Page 20 of A Cursed Heart

Ryan

Going against a gangster and taking a night off sounded like the stupidest thing ever, but I needed to buy myself some time for my program to work through the files with the most encryption on Salvatore’s hard drive.

Even with him looking over my shoulder, I’d managed to lift a fair amount of data.

Part of my working day was taking the files and sorting them.

I didn’t want to inadvertently send proof of what I’d done to Jasmine to the FBI.

Still, there was a crap ton of stuff left for me to copy, and I had to cover my tracks at every step of the way.

You’d think with the data I’d already passed to him with the successful hacks I’d done, Salvatore would be a tad lenient. I did actually need more time for this one, since it had the highest security on the list. It was no joke to crack into.

Salvatore did not take my request well.

“I think you forget who you are dealing with, Mr. Mallory,” he had drawled into the phone when I did him the courtesy of calling.

“No. I haven’t.” I paced, agitated. Dealing with him was stressful.

“I just know that while I’m still building a backdoor into the database you want me in, there’s nothing for me to do.

There’s stuff working away, but I’ll get nothing done except piss you off by sitting in that seat all night watching the code do its thing. ”

“Progress is far slower than I would have thought.”

“For this one, sure it is. I admit that. This isn’t my usual work, and their security makes the others’ look pathetic. I’m sorry I haven’t found what you are looking for on your servers.”

“If you are wasting my time, Mr. Mallory…” he trailed off, the threat obvious.

Fuck. He was losing patience digging out this mole. There was literally nothing in his files! Was he just being paranoid, or was his mole just that good? I’d have to increase the transfer speed to my device somehow, though that could lead to my missing something important.

“Well, that’s because I’m being careful. Neither of us wants to be caught, right? Besides, I think it looks suspicious me heading to your building night after night. I’m sure there are other things you’d rather be doing than babysitting me.”

“Is this so you can take your new boyfriend on a date?” he asked casually.

What the fuck? Was he still watching me?

“I want to spend time with my family.”

“I have to say I was surprised when I read the most recent home report. Your boyfriend, Malcolm, is it? Well, he seems to have settled into your household. Strange that there’s absolutely no trace of him. It’s almost as if he appeared from thin air.”

A prickle of anxiety worked its way down my spine. “He’s in the system. He just doesn’t have much of a record.” Once I got off the phone, I was creating an identity for Mal.

“Maybe so. I expect you back in my office tomorrow, Ryan.”

“Of course, Mr. Salvatore. Thank you.”

When I hung up the phone with him, I noticed a message from my contact at the FBI.

Con

Higher ups say everything is a go. Protection for more of the same. Delete this after. Usual protocol.

A grin stretched across my face while I deleted the message and erased all traces of it from my device. At least something was going right.

“Are you sure we should be doing this?” Mal asked a couple of hours later. We were in my car, Freya in her seat in back, headed to the movie theater.

“Yeah. We need this.”

“I’m just concerned now that we know Salvatore has someone following us. Perhaps he knows more than he’s letting on.”

It was tempting to reach out to touch Mal, to soothe him in some way, similar to how he was always calming me. Ugh, I could barely admit it to myself, let alone out loud or in a text to my sister, but there was something there. A hint of a crush. Okay, more than a hint.

“Don’t worry. I spent some time getting you a valid ID from a contact I have,” I said, keeping my hands on the steering wheel.

“He’s going to put it in the mail. We’ve also started a paper trail for you.

You’re officially Malcolm Cross, a high school dropout who is now studying for the GED so he can go to college.

” Mal nodded. “The rest of your story is that after you left school, you worked a lot of under the table jobs until you started working at my gym, which is where we met. It explains the gaps in your history. We’re the same age, twenty-four, and your birthday is the twenty-fifth of October, making you a Scorpio. ”

“I don’t understand what that is.”

“Astrology. Look it up on your phone.” I’d gotten him his own device on my plan just in case he ran low on magic. Plus, it made him more real. Everyone had a phone.

Mal was quiet while he read his search. “Ah, so you were born—”

“First of March.”

