Page 92 of Severed Rivalry
Me: So it’s not just me?
Ayla: I may need coffee for life.
Me: I thought Christian had that covered.
Ayla: He never asked me to do accounting.
I can hear the petulant tone of voice in her typed words and would laugh if I wouldn’t lose blowjob privileges.
Me: Free dog sitting?
Ayla: Bro, you walked right into that. I hear in a month he’ll be a velociraptor. He’s yours then.
Great. She absolutely ambushed me and I fell for it.
Me: You take pride in preying on the weak and sickly?
Ayla: Shut up. Unless you’re on anesthesia, you’re one of the strongest men I know.
Me: Do I want to know?
Ayla: I’m trying to bleach my brain, so you’re on your own with that…
I switch threads.
Me: How bad was I on anesthesia?
Angel: Let’s just say it was eye-opening.
I put my face in both my hands. I’d be embarrassed, but… No, I’m still embarrassed.
By half past two, I’m concerned. She hasn’t moved, aside from her fingers flying over the keys. No break time to stretch or walk around or even refill her water bottle.
“What’s going o?—”
The look on her face is abject terror.
27
just keep dropping
Sariah
“Angel? You’re white as a ghost.”
I can’t believe what I’m seeing, even if it’s all there in black and white. I can’t pretend it’s not.
What the fuck?
“I—” Shoving back the stool, I bolt for the back door, startling Eleanor who goes on alert. I double over when I hit his backyard stone terrace and scream. The wail rises from my toes and exits my mouth, scraping my insides raw.
No sooner have I begun, than his warm palm slides up and down my spine. He’s not asking. He’s not fixing. He’s just present, allowing me to grieve and question my life choices.
When I’ve screamed all I can scream, I turn to him. “Connect2Coach… Those motherfuckers thought they could do this. Use me. Have me cover their tracks. I think the fuck not. I will bury them.” I spit out every word as my energy hones to a fine point and my resolve solidifies. “Let’s fucking go.”
I storm back into the house, whip the stool out, and type in earnest. I grab screen shots, download files, and mirror databases and internal communications.
“Did you find a CBI contact?”
