Page 157 of The Sidekick

“What did he do to the computer?” Max asks and takes a giant bite. I’m surprised he doesn’t choke.

“He’s got a link from my laptop to some software so he can spy and open my stuff whenever he wants. As soon as it powered on, he got an alert that I’m active on here.”

“Are you going to get him back?” Satan scowls as he watches.

“No,” I sigh in defeat. “I’ve called a truce on our mini-war due to heartbreak. I can’t kick him while he’s down. But I can boot him out of here and gloat about it.”

“It doesn’t feel like enough,” Max pouts. Satan murmurs in agreement.

“I’ll deal with the dictator, don’t worry,” I pat his leg comfortingly.

When I finally have an all-clear that everything is gone, I pop my knuckles, ready to get started.

“What’s first?” Max avidly watches as I log into the cameras around their townhouse.

“I need to verify a few things, so I’ve got to watch some footage.”

“Is this their place?” Satan asks with interest. Nothing like a little peeping to get people’s interest.

“Yeah. It was Andi’s a year ago. She moved to a bigger place when her trio started living with her. I set up hidden cameras everywhere so I would get alerts if somebody broke in.”

“Was this when she was being stalked?” He leans back to watch my face. I’m too invested in pulling up all of the cameras to look back at him.

“Yeah. I had her permission to do it, but not theirs. They don’t know it’s all still there.”

“Have you been watching them?” Max glares. I do a double take at the open jealousy on his face.

“No! Gross! Don’t make me throw up today, please? I’m begging you.” I shudder in disgust. Now I’m really nervous about what I might see on here. I sit back, horrified. “Now I don’t know if I can watch this. Move your legs in case I have to run to the bathroom.”

They laugh like I’m joking, but I’m really not. The thought of witnessing them betraying Shade actually makes me nauseous.

“Shade doesn’t know about the cameras, and I didn’t tell him I’m doing this. Swear to me that whatever we see here doesn’t leave this room.” I’m dead serious. If they think this is a joke, I’m taking my baby and doing this at home, agreement or not.

“I’d never do that, no matter how tempting. I swear,” Max agrees easily, looking more concerned.

I turn to Satan, waiting.

“I swear,” he says grimly.

My eyes flicker over his face as I decide whether or not I believe him.

“What are you expecting to see?” He adds on with a darker frown.

“Shade said,” I trail off with a wince as I remember his devastated expression. “They had a misunderstanding and he was going over to explain. I’m so proud of him for taking the initiative and they ruined it! He said Blaze was on the stairs with a naked chick who was supposed to be a colleague. Blaze said some mean stuff to him. But he also said Felix said it wasn’t what it looked like. I just want to make sure before I do anything. If I can tell Shade that it really wasn’t what it looked like, he might get some hope back, you know? Having a broken heart sucks. He’s a jerk, but he’s my jerk, and he deserves better.”

Determination renewed, I open them all.

“That’s a lot of cameras,” Max seems creeped out as he eyes me.

“One for every entry point and different angles of the rooms where someone can hide. I know where I would hide if I was breaking in. I set it up to watch those areas too.”

They both nod in understanding while I explain.

“He broke in here,” I point at the window over the kitchen sink. “Don’t ask me how that guy fit, but he did it. He walked right up the staircase like he owned it. I set off all of her house alarms to scare him away, but he was determined. It took the police too long to get to her. By the time they showed up, he was gone, and Andi was at the bottom of the stairs, all crumpled up. I hate those stairs. They’re cursed.”

“Why did you never tell us this was going on?” Satan demands, jolting me back to the present.

“And put everyone here at risk? No way!” I snap back in shock. “How many women come in here for a drink or a good time? How many of them fit that worm’s profile? It was too risky. I did the smart thing. As soon as I noticed the worm’s victim profile, I emailed her dad. The second I saw it! I got the police involved, I got her dad to look into it, and he sent the bodyguards. I got her focused on three guys so she could have backup, not that they’re spectacular or anything, but they’re perfect for her. I did my flipping best!”

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