Chapter 33
Trevor
“How was the rest of your weekend?” Ruth brings me a cup of coffee, setting it on the desk in front of me as I sift through the reports from last quarter. “Did Maren end up with a hangover?”
“No.” I smile, remembering the effect tequila actually had on Maren. “She seemed to be just fine.” Fine enough she tackled me Saturday night after everyone was gone, ripping my clothes off the second Zara was asleep.
And then did it again Sunday morning before her sister woke up.
“Lucky girl. I had a freaking headache all day yesterday.” Ruth rocks her neck from side to side like the pain is still lingering. “Which sucked, because I was planning to go through more of the documents we scanned at the archives last week.”
I was worried we’d never get a look at anything related to my aunt’s death, much less actually have our own copies of what exists.
We had a hell of a hard time getting permission to search the archives to start with, and after missing the first appointment, I was concerned we might not get a second shot.
But Pierce came through and managed to secure an hour window.
Which actually isn’t a whole hell of a lot when you consider they had to find the files before they could even begin to start going through them.
I don’t know who in the hell is in charge of the county cold cases, but they should be fucking fired.
Thankfully, Ruth is a fucking genius and brought portable scanners for each of them to use.
Instead of frantically searching each page while they sat there, they made a copy of each piece, saving everything directly to a hard drive.
Now they just have to go through hundreds and hundreds of scanned documents—what they found was a mix of cases lumped together—looking for a needle in a haystack.
If it even exists.
“Do you have the drive with you?” I take a sip of my coffee. “You’ll have plenty of time to go through them today. I’m analyzing reports, so it’s going to be a pretty uneventful day.”
I also have a few other things on my schedule, but nothing that involves Ruth and would distract from her search.
“I might do that.” She moves toward the door, pausing at the opening. “Let me know if you need anything.” She walks out, then immediately comes right back. “Oh, and I’m leaving the building for lunch today. Lindsey wants to take us out as a thank you for inviting her to girls’ night.”
That’s a bummer. I was hoping that since it’s a slow day I might be able to lure Maren into my office for a little lunch time ‘thank you’ of my own. “Not a problem. Have fun.”
Ruth goes back to her desk while I go back to my reports.
A big chunk of my job is dedicated to analyzing our numbers, and once a quarter, I dedicate almost a full week to the task.
It’s boring and mindnumbing, but also enlightening.
By the time I’m finished, I’ll have tons of useful data I can apply to future decisions and plans that will help McKinley continue to expand.
Since the analysis requires so much actual hands-on time, I keep my schedule light on weeks like this, which has conveniently afforded me an afternoon window to meet up with the builder who will be making modifications to my home.
The effort it takes for Zara to move from the first floor to the second—and vice versa—is substantial.
She allows me to give her a little boost occasionally, but for the most part, she insists on getting where she wants to go on her own.
I love how determined and independent she is, but all it would take is one slip and she could end up taking a tumble.
That’s not an option. Getting started making her new home accessible as soon as possible is. Hopefully I can throw a little cash-based encouragement the builder’s way and get bumped to the top of his schedule.
It’s almost lunchtime when Ruth rushes back into my office. I’m expecting her to simply remind me she’s leaving, but instead she comes straight to my desk, slapping her palms against the surface.
“I think I found something.”
I’ve been staring at numbers for so long, it takes my brain a second to register her words. “From the files on my aunt’s accident?”
She nods, eyes wide. “It might not be anything, so I don’t want to tell Walker yet.
I don’t want to get his hopes up.” She pauses, chewing on her lower lip.
“When I saw the first mention of another person, I wasn’t sure it would be important.
But then I saw what was scribbled in the margins of a report, and—”
“Hang on.” I’m forced to interrupt her, because I can’t follow a fucking thing she’s saying.
Ruth is always calm and collected. Very little flusters her, which is why she’s such a great fit for the position as my assistant. Seeing her so ruffled is strange.
It also has me hopeful.
“Take a deep breath.” I inhale along with her, blowing the air from my lungs as she does the same. “Now. What did you find?”
“I don’t think Walker’s mom was the only person involved in that car accident.”
The words tumble from Ruth’s mouth—yet another unusual behavior for her—displaying just how affected she is by the discovery. She thinks it might actually be something, and Ruth is pretty fucking brilliant, so if she thinks it’s something, it probably is.
