The Hacker Heiress: Too Late For Regret

e came out thin and shaking. It c

r shoulder. She took this shortcut every night after her shift at the convenience store-a n

ked a third, a senior from Northgate High named Rick. He had more muscle tha

. Her worn sneakers made soft, rhythmic sounds on the cracked pavement.

twisted into a sneer. "Well, look what we have here. It's the frea

terrified girl, whose face was wet with tears. "You c

itated. Her

girl flinched, then scrambled sideways along the wall and

any challenge. "You bitch," he snarled, lunging forward.

, throwing Rick off balance. Before he could recover, her elbow drove into the soft spot und

g low, sending one sprawling onto the grimy pavement. The other reached for her, and she caught his wrist, t

. Three boys, all bigger and heavier

ed down, her face unchanged. She patted his cheek with her fing

y a whisper. It cut through his pain like ice.

f a broken shelf. Rick's eyes went wide with terror as she held it in front of his face. With steady, easy p

eft. Scrambling, crawling, sobbing, the three

her walk home as if nothing had happened. On the way, she stopped at the 24-hour pharmacy. The fluorescent lights made her skin

she said, her voic

. The cold mask she wore in the world dissolved, replaced by a gentle warmth. She

door open. "Gra

len was on the old floral sofa, but she wasn't alone. Across from her sat a man and a woman, bo

held worry and something

Aria from head to toe. The woman, Melissa Sinclair, glanced at Aria's simple

n Sinclair, asked. His voice was deep an

. She had never used that las

a's. "Sweetheart," she said, her voice thick with t

file. He laid it on the coffee table. On the cover was a crest

said, his gaze intense. "We've been

le and looked at her grandmother, h

he gave a small, heartbreakin