Charming But Reckless (NightShade Security #5)

Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

ARICK

The first week with the NightShade team was amazing. I had never so seamlessly fallen into a group of people and felt like I belonged. Every one of the men made sure I felt welcome. They went out of their way to ensure that Sol had the space he needed to be a kid, but then he was also included in enough conversations, he didn't feel like he was missing out on something.

They eased me into the grittier side of the work. Once I insisted that a little bit of gore and violence didn't scare me, they gave me the freedom to be completely involved.

I had become Memphis's right hand basically. Anything that he wanted done but felt too simple became a task for me. His focus was on diving deeper into things. He hacked into places that I could not, and researched things with an eye that spoke of a brain far smarter than I think even his own team knew.

When we weren't working together, we were all spending time with one another like the family they claimed us to be. Lunches were filled with food and laughter. Once we were done eating, we'd all sit around while Archie taught us some sign language, because yeah, I was in so deep I was learning sign so that I could speak to Takeshi without anyone between us.

The pair of them surprised me because seeing how enamored they were with each other, then finding out they had gotten married for reasons other than love surprised me. I had caught the two of them making eyes at each other more than once, which made me more than a little jealous.

I wanted that same intimacy with a partner.

Not just any partner though.

When I thought about who I could spend the rest of my life with and be happy, it always came back to Orion. It wasn't some faceless person or someone from my past. It was only ever him.

The entire week, all I could think about was how easy this all was.

Not easy in the sense that I didn't have to work for it. We still argued about things like other couples did. Sometimes about stupid stuff like who would get to do the laundry or how late Sol could stay up playing video games with Orion during the week. Sometimes we would argue about safety and what the future was going to look like. I was still holding on to my stubbornness and saying that we wouldn't be here for long.

My only reason to continue with the lie was because I was scared.

Fear held me back from the life I wanted. It always had in some way. Even when it was just me and Sol, I played things close to the vest.

Growing up with an abusive father taught me how quickly stuff could change. Then when Sol was taken, it was as if to further prove that point.

But Orion never gave up on me. He never left me behind or said that my worries were foolish. If anything, he would argue with me for a little bit, realize what was going on, and then reassure me that we would be okay. He would tell me that he always had my back and that his team was there to support us through it.

And with each day that passed, I believed him more and more.

These men, the family that they had built, were all so intertwined. There was no pulling one of them away. Now that I had come into the fold, I felt like the future was going to be bright.

It felt like the middle of the story where everything just goes right and feels good. There was no climax ahead. No danger loomed on the horizon.

Between getting to NightShade with the help of Detective Stabler and having them take me to the ranch, I felt like we had already moved past the uncertain part of getting to know one another. We were deep in the stage where everything seemed to go right.

One day in my second week of work, I was aimlessly searching through the files Memphis had told me to. We were hunting down another possible lead on their case labeled TGO.

I've been around long enough to know that that stood for the Gilded Ones, an organization that was utterly disgusting, filled with powerful men and a few women who really should have just been swallowed instead of, you know, conceived.

The guys had worked hard to take out several of their leaders but there was still one looming in the distance. They had gone underground, hiding so no one could find them. It was driving the team crazy.

I could see it in their tight jaws every time a lead didn't pan out. It was obvious in the way their eyes and smiles dimmed whenever anything TGO related came up.

I wanted to help as much as I could. Though Memphis was a skilled hacker, I felt like he was working with only the tips and tricks he knew. Those systems weren’t getting them anywhere.

So while I had programs running in the background, I did a bit of searching on my own. I went into a few backdoor spaces that I had gone into while trying to look for Sol. I dove into them as deep as I could go.

A few of the contacts I had who knew me as the single dad searching for his son didn't seem bothered when I asked questions about certain things. I made myself seem desperate enough to venture into the dark side of the world as I pretended as if I'd given up looking. Like all I had left was myself, and I needed an outlet.

Several of them gave me the name of drug dealers that they thought could give me something to lift my mood. A few encouraged me to seek professional help.

But it was the one who sent me a direct message telling me about a rumor he had heard that had my hair standing on end.

The message read, "I hate to see you giving up about your son. I was actually hoping you would pop up online because I just heard murmurs about a guy trying to buy some kids. His sale fell through so he's back on the market and desperate. I think that's the only reason I was able to catch wind of it.”

I took a deep breath then messaged him back.

“I mean, I doubt it would give me much information, but I'll always take a name. I'm sure I'll look into it and there'll be nothing there.”

An eye-rolling emoticon got added to the end just to prove I wasn't that invested. The less eager I seemed, the better my chances of getting what he had.

