Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
THEO
The trill of the office phone makes me jump. I’ve been so engrossed in this new case that everything around me has become white noise. I ignore it, carrying on flicking through the pages and pages of research I’d managed to compile from what Frank gave me and documents I found in the library.
The phone continues to ring, but I put it on do not disturb. When I get involved in a case, I become so obsessed that it becomes my whole identity until it's resolved.
I’ve been here since the butt crack of dawn, trawling through all of these pages. I know I’m missing something, but I can’t see it. Pushing the hair back off my face, I find something. I look closer and sit up, but the door slamming open grabs my attention.
“Ever heard of knock—”
“Ever heard of answering your phone?” Frank replies. “I’ve been calling you for ages.”
Fuck! Am I in trouble? I don’t think I did anything. Well, maybe the—
I give him a sheepish look. “Sorry, I got caught up in something.”
“Where’s Blake?” Frank asks, taking a seat opposite me. “I need her here for this.”
“Erm, she popped out for a minute, something about a family emergency,” I lie. Blake’s down in the library doing grunt work, but I don’t want her here, so the sooner she gets fired, the better.
Frank’s eyes narrow. “Send her to my office when she gets back.”
I nod, my plan finally starting to show signs of working.
Bye-bye, Blakey.
“I came in here because I need your help,” he begins. “I need somewhere to hide Harper.”
“Hide? Why do you need to hide her?” I ask, leaning back in my chair.
“The senator doesn’t want anyone to know she’s been found until the guy who did this to her is locked behind bars. And I know you have… connections. Ones that won’t lead back here or to the senator.” He gives me a knowing look, and I nod.
“Done. I’m gonna need to know a bit more about her though.
The things she likes and dislikes. Mental health issues?
There’s some information in her files, but it's not a clear enough indication of who she is. My contacts can help, but I need to know I’m not going to put her into a situation that’s going to cause her more harm. ”
When I started working this kind of job, I knew connections would be everything. I needed people I could rely on when the moment called for it. So, whenever I wasn’t buried in textbooks, I was digging into names, figuring out who I could sway with a favor… or pressure with blackmail.
I didn’t say I was perfect.
“I’ll get you a file of all the information you need, but I need this done ASAP. The senator is looking at getting her back into school to finish her studies, but it needs to be somewhere she isn’t going to be recognized and have questions asked.”
I nod, a plan formulating in my mind about who and where. I just need to fine-tune the minor details. “Done.”
Frank stands up, straightening his jacket. “Keep this up, Theo, and you’ll be promoted in no time.”
The smile I give doesn’t reach my eyes as I watch him walk out and close the door behind him. Feeling like everything’s becoming too much, I decide taking a walk might be a good idea to rid myself of this anxious energy that’s swirling around.
Unfortunately, I find the bane of my existence with her nose in a book the moment I enter the library. Her hair’s pulled off her face in a severe ponytail that only enhances the curve of her neck where it meets her collarbone, one I’ve had the displeasure of running my tongue over.
My hands clench at my sides, and my jaw ticks as I watch the woman who single-handedly broke me. It was my own fault for trusting her, for falling in love with her, only to find out she’s a manipulative bitch who loves to lie.
Paybacks coming, firefly. I’m going to destroy you and everything around you.
Pushing away from the door, I walk over to her. She must not hear me approach, so I bend down to her ear and shout, “Boo.”
Blake screams as she jumps in her chair and clutches at her chest.
I laugh. Tears stream down my face, and my sides hurt. Her face is priceless, and I really need to do this more often.
“What is wrong with you?” she exclaims, her chest heaving up and down, probably from the shock of her life.
“A lot of things, firefly,” I reply, my tone laced with venom. “All of which is your doing.”
Blake rolls her eyes. “Give it a rest, Theo. It wasn’t all my doing. You were fucked up before I met you.”
“God, I hate the sound of your voice,” I groan, pinching the bridge of my nose.
She huffs out a laugh. “Yet here you still are. Following me around.” She stands up, grabs the book, and returns it to the shelf. After selecting another one, she walks back to her seat and opens the pages without a care in the world.
“Have you found anything yet?” I bark, not wanting to delve into how right her words are. Why do I keep seeking her out? “We’re on a tight time frame.”
Looking up from her book, Blake gives me a scathing look. “Oh, so now you want to share notes?”
“I’m your superior; you’re to share everything with me,” I growl, my patience wearing thin. I was supposed to go on a nice little walk to clear my head, but then this little witch comes along and winds me the fuck up.
“Tell you what, big guy, you share with me, I’ll share with you. Until then”—she tilts her head toward the door—“fuck off.”
Breathe, Theo. In, hold, out. In, hold, out.
“I don’t remember you ever having a mouth on you like this,” I muse, a little turned on and a lot pissed off.
“That’s because you met the me that hadn’t been massively fucked over yet,” she answers, her tone low.
“You got fucked over? I think it’s the other way round, firefly,” I snarl.
“Jesus Christ, Theo,” she exclaims, whirling around. “Give it a rest. It’s like a broken record keeps spinning every time you open your mouth.”
My feet move of their own accord, and before I know it, I’m close to her, so close I can smell her perfume—the one that always used to make my dick hard the second I smelled it.
I get hit with a wave of nostalgia, one so hard it nearly knocks me off my feet, but I squash it deep down to the depths of nowhere.
Blake is nothing. Less than nothing.
“Come on, Theo. I need you. Please.” Whispers of the past hit me, and my brain goes into meltdown.
“You might have won this battle, firefly, but there’s plenty more where that came from,” I whisper in her ear. “I’m coming for you.”
Needing to get the hell out of there, I spin on my heels and walk to the door, ignoring the way my heart still pounds in her proximity.
Should I be doing this? Probably not, but who cares? She deserves it. After her words from yesterday hit too close to home, I need to get myself back to normal. The constant doubting of myself has ratcheted up tenfold, and I’m over it.
I hate her. Like, I seriously hate her with every fiber of my being. From the ends of my size twelve feet to the tips of my ears level of fucking hate her.
So, what better way to start the day than by getting even with dear old Blakey boo?
Blake forgot her bag under the table when she left the library.
As an associate, she gets an office, but she doesn’t use it.
She spends her time in here, taking each book out individually, placing it back when she’s done, then retrieving another one.
She meticulously writes everything down using color-coded labels.
Not that I’m watching her every movement or anything; that would be weird. I hate her, which means I don’t care what she does.
You keep telling yourself that, bro, a voice internally whispers.
She always used to have face cream somewhere on her, something about her skin being dehydrated and needing to freshen up throughout the day. Let’s see if that’s still the case.
Stalking across the library, I look around and notice no one’s watching. Sitting down in her chair, I pretend to look over her notes while also reaching down slightly to rummage around in her bag. I don’t find face cream, but I do find… face mist?
What the fuck is this?
Pulling it out, I read the back and see this could work just as well. Guess she’s gone up in the world.
Pocketing the bottle, I stand up and make my way to the kitchen, grinning the whole way.
Good luck getting out of this one, firefly.