Chapter 34
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Dimos
As my eyes scan the street, my heart leaps at every cab that turns down it, thinking Carley has finally arrived. But as the minutes tick by, I begin to get worried she isn’t going to show. Only barely an hour ago she told me she was looking forward to it. So that doesn’t make any sense.
Me
I’m sure you’re just running a few minutes late, but I wanted to check in on you to make sure everything’s okay?
Several minutes go by with no response.
Me
I’m worried about you. I hope you’re not having second thoughts. Even if you are, please respond so I know you’re okay. It’s not like you to be late.
After that, I pull up Saylor’s number and shoot her a text, too. She’s likely to answer me and might be able to put my worries to rest.
Me
Hey, Carley was supposed to meet me for lunch. Do you know if she’s left the apartment yet?
A couple minutes later and I feel my phone vibrate in my hand as a phone call comes through. I quickly answer it, thinking it’s Carley.
“Carley?”
“No, Mr. Anastos. It’s Carl.”
“Oh, hi, Carl. Listen, this isn’t the best time—”
“I finally finished going through the footage from the building like you requested. Sorry it took so long. But I wanted to tell you there was no sign of anyone suspicious on the tapes. The only people I saw were owners and their guests.”
Fuck.
“Okay, thanks Carl. I’ll drop off some money to you at the desk next time I swing by.”
“I appreciate it, sir. Thank you.”
I end the call, and a terrifying feeling creeps up my spine as I continue looking up and down the street for any sign of Carley. How the hell would Blaine be able to get access to our security system without being on our network?
I unlock my phone again and give Travis a call.
“Travis.”
“You’re good with computers and back doors and all that, right?” I ask as I pace the sidewalk outside of Il Forno.
“Yes. I’m an elite hacker.”
“So tell me, how would Blaine be able to get on to our network or view our security footage without gaining access to our Wi-Fi first?”
“He’d have to be some kind of high-level hacker in order to pull something like that off. I mean, either that or work for the security company who installed the system.
His words cause my feet to stop moving, like they’re stuck in cement as a horrible thought enters my mind.
Ren.
No. That can’t be right. Ren has been nothing but supportive and helpful this entire time.
He offered to install the system outside of …
regular business hours. He initiated the installation and said it would be good to get it set up as soon as possible.
He’s been living with Saylor this whole time.
He’s been to the penthouse and around Carley for months.
Surely, one of us would have noticed something was off about him, right?
Suddenly, I feel like I’m going to be sick.
“Forget about Blaine Markson. I need you to look in to someone else.”
“Who?”
“Ren Wilson. I don’t have much else on him other than he works at Guardian Elite Security. I need an address, anything you can get quick. I can’t get ahold of Carley, and now I have a really bad feeling he’s the one behind it all.”
“I’m on it. I’ll call back as soon as I can.”
I end the call and pull up Ren’s number, but the call goes straight to voicemail.
Shit.
Opening the internet browser on my phone, I search for the local branch of Guardian Elite here in the city. I click on their number and pray someone answers.
“Guardian Elite,” a man answers after the third ring.
“Hi, I need to talk to a manager or someone with decision making abilities about a current employee of yours.”
“Uhh … okay, just one second.”
He puts me on hold, and my blood boils hotter with each second that passes before someone comes back on the line. I end up having to wait several agonizing minutes.
“This is Benton.”
“Benton, my name is Dimos Anastos. I’m calling in reference to an employee of yours. Ren Wilson.”
“I’m sorry, but we don’t have anyone here by that name.”
My heart plummets into my stomach.
“You’re sure? Because I had someone by that name, with your uniform and all your marketing materials, install a system in my home several weeks ago.”
“We did have someone by the name of Ren who worked here, but his last name was Butler. He was let go a couple of weeks ago, though.”
“I know you’re probably not at liberty to tell me why, but I’m going to ask anyway. I’m having an issue currently where I believe he may have been spying on my girlfriend and I through our camera system.”
The line is silent on the other end.
“Are you still there?”
“Yes, sir. And uhh … I can confirm he was let go for something of that nature. We tracked recordings of two different systems over the course of a couple weeks, each leading back to his login credentials.”
The fire that started in my veins a moment ago is now a raging inferno.
“And you didn’t think it was worth a phone call to make me aware there had been a security breach on my account?”
Again, there’s silence.
“Hello?”
But there’s no response. I check my phone screen and see the call has been disconnected.
Motherfucker.
I quickly call Travis back.
“Yeah,” he answers.
“Butler. His last name isn’t Wilson, it’s Butler.”
I hear a lot of typing going on in the background before he speaks again.
“What’s the name of the company he works for again?”
“Worked. He was fired a couple weeks ago. And it’s Guardian Elite.”
Again, more typing.
“Got him.”
“What do you mean you got him?”
“I was able to get into the company’s North American employee database, and I pulled up his file. Ren Wilson Butler. Address is 1736 E 23rd Street, downtown.”
“Can you text that address to me?”
“Sure thing.”
“And let me know if you find anything else out. Thanks, Travis.”
“You got it.”
I climb into the back of the limo and shout the address Travis gave me to Izaak, telling him to step on it.
I have a bad feeling I might find Carley there.
And an even worse feeling I won’t.