He replied, "Snort, you always were one to change your motions quickly. The guy's name is Jackie Varr. He is a businessman though so be careful. I'm sure he's gonna cover his ass no matter who comes after him.”

I quickly replied, " Yeah you're probably right. I doubt it would go anywhere even if he was the one."

I logged off a few minutes later trying to keep my emotions in check so as to not draw attention to myself. It didn't work though because Orion was up and out of his chair leaning on the desk I had set up near Memphis before I could even pull up anything about this Jackie guy.

"What's bothering you? I can tell something is off,” he demanded.

I chuckled then shook my head. "It's really creepy how you're able to do that. It's not like we're twins or married or something."

His eyes sparkled. "I can't fix the twins part but that second one doesn't sound that bad. Worked really well for Takeshi."

My mouth dropped open. I didn’t get a chance to answer since Cohen pounded a fist on the table where he and Godric were sitting. "No one else gets married before me and Big G. That's the rule.”

Several laughs rang out across the room and Orion shook his head. “I don't know why those two just don't go get married in Vegas or something. It's ridiculous to make us all wait.”

If I didn't know he was teasing, I might have believed he was being serious about the marriage part.

It was far too soon for that. Plus, he had promised to give us a trial run. Though even I had stopped thinking of it as that already.

“I really think Memphis should hear this too.” As I spoke to the other man looking over the side of this cubicle.

"What's up?"

I bit my lip then connected my computer system to the big screen. The conversation with my contact showed up there for them all to read. I’d made sure to save it before deleting everything to hide the evidence.

Memphis cursed loudly, then jumped back into his chair and started clicking away at the keys.

Ronan whistled softly. “This is really fucked up. Varr of all people?"

I raised my brows. "You know him?"

Orion came around and put a hand on my shoulder. “Everyone in the city knows him. He owns an entire chain of grocery stores across the state. It may be bigger than that now, but the guy has millions, maybe billions, of dollars because the grocery store chains also have gas stations and then there are alcohol stores. It's a whole thing.”

I nodded aimlessly. “And he's into buying children.”

Memphis shouted in victory. My screen disappeared from the wall, his own replacing it. I saw a photo of a man who had to be somewhere in his 50s looking at the camera. He was wearing a business professional smile and standing in front of a grocery store.

“Jackie Varr, 58 years old, has lived in the city his entire life, frequently gives to charities and political organizations,” Memphis spouted. “He's also a widower and has a daughter who is married. She is set to inherit the family fortune should something happen to Jackie.”

Memphis paused dramatically as we all took in that information.

"Do you think the daughter knows?" I asked.

Godric wrapped his knuckles on the table. "Highly doubtful considering she's got children your son's age."

I whipped my head in his direction. "What!?"

Memphis pulled up another image on the screen, this time a family photo. Varr, the woman I presumed was his late wife, the daughter who looked just like the woman, her husband, and three small children filled the wall.

"This photo is from two years ago," Memphis said.

Ronan grumbled, "I would be willing to bet anything that the daughter has no idea her father's is a fucking pervert. Who wants to tell her?"

Orion raised his hand. "I would love nothing more. It would be an honor."

He was far too exuberant about it. There was sarcasm in his tone, but his gaze was pure fire. I should have been scared. Instead, my body reacted as a bolt of lust had torn through me.

Takeshi pulled out his phone and started typing on it, effectively pulling me from my dirty thoughts. The group chat everyone had with him went off where he said, "Arick and Sol should be the ones to lure her into a conversation somewhere public like the park."

Memphis snapped his fingers. "I can pull up a schedule, find out what they do when. She's definitely one of those women who has an online calendar. Those super moms.”

Everyone looked at me, their gazes curious.

"Are you okay with this?" They asked without saying a word.

I nodded slowly. "So long as my son isn't put back in danger, I'm willing to do whatever it takes. This woman deserves to know that her father is a pervert. Her kids should not be around him.”

Tank walked into the room just then. "Damn right. I always fucking hated Varr anyway. Self-serving asshole. Figures he's into kid porn. No offense, Arick.”

My eyes went wide. “Why would I be offended?"

And then I froze.

"Wait! Sol wasn't involved in any?—”

Orion gripped the back of my neck. "No, he wasn't. Tank just sometimes has no idea how to be a decent human and take people’s feelings into account.”

He bit the words out at his boss who had the decency to wince.

"Sorry about that, Arick. I've been having a stressful time lately."

I watched as Takeshi eyed him down. The man knew something else, but he wasn't typing on his phone, so I guessed none of us were going to have answers about what it was.

Rather than delve into it, Tank turned to the group and clapped his hands together.

"Looks like we've got a plan to get our first lead in a while. Let's go cause some trouble boys."