Page 20 of Desperate People

Then this anxiety I’m choking on is just the tip of something deeper.

Darker.

Because if my girl needs me, I’ll be right fucking here.

I’ll tear through goddamn walls if I have to.

No distance is too far. No obstacle too high.

I’ll find her. I’ll fix it.

I always do even if she doesn’t know it.

Shit.

This is fucked up.

I’m fucked up.

Maybe Connor’s right. Maybe I need to figure my shit out.

Pick a side. Make a choice.

Walk away?

Unfuckinglikely.

Volkov Industries handed me a golden key—a shot at legitimacy.

It’s more than just money and benefits.

It’s respect.

A place at the table with the kind of people who wouldn’t even look at a guy like me twice on the street.

It’s a chance to show them what a so-called street rat can do behind a keyboard.

To prove I belong here.

In their world.

In hers.

And maybe have a real life, too.

I drag a hand down my face, the weight of all of it pressing into me.

Then my phone buzzes.

Once.

Twice.

The name lights up the screen like a flare in the dark.

Lucy.

My pulse stutters.

---