Chapter 56
The Backdoor
Harper
Caden slides off me. I take a breath to calm my insides. Before I can stand, he hoists me over his shoulder and smacks my ass.
“Hey,” I protest.
“You heard the man, we need to get busy.” Caden chuckles as he brings me downstairs to the living room. He sets me on my feet and backs away with a smirk like I’m going to attack him.
He’s probably not far off.
Every inch of me is on fire. The fire he started and didn’t get a chance to extinguish.
But this is more important right now. I sigh and try to bring my desire under control. Which is difficult given the current company. My guys are spread out with their laptops open.
Nico is on the couch. I walk over and sit against his side. He watches me closely.
“Do you need anything?” I ask, pushing his black hair away from his face.
“I’m good, sunshine.” He takes my hand. Eli clears his throat and we both turn to face him.
“We have files to go through, but I overheard my father and Luke’s talking at my house.” He sits on the edge of his chair, looking us all over. “It’s not good.”
“Do you all know your father’s histories?” I’m curious what they know as opposed to what my mother knew.
“They grew up together. Played football together.” Luke watches me with hooded eyes. “They all ended up back here after college and that’s how we became friends. They all enrolled us in the same football camp.”
“Our dads worked together,” Caden sits in an armchair with his legs spread. His bulge is still hard as I lift my eyes to his. “Luke and mine and before that Nico’s. Eli’s dad was always friendly with my dad. And Jack’s dad and mine used to get together every few weeks to hang out.”
I blow out a breath. “Okay, Mom took me to a cabin and told me all about my dad and yours.”
I explain about my dad being a computer whiz. Everything she told me about their fathers. How their fathers used mine. How Luke’s father had a hold over my dad because of my mom. How they were competitive with each other.
I meet Luke’s gaze. “Mom said there was a meeting my dad wanted to go to. That he never came back.” I get a little choked up when I say, “She thinks he’s dead.”
“Fuck.” Eli stands and paces. “That would be what William was talking about. My dad said William shouldn’t have run Sean out of town. My dad thought that’s why they wanted you because you might know where he is. William said he knew where he is. That there was an accident.”
Luke looks down at the floor. His hands shake.
“Mom said if my dad was still alive, he never would have left us.” I study Luke. What’s he thinking? That I won’t love him because his father might have murdered mine or at least been involved in my dad’s disappearance. “There’s more.”
Luke lifts his cold blue eyes that seem like cracked ice right now. I stand and go to him, straddling his lap and waiting for my heat to seep into him. To warm him. I slide my hand into his blond hair.
“He abused your mom. No one was surprised that she died. She was ready to run. She wanted to take you and leave.”
The color shifts in Luke’s eyes as he absorbs the pain. I know that feeling. How the world would have been different if my dad had been alive, if his mom had taken him away. I rest my forehead against his and my hands slide down to his neck.
“Your dad got a lot of sympathy on her passing. After all, he was all alone with a newborn.” I sink my fingers into his hair to cradle his head. My voice softens when I whisper, “I’m sorry.”
His eyes warm again, searching mine. “Why are you sorry, Harper? You didn’t kill her. I did. She died in childbirth.”
I bite my lip. Mom told me this in a hushed tone once she explained everything. “The night she came in, your mom was in labor because she’d been hurt. There were bruises around her neck. And she had bruises on her back. Mom said none of that made it into any doctor’s report from that day.
“Your father has a lot of sway at the hospital. His contributions keep the hospital running, especially since it helped fund his business.”
Luke digs his fingers into my hips. This darkness could consume him. His father took away one of our parents and kept us trapped here.
“What do you mean the hospital funded his business?” Eli asks.
I never take my eyes from Luke’s. “Drugs go missing during the night shift. Trafficked girls go through the hospital from time to time.”
I swallow and rub Luke’s hair between my fingers, trying not to shudder at the horrible things William Foster was responsible for. “According to my mom, the drugs still happen, but it’s been a long time since the girls have been in.”
“Fuck.” Eli’s whisper is harsh.
“We met.” I smile softly at Luke and his gaze refocuses on me. “When we were kids. Mom found out about the trafficking. That email was a meeting to threaten my mom but give her a chance to help the women.”
“What did he threaten her with?” Luke’s voice grows dark.
I can’t keep this from him. I want to though. His father has already hurt him so much. I cup his jaw between my hands and search his eyes. “He said he didn’t deal in children, but he could make an exception.”
He clutches my hips as if he could keep me from his father. Which maybe it’s foolish, but I believe he can.
“We were too young to remember, but it kept my mom quiet. My dad was gathering evidence to escape here. He knew money was coming in and going out. She thinks my dad caught on about the drugs, but she isn’t sure about the trafficking.
” I tug on Luke’s hair to bring his gaze back into focus on me. “I love you.”
His eyes soften and his fingers relax on my hips.
“We don’t know what our fathers’ involvement is.” Nico draws my attention. “From the sound of it, at least, Caden’s, Luke’s, and my dads were involved in the disappearance of your father. I’m sorry, sunshine.”
“Not your fault, Nico.” I remind him. “It’s none of your faults.”
Luke brushes his lips against mine and I suck in a breath at the warmth that pours through me.
“Mom said your fathers’ relationship was always contentious. It’s not like you guys where you’re stronger together. They were competitive. Jack’s dad was the first to separate from them. Then Eli’s. Then Nico’s. Then Caden’s. Leaving your father alone.”
Luke releases a breath. “What else did you hear, Eli?”
