Page 14 of Innocent Princess

I play back what I asked, and oh crap. But Ryker turns his glare toward Wells. "You told her I was a hacker? Really? Is this how you want to play this, Officer?"

Wells's smile fades. There is some serious tension between these two.

"I told her what she needed to know before getting involved with you. It's only fair." The anger pouring from Ryker is palpable. Cameron and I sit in silence, watching the scene unfold.

Then, in an unexpected move, Ryker shakes off his anger, his shoulders relax, and he nods. "You know, you're right." Ryker turns back to his sandwich and takes a bite.

Wells looks confused, and I'm not sure it’s safe for anyone else to talk yet.

After he swallows his food, he adds, "The more we know about each other now, the more fun our first date will be." Then he winks at me.

Heat consumes me. Surely, my face is candy apple red right now. If I'm not careful, he'll stop calling me Blondie in exchange for Red.

Cameron whistles while Wells rolls his eyes and mutters a curse under his breath.

"So, now that you know what I do in my spare time, what do you want to know? I'm an open book. However, I can't indulge too much with Captain Goody Two-Shoes here, or he might get his panties in a twist."

Wells growls next to him.

I open my mouth to ask something when Cameron interrupts, "I'd like to know how the two of you became so close?"

Ryker chortles, but it's Wells who replies, "Roommates since freshman year."

Wait.

"You mean you are still roommates?" Cameron stammers.

"He's the best roomie a guy could want." Ryker looks affectionately at Wells, clearly to annoy him some more.

"How do you not kill each other?" Cam's on the ball.

I'm fascinated with these two strange boys.

"We stay out of each other's way." Wells shoves another sushi in his mouth, and Ryker nods in agreement.

After that, Cameron and I steer the conversation to school and our class. We've got our first test coming up soon, and we have a lot to cover in a short amount of time. We make plans to study, and to my delight, Ryker joins our study group. I’m slightly worried Wells might not approve, but oddly enough, he doesn't seem annoyed that we've added a fourth to our group. Maybe deep down, the two are friends, they just went in different directions. Maybe it's a love-hate relationship.

I don't know. But I want to learn everything there is about Ryker Stone, and I can't wait until I get to see him next.

6

Ryker

Sittingat my desk in my dorm room, I wrap up my computer project for class when I see I have an unread email.

The subject: Your Resume.

Immediately, I'm suspicious because I don't have a resume, at least not one in the traditional sense. I have the equivalent to one that I use on hacker job boards.

Once I open the email, I quickly realize it’s in reference to the resume that wouldn't get me a part-time job flipping burgers. The sender’s address is a mix of numbers and letters, and by the looks of it, I'm going to have to do some digging to figure out who it's from. But it's the contents of the email that captures my attention.

Ryker, your resume is impressive, though not unique. I have a job offer that I think only you would be able to pull off. Please contact me if you are interested in more details.

Cryptic as fuck, that's for sure.

I have a VPN, so all my Internet usage is done securely and nearly untraceable, though it's not iron-clad. Whoever sent this email took a risk. My interest piqued, so I shoot back a quick email. Minutes tick by and my computer dings with a reply. The content of the message is a username and a link to the ultra-secure messaging system most security-conscious computer users have on their systems. So, I pull up the software on my laptop and log on.

I'm online for barely three seconds when a message box pops up. The same username from the email has sent me job information. Details about the job fill the screen.

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