Page 34 of Soul Bound

Ranger’s shiny silver laptop is on the nightstand like he said it was. I lean against the pillows of the made bed and pull up the internet tab. Whisper works through the dark web, so it takes me multiple links and multiple logins to get to his secret message board. I met Whisper in New York years ago. He helped me stay hidden from my parents by erasing my digital footprint and some security camera footage. He’s the best hacker that has maybe ever lived. The FBI and CIA have been after him for years, but by the time they think they’ve found him, he’s just a whisper in the wind—hence his codename. I don’t have the slightest clue what his birth name is and I’ve never bothered to ask.

I tap out a message on the board.

Haunted33: looking to liberate some money and need a new name. Can you help?

I don’t have to wait long for a response since the man lives on his computer.

Whisper_2_me: codeword

I roll my eyes because he’s so fucking paranoid, but then again, he has a reason to be.

Haunted33: October

Whisper_2_me: Winslow? You’re alive?

Haunted33: Yes? Why wouldn’t I be?

Whisper_2_me: Your evil fucking parents released a statement saying you died in an accident. Your douchebag dad is totally getting the sympathy vote for his campaign…

I don’t know why I should be shocked my parents told everyone I was dead. I’m surprised they didn’t do it sooner. I’m actuallymoresurprised they didn’t just hire someone to take me out instead of going through all the trouble of having me locked away at Cresthill. It would have been way easier for them and a hell of a lot cheaper since they had to pay off the staff to keep me there.

I know I should feel angry or upset they faked my death so they could use it for their political advancement. But I’m not. The only thing I’m feeling is vengeful, but that’s because I’m still incredibly bitter they had me locked away. So, what I’m about to have Whisper do makes me feel like I’m getting even.

Haunted33: Not surprised. I need you to get me some money from their accounts. Can you do that?

The messages disappear and at first, I think he’s logged off, but a pop-up window shows up on my screen, asking me if I’d like to connect a video chat. I hit accept and Whisper’s face is suddenly taking over my screen. His black hair is disheveled and in need of a haircut, and like always, his glasses are slightly crooked on his face.

“Can I do that? I’ll pretend I’m not offended you just asked me that. I can do it with my hands tied behind my back and with a tequila induced hangover. Which Ihavedone by the way.”

Whisper is young, around my age. He ran away from his drug addict mom when he was fourteen and has been living off the grid since. He sets up shop in abandoned buildings, never staying at one long enough for someone to find him. He’s an expert at staying in the shadows, never drawing attention to himself. His IQ is off the charts high, and he’s probably the smartest person I’ve ever met. He taught himself how to hack and has been able to break through the CIA firewalls since he was seventeen. I think they are more impressed with his skills than they are mad. I bet they would hire him on the spot if they ever got the chance. Whisper didn’t even do anything with the access he granted himself when he hacked them, he just wanted to prove to himself and them that he could do it. It’s all a game to him.

I smile at the screen, glad to see an old friend. “I know you can. I heard all about it after it happened.” I had stayed with Whisper for a while when I first ran away from Rhode Island and myhorrificfamily members. He’d been there when I was at my most broken and emotionally destroyed.

“Oh yeah, I forgot you were there.” He cocks his head to the side, taking me in. “You look better than when I last saw you. You off the drugs?”

He was also there to see me at my worst.

At one point I was bombarded by so many ghosts that I couldn’t handle the constant wailing and pleas for help coming from them. I turned to drugs, to numb the voices and for a while, it worked really well. I only used when I needed a moment of peace. But like anyone who used drugs like I was, using every once in a while wasn’t cutting it anymore. I was no longer using to block out the dead, instead, I used because I was hooked.

I’m ashamed of it. And it’s the one thing I think I’ll never tell Ranger. I’ll tell him about my trauma and where my scars came from before I admit to him I was addicted to drugs and a part of me will always crave the high.

“I’m clean and sober, I promise.” And I plan to stay that way for the rest of my life. I hear the shower turn off and know Ranger will be coming out any minute. So, I whisper just in case his super werewolf hearing can pick up what I’m saying, “Being locked in a psychiatric hospital is a great way to detox and sober up. Ihighlyrecommend it.”

“They locked you up in afunny farm?” Whisper pauses in whatever he’s aggressively typing into his computer. His almond-shaped eyes shoot to mine from behind his black-framed glasses. “No way. I never thought to look somewhere like that. I tried to see if you were at home—I hacked into their security cameras, but obviously, you weren’t there.”

“Yeah, I would say I never thought they’d do something like that, but I’d be lying. I wouldn’t put anything past them at this point. The hellhole they threw me in was horrific and I want to make them pay for doing it. And just fucking them over, in general, wouldn’t hurt.” I feel a wicked grin growing on my face, “I need you to get into their accounts and get your hands on their money.”

“What do you think I’ve been doing?” He snorts. “I’ve been moving money out of their accounts into one I set up for you since you answered my call. How much money are we talking about?”

“How much can you get?”

“Right now? About ten million, but if you give me a couple of days, I can get it all if that’s what you want me to do.”

“I—” The words evaporate off my tongue when the bathroom door opens, and Ranger strolls out of a cloud of steam with a white fluffy towel wrapped around his waist. It’s been less than a day since I last saw him shirtless, but it’s like I’m seeing it all over again.

Ranger has the type of body woman drool over in magazines, the physique men work their asses off to achieve. Every defined, chiseled muscle is covered in perfect smooth tanned skin. I think he might have a ten pack, but honestly? I stopped counting when I saw the V leading beneath his towel. I’ve already seen what lies beneath that towel, but I’m suddenly very interested in seeing it again. I’ve never been more attracted to another human being than I am to Ranger Weylyn.

“Winslow?” A voice cuts through my dirty thoughts and I realize I’ve been staring at Ranger’s naked body for an uncertain amount of time. My eyes jerk up and I find Ranger smirking at me, “What are you looking at?”

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