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Anything except bring him back to me.
Eventually, I get up to leave, but I’m just exiting the diner when I see someone I recognize, passing on the street.
“Wait… Charlie?” I call, in disbelief.
She turns, and I gape. She looks totally different to when I met her in London. Instead of the leather jacket and dark eyeliner of the expert hacker, she’s dressed like a chic socialite, all Chanel and pearls, with a preppy little headband holding back sleek, dyed-red hair.
“Avery.” She moves closer, and air-kisses me on both cheeks. “Darling, so good to see you.”
My jaw drops even wider, then she laughs. “God, your face right now! Don’t worry,” she says, dropping the arch, breezy tone. “I’m on a job right now. Blending in. What do you think?” she says, doing a spin. “Butter wouldn’t melt, huh?”
“It’s creepy,” I say, impressed.
“I was actually coming to find you at the bar,” Charlie continues. “Nero said you were back in town, and I wanted to see if you’d followed up on my tip.”
“Tip?” I echo, confused.
“I emailed you, a couple of weeks ago.”
I give a laugh. “I’ve been kind of busy, in case you didn’t keep up with the news.”
“Right, dying in a fiery plane crash and all.” Charlie looks amused. “Anyway,
you should know, I found your forensics guy. The one who processed the car after Sebastian’s crash.”
It takes me a moment to realize what she’s talking about. The accident that killed Seb’s father, fifteen years ago. I was searching for information about the crash, looking for proof that Sebastian was involved. The wreck of the car itself disappeared after the initial investigation, destroyed via the police scrapyard, I assumed to cover up any evidence of Sebastian’s involvement.
“Oh. Thanks,” I tell her. “But… I don’t need it now. I was able to expose Sebastian without it.”
“Cool,” Charlie gives a careless shrug. “I just wanted to make sure we had everything squared away on this one. I’m a completist like that, I can’t rest until I have every last fact straight.”
“I appreciate it.” I tell her. “You did great work.”
“See you around, sometime.” Charlie says, hitching her purse. “I better get going. Places to go, people to hack,”
She leaves with a wink—back to her next job. Whoever they are, I pity them. There’s nothing that escapes that woman’s attention.
I envy her purpose. Getting up each morning with a new mission to fulfill. I was only launched into this madness for one reason.
Miles.
I collectmy car from the garage and drive out to the cemetery. Nero arranged the best plot for Miles, under a shady oak tree, with a view over the ridge back towards the city. I walk through the headstones until I find it, sitting there with a polished stone, and days-old flowers wilting on the grave.
Beloved son, brother, and friend.
I stand there, feeling lost.
I don’t know why I even came. My emotions are all over the place, a conflicting blend of guilt and regret. The grief at losing him is still there, but it’s faded now, a distant whisper of that overwhelming tidal wave that urged me on all this time.
“You’d know what to do right now,” I say softly to the headstone. “You always were smarter than everyone. A bitch to beat during trivia night,” I add. “But we didn’t hold it against you.”
I take a seat on the bench nearby, wondering what Miles would say to me right now. Would he even recognize me? I’m not so sure. He knew the loyal friend, the fun hang, the Avery that was just one of the guys. He never even glimpsed the sharpest parts of me: My rage, and fury, the passion I didn’t even know was lurking inside.
But Sebastian did. He saw all of me, even the darkest parts.
He said he loved them, no matter what.
“Avery?”
