Page 33 of Knot Innocent

Bastien is oblivious to my trance and leans back, shaking his head. “Don’t you ever get bored of this?”

With him not so close, my brain function improves. “It’s not so bad. Some of these worlds can be fun. They’re safe, at least. What about you? What fills your weekend if not wild parties?”

“I work on my house, work out. Read.”

“Oh yeah? What do you read?”

“Science fiction, believe it or not,” he confesses, surprising me.

A laugh bubbles forth. I can’t help it. Bastien pouts, “What?”

“I wouldn’t have believed it. You’re just as much a nerd as I am.”

I point to my bookshelf, filled to the brim with sci-fi titles. Before Bash can respond, my system chirps with a notification. “That’s him,” I announce. Then, after accepting the private chat request, I crack my knuckles. “It’s show time.”

Bastien

Right away, it’s obvious this asshole isn’t pretending to be a kid. He’s not using any of the fucked-up code everyone else is so fond of. Birdie continues using the odd language but backs it down enough that the kiddie fiddler and I can understand her.

What blows my mind is how quickly the conversation turns sexual. I won’t lie. I’m struggling to sit here and watch. I’m very much disgusted by the bastard’s attempt to seduce who he thinks is a fifteen-year-old girl. At the same time, sitting so close to Birdie while all these dirty suggestions are being discussed is turning me the hell on.

The dichotomy pisses me off and gets worse the longer this goes on. The worst part is that Birdie talks as she types, and my dick reacts to every filthy thing that comes out of her mouth.

Eventually, the target suggests meeting so they can do these things in person. Birdie balks at his request, purposefully acting like a kid who only wants to play with fire via sexting. She ends the session with a promise to think about it.

By then, I’m fuming. Birdie turns around, completely unaffected, and I react without thought. “There’s no way in hell you’re meeting this guy.”

Birdie shrugs as though my order doesn’t carry any weight, which it doesn’t. Shit. “Well, that’s my preference, but I’ll do whatever I have to do to help the police get this man off the street. Either way, I’m pretty sure it’s not up to you.”

The fuck, she just didn’t. Feeling rage building, I jump out of my chair and cross the room to be out of arm’s reach. The woman just doesn’t get it. “You already possibly have one of these guys after you. You watch the news much lately?”

“Um, no. What does that have to do with anything?”

“You should check sometime. You might find it interesting. Did you know the state and local DAs are implementing their own version of bail reform? Do you know what that means?”

Birdie’s voice rises in response to mine. “I obviously don’t.”

“Let me help you out, then. For people arrested for non-violent crimes, there is no bail requirement.”

Birdie doesn’t react, which further sets me off. I know she’s smarter than this. “That means this guy, and probably the one I chased off, would be back on the street in hours if not minutes. If that’s not clear enough, let me paint it for you this way. At first, you’re just a screen name to these assholes. Once things progress enough, you’re a picture, a real person.

“If a target sees you in person and gets arrested, he’ll know it was you that set him up. Not some fake profile—you. These genius state attorneys who don’t think sex crimes qualify as violent will let him go. He could come gunning for you.”

Birdie scoffs and rolls her eyes, making my hands twitch. “If he were able to find me. I’ve been careful.”

Now, I have to shove my hands in my pockets. Voice dropping low, I snarl, “You do remember why I’m here, right? Maybe someone’s already found you.”

Birdie goes quiet, and I know I’ve finally got her attention. “So, what do I do? Let him go? Now that he’s ready to meet, if I refuse altogether, I’ll lose him. What then? He walks and victimizes a real fifteen-year-old.”

“Then I meet him.”

Birdie freezes, fingers twitching like she’s experiencing a glitch, and I almost laugh at the face she makes. “You’re not exactly his type,” she says.

“I know that, but all you need is incriminating video for the police, right?”

“Yeah. That’s the whole point. Especially in this case where he hasn’t acknowledged my presumed age.”

Alright, asshole. Think. What’s your grand plan?

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