“That is good information, but it does not answer my question. What areyourthoughts?”
“I fucking hate him. I trusted her. So, ultimately, seeing her that day…” I remember the devastation shining in mom’s eyes that night, after having to shield her daughter from the man she loves. “It showed me that the love she felt from him wasn’t enough. I will never let someone destroy me that way. I need to get away from my father. If I stay, I’m going to either end up just like him or just like her. I don't want to be a monster nor do I want to be immobilized by feelings out of my control.”
Giving me a soft smile, she says, “I hear you and appreciate the vulnerability. If you could change things, what would your life look like?”
I pause, thoughts far away for a few moments. It’s not a hard answer; I’ve envisioned it a million times, but only told Quinn. Filling my lungs, I break the silence. “I would be somewhere that I matter. Not for what I can do for others, but just for who I am. Somewhere I feel like I belong.”
She nods in understanding, having heard this in several sessions, and a soft smile dances around her lips, making the conversation feel safe.
The remainder of the session is easier because that's how Jacy works. She picks at the wound; I get defensive; she stays calm; I open up andshe rewards that while allowing my walls to go back up, at least to some extent. Leaving her office, her final words ring in my ears. “If you don't feel safe, do something about it.” Pulling out my phone, I power it back on and hit the most recent call. It only rings once.
“Great timing.” Quinn sounds out of breath. “Swear to God this is athe-call-is-coming-from-inside-the-housesituation.”
“What are you talking about? I was calling to meet up and shop.”
“You didn't get my text? Girl, fuck. Okay. I don't want to have this conversation over the phone.” She pauses.
My phone dings in my ear. I pull it away, my anxiety spiking at the possibility of it being another disappearing message. Instead, the message from Quinn pops up.
Quinn:We need to meet. I have info.
My palms start sweating, reminded of the disappearing message. “Okay, well, meet me at Lucian’s? I have something for you to look into, too.”
“Absolutely. Leaving now.” The call disconnects. Since when does she enjoy it when I make her go to Lucian’s with me?
My electric blue Mazda Miata glides into the parking lot behind the shop. Stepping out, I see Quinn a few spots over, leaning against her cream Mercedes. In a calf-length tight camel colored skirt, she has on a black top and black booties to complete the office chic look. She looks very much the professional, especially standing next to my ripped black skinnies, vintage rock tee and heavy smokey eye makeup.
She links her arm through mine with a grin and grips my hand when I approach. “I’m going to start this out with I am on your side and we will figure this out.”
“What the fuck is going on?” We linger near her car to avoid the busy sidewalk.
“I pulled the security footage from last night.” She pauses, biting her lip while her eyes search my own.
“Quinn, spit it out.” My tone is sharp with a mixture of interest and concern.
“Fallon, it was wiped.”
I tilt my head to the side, drawing my eyebrows together in a silent question.
She continues, “It had to be a professional job. The only evidence I could find was that it doesn't show you leaving at all. Vince says that it must have glitched when you exited or something. I don’t buy it.”
“You told Vince?” My hand tightens on hers while fear churns my stomach.Great, now I look insane and everyone will know thanks to Vince, the company Betty Blabbermouth.
“No. Jesus, do you even know me? I told him you tripped leaving, and I wanted to frame a still of it. I’m working on another way to figure this out, but it will take some time. Any device with an IP gets pinged when they enter the property, and to do that extensive of a hack they had to have something on them. It will take a while to sort through the IP addresses and access the correct devices remotely.”
“Girl, isn't that illegal?”
“Only if I get caught.”
“Okay, well, something else to check. I got a message from an unknown number. It was a picture of one of the masks and a message saying,We see you Fallon Helix.And in the next minute, the entire message disappeared. I have no idea how they managed that.”
We had only taken a few steps toward the store when Quinn stops in her tracks, her grip on my arm bringing me to a halt as well. “Fallon, they have spyware in your phone. We need to get you a new one. But you can't transfer anything from this device because I will have to go through it with a fine-tooth comb to find out how they got in.”
“Well, shit.” I have a lot of work shit on here that will be a pain in the ass to set up again. “Fine, whatever, let's do that after this.”
We walk into Lucian’s, and I take a deep, calming breath. I’m determined to feel safe again. Surrounded by knives of various sizes, leather sheaths, and an armory in the back, we shop.
Chapter 3
