Page 37 of A Cursed Heart
Still, I put on the performance of my life trying to fix it. I even added in some choice curse words until my pretend frustration got the better of me and Sloane’s nerves, and he set me on my other task.
The first database had pathetic encryption. I could have broken it in my sleep. My acting skills came into play once more. I opened my program, making it look like it was a tool to get into the competitor while I siphoned off files to my phone. It was all written in code, so unless Salvatore was a hidden code genius, who wouldn’t have needed me in the first place, then I was safe.
I was determined not to break into any of his competitors or the company trying to take him down. The less crimes I had to hide, the better. If I could pretend to be rusty or just incapable, all while copying pretty much everything Salvatore had onto my phone, then I’d be free and clear in about a week. Decrypting the files on my own computer would take the longest unless Mal could help me with magic.
I can try.Mal’s voice was the only thing that got me through it all.You should be proud of yourself. Your acting was impressive.
I didn’t take a full breath until I was in the elevator heading up to my apartment. My limbs felt heavy, my mind jittery from all the stress.
When I opened the door, he was there, his arms waiting for me. I collapsed into him.
“Not sure I can do this,” I whispered, exhausted.
“You can, Ryan. And I’ll be by your side every step of the way.”
