1
“You’ll not be trying to run away, you foul maggot,” Noah Kelly hissed, his teeth barely parting as the words leaked out. “I’ll see you dead.”
“Now don’t you be letting the bosses catch you talking like that,” Finn Brennan growled, nudging his computer mouse. His wrist flicked in tight, controlled jerks even as his left hand hammered the keyboard. “There. Igothim.”
“Youstolemy kill.” Noah shot a disgusted look at his best friend and fellow intern at REKD Gaming.
“‘Tis a lie, you?—”
“Language,” Sona Rafferty warned, sternly amused as she walked past them in the game section of the complex’s cafeteria.
“I didn’t even say anything yet,” Finn muttered, his lips barely moving.
“Let’s finish it.” Since Noah’s cousin and current supervisor Sona had returned, the lunch break must be almost over.
Two minutes later, they won with a pentakill for Finn.Noah leaned back and stretched, vertebrae popping as he worked the tight kink out of his shoulders and spine. Being required to play the online battle arena game, REKD, was one advantage of employment. The lunchtime games often turned tense, but it was a different kind of stress from his usual day of work and classes at the university. It made for a nice change.
“You decided yet when you’re going back to Ireland this summer?” Noah asked.
“My dad got my ticket for August.” Finn made a face. “Not all of us can afford to have our family come to visit us in America.”
“Now don’t you be digging at me like some of the other interns.” Noah couldn’t help being related to one of the company’s founders through marriage. He was proud of the connection. Puffing out his chest, he grinned. “You should be thanking me and my family connections for your job here.”
“Bragging again?” someone muttered as he brushed past. His shoulder hit Noah hard enough to send him off balance.
Noah stumbled a half-step, his foot scraping against the floor as he caught himself. By the time he’d straightened and scanned the room full of employees who were returning to work, he couldn’t tell which one might have shoved him. And ithadbeen a shove. The impact still tingled faintly through his shoulder. Incidents like it were happening more often, and it was getting his Irish up, a hot coil tightening in his gut. He glanced at Finn, who was furiously typing into his phone.
“Did you see that?” Noah asked.
Finn shook his head, his fingers flying, eyes locked on the screen. He did one final click and looked at Noah. “What?”
Noah explained, rubbing his shoulder for emphasis, heat still radiating through the muscle. In a sympathetic gesture, Finn called the unknown attacker a name in Gaelic.
“But in case your memory failed you, I got my job on my own,” Finn added as he stood, the chair legs rasping softly against the floor.
“You coming?” Sona called from the elevator to the security section where she helped handle the company’s cybersecurity. She kept her voice professionally firm but she had an understanding twinkle in her eyes.
“Aye.” Noah grabbed his backpack.
“She looks to be on a mission.” Finn shot himan I’m-glad-I’m-not-youglance.
Now wary, Noah jogged to join his cousin in the elevator, the doors whispering shut behind them. Being related to the wife of one of the founders of the company had turned out to be both a blessing and a curse. Sona and her husband had awarded him and Finn full scholarships to Appalachian State University through one of their charities and then hired them both.
They weren’t interns in the traditional sense. That was just what REKD Gaming chose to call its part-time employees. Fortunately for Noah, the company didn’t have a specific anti-nepotism policy, but the HR staff took care in overseeing how they applied it when employees were related, especially when one supervised another. That was probably why Sona had been extra strict with him.
“I need to talk with you before you get back to work,” she said as they entered the cybersecurity section.
“Sure.” Noah wiped his hands on his jeans, wondering what was up now.
It’d been a challenge to work under Kayn, and especially Sona, maybe because Noah knew them both so well now. They seemed to expect more from him than the other interns, even Finn. Noah felt like he had to be more productive,more accurate, and have a better attitude, like he was always being measured against a yardstick no one else could see.
But maybe it was just him not wanting to disappoint them. He was grateful for the experiences they’d given him so far. Many interns here moved on to jobs elsewhere while others found permanent employment with the company, something Noah hoped for.
He followed her into her office, surprised to find Joe Brooks already there. His broad frame filled the corner chair, the dark fabric of his suit stretching over his shoulders. He was usually assigned as bodyguard to one of the company’s founders when they traveled outside of Boone, North Carolina. Noah slowly sank into a chair opposite him. What did it mean that he was here?
Joe chuckled softly. “Don’t worry. You’re not in trouble.”
Noah’s shoulders loosened a fraction, but he couldn’t shake a sense of foreboding that he wasn’t going to like whatever Sona had in mind.
