Corruption

by Jessica Shirvington

  I nodded. ‘That’s what they say,’ I said, having another idea. ‘Anyway, Gus and I, we rated really high.’

  He beamed. ‘You did? Well, that’s no surprise. You two were always huddled away in the corner.’

  I looked up at him with wide eyes. ‘Please, Darren. There are photos on the computer of Gus and me and … and there’s other stuff … messages he sent me. Love notes. I need to get it off the computer before someone else finds it. I really care about Gus, but I really want to be able to keep my job with the M-Corp family too.’

  Darren watched me for a few moments, his fingers tapping his M-Band, which I knew was programmed to control all the locks. Finally he pressed a few buttons.

  My heart sped up, not knowing if he was helping me or activating some kind of alarm. Subtly I glanced down the street to where Quentin waited in the Ford. At least if I was caught, he would get away. That was the most important thing. And even as I had the thought and acknowledged my obsession, I knew it was true. I had crossed the line. Quentin came first.

  When Darren looked up, it was with a sly wink. ‘Go on, then. I can’t leave my post, but the back door is unlocked. I’ll leave it that way for ten minutes and then I lock it back down. You clear?’

  I nodded excitedly, playing my part. ‘Thanks, Darren. You’re a lifesaver.’

  ‘You tell that boy to straighten himself out if he wants to keep rating with the likes of you,’ he said as I started towards the side street.

  ‘I’ll make sure he knows,’ I called back, before breaking into a jog to reach the back alley of the M-Store.

  Gus and Travis were already there.

  ‘Nice work,’ Gus said as I approached.

  ‘Thanks,’ I said, making a grab for the door.

  ‘I particularly like the part where you made yourself out to be innocent and me to be the guilty bastard.’

  I flashed him a smile. ‘I liked that part too.’

  ‘You two have some kind of backwards relationship going on here, you know that, right?’ Travis said, following us into the M-Store.

  I put a hand on Travis’s chest, halting him. ‘You stay in the alley. Keep watch.’

  He rolled his eyes. ‘I’m not a goddamn guard dog, Maggie.’

  ‘Until I give you back all of your files, you’re whatever I say you are,’ I threw back.

  ‘Maybe she just needs to get laid,’ Travis said to Gus.

  Gus looked horrified. ‘Please!’ He put up a hand. ‘I already have enough mental images for a lifetime of nightmares – there’s no need to add to it.’

  Travis sauntered back out to the alley to keep watch, but not before making a parting comment. ‘When you say nightmares, are you sure you don’t mean fantasies?’

  My face screwed up.

  ‘That dude has got to go, Mags,’ Gus grumbled.

  I nodded even as I got to work, pulling out the zips.

  ‘Oh … money, money, money,’ Gus said, rubbing his hands together.

  ‘Yep,’ I said. ‘But there were two extra zips which had trackers and bugs in them. I’ve already gotten rid of those, but I need you to run a scan on these eight and the game zip to make sure there are no other surprises. Quin’s intel is locked in a file hidden in level two. Can you get that done, along with whatever else you need to, in …’ I checked the time. ‘Eight minutes?’

  Gus sat down without another word and got to work.

  Three minutes in, he had cleared the game zip and all but three of the money zips. ‘These two have action alerts attached to them. If you use them or download the money, it will activate a tracker.’

  I bit my lip. Those two zips contained a lot of money. ‘Can you clean them?’ I asked.

  ‘Sure, but not now. It will take at least an hour to clean each one to ensure I don’t trigger any of the alarms.’

  I pocketed the two suspect zips. ‘Okay, but they’re safe to keep with us?’

  He nodded.

  I pointed to the other zip he’d put aside. ‘That one?’

  ‘That one is bad news. I can’t figure out exactly what it has, but basically it’s like a sleeper. They can activate it any time they want. I wouldn’t have found it if I’d been doing a general sweep; I only discovered it because I’m basically the superhero of hacking.’

  I rolled my eyes as I slipped the suspect zip into my other pocket; I’d dispose of it somewhere soon. I didn’t want to leave evidence behind where Darren could get in trouble. We were already leaving an electronic footprint.

