by LJ Byrne
I laugh through my tears. “I think so.” I wipe his cheeks, and he kisses the palm of my hand.
“Tell me everything.”
In halting words, I do my best. I start with Ernest finding me and Celeste about to bolt. After I broke my phone, Ernest and Daniel interrogated me, but I played dumb. It didn’t work.
“He knew my father. My father is – was – Suk-jeon Park,” I say sadly. “He was a programmer. A genius.”
“Like you,” Ryder murmurs.
I shake my head. When Ernest learned Mom was involved with my father, Ernest threatened him. But my father refused to back down. They fought. My father lost. Ernest staged his death to look like a hit-and-run.
“He’s insane. That whole family is insane,” Ryder states in disbelief.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. “He tied me and Celeste up in the maintenance room beneath the admin building,” I say, trembling at the memory. “He was going to kill us.” I touch my bruised cheek, and Ryder’s fury intensifies. “Daniel hit me. When they made me call you… I wasn’t sure if you understood. But you must have.”
“I’m not as dumb as I look,” Ryder says with a humorless smile. “But I also know you. That wasn’t you. I trust you, Mira. You would never act so callously.”
“I don’t remember much of how we were saved. Only bits and pieces. There was smoke, and then something exploded. To be honest, I thought—I thought the explosives had gone off.” Ryder bends his head to my shoulder when I take a shaky breath, explaining how Ernest planned to blow up the school and blame it on terrorists.
“I could kill Liam.” Ryder’s lips thin. “He put you in danger.”
“He didn’t. Ernest called me.” When Ryder looks at me in surprise, I add, “I think with everything that happened to Ingrid and Daniel, Ernest suspected my involvement. Maybe he’s been watching me for a while. He lured me with information about Mom. I should’ve told you we were going there, but I didn’t want you to stop me or get worried.”
“I’m not upset with you.” Ryder presses my hand to his face. “There’s no way you would’ve known Ernest was deranged. Liam is still to blame.” It’s clear that Ryder intends to blame Liam regardless.
I yawn. “I’m so tired,” I whisper. “Is Celeste really okay?” Great friend I am. I’ve barely asked about Celeste.
“She’s fine. Connor is with her. They’re waiting for her parents.” Ryder arranges the blanket over me. “Rest. I’ll be here when you wake.”
I mumble, “Promise me you’ll stay and keep the nightmares away.”
“Always.”
When I wake hours later, Ryder is slouched in a chair nearby. He’s asleep. A note from Aunt Erika tells me they’ll be back with Ethan. I spend a few minutes admiring Ryder from afar. A lock of his black hair falls across his forehead charmingly. I must still be on pain medication to be waxing poetic.
My hospital door opens, and Liam peeks in, clearly not expecting me to be alert. His green eyes are dark in the dim lighting. He tiptoes across. “Hey,” he says quietly. “You doing okay?”
I manage a shrug as I gesture for some water. Liam hands me a cup and I down it in one gulp. “As well as can be. I don’t remember that much of my rescue.”
Liam grimaces as he refills the cup. “That’s probably for the best. Ron was there. I was behind the lines waiting.” He waves an envelope. “It’s a letter explaining stuff, but since you’re awake, I guess I can tell you what I’m able to.”
“That leads me to believe you’re going to hold information back.” I continue to sip water.
Liam doesn’t deny it. “Ernest Whitman has been on Ron’s radar for a bit. Whitman’s part of a domestic terrorist group focused on white supremacy. He planned to blow the school up and frame Brittany Khan.”
My initial shock gives way to understanding. “Because her father has ties in Pakistan.”
“By targeting the children of some of the wealthiest families in the nation, he wanted a race war to erupt. He didn’t act alone.”
“Daniel? Ingrid?”
“Daniel was a tool,” Liam says, “as far as we can tell. We think Daniel has ties to RatGh0st, but he was a medium for Ernest to control. Daniel understands technology enough to implement what they got from RatGh0st.”
“What about Ingrid?”
I jump when Ryder speaks.
“Tell me that bitch is going to jail,” Ryder hisses. “I woke up when you tried to tiptoe in.” He glares at Liam pointedly.
Liam sighs. “Ingrid knows far less than Daniel. We’re still questioning her. Considering what she did to you last school year, she’s certainly capable of murder. But that’s all I can tell you.” He pauses. “Oh, school will be closed for a week while we remove some stuff.”
“What stuff?” I eye Liam suspiciously.
“Best not to worry about it.”
“You’re still removing explosives, aren’t you?” Ryder swears when he hears my question. “And you guys came in with guns blazing!”
