Rory

by Saskia Walker

  George winked, lightening the mood. “Your dad would’ve felt his responsibility was to draw a line for you. Besides, it would’ve been weird for the adults. But if the chemistry is there, and you’re sharing the same living space, it’s hard to ignore.”

  “The only way was to leave.”

  “That’s why you came to London?”

  “Partly. We were headed here anyway, until my dad got sidetracked.”

  “So, did she follow you?”

  “No.” Even as he denied it, it made him wonder. He shook it off. “It was a coincidence. She didn’t know where I was.”

  “But when you hooked up again, something happened.”

  Rory nodded and stood up. “I figured it was something we had to do, to get past it. But I still want her. In fact, its worse.”

  George put his hand on Rory’s shoulder and squeezed. “And the little lady, does she want more?”

  Rory rolled his eyes. “She flipped when I tried to leave without making ‘another date’.”

  “So, did you make ‘another date’?”

  Rory nodded. He was about to say something about his mixed feelings regarding dating, when he became aware of someone standing in the entrance to the workshop, casting a shadow.

  Tension beaded up his spine. He turned toward the shadow.

  A lad was standing there under the arched entrance, a lad of no more than fifteen years old. Rory stood up and eyeballed him, assuming it was someone from Jackson’s set. “You need something?”

  The lad was tall and lanky and had his fists shoved in his pockets. “Can I take a look around?”

  Rory noticed his eyes were kind of spacey, like he was on something.

  “Course you can,” George called out across the floor of the workshop, rising to his feet. “Just don’t touch anything. We don’t own these bikes, we’re just fixin’ them.”

  The lad strolled in and peered around. He had dirty blond stripes in his hair, like a dye job had gone wrong, and his running shoes were well worn. Rory returned to the bike he was servicing, but watched the lad like a hawk.

  The stranger looked everywhere, but not at Rory.

  Rory couldn’t be sure, but he didn’t seem as if he’d been sent as a threat.

  George followed Rory. “Don’t look so concerned,” he said in a low voice. “That was you a year ago, wandering in for a look around.”

  Rory was taken aback, but when he thought about it he realized it was true.

  He’d been looking at the stranger with suspicion, but it’s exactly how he’d wandered in a year before—a youth with a passion for bikes, drawn by awe to the workshop under the arches, the one filled with rows of classic bikes and an owner who looked like he’d escaped from Hell’s Angels or ZZ Top.

  Jackson had done this to him, that and the existence of his USB tool kit.

  His decision to go straight had set hounds on his heels and it colored his judgment of every damn thing. It had to stop. The decision to finish with the hacking was the right one, but Jackson’s pursuit of the toolkit was getting in the way. Rory had two choices, give Jackson the kit, or do as Sky suggested and destroy it in front of him. With a silent vow, he made his decision.

  “I guess you’re right,” he responded to George, eventually. “It is a bit like me wandering in. What the hell did you ever see in me?”

  George laughed and winked. “Beats me.”

  * * * *

  Sky lit up inside when she saw Rory approaching the Coffee Hut.

  God, he was gorgeous. Memories of the night before made her body react, her pulse racing, anticipation and desire filling her. It felt surreal, because she needed this, the sight of him approaching, but she didn’t want to need anyone, especially a man. He’d won her over from the first moment though, with those intense green eyes, that brogue and his craggy bone structure. There was a risky side to him too, and it called to her. She didn’t have an option. She craved him.

  Glancing at her watch she noticed he was a little early.

  “And there was me thinking you wouldn’t turn up,” she said when he stood by at one side of the Coffee Hut. She put a cap on the coffee she’d been making and handed it over to the customer.

  Rory didn’t say anything but waited there, looking at her with a frown.

  She moved closer and leaned over the counter. “I’ll be done in about fifteen minutes.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m going to have to cancel.”

  Her heart sank. Instantly, her emotional armor locked into place. “Right. I see.”

  “It’s not you—”

  “It’s me,” she interrupted, annoyed. “Oh please, Rory, don’t even insult me with cliché rejections.”

  “No.” He closed in, reached up and over the serving shelf, grabbing her hand in his. Squeezing her tightly he shook his head, as if to make sure she felt the weight of his denial.

  She eased her hand from his, still not sure.

  “Come out here. I can’t talk to you properly over this bloody counter.”

  Sky’s heart beat fast and hard, her arousal levels soaring. She glanced at her two co-workers. They were both busy but the queue wasn’t long.

  A moment later she was outside the wagon and Rory strode over to her and took her into his arms.

  The way he held her made her weak and vulnerable and yet, against all her better judgment, she wanted to feel all those things. He looked so intense, so bloody hot, it was impossible to ignore him.

  “It’s not you or me. I have something I must take care of.” He dropped his chin, lifting his brows and staring at her meaningfully. “I need to dispose of the USB properly. I’m going to do as you suggested and I need to do it quickly.”

  Even though it made sense, she couldn’t help reacting badly. What if it was a cover story and he was meeting a girlfriend? It was pretty convenient to mention the USB again. “Okay.”

  “I’ll call you later this evening, we’ll rearrange.”

