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“No. I… I hope that there aren’t any issues. Though, his son, Seth, is having problems. He was dating a famous idiot, Coco LeBlanc. There’s a lot of chaos surrounding him. Paparazzi, social media blasts, and all the bells and whistles.”
“Doesn’t your cousin work for your uncle? If there are pictures of Seth Bradley online, it can be dangerous,” Derek sounds odd. Is he giving me clues?
I search online for Coco LeBlanc, and there are pages and pages about her, her ex-boyfriend, Seth Bradley, and his lover Teddy St. James. Why do I care about this? He owns Range Communications & Consulting with Burke St. James. Burke looks familiar, but I don’t remember if I’ve met the guy before. Maybe we do business with them?
What if they handle the servers for the Zs and… no, that’s far-fetched. Why are the Zs looking for you, Seth Bradley?
I focus my attention back on the conversation Piper and Derek are having. “So, you have to go and make sure everyone is fine because that’s what you do?”
“I just wanted to let you know that I’m going to Seattle,” she sounds snippy.
Are they fighting? That’s interesting. Derek hasn’t said a word about her in a long time, and I haven’t asked because I don’t give a fuck about either one of them. My feelings for them are locked in a box and will never come out. I have a family and responsibilities.
“I’m heading that way too. Why don’t we share a plane?” Derek suggests.
“That’ll be awkward.”
“Obviously, but if we can manage ten hours of awkwardness daily, we can survive six, don’t you think?” So, there’s trouble in paradise, huh? When did that happen?
“I guess we can fly in together. I have to go to the penthouse to—”
“I’ll pick you up there,” Derek cuts her off quickly.
“Thank you,” she whispers.
“Now, can you tell me what’s going on?” Derek growls. “My theory is that they’re here because of the stuff that’s online. I pulled it up while Piper was here, and there are pictures of Seth. Am I correct?”
“Probably,” I say. “The last name Bradley rings a bell. There’s something about it. I probably saw it in one of the forums. What if the Zs are looking for him? You said it. He’s not supposed to be in gossip magazines.”
“That’s not what I said.” He exhales loudly. “But I don’t want her to go to Seattle. Not with the fucking Zs there and her family in the middle of this.”
“What are you not telling me, Derek?”
“That company in the Northwest…” He sighs.
“You know who they are, don’t you?”
“Yeah, HIB has a subdivision called The Organization. Piper’s uncle owns it.”
The alarms are sounding in my head. Of course he does. That’s how Piper knew so much about security companies. I bet the guy I’ve been talking with is part of the fucking Organization. He didn’t tell me to stay away as a warning because it’s his turf but because he wanted me to avoid the owner.
All the shit that no one understands how it gets magically solved has to be their responsibility. I could leave this issue to them, but I won’t because there’s more.
“What if these fuckers are the ones who tried to destroy the Zs and…” They failed. They might be the reason I’m all fucked up. I might hunt them after I’m done with the Zs, but for now, I’ll concentrate all my energy on Zamudio. “This is gold, my friend.”
“We should warn them.”
Why does he have to be the fucking voice of reason?
“Or we can carpe diem the shit out of this situation,” I counteract.
“As long as we make sure to protect Piper’s family along the way.”And Piper, he doesn’t say.
Why wouldn’t I protect her? It wouldn’t be the first time. When I visit New York, I still have to check the subway to make sure she’s not doing something stupid, which she does. I swear someone has to put a tracker on her or a bodyguard.
“They have an entire operation. They can take care of themselves.” And I sound pitiful, but maybe they’re the ones who almost killed me and erased the last years of my life.
Was Piper part of it? It’s been too long since I discovered who she was—dream girl. I still dream of her, but now I call out her name. It’s so fucking impossible to wipe her from my mind. Did she use me to get to the Zs?