I shift to sit beside Luke, but he keeps ahold of my hip, so we touch all the way from hip to ankle. I lean into him because we both need to feel close.
“They know about all of us with Harper.” Eli reaches out to take my hand. “They want to know what we know. William was the man my mom had an affair with. She’s also involved somehow. Her interior design company hides whatever shady shit William does. He threatened my dad with my mom going to jail.”
I squeeze his hand. “Your mom hung out with the guys in high school. It sounds like she was the Sidney to their horsemen.”
Eli takes his hand away and presses his fingers to his temples.
“Okay, what we know. Zach and his gang are selling drugs, running drugs? Hopefully we find out more with the footage of the house. William might not be trafficking women anymore, but he’s still in the drugs.
And if my mom is culpable of something recent then maybe she’s involved in the drugs as well.
Maybe just her business is laundering the money from it. ”
“I can see what I can find on her computer.” Jack makes a note.
“But first, you need to find out what evidence my dad had.” I straighten and gesture to my backpack. “Mom found his laptop practically destroyed and didn’t touch the hard drive he hid.”
“Does she have any idea what type of passwords he would use?” Jack goes to grab my backpack and sets it down in front of his chair. He pulls out the hard drive and looks it over before setting it to the side.
The laptop is in a plastic bag. There are brown streaks on it that I don’t want to think about.
“Where was this?” Jack looks it over, taking in the cracked screen and all the damage.
“Mom didn’t say. I didn’t ask. When she looked at it, she would tear up.”
Luke wraps his arm around my shoulders and I lean into his warmth.
“Why do our fathers think you have information after all this time?” Caden leans forward with his elbows on his knees. “That’s the thing that keeps tripping my brain. If Sean is dead and they know that, what are they afraid will come out?”
“My dad thought whatever evidence was destroyed.” Nico’s eyes linger on the laptop.
“Maybe they tried.” Jack turns it over and sighs. “If he’s as good as your mom says, I might have issues getting in.”
“It’s worth a try?” I shrug. The amount I know about computers is limited to using them. What Jack does is magic.
“If he has safety protocols on it, I could destroy what’s on it with too many attempts.” Jack sets the laptop on the coffee table. “Then we have nothing.”
“If you aren’t able to access it, we have nothing anyway.” I look around at the guys. “We just need proof that ties them into what we know they’ve done.”
“It still doesn’t explain why now, little nympho.” Caden lifts his gaze to mine. “Why do they think you know something?”
“I don’t know.” It’s the truth. “Maybe it’s something to do with my dad’s motorcycle, but if it’s been there all this time, they’ve had plenty of time to access it.”
“The only thing that’s different this year is you, kitten.” Eli runs a hand through his thick brown hair. “Our access to you.”
“We’re not going to figure our fathers’ motives out tonight.” Luke rubs my shoulder. “We have a lot to look through and need to get busy.”
Jack
The surveillance footage at the house I divide between Caden and Luke. Nico’s already working his way through Sidney’s footage. Eli tackles the files Will Frank was able to unlock from William Foster’s computer.
“I don’t know how this will be helpful.” Harper leans her head back against my shoulder and looks up and back at me.
She’s on my lap at the table in front of her father’s equipment.
“If they think you’re the key to this, then maybe you know something and don’t know you know it.
” It’s simple really. If this is the evidence they want, something Harper knows must be locked away.
Something we open might give her a clue as to what that might be.
“We’re going to go slowly, so we don’t trip over anything. If you think of anything, let me know.”
She’s skeptical, but she returns her gaze to where I have a spare laptop hooked up to Sean’s. I have a tablet with files for her to review if it takes too long.
“I really hope there are baby pictures on here.” I boot up my system and then work on seeing if the drive is even reachable. A chat prompt flashes up on the screen attached to Sean’s laptop.
“What’s that?”
“It’s a chat prompt.” I check to see what my computer says about the laptop, but it’s not able to access the drive. I type in hello.
The cursor blinks on the black screen, waiting for the processor to do what’s next in the sequence. At least that’s what I would think it would do. Unless it’s an actual chat with someone who no longer exists.
Who are you? flashes up on the screen.
Is it searching for user name?
Sean, I type.
Who are you?
“If I’m the key, try Harper.” Harper settles back against me.
“It’s possible that it’s actually a password of some sort. Like there’s a sequence to the questions and until you answer that question you can’t get to the next one.” I blow out a breath. “But it’s a good guess.”
Harper
Prove it
“How do I prove who I am to a computer program?” Harper rubs her finger over her lip.
What do you want to know? I type. How does this program work?
Mother’s favorite ring
“What is this, Jack?” Harper’s nose wrinkles.
“Honestly, I don’t know.” I check to see if I’m getting any Wi-Fi activity on my computer, but there’s nothing to indicate it’s enslaving my laptop to get to the internet. “What’s the answer?”
“Opal.”
I type it in. There’s a delay before the next prompt shows up.
Name of cat
“Mr. Snuggles.”
“You have a cat?” I ask as I type it in.
“He died last year.” She leans in a little. “Mom would know all this too.”
You’re right. She would.
Fuck! “Quiet.”
I check my terminal again. I’m not connected to the internet at all.
But she also wouldn’t have answered with your name.
“What’s happening, Jack?” Harper’s eyes are wide as she stares at the screen.
“Maybe it has a mobile link inside it.” Fuck.
Don’t shut off the computer. If you do, it will erase everything.
Who are you? I type.
A friend.