Chapter 24
Addyand I rush back to the house. We were both relieved and freaked out that she was there. Because she definitely wasn’t when we left.
When we get to the house, we both run inside and up to Xayden’s room. The door is open, and Rory is curled up in a ball on the bed. Addy immediately runs over to her and molds herself into Rory.
I cross the room to Xayden, who hasn’t taken his eyes off of Rory since I walked in.
“Dude, what the fuck?” I adjust my glasses on my nose and run a hand anxiously through my hair.
“Where the fuck was she?” he asks, still not removing his eyes from her.
Dekker walks in and comes over to us. “Did you get anything?”
“Yeah. And I’m even more confused now.” Xayden finally looks over at the both of us. “Check the cameras and see if we can see when she leaves and how she got back here.”
I nod, and Dekker and I head into my room. Once I reach my desk, I sit down and shake my computer awake. I pull up our security program and instantly realize something is wrong. The screen flashes, and a weird noise comes from my computer.
Holy shit. It’s a virus. My blood runs cold.
“No, no, no. Fuck!” I try to close the program and figure out how to stop it, but it’s too late. The computer is gone. The screen blacks out.
“What the fuck just happened?” Dekker is on his feet as he watches the computer slowly die.
“Someone fucked with my computer. Everything is gone.”
I pull my phone out to see if I can get access to the backup, but when I log into the Cloud, nothing is there. It’s all gone. Whatever this was specifically targeted all of that.
I run a hand down my face in disbelief. “They got the storage. It’s all fucking gone.”
I bolt out of the room and head back to Xay’s bedroom. He looks up at me as I burst in, eyes wide. “What’s wrong?” he demands.
“We just got fucked, that’s what. There’s no video because somehow my computer got a virus that wiped everything out,” I pant.
Xayden pushes off the desk. “How is that possible?”
I shake my head. “It shouldn’t be. I had that system locked the fuck down. So either there’s a hacker who hacked into it, or someone has been inside this house and did something to it.”
“Fuck. We need answers, like now. Because after what she told me, something bigger is going on, and I don’t think any of us are safe.” Xayden picks up the folder with the photos.
“What did she tell you?” Dekker glances at me before looking back at Xayden.
“She kept saying she heard him. She couldn’t see where she was, but she heard him.” Xayden runs his hands through his hair, shaking his head.
“Who did she hear?” I ask as his face pales.
“Her father,” Xayden responds blankly.
“Wait, what? That’s impossible. He died years ago.” I frown, trying to figure out what this means.
“I know. And I kept asking her if she was sure, and she was adamant that it was him. It doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t make a fucking drop of sense.” He slaps his hand against his leg. “Where was she at? Where did they take her that she thought she heard her father?”
“I need to figure out what happened to the security feeds. That should have been impossible to get into.” My mind tries to go through every possible scenario of what could happen to allow someone access. But it keeps coming up blank.
“And yet someone did,” Dekker snaps impatiently.
My eyes narrow at him, and I flip him off. I’m so not in the mood for his assholeness right now.
“What we need to figure out is, if he is still alive, then what is her mom doing married to my father?” Xayden whispers.
“Maybe they don’t know. Maybe he faked his own death.” I shrug. “That shit happens all the time.” Sounds like some reality TV shit, but it happens.
“And she has always been torn up about it,” Dekker adds.
“She could be a good actress.” Xayden frowns. “And maybe they are after my dad’s money.”
“Dude, her dad was loaded. There’s no way.” I smack him on the arm. “Money is not the reason her mom is with your dad.”
He huffs, “Well, we need to figure out what the fuck is going on, and fast. Because if her dad is alive, and this is all a ruse, I need to protect my father.” Xayden shakes his head and storms out of his room.
Dekker and I watch as he leaves, and I turn to Dekker who just shrugs and looks back at Rory. He bites his lip as he studies her.
She is still curled into herself. How she carries herself, how she acts, that’s not how someone would if they knew their father was alive. She truly believes he’s dead.
So, what, or who, did she hear?
Dekker lets out a grunt and then leaves the room. Addy looks up and meets my eyes. She glances over at Rory, who has fallen asleep before she carefully peels herself away from her and slides off the bed.
She tiptoes over to me and sighs. “What is going on?”
“I have no idea,” I tell her honestly. Not a fucking clue.
“How are we going to find out who did this? I mean, is she even safe? Will they come after her again?” Her voice starts to rise up with each word.
I place a hand on her shoulder to try and calm her down.
“I wish I had answers for you, but right now I just don’t. But what I can tell you is we will make sure she is safe.” And I have no idea how we are even going to do that.
“Well, she was with you three last night and this happened!” Addy fires at me. “How in the world do you plan on making sure it’s different this time?”
“We will. I promise. I have some things to work out, but she will be protected,” I try to assure Addy, but I can see in her eyes she’s not buying what I’m selling.
And I don’t blame her. After being as mean as we have been to Rory, having Monica and the others bully her, I can see why she is looking at me that way. I have not been the best to Rory since she stepped foot in Texas.
She crosses her arms. “Look, if I leave, can you watch her? I need to at least go turn in my one project and then I can be back.”
“Addy, go to class. I will take care of her. Promise,” I assure her.
“Okay, just… if she needs me, please call me. I will come straight back.” Addy bites her lip and looks over at Rory. I know she is debating on whether she should actually leave or not, even though I already told her to go.
“Swear to God, I’ll call you the minute she says she needs you,” I promise her.
Addy nods and turns slowly, walking toward the door. Peeking back over at Rory, I watch as her chest rises and falls. She looks almost relaxed, except for the slight frown on her lips.
Those fucking lips.
My dick felt those lips.
And now is not the time for a hard-on.
Rubbing my eyes, I let out a sigh. Walking to the other side of the bed, I pull back the covers and slide in next to her, careful not to wake her.
Honestly, I’m exhausted.
The events of last night and today have fully sent me into a wall of exhaustion.
I throw my arm under my head as I lay on my back.
As I start to close my eyes, I feel the bed shift next to me. Rory turns her body toward me, her arm being thrown over my stomach. And fuck, my body likes this.
Her touch ignites something in me. It is taking everything in me to calm myself and keep my dick in check. Last night was a fluke, and I know Little Seven wants a repeat of the activities, but Xayden will kill me.
My head turns toward her and I watch her eyes twitch and her forehead crease as she pouts. She lets out a little whimper, and I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself from doing anything stupid.
Well, you got in bed with her.
Yeah, that wasn’t smart. I just need to stay as still as possible until she wakes up.
I can totally do that. No problemo.
Stiff as a board. Not moving a single muscle. If I could hold my breath for the next hour or so, I would. And as soon as she rolls over, I am hopping out of this fucking bed.
My eyes soon begin to get heavy, and I bite my lip. If I sleep, I won’t be tempted. So that’s what I need to do. Just until Xayden and Dekker come back.
Maybe I should have had Addy stay.
Fuck me.
Fuck it. I just need to sleep. I need to be able to think straight. So, I am just going to sleep with this beautiful temptress on top of me, smelling so sweet.
Shouldn’t be a problem.
Go down, Little Seven. Now is not the time.
I close my eyes and let out a breath. Just a short nap.
And that is the last thought I have before I am pulled under.