Page 19 of Nemesis
The sound of a car interrupted the steady silence and my stomach flipped.Fuck. I whipped my gaze behind me and watched a car whiz down the street.
Cálmate. Nobody’s following you. You made sure of it.
When I reached the front door, I glanced behind me one more time and got to my knees, taking my kit out of my back pocket. Unfolding it at my side, I retrieved a paperclip and unbent one side. With a deep breath, I grabbed the small wrench and inserted it into the lower edge of the keyhole, applying a slight pressure.
Turning the lock slightly to the right, I gently pushed the small crook of the paperclip and lifted it back and upward. Increasing slightly the pressure of the wrench, I repeated the circular motion with the paperclip until the sound I was waiting for resonated into the quiet night.
Click. Glad to know I hadn’t lost my touch.
I fully turned the knob this time, and the door creaked open. I walked into the dark space, a cold, musty scent invading my senses. I scrunched up my nose and spun around to close the door behind me, locking it.
The dim yellow bulbs from the flickering streetlights of the parking lot filtered through a slight gap from the heavily draped windows. Dust coated every surface and the stale air was overpowering, but it looked exactly how I left it.
Before leaving this apartment when Victor had proposed and asked me to move in, I’d given the owner a generous advance to keep the place untouched. Cash in hand, he’d left without uttering another word.
My boots squeaked against the floor as I ventured into each room, gun in hand, making sure the place was empty. Once every room was cleared, I walked to the only place that truly quieted the raging anger.
This was where it all started. Where I’d spent countless hours gathering intel on Victor Morales and had found a team to help carry out his end.
I sat at my desk, laid my gun down next to me, and powered up my monitors. The familiar humming sound spread warmth through my limbs as I shrugged out of my damp hoodie, a resounding thunk echoing when it landed on the back of the plastic chair.
I breathed a sigh of relief. Computers were the one constant piece in my life. I’d always felt more at peace surrounded by their soft hum than anywhere else. They took me into a different dimension, where problems didn’t exist. They would never disappoint and I could always count on them for the truth.
After I’d left the bureau’s protection, the only way I’d felt like I could survive was through arrays of algorithms. Theo had taught me the basics and I’d found comfort in the clicks of a keyboard, but after leaving, I had no other way of learning.
So, a month after trying to survive on my own, I’d snuck into a computer programming class one evening. When my professor had found out I didn’t have the materials necessary for the assignments, she’d lent me a used laptop for the semester and it became my most trusted companion ever since.
In a few short weeks and countless sleepless nights, thanks to the nightmares, I’d opened a bank account and secured it by bypassing the bank’s firewall and creating my own unique one within theirs, making sure it was untraceable.
Then, I’d started transferring small amounts from different accounts of rich people who wouldn't notice a few hundreds missing from their accounts.
After that, all that had been left was to create an alias, building a second line of defense for myself in case my coding was tracked. After setting myself up for a few years, I’d started what would end up being seven years of waiting patiently for the right moment to strike.
My eyes flickered to pictures of my parents filling my home screen, nostalgia engulfing me like a tidal wave, making my heart squeeze. I shoved it down as I let my fingers fly over the keys to access the encrypted server and started typing.
Nemesis: Change of plans.
CHAPTER8
THEO
After getting acquainted with Jaxon and what little remained of his team, following Morales’s firing spree because of what happened last week, I made my way home right after grabbing food from one of the street vendors on the way.
I cut off my engine, grabbed the takeout bags from the passenger seat after tucking my phone in my pocket, and stepped out of the car.
With every step I took closer to my condo, reminders ofhertugged at me. Reminders that I was walking into an empty house and not one with her in it.
A bitter laugh singed my throat. You would think that after all these years, I would have forgotten her, but everything that surrounded me was just a constant reminder of what I no longer had.
Seeing Olivia Morales today added itself to that lengthy list, her unannounced appearance in my life throwing a severe wrench in my routine.
What the fuck was I thinking saying yes in the first place? Especially now after seeing what my new client looked like.
When I reluctantly accepted Noah’s offer, I didn’t know I would have to look at someone who would constantly remind me of what I’d lost.
El destino era un puta perra.
Eventually, I dragged myself inside my house, loosening my tie, the self-loathing flaming hotter within my chest. After finishing my checks, I tore a small piece ofbatboutand grabbed a bit ofzaaloukwith it before stuffing it in my mouth to satiate my grumbling stomach, leaving the rest on the counter, planning to come back to it later.
