“Oh, that’s juicy,” she murmurs to herself.
“Shouldn’t you be working?”
“EEEEKKKK!” she shrieks. Her whole body jerks, and the book goes flying into the air before landing with a thud a few feet from her. She scrambles off the ground, clutching her chest with one hand. “Fucking Christ! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
I can’t help but laugh at her accusing tone; the accompanied outrage is just too comical. “Why would I want you dead? I need you to get me what I want first. Speaking of, you don’t look very busy. If you are not working, and you are not searching for the information I want, you must have already found it.”
“It’s not that easy, Quinton. I can’t just go around and hack like I used to. I need to do it a little at a time, change my pattern, let numbers run, and programs do their job. It takes time. More than normal because I can’t let Phoenix find me. If I’m not super careful, he can trace me here.”
“All I’m hearing is a bunch of excuses.”
“It’s the truth. I’m sorry it’s not what you want to hear, but this is going to take time.”
“Fine, take your sweet time. I guess I’ll just have to find something else to keep me busy. I’m sure I will find something or someone to entertain me.” I look down at my short fingernails as if I’m looking for a treasure in my cuticles.
“Threatening me is not helping, and we both know you won’t hurt Aspen.” Brittney crosses her arms over her chest and tips her chin up.
Squaring my shoulders, I take a step toward her, eating up the space between us. “In my experience, threats are the best kind of motivation, and don’t believe for a second, I wouldn’t hurt her to get what I want. I will do whatever it takes to get this information.”
She visibly shudders, but continues to stand her ground. “Like I said, I’m working as fast as I can.”
“I’ll be back soon. Have fun reading your smut book.” I glance at the shirtless guy on the book cover.
“I will,” she huffs defensively and picks up her book like it’s a prized possession.
I definitely understand why she and Aspen get along so well.
Spinning around on my heel, I take a few steps before the librarian calls after me, and my steps falter.
“You might not believe me, but I actually want to help you. I’ll do whatever I can.”
I can hear the promise in her voice, and though I’m not sure why, I believe her.
Making my legs move, I don’t turn back or answer her. Making my way back through the library and to the tunnel connecting to the base. Going from the lavish antique castle library into the plain concrete tunnel is almost depressing, and I wonder why more students don’t spend time up here.
Those thoughts disappear into thin air when I see one particular student walking down the corridor. Her gaze is glued to the floor in front of her, her step quick and precise, like she’s memorized the way to the library to a tee. Only when there are less than five feet between us does she look up.
As soon as she sees me, her feet stop moving, and her body comes to a sudden halt. “Quinton.” My name falls from her lips hesitantly, like she is not sure where we stand right now.
Fuck, neither am I.
Where do we stand?
“Your friend is upstairs, Fiction C-E,” I say, so she knows exactly where I’ve been.
She doesn’t ask why I’m here. I guess she can figure it out on her own.
“Okay… and thank you for getting me the new room.”
“Don’t thank me just yet, Aspen. I told you, you owe me big time for that.” I close the distance between us until her shoulder brushes against my arm. Leaning into her, my nose is so close to her hair, I can smell the flowery scent of her shampoo. “And I’m going to collect… soon.”
Without looking at her reaction, I tear myself away, forcing my legs to carry me down the hall and away from her.
Just thinking about all the ways I’m going to collect that favor has me on edge. I’m going to come for her soon. Very, very soon.
23
ASPEN
Quinton’s warning has me on my toes, so I spend the next couple of hours in the library talking to Brittney to calm down. She’s cataloging books, and I’m helping or trying to help.
I grab a book from the return pile and hand it to her. “I used to think I wanted to be a doctor, so I could help people, but the more I think about it, the more I want to be a librarian.”
Brittney smiles. “You can’t possibly believe how much that means to me.”