Liam winces. “Yeah, I didn’t say we were smart. The explosives weren’t set up to go off when we got there, though.” He ignores my eye roll. Then, with a nod at me, he adds, “You were right about the worm. The plan was to slow rescue crews from reaching the school. We did a ping trace on Celeste’s phone and saw it pinged near Whitman’s home. We then tracked his phone and realized he was at the school. Things started to come together. We assembled a crew as quickly as possible after body heat signatures confirmed there was only a handful of people there.”
I blink. “Wait. Ernest isn’t the mastermind?”
Liam draws back, shifting on his feet. “I can’t answer that. I can tell you that you don’t need to worry anymore. Unless you come to work with me, that is. We have the information we need.” He turns to Ryder. “Take care of her, Ryder. She’s special.”
Ryder scowls at Liam. “I know.”
Liam gives me one last look. “If you ever change your mind about working with me officially, let me know.”
I roll my eyes. “Go save the world, Captain America.”
101000
You don’t go from being kidnapped, being strapped near bombs, and learning about your dad’s murder, then recover like nothing happened. There are nightmares. Therapy. Long talks. Amid all of that, interviews with the FBI (or is it Homeland Security or the CIA?) where I get asked the same questions five different ways. Sometimes Ron Reagan is there. Sometimes Liam’s nearby. Mostly, I become numb to the faces.
There are things I don’t know still. Who is RatGh0st and did he know what Ernest Whitman planned to do with the worm? Or did he take the money and run? Is there a larger (shadowy) group at work? The media doesn’t cover the details, only linking Ernest Whitman to domestic terrorists. Ingrid suffers a complete meltdown and is considered unfit to stand trial. Daniel is found dead in his cell. The media reports suicide, but conspiracy theories abound.
I’m allowed time to process. And I’m not the only one. Celeste decides early on that she can live with a boring life. We’ve had enough drama and excitement to last us a lifetime.
After I recover, there’s a long heart-to-heart discussion with Aunt Erika and Uncle Robert. While she respects my rights as a near-adult, she is not okay with how I kept Liam’s identity hidden from her. “We’re family, Mira. Your safety is my concern,” she points out during the long conversation, Ethan hovering nearby. “I get you don’t want our money or our charity, but you are my niece and the only thing I have left of Gwen. You don’t get to push me away in a bid to be independent.”
Remember how I used to think Aunt Erika was lax and all that? I find out quickly that she can be just as fierce as Mom. I’m also less prickly about accepting things, which is why I’m now in Florida.
“We’re in trouble, Mira,” Ryder says, running up to me breathlessly. The thin white shirt hugs his torso. “They’re coming to take the fort.”
He hands me a Super Soaker filled with blue water. “Guard my back.” He
moves to a higher vantage point with a water gun looped around his neck.
Celeste, hiding behind a wall of plants, gestures to me that someone’s approaching from around the beach house. We don’t see Connor, who has been tasked with getting the opposing team’s flag. We hear a shout, and Connor comes screaming around the corner, waving a red plastic flag. Behind him, Brittany and Enrique attack him with Super Soakers, but Connor is just out of reach. Only part of his shirt gets stained with orange-dyed water.
Celeste and I pump our soakers to maximum pressure and start hosing the attackers down when a sudden crash announces Ethan bursting through the foliage. Celeste jumps in the way and is taken down as Darcy backs up her boyfriend. I’m trying to reload the pressure, but I’m doomed as Darcy aims for me. Ryder appears from the upper deck, unloading his water gun, and drenches Ethan and Darcy.
“That’s cheating!” Brittany cries. “You can’t climb!” She sounds outraged, but she’s laughing through her mock anger.
“Hey, you never said we couldn’t,” Ryder says, winking at me before climbing down. “I would say we won that round. Shall we put on clean shirts and go for Round 3?”
Darcy examines her skin. “I look like a Smurf. I thought you said this dye wouldn’t stain.”
“You need to wash it off, silly,” Celeste says, shrieking when Connor picks her up.
“That sounds like pool time to me.” Connor strolls off with Celeste over his shoulder.
“I’m hungry.” Enrique pretends to complain, making puppy eyes at Brittany.
“Oh, come on, you big baby.” Brittany grabs him by the ear and drags him off.
Darcy strips off her shirt, revealing her yellow polka-dot bikini. Ethan’s been singing the song all weekend. “This was a great idea, Ryder. We’ve never really spent spring break together. To be honest, I never thought we’d do anything together.”
Ethan’s arm is relaxed around Darcy’s shoulder. “I think we were too busy being mad to plan anything.”
“Have you guys thought more about college?” Darcy leads us back into the main house.
“Gap year,” Ryder and I say simultaneously. His grin warm and friendly, so unlike the tense boy I met over a year ago. I need a year to breathe, and Ryder’s onboard with joining me.
