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“You haven’t had it that long; it shouldn’t be dying on you already,” she says. “Did you install the antivirus program I gave you when you bought it?”
I rub the back of my neck as my cheeks heat. “Umm, maybe…”
Her pink painted lips pop open in a perfect O. “What do you mean, maybe? You did or you didn’t.”
“I…didn’t?”
“Are you asking me or telling me?”
I clear my throat and avert my eyes. “I tried but I screwed it up and I was too embarrassed to say anything.”
“How did—actually, you know what? It doesn’t matter. I’ll come over after I finish here.”
My smile is instant. “Thank you.” Then I scoot my chair back across the pit to my desk, satisfied I’ve given her something to think about other than whatever was bothering her. I knew she’d jump at the opportunity to do this for me. There are few things Belle loves more than fixing computers and helping people.
She’s so kind and generous; it’s one of the things I love about her. She’s always been this way, even though she—like her sisters—holds herself at arm’s length from almost everyone. I can’t even imagine what a force she’d be if she stopped holding back.
“A virus?” Kline says, suddenly appearing beside me.
My hand flies to my chest. “Fuck me, you need to stop doing that. You’re going to give someone a heart attack one of these days.”
He rolls his eyes. “You been looking up dodgy porn again? I told you to just subscribe to a legitimate site after what happened last time,” he announces loud enough for everyone in the pit to hear.
I gape, then shoot a glance over to Belle and find her staring at us with what I’m pretty sure is morbid curiosity in her big blue eyes. My head snaps back around and I scowl up at him. “What the f—”
Kline drops a hand on my shoulder. “I know you have some weird fetishes that most reputable companies probably don’t cater to. But I’m sure if you look hard enough, you’ll find one. You can’t just be downloading random shit off the internet, no matter how much it tickles your pickle.”
How he can say any of that shit with a straight face, I will never know.
I blink at him, my mouth still hanging open, as I search for something—any fucking thing—to save face. Because the string of words that just fell out of his mouth are utter bullshit. “Why, just… why?” I ask, bewildered.
“Really Valentine? This is not the place to be discussing your sexual proclivities,” Miller’s deep voice says from across the pit.
I spin in my chair to find the boss man standing in the doorway to his office, a disappointed frown marring his stern features. Well, shit. As if it wasn’t bad enough that Belle is under the impression I have undesirable sexual cravings, now her dad is, too.
Shoot me now—like, in the foot or somewhere else unfatal—it’d be less painful.
ChapterThree
I love my job,I really do. But all I can think about right now is Valentine and whatever thisweird fetishKline was talking about could be. I’m smart enough to know that there’s a good chance Kline was just being a dick, and he could have made it all up to embarrass Val.
Butwhat if he wasn’t?
A whole set of questions that I haven’t allowed myself to dwell on in years come rushing to the fore. When I was young and naive, I thought Valentine and I might, maybe, possibly, one day, end up together.
I know better than to believe in the fairytale, forever kind of love now, though. I may have only been eight when my mom died, but I remember the devastation losing her caused my family. Especially dad. He and mom were two halves of a whole, and when she died, she took a piece of him with her, and he’s never quite been the same since.
Because of that, I don’t let anyone get too close, even friends. Not that I really have many outside of my sisters. I prefer my close, tight knit circle which barely extends outside of family.
The older I got, the clearer it became that a serious relationship was just not in the cards for me. I feel too deeply—I always have— and doing so will be my downfall if I let it. Friendship is all I have to offer. Anything more is just too dangerous.
Heaving a heavy sigh, I do my best to turn my attention to the emails on the screen before me. I mindlessly go through them, forwarding applications to Dad and Doc, as they’re in charge of risk assessments, and so on. Unfortunately for me, nothing too exciting has come through.
I compile a few files for dad to review and distribute, then run a skip trace on a guy Snow found on the FBI’s most wanted list. She used to find targets on there once or twice a year when she was bored, but ever since Ariel started dating Kass, she’s been bringing me names on the regular. Every single one of them is on the run for crimes against women and children.
This guy… though… I don’t like the look of him. I’m not sure what it is, but I know when to trust my gut, and this is one of those times. I complete the trace anyway, then save everything into an encrypted file before printing a copy out for Snow. After collecting the papers and arranging them into a folder, I go in search of the most rebellious of my sisters.
I am in the zone. Headphones in, killer inspirational playlist blasting, fingertips typing a mile a minute as the story appears on the page in front of me.
