Same thing and we both know it. That’s what makes this whole thing so very sad.
“I want out,” Alex continues softly. “I want you to help me. The payout for this job is serious—plenty for us to split. All we have to do is pull files from the main system and get them to my client. It’s a victimless crime. We get paid and no one gets hurt.”
Except, possibly, for me. And then my sister. And Bren. Looking Glass is funding their protection. If we were to steal from them, what happens to my family?
My head goes light and I swallow.
“Wick,” the other woman begins, but there’s a faraway shout. Her side of the phone drops, showing us a terrific view of her feet and the pavement. Another shout.
“I have to go.” Her voice is still hushed. It’s a bit hard to separate the words through the sound of her sneakers scuffing against the ground. She’s running, fast. “Alex, you have to tell her. Tell her about the cameras and tell her about him.”
Alex flips the phone around before I can see the disconnect. It’s the same old Alex looking down at the screen and yet she’s different too. It’s in the way she lingers on the final image and pulls at her lower lip. She’s worried. Scared.
That makes two of us.
“What kind of job takes over a year?” I breathe.
“The kind where you have to navigate Kent.”
“Who else knows about this?”
“Just the three of us.”
Just the three of us? Can I believe her? “Alex, all those promises, all that stuff—”
“Yeah, yeah. College degrees. Job futures. You can do all of that or you can take your share of the payout and do whatever you want for the rest of your life.”
Escape, freedom. The words squirm under my skin and grow.
I force myself to inhale. “You’re crazy. Even if we did get away with it, they’ll hunt us. Forever.”
“So? Not like they’ll find us. You know how this works, Wick. With enough money, anyone can disappear.”
Absolutely, and the idea fills every inch of me. For years, I did computer work for clients and banked the money in offshore accounts. I was always ready to run. Until Bren, the foster homes never lasted. I had to be prepared, and if you have enough money, you can be prepared for almost anything.
“My people know about their clients, their technology,” Alex continues softly. “We just need the right help to get through Kent. You’re that person. You could do this.”
I stare. I don’t even know where to begin.
“Hart and Norcut engineered your arrival, Wick. You don’t owe them anything. They used your mom. They used her to get to you.”
“There’s more to it than just my mom.”
“Oh, you mean that accident? Those people who are after you?” Alex’s picking up speed now. “How do you know that accident wasn’t arranged? How do you know it wasn’t created so you would trust them? Face it, Wick. You’re nothing more than a tool.”
I stiffen. “And what’s that woman to you? How do you know you’re not a tool to her? How can you trust her?”
A pause. “You don’t have to be related to someone to make them family. So. Are you in?”
“I don’t . . . I can’t . . .”
“You can. In fact, I think you’re already in.” Alex fiddles with her phone screen. I can’t tell if she’s actually doing something or pretending so we don’t have to look at each other. “I think if you weren’t, you wouldn’t be whispering. You’d be yelling. By now, everyone would hear us.”
Alex’s eyes flick to mine, and I know she can tell she hit bone with that one.
She’s right. I am still whispering.
“Face it, Wick, there’s more to Hart and Norcut and you know it. You’re like us. You’ve felt it from the beginning.”
“I feel that about everyone.” I half mean it to be funny. Too bad, it surfaces sounding serious. Worse, my legs suddenly give out. I collapse on the bed in a heap. Everything is sinking in now. Maybe that’s how it works. First comes the burn, then comes the pain, but there’s always a space in between.
I cannot afford to be involved in this. Not when I have so much to lose. There’s Milo, my future . . . forgiveness. The path back to my family is through Looking Glass. I promised Bren I would try.
“Tell me if you’re in. With or without you, this is happening.” Alex is going for hard, but her eyes are baby-animal soft and round. My answer means something to her. I mean something to her.
It makes the whole thing hurt that much more. We will never be the same after this. Whatever friendship we have won’t survive, and in some ways, now I wish I had never found her because this one’s going to hurt.