Page 10 of Hacker Salvation

John rolled his eyes. “Kat has a slight issue with killing people and feeding them to alligators. Antonio said she hasn’t killed anyone in the past month.”

Daisy burst out laughing. “So Antonio thinks. I’m pretty sure I saw a large black bag of something in her SUV the other day.”

I looked back and forth among them, trying to figure out if they were serious. “Um, are we going to need to kill anyone? I’m trying to prove my innocence, not kill someone.”

John took a sip of his coffee. “Don’t worry about it. We won’t need to kill anyone.”

“When do you think I can get my phone back? Nate and I set up Find My Friends. We only use it when we really need to. That might tell us where he is.” I hadn’t thought of that earlier.

Neal shook his head. “I hacked your account last night and looked. His last location was the house before he left. It’s like he turned his phone off when he left. Did he ever tell you the name of the person he was sleeping with?”

“Pedro. They’ve been together for the past three years.”

John tapped his fingers on the table. “See, that is what I don’t understand. Why would he turn everything over to you and give nothing to a man he spent three years with?”

“Because he never wanted his family to know who his lover was. I promised to take care of Pedro financially if anything happened to Nate. I met him a few times over the years. They truly loved each other.”

Brock got up and poured another cup of coffee. “Maybe Pedro killed him and made it look like you did it. They could’ve gotten into a fight. Hell, if I were him, I would be upset with him marrying someone else.”

A shiver ran down my spine. “Would Pedro frame me? No. There’s something else going on. I need my phone and access to the house safe.”

John squeezed my shoulder again. “Why don’t you go get ready?”

I ran upstairs, showered, and dressed in an outfit that Daisy had laid out for me. The only clothing I had at the moment were the blue scrubs the police had given me to change into. I didn’t care if I never saw those again. My memories of blue scrubs would be forever tied to the jail.

5

Annabella

Our first stop was Nate’s office. Security surrounded me the second we walked into the skyscraper downtown. The building displayed Nate’s family’s name. They weren’t only rich, but they had one of the most well-known names in Los Angeles. Jake, the head of security, immediately blocked my path as we walked through the door. He had been one of the family’s top guards for the past five years. Now he stood between me and answers.

John stepped in front of me and addressed Jake before he had the chance to speak. “She’s not convicted. Back off. She has every right to be here. According to the will, if Nate is dead, she owns this place.”

The guy glared, but I continued on, all the while struggling to hold my head up.

“You can be sad,” John murmured as the elevator door closed. “It might look better if you were.”

I glared at him while he pushed the button for the seventy-second floor. “Are you trying to tell me what to feel?”

He chuckled. “Maybe. You’re an actress. Think of me as your director. I’m just telling you that these people may be called to testify against you. Give them something nice to say. Look devastated. Pretend you lost your future husband. He was murdered. Sudden. Scary. And all your money might get tied up.” He shook his head before the doors opened on the top floor of the office building. “I don’t know why people tie themselves to others, but whatever.”

He laid a hand on my lower back as he guided me out of the elevator. Everyone was staring at us. I’d expected as much. I walked past reception and continued down the long hallway to Nate’s office. I didn’t need to hear the footsteps behind me to know John was on my trail. A few doors opened behind us, and I felt more stares as we walked by. With each step, my bravado started to fade. It was easier to act, knowing everything was fake. This wasn’t fake, and I was furious at Nate for putting me in such an uncomfortable position. When I reached the waiting room for his office, I found Sidney, his assistant, sitting at her desk with a box of tissues.

“I’m trying to collect some items of sentimental value,” I explained when she got up from her desk. When she opened her mouth to speak, I kept talking. “This isn’t a crime scene. And not that you care, but I didn’t do it.”

The assistant muttered something under her breath about how Nate never loved me.

I froze. “What makes you say that?”

Sidney was quiet, but I sensed there was more to her comment.

“You know, I was supposed to be his beard,” I said, not that it was any of her business. “We’re old friends. I was tired of men using me for my money. Nate was tired of people questioning his sexual orientation and dealing with his family.”

I watched the girl for a reaction. She looked back down the hall toward Nate’s father’s office. His sister Elizabeth also had an office in the building. I planned to stop by and find out what she knew about the will.

“Still, he was always discreet,” I continued. “And I was fine with that. Except now he’s missing, and I’m the suspect. Do you know much about who he was seeing?”

The girl sat down behind her desk. She looked uncomfortable. The girl tapped her finger on her desk as a nervous gesture.

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