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“Yeah, and I just guessed his password,” Shea piped up, holding the mobile up and wiggling it for emphasis. “It was actually kind of easy. It was b100d.”
Teagan frowned. “How did you guess that?”
“As I said, he’s clever, not intelligent,” Shea said with a shrug.
“Okay, so the plan is to scour that mobile and find something we can use against him,” Teagan continued.
“I could call and see if Sam’s working tonight?” Dave offered. “He works in cyber crimes, so maybe he’d be able to just extract the data and-”
“Do not call anyone yet,” Owen said.
Jaxon had forgotten he was there. What with Brad’s outburst and Shea’s revelation. Owen had just been sitting there, processing.
“What… Dad, I-” Dave began.
“I know it’s asking a lot, Dave. But just for now, let’s keep this quiet,” Owen said. “If we draw attention to Eric with the police, he’s liable to just post everything and bail. I would like to protect Teagan as much as I possibly can.”
“Dad…” Teagan began.
“I thought I’d nipped this when Joshua first came into possession of the pictures. I failed you once, I won’t do it again,” Owen said.
“You didn’t fail me,” Teagan murmured. “I never once thought that.”
“I did. I know I did. And I won’t be doing it again.”
“I hate to interrupt what is surely about to be a heartwarming father-daughter moment, but did I mention that I unlocked the mobile?” Shea asked, breaking up the moment, but bringing everyone where they needed to be.
Jaxon was about to respond when there was a rapid knock at the door. Followed by a brief pause and then another rapid knock.
Frowning, Teagan got up to answer it, only to have Dave cut in front of her, glancing back apologetically before he himself peered through the peephole. “It’s Britt?” he said.
Sighing, Teagan pushed him out of the way and looked. “Oh shit, itisBritt!”
Grappling with the doorknob, she finally wrenched it open to reveal Britt standing there with a sheepish look on her face, an overnight bag slung over her shoulder.
“Hey… can I come in?” she asked. “I know you’re all in the middle of a family dinner, but…”
“Of course, come in!” Teagan gushed, standing back out of the way and allowing her friend to enter.
Brittany let the overnight bag drop and suddenly turned to embrace Teagan. “I tried calling, but…”
“Oh, fuck, I left my mobile in the kitchen…”
“It’s fine, you’re fine, I just…” Brittany took a deep breath. “There were strange cars parked in my neighborhood. I got spooked and decided to come here. I live alone. I don’t know who they were, but…”
“No, you were right to come here,” Teagan continued. “Are you hungry? There’s food. And wine. And Brad! He’s throwing a fit in the kitchen.”
“So just a regular Friday night, then?” Brittany laughed. Her statement got a titter out of everyone.
Chapter Thirty-Two
“I’ll go get him,” Jaxon started, but Teagan reached out and grabbed his arm, shaking her head slightly. “I’ll go, you just… get Britt some wine and move her bag out of the way. I’ll be right back, okay?”
She reached out to squeeze his hand and he almost let her take it along when she walked away. He watched her leave until Brittany coughed, smirking a bit as he bent to pull her overnight bag out of the door so they could close it.
Of course, the blasted thing was heavier than he’d been expecting and he almost didn’t get it hoisted up the first time.
But he did and moved it into the hall closet with everyone’s coats. By the time he’d returned, Britt was sitting down in the chair Brad had vacated and was sipping at a glass of red, looking very much at home.
