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After showering, I headed back to the clubhouse to keep myself busy before I did something stupid, like go to Devon’s and throttle her.
Chapter 12
Scars And Stripes
Devon
“You’re so stupid, Devon! You should have just let him call the FBI. What would it have mattered?” I yelled while staring at my face in the bathroom mirror. “Dammit!” I stormed out and sat at my workstation. Leaning back, I tapped my fingers on the armrest of the chair. What was I going to do now? It wasn’t like those payments were keeping me afloat, but they were a good portion of my income. I was so angry I hadn’t investigated the site better.
When they’d first hired me a year ago, I did take a look around, saw the names of the message boards, but never clicked on them. They just appeared to be items for sale with cutesy titles to get people to click. After a while, I never even went on the site, I only visited the servers to collect the data from the spyware and then logged off, usually too wrapped up in some other hack I was busy with at the time. Then, I discovered the Nighthawks, and they became my complete obsession. I saw their group texts and would feel like I was reading some thrilling live-action role play. I would leave the apartment to hide in the shadows, watching whatever they were doing at the time. I almost got caught once, a few weeks ago when they were trying to rescue who I now know is Jemini. It was so exciting to watch them leap into action, but the kidnappers spotted me as they’d gotten out of the car to do the exchange for that necklace they wanted, and I’d bolted.
When I got the call from Mack, a guy Jemini used to work with—a human I’d met by doing a job for him—I had been so excited. Because I’d spent decades hiding and being socially awkward, I’d never figured out how I could meet bikers. I was jealous of their group and how close they were with each other. I’d hacked into the cameras inside that nightclub they owned and used to watch them interact with each other. Since being turned, I’d never had that. I didn’t even have any friends except the ones I made online—and even they didn’t know the true me. If I hadn’t met some of them to chat with, though, I probably would have died of loneliness.
Going out with Parker had been the most social I’d been in… I couldn’t remember how long. I felt so stupid now. He was so angry, and I knew he’d never speak to me again. I was a fool for even thinking he was interested in me. Why would someone like that want to be with someone like me? He was the beauty and I was the beast. I’d obviously misread any signals he’d given off and never felt more humiliated in my existence. It was clear I needed to just stay indoors, only going out to meet clients for jobs or steal blood from the blood bank. It was where I felt safe, and I could keep from getting hurt.
Deciding I better get all the information of the visitors to the site before it got shut down by the cops, I searched for new visitors and found fifteen of them. I quickly gathered their information and put it into the spreadsheet I’d created. The one I sent over to the owners of the site every week. It was detailed, with IP addresses, any names or business names I could track down, frequency of visits, and dates and times. I would hand it over to the feds if they asked for it, but I wasn’t going to volunteer it, because that would lead them to a whole bunch of questions that I had no interest in answering. I’d have to disappear and start over, and I didn’t want that. I’d just settled here five years ago and liked it. The nights were more alive than the day, and there were plenty of shady characters around who needed less-than-ethical computer help.
After that, I began doing a search for Gregory’s wife. I opened up Photoshop, spent an hour cleaning up the photo as best as I could, then loaded it into the facial recognition software I’d stolen from an Israeli government agency. While that scanned millions of faces, I pulled up the text he’d sent me with her personal information. I entered it all into LexisNexis. I didn’t think I would get much, but a possible match popped up. Same first name and date of birth, different last name, different year. I excitedly pulled up her driver’s license photo and loaded it into the facial recognition software. It was a 98% match. It seemed Greg’s wife had been living as Sue Ann Johnson in Minneapolis. A quick background check showed she had no children or spouse, and owned a bakery there called Sue Ann’s Southern Sweets. How apropos. I giggled and printed everything out for him. That was the easiest thousand bucks I’d ever made.
“Cha-ching! Show me the monayyy, Gregory!”
An alert from my police scanner caught my attention. “Attention all radio units, we have a possible sighting of two individuals, wanted for kidnapping. They were spotted on the east bank of the Mississippi disembarking a red and white speedboat. Two White males, dark clothing, most likely armed. All available units respond. Proceed with caution.”
The temptation to stay home was too great, so I shoved all the documents and photo into a large manilla envelope and sealed it. Then, I grabbed my hoodie and cell phone and walked out the door.
Chapter 13
Vampire Proof
Face
I sat at the computer staring at a blank screen. I was in no mood to work.
“What’s up, buttercup?” Jemini asked, walking into the office carrying a coffee mug reading Not Today, Satan.
“Nothing,” I replied grouchily.
“Who pissed in your Wheaties this fine evening?” she asked with a snort.
“Gross,” I replied.
She laughed. “My dad used to say it to my mom when she was in a bad mood.”
I ignored her question. “Why you so chipper?”
She sat in the chair next to me and set the mug down. “Because I think Gabe’s gonna propose.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? What makes you think so?”
She shrugged one shoulder. “The browser search history on the communal computer.”
“And?” I asked, mildly intrigued because I wanted to get my mind off of Devon.
“And… someone went searching for ‘reputable jewelers in New Orleans.’”
I chuckled. “How do you know it was him? Maybe MyAnna wants a new necklace or something? Vane spoils her.”
“Nope,” she replied smugly. “I made everyone create a username and password for the computer. Gabe was logged in when the search was made.”
