CHAPTER 14
I didn’t go into my dad’s office very often. Only to do some research on the “official ongoing investigation” into his death, and some digging on the Filthy Five. Otherwise, it had been virtually untouched since he died—his gun case securely locked, the minifridge stocked with Corona Lights, and his dearly beloved semper fi flag hung on the wall. If I didn’t know better, it felt like he might be coming home any minute to skedaddle me out of his man cave.
This time, as I prepared to do research with Liam, I noticed a large coin on the mouse pad. I picked it up to move it aside and realized what it was—my dad’s Challenge Coin. What was it doing here? He’d always had it on him, and it wasn’t here the last time I’d come in. Had he accidentally dropped it under the desk before he died, and the cleaning lady found it recently and put it somewhere we’d see it?
“What’s that?” Liam said, as I turned it over in my hand.
“A coin that everyone in my dad’s SWAT unit had,” I said, trying to remember its significance. “It says ‘Loyalty. Courage. Commitment.’ Though, I’m pretty sure they just used it for bar games. When someone taps it, it’s supposed to alert everyone to a challenge. The last person in the unit to pull out their coin and start tapping has to buy everyone drinks.” I shook my head. “Like they need any more drinking in SWAT.” I put the coin in my pocket anyway. It instantly made me feel closer to Dad.
I wiggled the computer mouse, and the last program used popped up. The large screen lit up with a photo from my sixth birthday party—my dad and me smiling at each other over a massive plate of sizzling fajitas and fruity drinks with umbrellas. My heart sputtered at the sight. I didn’t remember looking at these photos the last time I was in here. My mom must’ve used the computer, which surprised me since I was under the impression that she hadn’t stepped foot in here since his death. Maybe she missed him a lot more than she let on.
I closed the files and closed off my heart. No time for weakness now. Instead, I opened the license plate database, silently thanking Liam for not asking me any questions about the picture.
I typed in the letters and numbers I could see in the photo, filling in all the other fields I could—commercial van, black, standard California plates. Two-thousand-plus hits registered.
“Stupid overcrowded California,” I mumbled, typing in a few variations. Three-thousand-plus hits came up each time.
“Dead end,” I said and flopped back in my dad’s oversized desk chair. A hint of musk from the leather and his cologne wafted up, and I pinched my eyes, pretending to feel frustrated, but really feeling like sobbing. If only my dad were here. He would know what to do. He would get his team to track down every lead and protect me.
“Ruby, are you all right?” Liam touched my leg and made me jump.
“I’m fine,” I said, feeling stupid.
“You just looked…” He paused, searching for the right word.
“I’m sorry,” I interrupted. “I’m good. I’m just not used to having someone around like this. Alana’s usually here to create mindless diversions for me, but not…this.” I gestured at whatever invisible thing hovered between us.
“Well, get used to it,” he said gently, momentarily holding my cheek.
Flustered, I looked back to the blurry photo and studied it again.
“I wish I had one of those huge lenses so these effin’ letters would actually be decipherable. One of those slimy paparazzi guys named Sammy had one that could probably take pictures of life on Mars. He’s the guy who put most of those pictures of me in the tabloids. He was around here a lot when my dad first died, always saying these creepy personal things about me, baiting me to look at his stupid camera. After LeMarq, he was one of those sniper paparazzi hiding in the bushes at school. He’s a real tool.”
Liam sat up higher and laughed like I’d finally hit the punch line of a hilarious joke. “It’s not that funny,” I assured him.
“No, it’s not that. I’m not laughing at you, even though it is pretty ridiculous,” he said with a stupid grin I almost felt like wiping off him. “You just found the answer to the problem.”
I stared at him. “I didn’t know we were doing math tutoring. Which problem?”
“Let’s go find this guy Sammy, and he’ll have the photos we’re looking for. If he was watching your every move with his privacy-invading camera, and the guy behind all of this was watching you, too, chances are there are more images out there. Maybe more than a license plate.”
I sat there speechless, suddenly understanding. Not only would Sammy have photos, but insider information on the “Investigation” of LeMarq, and maybe even my dad’s, too. Somehow these guys always knew more than they should. Like how many times I frequented the 31 Flavors on Main Street for Double Dutch chocolate scoops when I was “depressed.”
Sure, there was a risk Sammy would take advantage of the fact I was doing my own investigations and asking my own questions. But that was a risk I had to take.
“Liam,” I said, “you’re a freaking genius.”
“Rue! I’m home,” my mom yelled just outside the door.
“Oh, snap, it’s Mom,” I muttered. Like a cat landing on all fours, I stood up, clicked off the monitor, and shut the drawer with my dad’s passwords.
As my brain raced through how all this would look to her, I decided to play the awkward card. “Liam, she’ll know I’m hiding something by being in here. Just pretend we were making out, OK? That’ll really throw her off.”
He stared at me for a few moments. “Really?” he whispered, eyes bright. “Won’t she be totally pissed at me?”
“Who cares if she’s pissed at you?” I didn’t understand why he would even care how my absentee mother felt about him.
“Well, she could put me away for good. Everyone knows how tough Prosecutor Jane Rose is.”
“For kissing?”
“For perjury,” he said with a devilish grin. “You can’t ask me to lie, can you?”
He moved in closer and put his arm around me, cradling my neck. He looked down at me with an intensity I almost couldn’t handle, waiting for my permission. What was I going to do—say no?
Suddenly, he wasn’t asking anymore. The moment our lips touched, my eyes fluttered shut in a rush of sensation. His hands, his body, and his mouth were slowly, tenderly, exquisitely consuming me. His warm breath and lips reminded me of melting campfire chocolate—soft and full, smooth and sweet, but dangerously hot. A tingling heat rose in my body. I’d been kissed before, but never like this.
I squeezed the back of his shirt into my fists and pulled him even closer. He didn’t seem to mind as he brought both hands to my face, then to my shoulders, then to my hips. I didn’t even know what to do with my hands anymore. I didn’t mean to touch his abs, but there they were under my fingertips. Waves of adrenaline and desire surged in me with each kiss and touch.
I finally took a breath and realized how desperate I was for oxygen. He rested his forehead on mine, and we breathed the same air. I couldn’t open my eyes yet—I was too dizzy.
“Wow, Ruby Rose, no wonder they say you’re lethal,” Liam whispered.
I playfully slugged him in the chest. “Hey, easy with the name-calling.”
“Sorry,” he said, kissing my cheek, then my neck, then moving back up to my lips. “At least we won’t be lying.”
I heard my mom just outside the door murmuring intermittent curses. She must’ve been going upstairs, because her voice trailed off around the third F-bomb. She definitely didn’t know we were in here.