Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 63895 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 256(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63895 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 256(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
So he called it quits with Theo, doing to him what Roman had done back in college, blindsiding him with a broken heart.
“I’m sorry, Theo. It’s just, I’ve been feeling the pressure lately. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t important.”
“Shit, I thought you were here to apologize.” Theo crossed his arms and leaned against the arm of the couch. It appeared as if he’d paid an interior designer to design the space, with cream and whites in luxurious materials, highlighted by tall and skinny vases holding three brown stems or a bushel of sawgrass. His old apartment was decorated with a mixture of Walmart and IKEA, far from the designer couch he currently rested against. “Kidding,” Theo continued. “I know you need my help. What’s going on?”
Wyatt took in a deep breath. This would be the hard part. Not only summarizing the wild ride they’d been on up until that point, but also trying to convince Theo to get onto that ride. It was a big ask. Whatever Theo was doing now may have paled in comparison to hacking into a federal prison and unlocking all the doors.
“So,” Wyatt said, reaching the point in the story where the ask would have to be made. “That’s where you come in. Can you help?”
Theo’s jaw cracked open, brows crawling up his forehead in slow motion. He blinked a couple of times, which told Wyatt the shock of his question hadn’t caused a stroke of some kind. “That’s, uhm—holy shit, Wyatt. What the fuck?”
“Yeah, I tend to ask that a lot, too.” Wyatt had moved to the beige love seat, sinking into the cloud-like cushions. Two arching windows flanked him, drenching him in sunlight. He found the warmth comforting. “I know it’s a huge ask, and I don’t have a ton of leverage here… except, well, if we get him and Bang Bang out and we can complete this sunset job, then I can see if we can cut you in on the pot. It’s a life-changing amount of money. Not that you’re doing bad for yourself or anything.”
Theo nodded, shaking off some of the shock. He rubbed his chin, something he’d always do whenever he was deep in thought.
“How much are we talking here?”
“In the billions.”
His eyebrows didn’t crawl up his forehead this time—they leapt. “Really? You’re not lying?”
“No, no lies.” Wyatt filled his lungs with another breath, letting it hiss out. He got flashes back to when Roman was trying to convince him to hack into Yale’s grading system, a delicate dance of coaxing and pleading. He didn’t necessarily like how it felt but knew this had to be done.
“That’s risky. Releasing prisoners like that? I could end up locked up for a lifetime. And who’s going to come and break me out? I didn’t get as lucky as you. I didn’t find someone to have my back, the way you’ve got Roman’s.”
Theo’s unspoken words rang loud and clear: The way I had yours.
“There’s some big risks, but there’s an even bigger payoff.” Wyatt wasn’t entirely sure he could leverage the money from their sunset job, but he wasn’t left with too many options. Even if it had to come out of his own cut, it was fine. As long as he got Theo to help, that’s all he cared about. Without Theo, Wyatt would be back at square one, the rest of his plan shot dead in the water before it could even take off.
And I would have failed Roman.
That thought struck him like a stake right through the heart.
“You know, money isn’t my biggest motivator. Never has been. Scares me, actually. More money really does bring more problems sometimes. So what you’re offering me is problems on problems on problems on more problems.”
Shit. Wyatt was losing him. He saw the thread of hope catching fire, ready to disintegrate into ash. “I’m offering you a challenge with a big payday at the end,” Wyatt said, hoping to appeal to Theo’s drive for competing and besting himself. He’d always been a driven guy; Wyatt remembered that about him, too. His near constant need to come out on top, beating personal records whenever he could for whatever he could.
Theo clicked his tongue. “I don’t know, Wyatt.”
“Please,” Wyatt said, pivoting once again. If he had to drop down on his knees and beg, he’d do it. “I can’t do this on my own. Theo, I need your help. I’m sorry for coming to you like this, after all those years, but I think you’re the only person on this planet who could pull this off.
Theo’s gaze floated over Wyatt, examining him, almost as if he were looking through a microscope. Was he scared there was a catch? That Wyatt had some other ulterior motives for this meeting?
“Did you mean it? When you told me you loved me?”