“Every company, school, and government want you,” Ethan reminds me. He’s concerned, of course. Thanks to the brouhaha with Ernest Whitman (is it blasé to use that term considering what he tried to do?), my name is known in certain circles. Ethan’s convinced North Korea will kidnap me someday. One thing hasn’t changed: Ethan is still protective.
“I’ll probably help out with the family business,” I say. It’s what I call Uncle Robert’s company. Ethan isn’t interested in internet security, so Uncle Robert has been giving me unsubtle hints about joining him. I remain undecided. Ryder and I want to take our time. It’s been a trying few years. We’re allowed to take some time to think, right?
And then there’s Liam. We are one helluva team. But work for the government? I’m not sure I could handle the bureaucracy and red tape.
Ryder remains adamant about forgoing his family’s inheritance. I think that suits Clark Cabot. He hasn’t made any more threats since his run-in with me, but he hasn’t bothered to reach out to his only child. Connor has already found a modestly sized home – luxurious by most standards – for him and Ryder. Since Brittany and Celeste are heading to the U, he will too, but he wanted a place for all of us to gather. I haven’t told Aunt Erika yet that I intend to move out during the summer.
Of course, Ryder and I are not poor by any means. Between the bounties I’ve collected, plus some side work – I’m not cheap to hire – I’ve amassed a nice buffer. Ryder sold off several useless “trinkets”, and he’s been working the stock market with success. I doubt we’ll live conventional lives.
Once we’re alone, Ryder brings me close for a lengthy kiss. When we part, I’m glad that there aren’t shadows in his eyes anymore. “What is it?” he asks, noting my look.
“You’re happy.” Funny. I’m happy, too.
He runs his hand up and down my back. “So I am,” he agrees. “I love you, Mira Bell.”
“I love you, Ryder Cabot.”
EPILOGUE
Ryder
The moment I set eyes on Mira, she became my future. She teaches me what it is to love. She teases me, she pushes me, she forces me to keep up with her.
I don’t care what people say. What I feel may not completely healthy in the way it consumes me. My life begins and ends with her. I propose to her the moment we graduate from RBA because I need to see my ring on her finger. Her uncle throws a fuss until I agree to hold off on wedding plans for at least two years.
Her path is not an ordinary one. We eschew college so that Mira can help her uncle with his business. It’s not enough for her. She becomes a consultant, helping companies, governments, and individuals. I find my organizational skills are a benefit to her. I learn the value of money – every penny of mine is untainted by my father. Mira and I make a strong team, and by working together, we’re rarely apart. I help her uncle run his business, but like Mira, I remain a free agent.
Friends come and go, but Liam remains close. Those two are connected in a way that I am forced to respect. My jealousy and insecurity take a back seat; I trust Mira unconditionally and absolutely. It’s more than that, though. Dimming that light within her would be a crime, and it would hurt her. I would rather die than hurt her. She needs the freedom to explore her ability in the fullest way possible, and that means taming my insecurities.
We don’t live too far from her family. Now that she’s found them, she wants them close, and I won’t deny her that even if I want to be as far from my father as possible. Not that it matters. I never see my father again.
It’s strange to consider that Ethan was once my enemy. Of course, that’s changed. Our families are intimately meshed and connected, not just from our experiences at RBA but also through marriage and children. When I marry Mira, I gain everything. I gain all the things I once resented Ethan for: love, acceptance, family. Our children bear with our oddities, but they are loved and watched, never left to nannies. We sometimes abandon them to her aunt and uncle, who are more than willing to babysit any number of children.
Mira doesn’t forget her humble roots – our home is warm, open, but not too large. The only extravagance is our master bedroom, which I specifically design so that, if we want to, we can gaze at the stars and I can be with her under the moonlight.
No one taught me to be gentle, but it’s instinctive with Mira. I cherish every laugh and argument. I treasure her even when we disagree, or when she frustrates me with the rapidity of her mind. At times, I watch her, memorizing every breath, every sigh. When she’s up all night tracking the latest cyberattack, I’m content to be near her and watch the speed at which she seizes every challenge.
Connor tells me to count my blessings. And I do. Every single day.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Many people made this book possible.
First, to my online game friends:
In particular, AegentEight, Luckette, Brooke, Arranis, and Occisor. Thanks for answering the questions without laughing. Anchor and Kahlan, thank you for helping me with random questions.
A shout out to my guildmates and friends in the following games:
Hundred Souls, Heroes Charge, and Empires and Puzzles.
Klairebella – fingers crossed
Second, to my husband, Josh Byrne, and to our cousin Bill Alfveby for helping me with terms and the reality of Internet security. If I got anything wrong, it isn’t your fault.
Third, to my friends: Darcy, Nicolle, Brittany, Tina. You know why I appreciate our friendship.
A whisper to my panda bear: remember not to leave lint on the windows! Never lose hope.
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The Betrayal
Shattered
Turn the Tables