“Making you a Pisces.” He read more of the details. “We are a soulmate match with my given birthday!” Mal’s tiny smile, just a twist of his full lips, was adorable.

“Really?” I hadn’t even looked at shit like that. I’d just liked the scorpion with its tail because Mal had a wicked tail, too.

“Yes. I like the identity you have built for me, Ryan. It makes me hope—”

“What?”

“That I will be in your life for a long time.”

The movie was a basic kids’ movie, but both Freya and Mal were hooked!

My little girl sat between us like the princess she was.

I reached my arm over the back of the seat to play with a tendril of Mal’s hair.

I loved that he kept it long. During the day he would tie it in a braid or a basic ponytail.

It suited him. I think I spent more time watching my little family than I did the movie.

We were barely out of the theater, Freya’s head lolling on Mal’s shoulder, when my phone buzzed in my pocket. I’d just switched it back on. There were a handful of messages from Salvatore, the tone growing increasingly hostile.

He called me just as we got Freya into the car. “Mr. Mallory, your presence is required in my office.” His tone was aggressive. There would be no arguing with him.

“I just have to drive—”

“If you are not about to say, ‘right there,’ then I don’t want to hear it. Your partner can drive your child home from your little outing unless you want them both to come pay me a visit. My car is coming for you. I need you here now.” Then he hung up.

What the fuck was I going to do? There was no way Mal could drive my car!

“It’s alright, Ryan. I have watched you drive and can use my magic to help me.”

“Really?”

“Yes. If I struggle, I will park and call for a ride. Or find somewhere to vanish Freya home. She is asleep. She won’t notice. Even if she were awake, I’m sure she would enjoy it.”

I could have kissed him for how calm he was being. The urge to plant one on him was growing by the day. Instead, I hugged him, my lips brushed his hair in an almost kiss.

“Be careful, okay?”

“First, let us link.”

“Will you have enough magic?”

“Yes.” His cheeks took on a rosy tint. “I find that I have had a lot more recently.” He placed his hands on my head, forming the link between us. His voice in my mind was so soothing.

Be safe.

Mal got into the car and started it easily enough. His progress across the lot was painfully slow. If he drove like that on the roads, the cops were sure to pull him over. I tried not to worry about that. Mal had plenty of magic. I knew he could charm any officer he came across with ease.

Stop fretting , Mal’s mental voice chastised. I see Salvatore’s car.

Sure enough, the high-end vehicle pulled up in front of me soon after.

Anders was driving. The big bodyguard didn’t say a word, just let me sweat the entire journey to the office building. I wanted to break the silence, but worried that would give me away as being guilty. So I stayed quiet and stewed about it.

Salvatore gestured to the seat I usually sat in when I finally got to the office. I took it and woke the computer up.

“Explain this!” Salvatore barked, pointing at a file folder he’d opened. I deflated from the stress.

“You needed me to get into your competitor’s systems. That’s,” I said, pointing, “the program I’ve been building to do it.”

Much of the fire in Salvatore drained out. “Why didn’t you tell me about the folder?”

“Why didn’t you ask when I said I wanted a night off? I told you there was shit working in the background.”

His anger flamed high once more. “I think you’ve forgotten who you are working for.”

Ry? Do you need me?

Not sure. He’s really unpredictable today.

“I suggest, Mr. Mallory, that you get to work and start delivering results.”

Unsure of how to placate him, I decided to at least look like I was making progress. I hadn’t completely lied to him, I’d built the hack with a timer, so that I could strip more and more files from his system before breaking into the other one.

Half an hour passed with me occasionally typing and clicking the mouse. I was growing frustrated and could feel the tension in the room rise.

“Anders, perhaps you should bring me little Freya and the boyfriend. Maybe then Mr. Mallory will be more productive!”

Fuck.

Do you need me?

What can you do?

I can copy what you’ve been doing to take the files faster, then you can change the timer to do the hack. Let me come. I’ll be invisible.

Please. Get Mrs. Roberts down the hall to watch Freya.

Alright. Be there soon.

“That’s not necessary. I’m just struggling to get this part right without setting off alarms.”

