Page 141 of Taste of Addiction

“We got discovered by a big drug pusher,” Bryce explains. “Offered a deal of a lifetime. One that neither Owen nor I could refuse.”

“From The Prophet?”

“Yes and Mark Tanner,” Owen responds. “He saw potential in us.”

“Did you guys know I was here?”

Bryce clears his throat, crossing his arms at his chest. “No. We continued keeping very weak tabs on you. We figured after we watched you go on your little escapade around Baker City searching for justice for James without finding anything valuable, we were in the clear. Our clientele expanded. We were young enough to blend in with college kids and still be able to test product. We joined forces with Tanner, who was under the guidance of The Prophet.”

“Who has ties to the entire West Coast. A celebrity and role model,” Owen adds.

“And someone who you haven’t met yet,” I point out. “So, to summarize, Bryce was brought to Portland to sit beside me in class and drug me. Owen, you needed to infiltrate Graham’s security team and gain his trust.”

“No easy feat either,” he chimes in.

But what is the big overarching connection? Seems that whoever hired them hand selected them for this particular job. But why? “At any point during your hiring process, did you stop and wonder why there was a coincidence between me and what you both were hired to do? Seems like that would have been the first thing I would have asked myself. Why was I magically sent across the state to help drug a girl I had a prior connection with?” When neither answers, I continue. “You are both just little minions. Expendable, really. Whoever hired you handpicked you for this job based solely on our connection, not your lame-ass drug-pushing skills. And at no point did you worry that me being around you would make it easier for me to remember the trauma I endured by your evilness?”

“Shut up,” Bryce sneers, raising his hand and smacking my mouth so hard, my whole chair falls over.

I feel my lip open up at the corner, making blood drip onto my sweater. I wiggle my fingers, trying to get feeling back into them. They are going numb from lack of movement.

“Don’t hurt our insurance policy,” a masculine voice calls from the doorway.

I look up through teary eyes as Paul saunters over to me, yanking my shoulders to sit me back up again. When our eyes connect, I notice his aren’t as evil as the other two. He might actually have a bit of compassion left in him.

“So, how long have you both been trying to follow me, drug me, or terrorize me?”

“You make it sound so personal,” Bryce snaps.

“It is personal.” Why is he not understanding? Everything about this is personal.

“I was hired to attend Human Behavior with you, slip you a little something-something from time to time, and—”

My eyes narrow at his. “Pretend you were my friend?” He called me “Teach” and all this time I thought it was just an innocent joke, when in reality he knew I was an education major while studying at Baker City Community College. He knew me from a previous life.

“Sure. That.”

“And what about you, Owen? You were hired to infiltrate Graham’s security team and gain his trust? Continue drugging me when Bryce couldn’t… Pretend to rescue me… You must have sabotaged my computer and destroyed all my research and work too.” Planted that keylogger thing…

Owen shrugs. “Yeah, pretty much. You nailed it, princess.” His smile is evil. “Oh wait, one more thing. I also fed the media the rumors of you being an addict. But, ironically, that was not a rumor at all.”

So, Sophia didn’t do that after all, like she denied. “Hope you know how your story is going to end. Graham is going to kill you when he finds you.”

“Oh, he’ll find me,” he answers confidently. “You have a tracker on you, after all. You are Hoffman’s weakness. His kryptonite. You’re going to be the reason he dies at the hands of The Prophet. But, not before he leads his entire team here so we can take care of everything all at once.”

“Sounds ambitious. Why all the beef with Graham?”

“Ever since his sister, Penny, became a victim,” Paul interjects, “Hoffman has been set on destroying our entire operation. Before him, no one came close to figuring out the underground network that has been happening all up and down the West Coast. He has to pay for his crime of interfering in business he has no right to involve himself with.”

It wasn’t that long ago that I tried to convince Graham to utilize my skill set and accessibility to help him find out who drugged Penny. He made it clear that I would never be sacrificial bait for his mission in seeking justice. This is why I got laid off and forced out of the agency. It is ironic how I now find myself in exactly that scenario that he promised me he would never put me in.

Has this always been inevitable? A situation that was destined to come to fruition?

“You see, Angie,” Owen explains, “there’s going to be a big bonfire soon. Maybe even some fireworks. I get a hard-on for fireworks. Remember the night at The Shack?”

“That was staged by you?”

His eyes come to life with pride. “I had to create some fear in Graham’s head so I could get further and further into his business. The fireworks were just a decoy. Something for funsies.”

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