Abigail
Nothing like a bit of bad news to yank you out of a fairy tale.
We sat cross-legged on Annette’s bed, staring at her computer screen. Outside her room, River and Angel were bugging Finn with questions.
My heart ached to be out there with them, but I had barely fifteen days until my parents’ case was archived, and I needed every opportunity I could get.
"The tracker is back online," Annette said, pointing at the map on her main screen.
"And it’s pinging from Gavin’s ho address. That ans the phone is with him right now."
I stared at the blinking red dot, my stomach twisting into knots.
"It was off for so long. Why is it suddenly on? That feels...suspicious. Like they’re taunting us."
Annette nodded, gnawing on her lower lip as her fingers flew across the keyboard. "I think they finally cracked it.
That guy Gavin was working with must have managed to access the files on Cole’s phone. They probably switched the tracker back on to see if they could use it as bait."
I rubbed my temples, trying to think clearly.
"Can you hack into it and pull the data?"
"I tried," she huffed, her eyes crinkling with frustration. "It’s heavily encrypted now. They’ve added layers I can’t bypass remotely. But even if they wipe the mory, I can still recover most of it if we get physical access to the device. We just need the phone itself."
The idea of going after Gavin again made my skin crawl. He had already killed Cole. He had tried to kill . He had threatened Annette. The thought of putting her in danger again made feel physically sick.
"We can’t risk it right now," I murmured. "Let’s just monitor the location, and if it moves or stays still, we’ll figure out what to do. But we don’t go near it until we have a solid plan and backup."
"An to that, sister. I’ll set up alerts for any movent. If the phone heads anywhere near us or the penthouse, we’ll know instantly."
I exhaled a long breath, leaning back against the headboard.
"Thank you, Annie. I don’t know what I’d do without you."
She bumped her shoulder against mine.
"You’d be lost. But luckily, you have . And Finnegan now, too, apparently."
I smiled softly, my chest going all warm and gooey inside. A soft knock rapped on the door.
"Co in," I called.
Angel poked her head in, her green eyes bright with curiosity. "Hey! What are you two doing? Secret girls’ talk without ?"
We quickly snapped the laptop shut. I didn’t want Finnegan to find out about the tracker yet. He was already carrying too much.
"Just chatting," I said with a warm smile.
"What’s up, troublemaker?"
Angel bounded into the room and flopped down on the bed between us. "I was thinking... we should do a girls’ day out! Just the four of us — , you, Aunt River, and Annette. Shopping, lunch, maybe a spa day. No boys allowed. We can complain about how grumpy Dad is and eat way too much ice cream."
I grinned, already loving the idea. "That sounds perfect. I’m in."
Angel’s eyes sparkled. "Yes! We can get matching outfits and snap selfies."
From the doorway, Finnegan’s deep voice rumbled. "And what about ?"
Angel turned and stuck her tongue out at him. "You have Uncle Henry! Go do silly man stuff with him. This is girl ti."
Finnegan leaned against the doorfra, arms crossed, his erald eyes glinting with amusent. "I see how it is."
I laughed softly. "You’ll survive one day without us, Finn."
He grunted, but the corner of his mouth twitched upward. Angel giggled and dashed over to hug him before bolting out of the room, calling over her shoulder, "It’s a date! Girls only!"
My phone buzzed with a call, and I slipped out to the penthouse balcony to take it. The cool night air was rather refreshing, and so was seeing the caller ID.
"Eric, it’s been a while."
"Hi, Abigail," he drawled. "The goddess returns. I was starting to think you had forgotten about us re mortals down here."
I laughed softly. "I’m sorry. Work has been absolutely insane lately. I should have replied to your texts. Life got a little crazy."
More like super crazy, but I couldn’t dump all that on Eric.
"It’s fine," he said, chuckling. "A goddess like you has no ti for simple n like . Though I do wish you’d make so. I’ve been saving my best jokes for you. Want to hear one?"
We chatted for a few minutes. I used to entertain his flirting because it was harmless, and I wasn’t committed to anyone.
But things were different now. I was with Finnegan, and things were serious. I couldn’t let him keep thinking he had a shot with and most importantly, I didn’t want to hurt him.
He was a sweet man and he deserved a sweet, single woman.
"Sooo, there’s sothing I should tell you—"
"You’re moving to Vegas?"
I burst out laughing, slapping a hand over my face. "What on earth, Eric? Why would you think that?"
"Just kidding," he laughed on the other end.
"What is it?"
"Well," I wet my bottom lip. "I’m seeing soone. It’s serious."
"Uh, how serious?"
"Serious as a heart attack."
There was a short pause on the other end before he groaned dramatically. "I knew I waited too long. Damn it. I should have asked you out months ago instead of overthinking like an idiot."
"You’re a sweet guy," I said gently. "Truly. Any girl would be lucky to have you."
"Yeah, yeah," he chuckled, sounding resigned. "Tell this lucky bastard he’d better treat you right, or I’ll challenge him to a duel."
"Of course. Soone has to defend my honor."
"Gladly. Good night, Aphrodite."
My lips curved into a smile as I hung up. I turned around, ready to head back inside, when my phone pinged with a new ssage from an unknown number.
Hiding from ? Co on, that only makes this ga more interesting. If you want the cop’s phone, you know where to find .
My blood ran cold.
User Comments
0 comments from readers