Page 38 of Hacker Unknown

“No need to waste the doctor’s time. I can have the pilot take us back to Fort Lauderdale tonight, and I can see my own doctor tomorrow if my head still hurts.”

“That is not the plan. I have a team of doctors in Fort Lauderdale. If you do have?—”

“No,” I replied, cutting him off.

“Sonali said you were stubborn. The sooner we get you into the program, the less taxing it will be on Sonali.”

She must have told Sawyer she wanted to use her blood. Part of me was angry at her for breaking my confidence and telling her brother. Though she was more than likely scared when my large ass toppled over.

“I will go see Dr. Quinton Renolds about my head injury.”

Sawyer raised his brow. “And what about your cancer? You expect Sonali to sit back and watch you die?”

No one seemed to understand this was karma for the crap he had done in his life. He didn’t deserve a second chance, especially at Sonali’s expense. I didn’t know the entire process she would have to go through, but I assumed it would take a toll on her body as well.

“She’s leaving at the end of the month. Therefore, she won’t watch me die,” I pointed out.

“You truly plan to let her fly back to Paris and never think of her again? The way you look at her, I really thought you cared about her. Yes, Benson is in jail and the mob isn’t after her, but she will always be in danger. Even more so—” Sawyer clamped his lips closed.

I’d attempted to pry deeper into Sonali’s mom and whether anything else was transported. Sonali had wanted to talk to her mom, but Sawyer claimed it was too much of a risk. Besides, her dad’s family didn’t know about her existence. If someone ever figured out the connection, it would be a scandal her dad didn’t want.

The hurt in Sonali’s eyes when Sawyer told her she couldn’t see her mother—and that her father didn’t want to have contact with her—made me want to knock Sawyer’s teeth out.

Sonali walked back into the room, and when our eyes connected, she rushed over to the side of the bed. “How do you feel?”

I tugged a piece of her long black hair. “I’m fine. My head is starting to feel better. Let’s head back to the room.”

“No.” Sonali turned on her heels and marched over to the wall lined with cuffs. She grabbed a pair of pink fuzzy ones. The twinkle in her eye told me her intentions.

“Don’t even think about it.” When she was close enough to the bed, I reached out to grab the cuffs. The sudden movement caused my head to throb, and Sonali used that exact moment to click the fuzzy cuff around my wrist. “Nice try. I can easily?—”

A large hand gripped my other wrist. Sawyer stood there with a pair of silver cuffs and locked my other hand to the bed.

“Let me go, and you might be able to sit down by next week.”

Sawyer huffed. “Dude, I do swing your way.”

I ignored his comment and stared into his blue eyes. “Take these fucking cuffs off. The sooner you do it, the less your punishment will be.”

I couldn’t believe I was cuffed to a medical bed. If anyone from the team saw me now, I would never hear the end of it. The click of a flash dragged my attention back to Sawyer. He stood with his phone and snapped another picture.

“You better delete those photos.”

Sawyer flashed his screen. “Here is the thing. Kat is going a little too crazy in Assassin Annihilation. Mind you, there’s no reason for her to be in the game anymore since I already told you what was being transported. But her alliance hasn’t stopped building. Then yesterday, when I was on a call with Antonio, she used that moment to attack my city—she killed all my ninjas and stole my resources. It will take me weeks to rebuild.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “You have millions of dollars. Buy some resources and level up your soldiers.”

“Haven’t you tended to your city at all or checked the alliance chat?” Sonali asked.

I’d caught her in the game, and every so often, she would start giggling, which I assumed was because of something someone wrote. “I deleted it.”

“Then I guess you won’t mind me attacking your city for resources.” Sawyer tapped on the screen of his phone.

“Are you really that low?”

Sonali slid her hand against my arm. “The server is now full of people from AA Security, Blackwood Mercenaries, NSS, and all their friends. It just turned into billionaires maxing themselves out. Callie reset the state yesterday and froze the ability to pay to upgrade your character. Everyone is trying to level up, but without money.”

My phone vibrated in my pocket. Sonali reached across my body, slid her hand into my front pocket, and pulled out my phone. Antonio’s name flashed across the screen—it was a FaceTime call.

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