  Gus got on with his other hacking, finding whatever system information he needed in order to get us into the tunnels the next night.

  ‘Okay,’ he said at the seven-minute mark. ‘I’ve got a possible entrance into the neg hub from a tunnel that connects the Court House Metro to an apartment building called Archstone across the road. It looks like a good possibility. Two ways in and out. The metro is public so if you send the negs out that way, it could work.’

  ‘Sounds good, but we’re out of time. Gotta go, Gus,’ I said, tapping his shoulder.

  Gus, never one to argue when it came to saving his own ass, was up in a flash. But before we made it to the back door, we heard the internal office door open and saw the beam of a flashlight.

  Without a second thought, I grabbed Gus and pulled him into a hard kiss.

  I hadn’t told Darren I was going to let Gus into the office. This was all I could think of to make us look believable. And with that thought, I deepened the kiss that had left Gus in a state of stunned shock, and pulled him closer.

  Catching on, Gus suddenly played his part. His hands slid around my back and gripped me tightly as he took control. He dominated the kiss, backing me into the wall. It was overkill, but I wasn’t about to argue right then.

  The sound of someone clearing his throat caused us to stop.

  Keeping up the act, I sheepishly looked around in feigned shock.

  But the shock quickly turned genuine.

  Quentin stood there, arms crossed, glaring at Gus and me. ‘If you two are done, there is an M-Corp patrol that just pulled up out front.’

  ‘Quin, oh my God. It’s not …’ I swallowed my words as he stormed past me.

  ‘Darren won’t be able to keep them occupied forever so I would suggest we leave now.’

  I quickly stepped away from Gus. ‘We thought you were …’

  ‘Save it,’ he said, his expression shutting down as he held the back door open for us. ‘The car is in the alley.’

  I looked to Gus for support, for something … anything. But he just stared at the ground as he followed Quentin’s orders. My stomach sank. Looking into Quentin’s stony eyes, I think he saw my confusion. But right then, it wasn’t enough.

  Sixteen

  The trip back to Travis’s loft was a cocktail of strained and awkward. Even Travis felt the tension and shut up.

  After twenty minutes of backtracking and ensuring we weren’t being followed, we pulled into the garage.

  Gus was out of the car in a flash.

  ‘I’m going out to get a drink,’ he said, running a hand through his hair before pulling on his tweed fedora hat.

  ‘Not a good idea,’ I replied as I grabbed my bag. We needed to stay hidden.

  Gus kept walking towards the door. ‘No offence, Maggie, but it’s midnight and I need a drink. And you two …’ He looked between Quentin and me as if he could see the iceberg forming. ‘You two could do with me going out for a drink too.’

  Travis fell in step behind Gus. ‘The bar down the road is still open and they have a don’t-ask, don’t-tell policy.’

  Gus nodded, sending me a brief smile. ‘See? We’ll catch you later.’

  He and Travis disappeared before I could argue and suddenly Quentin and I were alone with nothing but the awkwardness between us. It was a terrible idea, letting Travis out of my sight, but right then I just didn’t have the energy to drag him upstairs and tie him to a chair.

  Silently I followed Quentin up to the loft
.

  He made a bee-line for the bathroom the moment we got inside, slamming then locking the door. A second later I heard the shower running.

  I closed my eyes briefly, letting the guilt wash through me for a moment. I made my way to the locked bathroom door as my mind played over the events of the night. I’d been on autopilot. Determined to get us through to the next stage. To keep us safe, get the job done, all while ensuring Quentin’s protection. I slid down the door, slumping into a heap on the floor. All in all, the night had been a success. We’d secured the money zips, found and destroyed the trackers and bugs, and managed to get into – and out of – the M-Store unscathed. And yet, why did I feel like I had caused irreparable damage?

  ‘The kiss with Gus meant nothing,’ I said softly against the door. I didn’t know if he could hear me. If he was even listening.

  No answer.

  Somehow that made it easier to go on.

