Page 10 of Money Reigns

Leslie glances at me, then behind us, and smirks slightly. “Try to ignore it,” she murmurs under her breath.

I blink. “What?”

She leans in, typing something on the keyboard as she speaks. “War. He stares. It’s a thing.”

My chest tightens.

“I wasn’t imagining it then,” I say quietly.

“Nope,” Leslie replies. “He watches everything.Everyone.It’s how he processes. Creepy at first, then you sort of… get used to it.”

I nod slowly, though nothing about it feels easy to get used to.

“So… he just watches everyone?” I ask, keeping my voice low. “Is he, like… Wesley’s boss or something?”

Leslie chuckles under her breath. “No. If anything, Wesley’s been trying to get War to stop hovering for years.”

She shrugs, pulling up a new tab. “Go ahead and enter your password here.”

I shift my focus back to the screen and type in:Bakers_Brood

A soft laugh slips from me. “My mom used to call us the Bakers Brood growing up because of our last name, Baker. We’re not that big, really. Just a family of five, but—”

“Don’t use your last name in your password,” Leslie cuts in gently, her tone firmer now. “And don’t share it. Withanyone.”

My face flushes hot. “Right. Of course,” I mumble, eyes dropping to the screen.

Rookie mistake.

Leslie gives a small nod and clicks into the next field. “Let’s go ahead and try a new password.”

I pause, hands hovering over the keyboard for a second.

I can feel his eyes.

Then I backspace slowly, each letter of Bakers Brood disappearing one by one, before typing a secure password, one I know no one would be able to pick apart.

I hit enter.

The confirmation screen blinks green.

I exhale.

“…Is he still watching me?” I ask, voice barely above a whisper.

Leslie glances, smirks, and turns back to me.

“Yep.”

Chapter five

War

Ishouldn’t still be watching her.

But I am.

I’ve been watching her for ten minutes now.