23. Harper #2
Mason and Dad own the private security company Bennett Bradley Security.
They work in so many different ways with individuals and companies.
They do private investigating, security for companies, personal security, and so much more.
They’ve helped find missing people and when they were still working undercover with the police, they shut down a massive human trafficking ring.
They’re rock stars when it comes to keeping people safe.
“What’s up, Jackson?” A tall man who looks scarily similar to Wyatt stands and shakes Jackson’s hand.
“Hey, man. Thanks for helping us with this… This is Harper.” Jackson places his hand on my lower back and keeps it there.
“I’m Peck. Sophia’s husband.” Peck holds out his hand and I quickly shake it.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
“Alright, Peck handled the university. Most of your professors came back saying you don’t need to take the finals.
They believe your grade is high enough that even if you failed the test, you’d still pass the class.
Given everything going on, they don’t care enough to have you come take the test and risk something more happening. ” Mason goes right into business mode.
He's always been like this. If you’re seeing him because of something business related, he wants to get it out of the way so when he’s finished you can hang out and chat. I love it. I’d much rather get the heavy things out of the way than having it be this elephant in the room.
“Most? So, I still have to go back for some?”
“You need to go back for your sociology final. I tried my hardest to get you out of it, but that professor refused to budge.” Peck frowns like he’s really annoyed with Professor Jameson.
“I need to go in person?” My voice squeaks and I swallow hard.
“Yes, but we’ll go with you,” Dad says gently.
“He said the test is on Thursday. We’ll head up Wednesday afternoon. It will give us a chance to pack up your house and move everything home. We were planning on going today, but figured we’d wait since you have to go back anyway.” Mason glances at his watch.
“Who is we?” I glance from one of the men to the next.
“The three of us. I'm assuming you have a game?” Dad meets Jackson’s gaze.
“Yeah… I can see if Owen will let me miss it.” Jackson runs a hand through his hair and grips the back of his neck.
“No, you can’t do that.” I shake my head. “I don’t want you messing up anything with work for me.”
“Well, then it’s just the three of us. Peck has to stay here and hold down the fort.
Plus, Sophia will have a heart attack if we take him away from her even for the night.
” Mason rolls his eyes, but Peck is grinning ear to ear.
The man loves his wife more than life itself and he doesn’t care about anyone poking fun at them.
“Has Evan tried to contact you since last night?” Peck asks a few moments later.
“He texted me, but I ignored it.” I wave off their concerns.
“Let me see your phone.” Peck holds out his hand and when I hesitate, Mason rolls his eyes.
“He’s not going to snoop on anything other than your text with Evan, Harp.”
“Ok, ok! Jeez.” Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I hand it over to Peck. He glances down at the locked screen and arches a brow. “9-9-8-7,” I huff out the passcode to get into my phone.
“Thank you.” He grins as he scrolls through my phone. “Dang, you have a lot of puzzle games.” His eyes widen.
“I thought he wasn’t going to snoop.” I scowl at Mason, but the man doesn’t care one bit.
“Not snooping. I was trying to find where you hide your messages,” Peck murmurs. “Man, you message a lot of people… Oh, Sophia! I love that woman.” He grins to himself.
“Is he always this obsessed with her?” I glance at Mason and Dad.
“Yup! If they weren’t married, I’d suggest she file a restraining order.” Dad smirks.
“I told her Peck was too clingy and she could do better.” Mason shrugs.
“Oh, you did not! You love Peck.” Dad chuckles and shakes his head.
“Only because he’s practically a clone of Wyatt. Only somehow happier and more agreeable.”
“Is that even possible?” I eye Peck like he’s an alien. Wyatt’s one of the happiest people I know. I'm not sure I can imagine someone else being happier.
“You know, being made fun of for being happy or in love with my wife isn’t an insult. I’m a lucky man…” He trails off as his brows pinch together. “Hey, Harper… What is this app?”
He turns my phone around and shows me my phone screen. I take the device from him and stare at it.
“I have no clue. I’ve never seen this before.”
“I thought you weren’t snooping.” Jackson rolls his eyes.
“I wasn’t, but then I changed my mind.” He flashes me a grin. “I'm not sorry. I'm pretty sure someone installed this app on your phone and is using it to track you. Has Evan ever used your phone?”
“No… wait… he asked to use it the night Jackson came to Pittsburgh. He said he left his phone in the car and had to check something… But he had his phone a little bit later.”
“Yeah, he’s tracking you, sweetheart.” Peck turns his attention back to the computer and his fingers fly across the screen. “I did a bit of digging into Evan’s life. I need a little more time, but by the end of the week I should have all of the information I need.”
“Once we delete the app, will he be able to track her?” Jackson wraps an arm around my waist, tugging me against his side.
I can feel the heat of Dad’s gaze on us and I know he’s dissecting every move we make. Jackson and I have always been close, but he never really held me next to him like this.
“I’ll need to keep your phone for a few hours and really dig deep into everything. I doubt deleting it will really delete the program. Can I keep this for the afternoon?” Peck meets my gaze.
“I don’t really see how I have a choice,” I grumble under my breath.
“Are you coming to the game tonight?” Jackson asks him.
“Of course. Sophia says we can’t miss any games while she’s pregnant since she’ll miss games after the babies are born, but I force her to sit in the box seats now. I don’t need her getting hurt or falling.”
“Can you bring her phone to the game?”
“Definitely. I’ll get it done by then.”
“Do you need us for anything else?” I ask Dad.
“Nah, there isn’t much we can do until after Peck finishes digging into Evan. You have today and tomorrow to do what you want, then Wednesday we’ll drive to Pittsburgh. Call your mama and figure out a time to come over though.”
“I will.” I press a soft kiss to Dad’s cheek before stepping back and peeking up at Jackson.
“Alright, let’s go visit Sophia before we have to go back to the stadium. Thanks, guys.” Jackson places his hand on my lower back and leads me out of the cave.