin in my direction and smiled. “See you around, little one.”
“Wait, what—” Jake threw his hands in the air as Terry shoved the laptop into his bag.
“Come on, Jake. Let’s go,” Terry said, grabbing his arm.
The three of them walked out, leaving me with Daniel, still sitting on the floor together. I folded my knees and leaned my head on them. Daniel stayed behind me. He put his hand on my left thigh, where my tattoo was. It felt like the heat from his palm was going to burn through my jeans.
“The scars. I felt them when…” His voice drifted off.
“They’re old, from when I was a kid. When they found me.”
“You don’t know what happened?” His hand moved up and down my back.
“I don’t remember anything. When I got older, I got access to my medical records and the cold case file.
I was found with cuts and bruises on my back, stomach, and leg.
Some of them were really deep, some were old.
They thought I was tortured for years based on the healed injuries and mended bones. ”
He turned me around to face him and lifted me onto his lap with both of my legs on one side. His eyes looked pained. “Lydia… They don’t know anything?”
I shook my head, trying to swallow the lump in my throat that wouldn’t move. “They didn’t even know who I was. I didn’t fit any missing person case. By the time I was healed, I had to be given an identity so that I could officially exist.”
His breath hitched. “Your birthday. Is that why you don’t—”
“I doubt it’s my birthday. Doctors said I was somewhere between nine and ten, so the judge calculated exactly nine and a half. April fourteen, exactly six months after I was found.”
“Stay here tonight.”
I lifted my head to look into his pleading eyes.
Something new moved in my chest and stomach.
I never felt it before. I never had anyone look at me with so much affection.
My entire life was filled with people who were ruthless, angry, and dangerous.
And maybe Daniel was, too, but not to me. To me, he was soft and attentive.
I scraped my nails gently on the bottom of his jaw, moving up to his ear and down his neck. I liked the way he felt and the way he looked—the way he looked at me.
I touched my lips to his, slowing moving them over his for a moment, enjoying the sensation. “I’ll stay.”
His arms engulfed me, crushing the air out of me. I expected to panic at the caged feeling, but I didn’t—I felt safe. So safe, that I did something I had never done in my life, at least not since my life started nineteen years ago. I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him.