Page 112 of Brutal Kingdom

He sounds distracted when he says, “Don’t worry about it. I was pretty busy, too. How’s things on your end?”

“Oh, you know the usual. School. Penn’s trial, proving my claim to an inheritance, and oh, getting kidnapped by your best friend, because you told him about us working together.”

“J, he saw us and thought we were sleeping together. Neither of us wants to deal with Logan in the state he was in.”

“Pissed off? I’m used to it.”

“Murderous.”

He’s kidding, right? “You’re kidding.”

“He wanted to fight me and it would’ve gotten ugly.”

“Well, I’m sorry, but I stand by my decision. I didn’t and still don’t want him involved in any of this.”

“He is involved, whether it’s through you or Bella, and he’s gonna keep getting involved. Trust me when I say we’d rather have him on our side. Now where are we with the court papers?”

“They keep asking me to fill out more and more paperwork. I think I’ve finally got it all in, so now I’m waiting for a hearing. It’ll be helpful if we can find copies of those missing documents before that, or even someone who knows what they said and is willing to sign an affidavit.”

“I might have a lead on that, but it’ll require another field trip.”

“For who? You or me?”

“Uh. You. This is your genealogy.”

“And you’re the one who orchestrated this whole damn thing to get me here.”

“Yeah, yeah. I got you here and played you to get you to stay here. Big bad me. I’ll spank myself later.”

I laugh because I know he’s not the least bit sorry. “You’re just as big an ass as your friend. You should find a new one. He’s a bad influence on you.”

“That’s the greatest misconception out there. Logan used to be the good guy. I’m the one who corrupted him, and whether you admit it or not, we both know this is always where you were meant to be.”

“Don’t pretend sending my mother the VDU application was motivated by anything other than your desire to get back at Bella.”

“You’re right. It was. But even before I found out the two of you had that connection, I knew your talents were wasted at Carryville.”

“Right. Because of my honesty. Tell me again why you were so invested in Penn’s downfall.”

“He wasn’t just swindling young investors or lucrative businesses. He targeted the elderly, too. My grandmother would’ve lost everything my grandfather left for her if it weren’t for you.”

He told me that before. I believed him then and I believe him now. I just need to hear that what I did, imploding mom’s life, that something good came out of it. I’ve seen the victims, read their names, but I don’t know any of them. Simon and his grandmother make this real.

“Well, I’m happy that didn’t happen, but your family being grateful isn’t exactly the smoking gun I need.”

“I’m running an algorithm I think will help.”

“Are you sure the file existed? You didn’t misread it?”

“It was real. I wish I had time to copy it, but I was too busy looking for something else.”

“Ok. So what do you need me to do?”

“I’ll send you the thumb drive. They’ve updated their computer system, so I’m locked out. The program needs to be installed on her dad's computer, then I can remote access and search from here.”

“What if it’s been deleted?”

“It’s been how many years and you’re still doubting my computer skills?”

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