  ‘I thought you were Darren, the security guard, coming to check on me. I’d spun him a story about Gus and me – that he and I were together, and that I was trying to hide any evidence of our relationship. That’s how I got in. But when I heard him coming out the back, I panicked. I wouldn’t have kissed Gus otherwise. I didn’t know it was –’ My words were cut short by the sound of a loud crash.

  ‘Quin? Are you okay?’ I asked, getting to my knees and pressing my ear against the door.

  Another loud crack as something broke.

  ‘Quin!’

  No answer.

  ‘Open the door!’

  I tried the doorknob, but it wouldn’t budge.

  Trying to ignore the sounds coming from the bathroom, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and focused. When I opened them, I was looking right at the lock. It was old – I could easily pick it with the right tool. I ran to the kitchen and grabbed a slim knife.

  The bathroom had gone disturbingly silent, which only made me more desperate to get the door open. Forcing my hands not to shake, I lined up the length of the blade into the narrow socket and levered it until I felt the mechanism turn and the lock click.

  I threw the door open only to stumble back a step, gasping at the sight before me.

  Quentin had his back to me. He was still wearing his jeans, but his shirt was gone and his chest was heaving, his hands bloody and badly cut from the mirror he’d smashed.

  I was shaking, but I managed to stumble towards him. Not knowing what else to do, I threw my arms around him from behind and just held on.

  ‘I’m sorry, Quin,’ I whispered over and over. ‘I’m so sorry.’

  He was still for a moment, although his breathing was still ragged. Tears streamed down my face as I held on, praying that he would talk to me; that I could somehow fix this.

  But, of course, the opposite happened. He straightened rigidly. As if he’d suddenly realised I was there.

  Slowly and instinctively, my arms slid away from him and I took a step back.

  ‘Quin, I … Please talk to me.’ I wished he would just yell at me and get it over with, but somehow I knew it wasn’t going to be that easy. This was about so much more than just a kiss.

  He hung his head.

  ‘I can’t be around you right now,’ he murmured, his words barely audible.

  I took a shaky breath. ‘At least let me clean up your hands?’

  After what felt like a short lifetime, he lifted his head slightly and nodded.

  ‘I’ll get the first-aid kit. Come out to the living room,’ I urged him. When he didn’t turn around, I left him to it, hoping that he would decide to follow.

  As I gathered the first-aid supplies, I heard him turn off the shower. A minute later he walked out of the bathroom, his hands wrapped in a towel.

  He dropped down on the sofa and I took up position opposite him on the coffee table, setting out the antiseptic and bandages.

  ‘Can I?’ I gestured to his hands.

  He held them out and I gently unwrapped the towel, trying to hide my reaction to the deepest cut on his left hand.

  I got to work cleaning the wounds and applying the antiseptic. The worst cut could have done with stitches, but I knew he would say no, so I got busy with the butterfly tape.

  ‘He’s in love with you.’ Quentin’s voice was raspy, like he’d had to force every word.

  I glanced up to deny it. The look on his face quickly stopped me.

  ‘He is. Even if you don’t see it, that doesn’t make it less true.’

  My brow furrowed. Both at his assumption about Gus’s feelings, and that his choice of words implied there was a chance I did see it.

  When I didn’t say anything, he went on. ‘I saw it from the beginning, but I believed in you; that you were telling me the truth when you explained your relationship.’

  I felt my shoulders drop. Well, shit. The truth. Something he’d discovered I could be very selective at telling.

  ‘You don’t trust me,’ I said, knowing I’d given him more than a few reasons to reach that conclusion. And he was now applying it to seeing Gus and me kissing.

  He swallowed, his Adam’s apple working hard.

  ‘I don’t blame you for that,’ I said.

  He flinched as I added another bandage to his hand. They were already turning black and blue.

  Eventually his eyes met mine. ‘Have you rated with him?’

  ‘No,’ I said quickly. ‘Ivy, Nathan and you are the only people I’ve ever rated with until earlier tonight when I had to turn on my Phera-tech at the ball. You saw me turn it off as soon as I could.’

  ‘So you don’t know if you’re a strong compatibility?’

