Page 13 of Fate Awakened

“Mila, darling, we talked about this. If you’re looking for someone consistent who wants a relationship, that isn’t me.” I put on a devastatingly charming smile. The one people say makes me look every bit the f-boy I am before leaning over and kissing her cheek lightly. The gesture is an attempt to avoid the tears I can feel coming on from her as she tries to pull back the invitation and deny her growing affection for me.

“But the next time this pretty little cunt needs someone to hit just the right spots, text me.” I nip at her jaw, prompting a giggle, and stand myself up, gathering my wallet and glasses from the bedside table before waltzing my way out of her room without another glance.

Time to put Mila on the back burner.

***

Walking around the UNLV campus allows me time to decide my next move. My car is still at work, and I don’t have another shift until Monday. I can’t return to my house because there’s no way they don’t have someone sitting on it. I can’t go to Liv and Elle’s because he could be there, and the last thing I want to do is put them in danger.

After eliminating the obvious choices, I decide to head to my parent's place. I’m hoping that these guys wouldn’t cross that line. I have an old system I can use to work through the footage and see what they were able to take from my drives. Two birds, one stone, and all that. I could warn them and get some work done.

I pull out my phone and text Elle, hoping that if he’s out looking for me, he isn’t with her.

Keith: Hey Elle, what are you up to today? Wanna have lunch? We can even go to that horrendous taco cart you like. My treat.

That may have pushed it slightly, but I need to see her. I have to get her to stop tutoring this guy. If I could convince her that he was no good for her, maybe I could keep her safe from these guys. At least she leaves next week for Boston. I just have to keep her safe until then.

A second text goes out via signal in an encrypted message to K.

(KJ)4422225533777: Trouble in Paradise. Same location. Same Time. 01001011 01001010

The adrenaline is back, coursing through me as I wait for the Uber to pick me up. My mind works through each logical possibility.

My hands shake as I realize how bad this all is. If I can find something to exploit these guys, I can keep everyone safe. But how do I keep them safe while I find it? If K meets up with me tonight, maybe I can get some answers.

My phone vibrates in my hand with a response text, and I look down at it to see a message from Elle. My breath rushes out, a sense of relief that if I can get her with me, I can protect her from him.

Elle: You had me at tacos. Grab me at 2

My eyes flip to the time at the top of the screen—four hours to make some progress.

Keith: See you then

The ride to my parent's house is uneventful, but I find myself mentally spinning for the entire trip, retracing every move I made with K and his side jobs. I should never have taken him up on any of them, but initially, it was easy money. The things he needed were child's play compared to the work I could produce, and he overpaid.

I knew the jobs weren’t exactly legal. Cleaning up some audio, masking IP addresses, writing a trojan horse to manipulate cameras for “keeping an eye on his girl,” and even some security enhancements for his crew. Nothing I couldn’t handle, but the requests became more frequent over time, and I started to rely on the money.

Hell, it bought me my house. And that was a web of lies I had to tell Elle and Liv. They would kill me if they knew I bought the damn thing in cash because of black hat dark web side jobs. Liv understood the darkness that comes with money, she grew up immersed in a world of next-level wealth, but Elle was blissfully unaware of all of it. She never had money, so the corrupt power that comes with it was a foreign concept to her.

The car stops in front of the worn-down complex just off the Warm Springs exit off the 215. This side of town used to be full of families with young kids, but those families grew and moved away, leaving the area to fill with lower-income renters who drove the values down.

My parents took pride in their small first-floor two-bedroom condo. I asked my mom once why they’d never moved into a house, trailer, or, hell, a more affluent area, and her response was simply that this was home. She didn’t need more rooms to clean, and she didn’t need an HOA telling her what she could or couldn’t do with her porch.

My mom loved her porch. She spent hours watering the unending supply of plants she housed there. The green thumb certainly stopped with her. I barely remember to feed myself, so keeping plants, animals, or children alive wasn’t happening.

I shake my head as I approach their door, seeing my mom’s wild blonde curls bouncing out of the back of her floppy hat. She’s out talking to her plants, a mister in her hand. When she spots me, a smile immediately jumps to her face, accentuating the laugh lines and wrinkles on the tanned aging skin near the outsides of her sky-blue eyes; the eyes she gifted me; the ones that get me out of more trouble with women than they should.

“My boy!” she shouts, setting down the mister to wrap me up in a hug. “Well, isn’t this a nice surprise? What brings you by?” She pushes me back to get a look at me. Her expression shows her delight but also her inquiring mind.

“Can’t I just visit?” I ask innocently, making her eyebrow arch, and a hand goes to her hip.

“Keith Jase Anderson, don’t you lie to me. I spent too many hours bent over in excruciating pain to bring you into this world to have you lie to my face,” she huffs, making me feel eight years old. “You’ve never just dropped by. There’s always a phone call or text message begging for a home-cooked meal, and I haven’t had any such messages.”

“Mom, the middle name guilt trip, really? I’m sorry I didn’t call first. The internet is down in my area because of some work on the lines, so I figured I’d swing by and use my system here to get some work done before I meet up with Brielle this afternoon.” My mom's eyes sparkle at the mention of Elle’s name, a distractionary technique I’ve used in my favor for years while she holds onto hope the two of us will get together.

Yeah, you and me both, Mom.

I should’ve thought that one through more as my gut tightens, the old ache inside coming with it.

---