AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Is she a friend of yours?”
I laugh.
“Yes. That’s Amélie, or Ames for short. She goes to my school and is helping out with the flash drive.”
His curiosity piques as he studies her again.
“She’s the one decrypting the drive?”
I shake my head.
“No. But her older brother and a friend of his are working on it.”
“Ah,” he nods before leading me up to the top of the stairs then down a few halls to his office.
He closes the door before saying, “I trust your judgment about these friends who are helping you. Your father, I assume, looked into them.”
Nodding, I hand him the manila envelope with the drive and watch as he walks it over to a painting on the wall. Swinging it open to reveal a hidden safe, he dials in a code then locks the envelope inside before returning the painting to its original position.
His dark eyes lock onto mine when he faces me again.
“Have you heard from Everly, by any chance?”
Shaking my head, I ignore the worry creeping down my spine. I have no idea what Everly’s involved in. Last I heard, she was moving away from Georgia to another state. She’s been out of touch since.
“No. Not since she left Georgia. I was wondering if her brother has heard anything.”
He steps up to stand in front of me.
“Unfortunately, no. Scott last heard from her when you did. You’ll let us know as soon as she contacts you again?”
I nod. He smiles at the response.
“Thank you. Tell your father hello from me. I really should be getting back to my guests.”
“Oh,” I say, flustered by his reminder that I’ve crashed the event. “Yes, of course.”
We don’t say anything else as he leads me out of the office and back to the grand staircase.
Governor Callahan heads down, but my attention is drawn to a woman moving quickly toward me from the opposite hall, her ombré gown familiar.
Behind her, the dark-haired man I remember seeing the woman with previously is chasing after her, both of them failing to notice me as they turn to descend the stairs.
Apparently, I’m not the only one who notices. The redhead I saw with Ivy outside is coming up the stairs, her body stilling in place as they rush by.
I take a few steps down, but I can’t help my curiosity about what the redhead is staring at. I turn my head to see a man standing at the top of the stairs, his eyes locked on her, a smirk stretching his lips.
Assuming they know each other — and that, really, none of this is my business — I continue down the stairs to see the same man round the base of the staircase.
Confused, I glance back up and realize they must be identical twins.
The redhead looks between them and smiles.
Hell, I’d be smiling too if I were trapped between those two.
Once on the bottom floor, I turn to see that Ames has moved from where she was just a few minutes ago. Annoyance floods me to wonder where she ran off to and what trouble she could be causing.
Coming around the side of the staircase, I pass a small bar set up identical to another one on the opposite wall. I turn my head when a woman shouts loud enough for her voice to echo through the mansion.