I spent the minutes between Salvatore’s warning and Mal’s arrival sweating. All the while, I typed and clicked, shortening the sequence.

Mal’s familiar scent wrapped around me.

Add my phone and throw as much as you can on there.

Typing in earnest, I connected the device easily. Off to the side, I saw Salvatore frowning.

“Who knew all I had to do was threaten the family? It’s good to see that you have sense.” Salvatore took a seat opposite me. His pale blue eyes were chilling. His next words almost had me freezing in shock. “Did you know my security team rebuilt some of the footage I was asking you about?”

“They did?”

“Yes. They said the interference began normally, as if it were a seasoned pro. Then it vanished like magic.”

I barely restrained my flinch. He knew! He had to.

What do we do?

Nothing. He’s trying to get a rise out of you. Start the hack into the server if you are ready.

“Do you believe in magic, Ryan?” Salvatore asked in an icy voice. His gaze never left my face. It felt like a brand.

“No, isn’t it just sleight of hand like they have at the circus? I was never really into that.” I gave a careless shrug while Mal squeezed my hand, telling me he was still beside me.

“What about the power of crystals?” This was the Scythe side of Salvatore. He was determined to get something out of me. His instincts, or maybe whatever trickle of magic he had, must have been telling him I was up to something.

“Next you’re going to ask me about chakras and other New Age bullshit. Look, I’m nearly in. I need to concentrate if you don’t want me to fuck this up.”

“Continue.” He stood and rounded the corner of the desk to stand beside me just as I broke through the protections. The majority of Salvatore’s files were in my possession. I just needed a few minutes, the exact amount of time I would need in this database.

“Well done,” Salvatore praised when I began copying files over. He sniffed. “Is that a new cologne? You didn’t smell like that earlier.”

Shit. He could smell Mal’s fire and spice scent.

“Ugh, no,” I aimed for embarrassed. “It’s this new deodorant I’m using. I sweat a lot when I’m stressed, and I thought this was gonna go to hell. It activates with sweat.”

Though he didn’t sound convinced, he let the matter drop.

Go, I urged Mal. I’m nearly done. Mal didn’t question me. I felt him move away, then vanish. He assured me he was home and would get Freya as soon as I returned.

A few moments passed in silence. “That’s the files almost copied over, Mr. Salvatore. From what I can see, this is the one you should be most worried about. There are folders with your name on them.”

“Wonderful, Ryan. Thank you for your diligence. I can only wonder why you took so long in the first place.”

This prick. I couldn’t wait to take him down.

Thankfully, with Mal helping around the house, I’d clocked enough hours at work to play with Salvatore’s files too.

A couple of days and I could send them off and wash my hands of this entire thing.

Then I could focus on my family. Maybe even take Mal on a proper date. I couldn’t wait to get home to him.

“It’s not as clean a job. My skills were rustier than I thought. There’s every chance they’ll figure out where the leak came from.”

“Thank you for your time. I apologize for cutting your night short. Some of this information is time sensitive.”

I didn’t care what his reasoning was. I just wanted out of there. “It’s fine.”

“Anders will drive you home.”

Apparently, I was dismissed. I closed all of my programs down, leaving the folder Salvatore wanted open for him to read through.

“Thank you, Ryan. See you again.”

My heart sank, though I knew deep down he wouldn’t let me go until he had to.

The bodyguard trailed me all the way to the car parked out front in the special parking spot. He remained silent throughout our journey to my apartment. Only when we stopped, instead of driving away when I got out, Anders got out too.

We were a short distance away from the car when he spoke.

“Whatever you’re planning, you better do it soon. Hide that gem. He’s getting desperate.”

Icy cold fear ran through me. I didn’t acknowledge the man, just raced inside.

My finger throbbed because of how hard I pushed the button when I called for the elevator. The door opened after a second. I launched myself inside. I needed to check on my family.

Warm arms surrounded me.

“I’ve got you.” Pulling away slightly, I caught sight of those concerned dark eyes. “It’s okay, Ryan. I’ll protect you both.”

Unable to resist it any longer, I pushed into him, locking my lips with his.