“Okay.” The word drags out as I process what this could mean.
The facts about my aunt’s death have always been limited.
We were told there was an accident. Initially, there was mention of another vehicle being involved.
Then, they claimed there was no other vehicle at all and the damage to her car was from the way it rolled down the incline.
But when my mother went to see the car herself, hoping for closure, there were distinct transfer marks down the driver’s side.
“Exactly how is this other person mentioned?” We’ve always suspected someone else was responsible. There were too many unanswered questions. No explanation for why she left the road in the first place.
“There’s what might be a birth date. A basic description.” Ruth straightens, clasping her hands at her waist. “And a name.”
Oh shit. “You found a name?”
Ruth nods, still looking a little shell shocked. “I think so. It’s only one though, and I can’t tell if it’s first or last.”
“Shit.” That’s not a lot, but it is something.
I scrub one hand over my face, weighing our options. We could go to Walker now. Show him what Ruth found even though we don’t know what any of it means. Or we could call Heidi and have her do a little digging.
I wish we could use Titus’s team, but the circle of trust is really fucking small right now, and I’m not sure anyone could handle another employee betraying us.
“Send me what you’ve got and I’ll pass it on to Heidi.” I open my email and start composing. “We’ll see if she can come up with anything concrete before we tell Walker about it.”
“Got it.” Ruth turns to leave.
“Hey.” I wait until she looks back. “Good job. I don’t know what the fuck any of us would do without you.”
A hint of a smile curves her lips. “Thanks.”
I type up a quick explanation for Heidi, pausing when I receive the files from Ruth. Opening them, I look over what she’s found.
She’s sent two versions of each page, one with the discovery circled and one without.
The date she thinks is a DOB would put the person referenced in the documents a couple years older than my mom.
The description is brief—white male, 6’, med build—and could describe just about any man who’s ever lived.
But the name is what really throws me off.
Shelley
I’ve never met a man named Shelley, but I guess anything’s possible. It could also be a last name. The discrepancy makes me even more confident the best call is to put Heidi on this before we tell Walker. He’s looking for answers, not more fucking questions.
I attach the docs to the email and send it out just as Brooke and Maren arrive to collect Ruth for their lunch date with Lindsey. I’m not surprised at all when I hear Ruth telling them she’s not going.
“I just feel like I should stay here and keep looking through all the stuff since I didn’t get to it yesterday.” Her eyes dart to me as I come out of my office to join them. “You know, just in case I can find something.”
I get that she doesn’t want to quit looking now that she’s getting somewhere, but sometimes you need to take a break.
Not me. Just everyone else
“Go have lunch. This will still be here when you get back.” Ruth busts her ass for everyone, and she deserves to enjoy herself.
Plus, if she doesn’t go, there’s a chance Maren won’t go either. Out of solidarity. And she’s missed out on so much in her life, there’s no way she’ll miss out on another thing. Not if I can help it.
And I can help this.
“I’ll go through a few files while you’re gone.
” The urge to reach for Maren and pull her close is almost overwhelming.
I don’t think she’s quite comfortable with putting what’s between us out in front of God and all her friends just yet, though, so I stuff both hands in my pockets.
“If I find anything interesting, I’ll call you. ”
Ruth nods. “Okay. That sounds great.” She gives me a little smile. “Thank you.”
“Any time.”
I know I’m not easy to work for, but Ruth makes it look that way. Whatever I can do to make her life easier—or to help ease her slightly OCD nature—I’m happy to do.
My assistant collects her purse and cell phone, making sure she has everything she needs before joining Maren and Brooke. The trio heads out, and I watch them until they’re out of sight.
I’ve just turned to go into my office when quick footsteps race down the hall behind me. I barely get turned back around before Maren jumps at me, arms looping my neck, and she presses a kiss to my lips.
Pulling back, she reaches up to wipe away the bit of gloss smeared on and around my mouth. “Sorry. I didn’t know what to do when they were there. I didn’t want Ruth to see us kiss and then think about how she caught us fucking all through lunch.”
“I’m pretty sure Ruth does her best to never think about how she caught us fucking.” I kiss her again, because I don’t give a fuck about a little lip gloss. “Enjoy your lunch.”
