Page 4 of Tied

Good girl.

Her wide eyes blaze with curiosity as she leans forward, eagerly awaiting whatever comes next. She’s a prying creature, but cautious nonetheless. I know that about her, which is exactly why we’re playing this game. Drawing her attention was easy enough, but I need to make sure that she stays. She got away from me once, and I can’t let that happen again.

“Like I said, well done on this first task. But this was just the first step.”

“Of course,” she interjects, effectively interrupting me.

I throw her a warning look, even though I know that she can’t see it through my mask.

“As we’ve already told you, this job entails a few tasks and projects that may be a bit… out of the ordinary,” I continue, and she nods along to my words. “Your main task will beproviding us with information, sometimes utilizing methods that stretch the boundaries of traditional legal definitions.”

“Like hacking into a secure Wi-Fi system,” she says, completing my thought. Her face is stoic and unreadable now, making it impossible for me to know whether she bestows any moral judgment on such tasks.

Then again, if she did, she wouldn’t be here—and she wouldn’t be the perfect person for the job.

But she is. She is everything I have been looking for. That is why I have invested the last several months looking for her.

That’s why I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Six months have passed since she disappeared from my life without a trace. It didn’t take me that long to track her down—we have known her whereabouts and been watching her for a while—but it took that amount of time to come up with the perfect plan.

A plan that only she can execute.

“Yes, hacking,” I confirm, a mocking tone lacing my words. “That’s where it starts, and that’s where we’ll need your expertise. But your job will not consist solely of accessing simple coffeehouse Wi-Fi spots, so—”

“I understand,” she interjects. “Hence imagine my surprise at this first task. I know you will need more from me, and I’m ready to prove to you that my skills don’t end here.”

She straightens her back, pulling her shoulders back as her gaze rests on the screen. I sense a hint of impatience that I don’t quite like.

“You asked about my mask,” I go on, reveling in the way her expression changes, her eyes widening attentively.

“It’s simply a precaution,” I tell her. “Precautions like this come with the job. Is that something you feel comfortable with?”

She tilts her head to the side, her lips moving as if she were tasting the words.

“I wouldn’t say comfortable,” she responds eventually. “That seems too big a word. But I can promise you that I won’t betray your trust if you—”

“This is not about trust,” I interrupt her. “You can’t rely on trust in this world, Riley. People can’t be trusted; no one—and that includes you and me. That’s why we work with nondisclosure agreements in our business.”

“Yes, I understand,” she agrees, nodding fiercely.

“I just need you to be comfortable with our proceedings, Riley,” I clarify. “And to understand that some questions are better left unanswered—or not even raised in the first place.”

She continues nodding, her face stern and attentive. “I understand, sir.”

Sir, huh? It’s been a while since I’ve heard that word leave her lips, but it still tastes as delicious as it did back then.

“Good. Let’s go on then. You passed the first test with flying colors, but I expected no less.”

A coy smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. Her eyes seek a spot to latch onto as she processes my praise.

“Now, let’s see how you’ll do with the next assignment,” I go on, and she pricks up her ears.

“I will send you a location. It’s not far from where you are now, a ten-minute walk maybe. Go there and check for Wi-Fi spots on your phone. Once you’re in range of a Wi-Fi called XTOWN, you’re in the right vicinity,” I explain. “I want you to hack into that one, but without the help of your laptop this time.”

“Okay.” She nods, and for a moment it looks as if she is disappointed. I don’t blame her because I know this first task was too easy for someone like her. Riley is capable of some extraordinary shit, a girl who is too smart for her own good and whose wits just call out to be abused by the wrong kind of people.

People like me.

“Is there a time limit?” she asks, successfully hiding how unimpressed she must be by this second task.

“Forty-five minutes, starting from the moment we end our call.”

Riley nods, not showing even the slightest hint of concern at being able to accomplish this second task. And why should she? I know she won’t need forty-five minutes. She won’t even have forty-five minutes.

Because in less than half an hour, this girl will have a lot more to worry about than acing a job interview.

By then, she will be fearing for her life.

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