“Code Club is officially canceled,” he said after the silence between us filled the room. “You’ve done well with the school’s site and will be excused from that maintenance as well.”

I kept my face even, but a small part of me mourned the loss. It had never been a Code Club. It was Amber’s and mine. A space of our own. A chunk of time dedicated solely to our passions.

“Fine,” I said, shrugging like it didn’t bother me. In reality, it didn’t. Amber and I were together now; I could see her whenever I wanted. That was a bright ray of hope out of all this twisted darkness.

He stood up, slowly rounding his desk, his eyes on my screen. The one I’d filled with a code box completely irrelevant to his demands. Not that he could read the program language. He pressed the tips of his fingers next to my gear as he leaned down, his face too close to mine.

“Find the source, Mr. Winters. Or I’ll be sure to use the footage I have to press full charges against your sister.”

I narrowed my gaze, never flinching from his too-close presence. “I’ll find it,” I said. “But as I’ve told you for weeks, this kind of hack takes time.” And I sure as hell had dragged it out, waiting until I found the perfect moment to put an end to his downright tyranny.

Tanner stood, re-buttoning his suit jacket and slipping on the agreeable mask he donned on the reg. “Understandable,” he said. “If it takes you longer than normal hours today, I’ll be happy to stay late. And excuse you from future classes.”

I gaped at him. “And the work I have to hand in in order to graduate?”

“You’ll have to make it up.”

The blood in my veins turned to ice.

Now he wasn’t only threatening my sister but my freedom.

You’re fucking with the wrong guy.

I swallowed the words I wanted to say, instead nodding like the good little student he wanted me to be.

He bought it, a self-satisfied smile on his face. “You see?” he asked. “Once you understand that my interests are your best interests, it makes everything so much simpler, doesn’t it?”

Another nod.

He sighed. “That’s all I ever want. Ever think about,” he said, almost like he was speaking to himself now. “For Wilmont students to understand how the real world works. I push you all so hard in order to prepare you for what is to come. My students, past, present, future, they all have one thing in common.”

“What is that?” I asked, trying to keep the bite from my tone.

He blinked a few times, glancing down at me. “They’re winners, Mr. Winters. They learn to succeed. No matter what the cost.”

Or how you push them there.