  She shrugged, not trusting herself to say anything in case she embarrassed herself.

  “Sky,” he whispered, stroking her hand. “You know I have to do this, right?”

  Emotions tangled her thoughts. “Why now? We had a date.”

  “We still do.”

  “You said as much on the tube,” she blurted, “and you were going to walk away. If I hadn’t taken your bag I never would’ve seen you again.”

  His eyebrows lifted. “I can’t believe you said that.”

  “That’s what it felt like!”

  Frowning heavily, he shook his head. “I would’ve walked away to keep you safe. That was the only reason, and it’s the reason I’m doing it now.”

  Suddenly embarrassed at her outburst, she folded her arms across her chest.

  “I’d like to cook you a meal, tomorrow night. Something that’s not pizza. I’m concerned about you.”

  “Playing the concerned big brother now?” It came out as a knee-jerk reaction and she regretted it immediately

  He glared at her. “Maybe, maybe I am.”

  Her mood dipped again. The last thing she wanted was to play happy families. They’d had to do it for far too long already. She stared at the floor. She knew she was being childish but she couldn’t help herself. The thing she wanted most in the world was to impress him as a woman, an independent woman, and he had her in such a state she couldn’t even do that.

  Rory shifted. Suddenly his hand was around the back of her neck and his thumb was under her chin, forcing her to look up at him.

  Shocked and dizzy with arousal, her lips parted.

  “Believe me, there’s nothing I want to do more than take you home and bang you all night long.”

  Gasping, she sucked breath in to her lungs.

  “There’s something I have to take care of first though.” He stared into her eyes.

  The promise she saw there made her melt. “Yeah, yeah. Trashing the USB with an audience.”

  He almost cracked a smile.

  Mustering herse
lf, she leaned into him. “Maybe I can come along and help?”

  The half-smile vanished. “No, no way.”

  “I’d make good back up.” She lifted her shoulders. “I can make myself look big.”

  He sighed. “I want you to stay out of it. Trust me, please?”

  She nodded, but her mind raced. “Okay.”

  “Look, we’ll rearrange. What time do you finish making coffee for commuters tomorrow?”

  “I’m on a later shift. I finish at seven.”

  “I’ll be here to meet you when you’re done.” She was on her tiptoes, ready for the kiss when it came.

  He cupped her face. His mouth on hers only made her crave more of him.

  The way he held her head in both his hands made her want to wrap her legs around his hips. Pressing closer still, she ran her hands under his leather jacket to feel his muscled back.

  “Tomorrow,” he promised as he drew away. “I’ll come back.”

  She pursed her lips, wanting to say a dozen things, knowing it would be wrong to say any of them. Was he seeing someone else? Was the USB thing really what he was doing or was that a convenient excuse? She had to know. He wouldn’t answer her questions though, so there was only one way to be sure.

  She mustered a smile and headed back into the wagon, glancing over her shoulder as she did so. “See you tomorrow.”

  He nodded, but lingered a moment as if unconvinced she’d understood or believed him—as well he might—and then he glanced at his watch and shot off.

  Even as he turned away, Sky was undoing her apron and reaching for her coat.

  “Can you manage the last few minutes of the shift without me?” she said to her two workmates. “I’ll owe you an exchange, double time.”

  They nodded. A double exchange was always a good deal.

  She was out of there in a flash and on Rory’s tail before he left the station.

  Mostly it was curiosity.

  Then there was the unfulfilled desire to spend time with him.

  On that account, she’d been robbed.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Rory couldn’t shake the feeling he was being followed.

  Jackson and his cronies had him on edge.

  Then there was Sky. She’d looked upset, and it hit him hard. Guilt hammered at his back when he walked away. It’d always been that way with Sky, like there was some force urging him to sort things out—to make her smile again if she was unhappy. Whenever she’d kicked off and got angry he’d wanted to reach out and soothe her. If something upset her, he wanted to remove the cause. It was worse now though, he was sure of it. His reactions to her were even more difficult to ignore. Shouldn’t have slept with her.

  He hastened through the crowded city streets, looking briefly over his shoulder when he took a side street. The building site he was headed for loomed up ahead. Taking a deep breath, he pulled his collar higher and jogged the rest of the way, wanting it done.

  Glancing up, he could make out the outline of the building against the darkening night sky. There were no lights visible inside or outside the shell of a building, other than what reached it from the street lights and neighboring buildings. The hotel construction had been halted mid-build when the company went bust, which meant the partial construction stood gaunt and skeletal above the hoardings, awaiting a new investor. Meanwhile, a small, like-minded community of computer hackers had moved in and set up a hub on the second floor.

  Rory had vowed he’d never set foot in this place again, but there was a purpose to the visit. He skirted the advertising hoardings surrounding the site, found the loose panel that served as an entrance. It had been marked out by a graffiti letter H inside two triangles, Jackson’s sign. He eased the panel open, dropping it back into place behind him as he stepped in. A makeshift path of plywood boards ran toward the building, sunk in the churned mud and barely visible unless you knew where they were and where they led.

