Page 66 of The Other Side
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Ibolted through the carriage house to make it back to the lounge where Chance and I had agreed to meet. If my legs were long enough to have taken the stairs two steps at a time, I would have. I dumped my laptop on my bed and rushed up the trapdoor stairs.
“You brilliant, beautiful woman!” Chance pulled me into his arms the second I made it into the lounge, swinging me around so forcefully, my feet left the ground for a moment before meeting the floor once more.
“You got in?” I tilted my face up to look at his expression, still in his embrace.
“Because of you and your connections and your clever mind and your perfect scheme,” he panted, a bit breathless in his excitement.
And that was when I realized how close we were. My body was flush against his, his lips a mere breath away from my own. His blue-grey eyes searched mine, and I knew what permission he was seeking. His lips parted, but I couldn’t do it. I pulledback before he could make the move. I didn’t want him to feel rejected.
Throbbing guilt weighed heavy in my chest, and my throat felt tight.
I wanted him to kiss me.
I wanted to kiss him.
But I was still too scared.
“Have you found your smoking gun yet?” I asked cheerfully, knowing I was doing a shit job of playing off just how charged the air remained between us.
“Not yet.” Chance shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips, but it was a sad smile, not the one filled with glee that he had sported only moments ago.
I had done that to him.
I had stolen his joy.
And I hated myself for it.
“How can I help?” I tried to dispel the awkwardness permeating the lounge.
“I’ll load some of his files on a flash drive, and you can look on your computer.”
“I might forget to save them,” I joked, jabbing him playfully in the ribs.
“I could hear everything—you were a force to be reckoned with. You had him wrapped around your finger in two seconds flat.” Chance lightened up a little, plugging the flash drive into Daniel’s laptop.
I quickly snatched my laptop from my room and hurried back up the stairs. “What are you going to be doing while I dig through his files?”
“Sorting through his emails.”
“Can’t they see that someone is digging around in there?” I asked, taking a seat next to him on the couch, rather than my usual spot at the study table.
He cocked his head, watching me, as if he was considering asking me why I had chosen that particular spot. And if he had, I definitely wouldn’t have told him the truth, that even though I was sure I would be the worst thing that could happen to him (maybe I already was), I liked being close to him.
“I’m using a VPN while logging in, which I think will offer enough encryption to look like it’s just a random person, if they notice, rather than a targeted effort. It’s not foolproof, but I doubt any of the local guys would be able to decrypt it easily,” Chance offered.
He laughed when he saw how wide my eyes were at his complicated explanation.
“I’ve been doing my own research, and I want to keep us protected. Just because we think we’re doing the right thing doesn’t mean the authorities will see it that way.”
“Better safe than sorry, I suppose.” I took the flash drive from him and plugged it into my laptop. “Does the school know this laptop still exists?”
Chance shook his head. “The police assumed he had it on him when he went missing.”
“Are they going to know you have it turned on?”
“They shouldn’t be able to; once I’m logged in, I’ll work offline.”