“I will.” Maren’s brows lift in question as she smooths down the lapels of my jacket. “Want me to bring you anything back?”
“Just you.” I kiss her on the tip of her nose. “I would be very, very upset if you didn’t come back to me.”
The admission is a baby step toward eventually telling Maren how I truly feel about her. I won’t make the full confession until I know she’s ready to hear it. To believe it.
“We can’t have that.” She smiles, backing away. “Because you’re a total pain in the ass when you’re upset.”
She’s not wrong. But the level of my pain-in-the-assery would grow exponentially if anything happened to Maren. There’s not much I wouldn’t do to keep her. I’d fight. Steal. Lie.
Even walk through fire. A fact I’ve already proved once.
She reaches the end of the hall, turning to blow me a kiss before catching up with her friends.
I sit down at my desk, smiling in spite of the discovery Ruth made.
The discovery I hope Heidi has better luck with than she did the computer that was slipped into Maren’s bag.
The thing hadn’t been wiped clean, but everything on it belonged to a horny, teenage boy with a love for ‘big, bouncy, anime titties’.
At least that’s what his search history indicated.
That and all the saved images hidden in a file marked sports statistics.
“Hey.” Tucker raps his knuckles against my door as he leans against the frame. “What are you doing for lunch?”
“I promised Ruth I’d look through some of the documents they scanned in the cold case archives.” I look him over. “Why? Are you lost without her?”
“You know damn well I’m lost without her.” He gives me a grin. “You would be too.”
“Of course I would. That’s why I told her I’d do this while she’s gone.” I return Tucker’s smile. “I don’t want her to get any ideas it might be more fun to come work for you.”
“It absolutely would be.” Tucker shrugs. “But for some reason she likes your difficult ass.” He tips his head toward the hall. “Speaking of, get it out of that chair and go get something to eat with me.”
I am a little hungry. And without Ruth here, the only way I’m going to get lunch is if I find it myself. “I’m going to tell her you’re the reason I didn’t look at the documents like I promised.”
“That’s fine.” Tucker waggles his brows. “She can spank me later.”
I wrinkle my nose. “Gross.”
Tucker points at me. “You don’t have any fucking room to talk. She had to witness you balls deep in her friend.”
“Fair point.” I stand, grabbing my phone and my keys. “Let’s make it quick. I’ve got a ton of other shit to do too.” Including meeting the builder at my house in a few hours.
“You always have a ton of shit to do.” Tucker slaps me on the back. “But I like that you’re finding a little more balance in your life. It’s good to see you getting out of this place once in a while.”
“It’s actually not been the worst thing that’s ever happened.” Maybe it’s because I’ve streamlined all my processes over the years, but the company hasn’t crumbled because I’ve left at five o’clock a few days in a row.
And I’m glad, because I intend to do it a few more.
We walk through the lobby, checking in with security as we pass the front desk, before pushing our way into the vestibule.
That’s when I notice something is very, very wrong.
A handful of employees are scattered across the parking lot, running between cars as they search for safety.
“What the fuck?” Tucker shoves his way outside with me on his heels.
That’s when I hear the soft snap of silenced gunfire.
“Holy shit. Someone’s shooting out here.” I automatically get low, looking for anything to use as cover, but Tucker and I are basically sitting ducks. I grab his arm, dragging him toward one of the large ornamental rocks that are part of the landscaping.
Sliding through the gravel around it, we both hit the ground hard, grunting at the impact.
Tucker already has his phone out, calling security to make sure they’ve seen what’s going on and are on their way.
It’s great that’s his first thought, because it wasn’t mine. Mine is that Maren and the rest of the girls were just out here. I hope to God they left before this started.
Because if they didn’t…
“Fuck.” Tucker slaps my chest, pointing in the distance.
I don’t need to look to know what I’ll see.
Halfway across the lot, a familiar head of wavy hair is ducked behind Brooke’s SUV. I watch in horror as the bullets bounce off the reinforced body of the vehicle, getting closer and closer to hitting something I love.
Because I fucking love Maren.
Titus was right. I should’ve stopped being a coward. Should’ve told her. Said it as many times as it took for her to believe it’s true.
“We have to go to them.” I peer around the rock, looking for the source of the shots. “Get ready to run like hell.”