  Once inside it was a difficult but familiar path through dark concrete corridors littered with trip hazards, including abandoned bags of plaster, building supplies and general human detritus. Rory used his phone torch as he sought corners, flicking it off in between times. Within minutes he’d mounted the treacherous concrete stairs and was on the second floor. Wind whistled through the open corridors and when he glanced to his right he could see through torn plastic sheeting to the city beyond, alive and spreading out from this eerie and silent cement sentinel in its midst.

  The abandoned building was far too familiar. He’d walked through its lonely, sorry corridors many times, but it was only one of several they used, changing from site to site on an agreed timetable to avoid being tracked down by the cyber crime division. It didn’t rest easy on him, coming back here, not since he’d broken with the pack. It’d been a big mistake, one he regretted every day since.

  The three of them had hitched up with Jackson and a few other hackers shortly after they arrived in London. A couple of guys in the group were Parkour fanatics and hunted down good places to freerun. Word of mouth led them to this abandoned hotel project, where they discovered they could log into wifi sources in the surrounding streets and find hotspots. Wiring had been installed in certain areas for the builder’s use, which meant they were able to activate power for brief periods of time. They kept a calendar, staggering the days they used each site on their circuit. As long as they kept their heads down and no lights were visible from outside, they had a good base for a hub, a place where they could share ideas and pool resources. It’d been kind of fun, for a while. As yet, the cyber crime division hadn’t tracked the on-off location down. It wouldn’t be long before they did though.

  The steady, upbeat thump of drum and bass music met Rory’s ears as he made his way. The gateway to the hub was up ahead, a couple of big slabs of board bolted together and pushed across the opening. They took their life in their hands every time they opened the bloody thing. Rory shoved the lump of wood to one side and climbed through the narrow gap he’d made.

  Dino was there, Jackson’s main man. He hunched over a laptop set up on a makeshift table, but a glance at his screen revealed Dino was busy with a multiple player online game. A quick look around informed Rory there was six others at work. Three didn’t even lift their heads, but he recognized Jackson’s cronies. There were two girls huddled together over one laptop he didn’t recognize. People came and went here though, teens attracted to the community. Most of them went back to family homes after they’d had their adventure and trodden dangerous paths. The core people were always the same.

  “Well, well…look what the cat dragged in.” Dino pushed back his battered office chair—a salvaged item from a dumpster—and spun it to face Rory. “To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?” he added, sarcastically.

  Rory scanned the place again, making sure he hadn’t missed anything. “Jackson around?”

  “Otherwise engaged.” Dino looked him up and down expectantly. “Thinking of coming back to the fold?”

  Rory shook his head. “Nope. I’m happy fixing bikes.”

  Dino shook his head and gave an exaggerated laugh. “Your loss. But you’re being sensible and you’ve brought your kit as a parting gift, right?”

  Rory noticed the others in the room had sat up and were paying attention. “If you were any good as a hacker, Jackson wouldn’t even need my kit,” he replied, avoiding the question. “If you stopped gaming,” he gestured at the laptop, “and tried harder, then maybe Jackson wouldn’t miss me so badly.”

  Dino narrowed his eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself. He doesn’t really need you, he just wants potential competition off the market.”

  Rory let that pass. Dino aspired to be as good as Rory on a computer, they all did, but Rory had a knack. Computers had intrigued him since he was a little kid. His first PC was an abandoned Mac his uncle had chucked out into the back garden. Rory rescued it and took it apart, learning how the thing was put together. When he rebuilt it, it started working again. That was the
start of it for him. Everything from then on was self taught, and passed on to Sean. He spent hours on the net learning about computers and repair and development. The next step was to learn how the software was designed, and that’s when he got really into it “Are you expecting him back soon?”

  Dino shrugged, and reluctantly pushed a notepad Rory’s way. “Wanna leave a message?”

  “Just tell him I was here and I’ll be back.”

  One of the two new girls was on her feet and wandered over. “You’re the Rory I keep hearing about?”

  “Yes, and if you’ve got any sense you’ll do as I did and get the hell out of this.” Her eyes rounded. She looked as if she were taking him seriously, so he added a bit more fuel. “Don’t get suckered in by Jackson, he claims he wants to make a community here. He just wants to make cash for his own pockets.”

  With that he turned on his heel and left.

  Leaving the building, unease crept up his back. He wished it’d been done. As he came out from behind the hoarding panel he glanced up and down the street, checking to see if anyone watched. That’s when he saw a slight figure standing in the doorway opposite, hands shoved in pockets, peeping out from the steps leading up to the door.

  What the hell? Rory stepped back against the hoarding. It took a moment before he believed what he was seeing. Passing car headlights illuminated the watcher, assuring him he was seeing right. It was Sky standing there, collar up against the night, peeping around the corner at him as he emerged from the hoardings.

  Quickly, he strode over to her, dodging the traffic as he went. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “Waiting for you. I, um, followed you.”

  “Obviously.” He glanced down the street in the direction of the tube station. That was the direction Jackson would come from if he returned “What the hell for?”

  “I wanted to know where you were going.”

  Furious at her for taking such a risk, he found himself raising his voice. “Not clever, Sky, not clever at all!”

  She shrugged, like it was nothing.

  “For fuck’s sake, what the hell were you thinking of?”