  I shook my head. ‘I don’t know and I don’t care.’ I only cared about him.

  When he didn’t respond, I asked, ‘How did you get into the M-Store anyway?’

  He shrugged. ‘I’m a Mercer. I can go anywhere I want if I’m willing to threaten someone with their livelihood. I told Darren I knew you were in there and that I’d just spotted a random M-Corp patrol. I gave him a chance to save his ass by letting me in, and he took it. If you’d taken a moment to discuss your plan with me before simply casting me aside, I might’ve been able to make the entire process a lot easier.’

  I looked down, properly chastised. ‘I wanted to keep you out of it, in case we got caught.’

  His brow furrowed. ‘And as frustrating as that was, I guess I understood. That is, until …’

  ‘You saw me kissing Gus.’

  The silence spoke volumes.

  ‘Did you feel it?’ he asked eventually.

  ‘What?’

  ‘The way he feels for you.’ His eyes flashed up, giving me a glimpse of his anger. It was rooted deep. ‘He’s good at covering it, but tell me honestly, did you feel it when he was kissing you?’

  My knee shook nervously and Quentin watched it.

  ‘Maybe,’ I said. ‘I don’t know. He’s been pining over Kelsey. She’s the one he cares about.’ But somewhere deep down, a part of me knew exactly what Quentin was referring to. I had felt something different for a few seconds during that kiss.

  ‘You should rate with him, just to find out. So we all know.’

  ‘No.’

  His jaw clenched and he fisted one of his bruised hands. ‘Why?’

  ‘Because it won’t change anything!’ I bit back. ‘I’ll always choose you! I’ll always want to be with you. I know I ruined everything you believed in, but you ruined me too!’ I banged at my chest like a mad woman. ‘If you can’t trust me, I understand. If that means you can’t be with me, I understand that too,’ I said, calming down and taking a deep breath. ‘But it won’t change me. Or the way I feel about you. There will be no turning to someone else. No exploring other ratings or opportunities. For me, it’s simple. It’s either us together. Or me alone.’

  ‘You’re all I have,’ he said, looking away. ‘That’s the way you planned it, right?’

  My heart broke. ‘Yes,’ I whispered. ‘And if I could give you back everything I took, I wo
uld.’

  He shook his head. ‘I don’t want it. I told you that. But … I also don’t want to be fooled again. And you’re so good at what you do, Maggie. And I’m so in love with you that I’m sure I’d follow you blindly off any bridge. And that frightens me.’

  A tear slipped down my cheek.

  He took a shuddering breath. ‘It frightens me that I had to lock myself in a bathroom and beat up a mirror to stop myself from going after Gus and beating up him instead. When I saw his arms around you, his lips on yours right where mine had been less than an hour earlier … I’ve never wanted to hurt a person before, not like that.’ He was drifting away from me, his eyes growing distant with his words. Quentin was putting walls up I had never seen before.

  Another tear escaped as I watched the soul I had tortured so unforgivably finally fall apart and call foul.

  We were one another’s true match, and the science behind the tech proved that true matches were fiercely possessive and protective of one another. My actions proved this as much as his. But even so, I knew Quentin wouldn’t feel this conflicted – even as my true match – if he had faith in me. And with that thought, I knew what I had to do. It was going to break me, but I had no choice.

  ‘You should be frightened,’ I said, straightening to face my fate. ‘I am capable of horrible things, Quin. And I know that in the coming days the chance of me hurting you …’ My words caught in my throat. ‘You’re right not to trust me.’

  Quentin looked up, caught off guard by my admission.

  ‘I haven’t earned it. I’ve done the opposite,’ I continued.

  ‘What are you saying?’ he asked, his tone low, his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

  ‘I’m saying that I’m stepping away. I’m giving you the control when it comes to us.’

  ‘And what am I supposed to do with that?’

  I half smiled. ‘That’s up to you, Quin. But I’ll be here, waiting for you. Forever, if that’s what it takes. So you take your time. I can tell you until I’m blue in the face that I love you with every fibre of my being and that you can trust me to never betray you again. But we both know words only go so far.’