Liam's POV
Seth caught it and sighed, theatrical as ever. "Look, we're pros here. Employers aren't people - they're NPCs in a game. Whenever I approach her, I get a new task alert. I walk up, get a quest, finish it, cash out. Done. Sure, late nights, when I'm beat, I might jerk off while looking at her before crashing - but it's all business. Nothing more, Liam."
I blinked, thrown. "Wait, you jerk off over the survaillance video?"
He shrugged, casual as if we were discussing the weather. "Who wouldn't? Look at her! She's a goddamn knockout. Any guy with a pulse would twitch. Doesn't mean I'd act on it."
He scratched his head, squinting at the screen. "Come to think of it, I barely see her sleep. She's always on, like she doesn't need rest."
That hit me like a spark. "That's exactly what I wanted to ask about," I said, leaning in, my voice low. "She's not normal, Seth. She took down two thugs with one hand - barely blinked. She's too confident, too perfect…" My eyes flicked to the screen again, her beauty a taunt I couldn't shake.
Seth arched a brow. "And? What's your question?"
I hesitated, my pulse hammering. "Do you think… maybe she's a vampire?"
He stared, then barked a laugh that bounced off the pipes. "A vampire? Like some Twilight bullshit? You serious?"
"I don't know!" I shot back, defensive. "That's why I'm asking you!"
"No chance," he said, still chuckling. "Vamps are night crawlers - sun turns ‘em to ash. Leah's out in daylight all the time."
"What if she's, like, a high-level one? One that can handle the sun?"
Seth rolled his eyes. "You're seriously pushing my buttons here. Okay, so, say she's a vamp. Ever seen her chug blood? When you're driving her around?"
I faltered, a weak laugh escaping me. "No, not outside…"
"Or here," he added. "I'd have noticed. You're just fried, man. Hallucinating. Go crash somewhere."
"But she's not like any human being I've met," I insisted, stubborn now.
He smirked, leaning closer. "Okay, genius - vampires hate garlic, right? Tomorrow, when you're making her coffee, toss in a couple cloves. See what happens."
I froze, my stomach lurching. "That's… a bad idea. What if she is one and rips my throat out?"
Seth grinned wider. "You're down here with me, yapping about this crap while I'm working. Aren't you scared I'll rip your throat open?"
I barely heard him, my eyes darting to the screen. "Speaking of ... do you know who that guy is with her?"
He squinted at the screen. "No clue. Old flame, maybe? If it was her ex, they'd be clawing each other's eyes out. She despises that prick."
The air-conditioning hummed too loudly in the storage room, but I leaned closer anyway. "Do you know who Leah's ex-husband is?" I asked Seth, my voice low enough to drown in the ventilation's rattle.
He didn't look up from the Twizzlers package he was ripping open. "Don't know, don't wanna know," he said, the plastic crinkling like a threat. "In this business, curiosity's just a faster route to a body bag." A red licorice strand dangled from his fingers as he offered me one.
I shook my head, the motion sharp enough to make my temples throb. "Aren't you even curious?" The words tasted metallic. "What if he's dangerous? What if..."
Seth bit into the Twizzler with a snap. "Truth?" He chewed slowly, eyes fixed on the security monitors flickering in the corner. "I don't give a damn about her ghosts. Leah pays me to build firewalls, not dig up graves." His laugh was dry, humorless. "Yeah, she's got that mom vibe... All 'honey, fix this' and 'sweetheart, do that'. But you know what? I like my mom. Hell, I'd take a bullet for her. So when Leah asked me to create a fake identity? I did it. No fucking questions."
A moth buzzed against the lone fluorescent light above us. I gripped the edge of the workbench, splinters biting into my palms. "This isn't about questions," I said. "That man... He showed up from nowhere and he might be dangerous to Leah. Can't you just wave your hack wand and find out who he really is?"
For the first time, Seth turned to face me. His pupils were dilated, black holes swallowing the blue. "Family protects family," he said, quieter now. The Twizzler hung limp in his hand. "You start picking at her scars, Liam? You'll bleed first."
The monitors hissed static. I wondered if he could hear my pulse.
Seth's gaze hardened and continued. "And I'm afraid you've got a misunderstanding of my magical hack wand.
People like me can dig out everything, but that's exactly why we don't dig into private shit without cause. Everyone's got skeletons - leave 'em buried."
I sighed, deflated. Something about Darren gnawed at me, but I couldn't pin it. "Fine. I just… I don't know."
"What, you think he's a vamp too?" Seth teased. "Or just jealous he's where you wanna be?"
I stood, exhaustion crashing over me like a wave. "Forget it. I'm heading back... gonna pop some melatonin and pray for sleep."
"He was in jail once. County Jail. That's the only thing I can tell you," Seth said, looking smug.
I stared at the screen. The man on the screen twisted boss up like a knot and fucked her relentlessly. I knew that man was no good. I knew it from first sight. Why would boss have to be with an ex-con scumbag? She deserves someone way better than that. I clenched my fists.
Seth smirked, nodding at the screen. "Wanna stay and watch the show? As far as I know, live porn beats melatonin."
I waved him off without looking back, climbing the glowing stairs with Leah's image still searing my brain. Vampire or not, this place - and everyone in it - was screwing with me. All I wanted was darkness, silence, and a chance to forget.