Page 56 of Brutal Savior

“Ignore her.” Hadrian seats himself at the main desk. “I’ve made some progress, but not as much as I hoped. Whoever did this is a high-level hacker. The bots they used to make the posts are quite sophisticated.”

“Hardly,” Candice interrupts.

“That’s enough,” Hadrian shoots back absently, as though he’s used to this sort of interaction. “They respond to basic inquiries and have been programmed well enough to further their goal of incriminating you, though any complex questioning is too much for them. From analyzing the phrasing they use, I’d say your culprit is British, thirties or forties. Not a kid.”

“Thanks. That’s actually very helpful.” Someone from back home. Probably not a competitor.

“No problem. And you’ll be pleased to know my creations have done their work of exonerating you. They’ve given enough counterviews to make it clear this was a witch hunt.”

Bots arguing with bots. Is anything on social media real? I give it a wide berth, only using it when I can’t avoid it. This shit just hammers home why.

“Thanks. I really appreciate it.”

Hadrian meets my gaze and smiles. It’s a nervous, quick expression, as if he doesn’t do it much. “No problem. This sort of thing is good practice for them.”

“Did you have a chance to look into the dark web account that put out the call for a hit?”

“Still working on that one. It’s a sewer in there. I should have some news for you in a couple of days.”

I nod, trying to keep the frustration from my face. I’ll have to wait, and that’s that. I say goodbye to Hadrian and Candice—Christ, I can’t stop thinking of her as a real person—and head toward home. I check my phone to see Gabriel has sent me a picture of Eve and Quinn together under a blanket, their eyes wide.

Gabriel: She’s not so bad. Might be a good friend for Eve once she settles. I put on The Descent for them, and Eve is freaking out. Quinn keeps messing with her.

The message makes me smile. I’m glad they’re all getting along, and I can’t wait to join them. A horror movie sounds good,followed by kicking Eve and Gabriel out and fucking Quinn senseless. The doc says it’s safe, so it's happening tonight.

My phone rings, and I wince when I see it’s Grandad. I haven’t called him since Quinn arrived, and he’s probably pissed with me. Fair play if he is. I answer. “All right? Took some time off banging Mrs. Belkins next door to give me a call, did ya?”

A long pause. “Hello, my boy.”

I stop dead. Something’s wrong. My gut churns, bracing for the bad news. “What’s happened?”

“It’s Ruth.” My little sister. She’s three years younger than me, and still lives in London.

“What? Spit it out, Grandad.”

“Some cunt pushed her in front of a tube train. She’s not dead, but it crushed her leg. They’ve had to amputate.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Quinn

I meet Gabriel’s eye,and there’s a moment of silent communication as the girl on the screen creeps toward the basement. We’ve both seen this slasher movie before, but Eve has not. I ready myself for the exact moment the jump scare will happen.

As the killer leaps out with the knife, I poke Eve in the ribs. She shoots out of her seat, screaming, and Gabriel and I dissolve into laughter. She’s just so easy to scare, and even though I’ve spooked her several times today, it just keeps getting funnier.

She flops back onto the sofa with a huff, but she’s smiling.

Today has been way more fun than I expected, despite Gabriel refusing every time I suggested the movies would be better with a beer. Jacob has laid down the law, and Gabriel isn’t going to go against him.

Once he relaxed and lost his angry attitude, he started to be fun, and he loves horror movies almost as much as I do. Eve is new to them, and I’ve enjoyed scaring the panties off her withsome of my favorites. Today is the first time I’ve felt anything like normal.

Eve keeps staring at my wrist cuffs, and I can tell she’s dying to ask but forcing herself not to. I know how she feels. All day, I’ve been watching how she interacts with Gabriel, and my theory about her being a great actor waiting for her moment to escape is looking less and less likely.

The physical affection, she could fake, but it’s more than that. There’s a connection between them that’s obvious from a mile away. I’m waiting for my chance to ask, and when a phone call takes Gabriel from the room, I pounce.

I elbow Eve. “Go on. Ask about the cuffs.”

Her hand flies to her mouth. “Sorry. Was I that obvious? I’m too curious for my own good. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

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