Page 19 of Hacker Salvation

He stirred the scrambled eggs in the frying pan. “It might be your job, but don’t think I don’t see the way you look at her.”

“Does that matter?”

“Yes. You deserve to be happy.”

I took the last sip of the remaining dark coffee Aaron had poured in my cup. “She’s engaged.”

“To a friend. She also said if we find Nate, the wedding is off.”

Daisy walked in at the tail end of Aaron’s statement and came over to give him a hug before she sat down on the stool next to me. “Are we talking about Annabella calling off the wedding? I think she would be perfect for you, John.”

I gave Daisy the side-eye. “Like I told Annabella, this is a mission.”

Annabella stormed in and threw her passport at me. Then she turned on her heel and stormed back out of the kitchen. Maybe she would be too angry to go on the trip with me.

I grabbed the keys off the counter. Daisy and Aaron meant well, but I didn’t want to sit and listen to any more of their lecture. When we left Daisy’s house the day before, we’d taken her car to Aaron’s. It was parked behind everyone else’s, so I climbed into the sleek two-door Maserati.

The passenger door swung open, and Neal slid in next to me. “Hey.”

I clenched the steering wheel. “I think I can handle taking the passport in by myself.”

Neal ignored me and folded his tall body into the passenger seat so he could shut the door. “I know you can, but the sheriff agreed to meet with me.”

The front gates to Aaron and Neal’s property opened when I neared them. Neal tapped away on his phone as I drove from Calabasas to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The judge had agreed to let me drop Annabella’s passport off with the police.

The night before, Brock had called a few friends, and we were working on getting Annabella a better lawyer. She had always used Nate as her lawyer, but with everything that had gone down, we all agreed she needed to fire the lawyer her manager had recommended. Annabella ended up wanting to use Marta, Nate’s sister. I still didn’t think that was the best idea since we still didn’t know if his family was behind Nate’s disappearance. Annabella swore Marta wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.

My fingers squeezed the steering wheel. When we arrived at the sheriff’s office, most of the paparazzi were still standing on the steps, probably waiting for more information about Nate and Annabella. She was the talk of every gossip column. Even the local news had started to follow the case of the high-profile actress turned killer.

I parked the car close to the entrance and stared at the mass of photographers. “Don’t you think it’s strange that everyone is jumping to the conclusion she killed him?”

Neal glanced up from his phone. “Yes. I’ve been trying to track down the sources for their stories. They keep saying they have someone on the inside, which we know is not true. It seems all the info is coming from the same person. Someone is setting it up to look like she’s a scorned lover.”

“Nate?”

Neal shook his head. “The person isn’t that good at covering their tracks. It’s someone in Los Angeles. Brock said Jacob and Gabriel are all set to leave tonight, so he sent them to check out a lead I had. The sending IP address was a coffee shop in downtown Los Angeles. I’m waiting to hear back from them.”

I stepped out of the expensive car and walked toward the station. The paparazzi started yelling at Neal the second he stepped out, and the mass of people began to flash pictures and yell question after question. I worked my way through the crowd. When we reached the sheriff’s station, I threw open the door and let Neal in first.

“God, I hate them,” he grumbled. “I’m glad they don’t bother Aaron, Daisy, and me that much anymore. We used to be on their radar every time we went out for lunch. They were always asking questions about our life and how three people were in a relationship together.”

“I can’t wait for this case to be over.”

Neal huffed. “I think you’ll be sad when you have to leave Annabella.”

I ignored the comment and went to the reception desk. The deputy at the desk looked as though she were in her late twenties. Her eyes grew when Neal walked up next to me. She played with her hair. “Are you Neal Ross? I can’t believe you’re here in person. Can I get your autograph?” When she spoke, her high-pitched voice sounded like that of a schoolgirl.

Neal rolled his eyes and ignored her question. “We’re here to see Sheriff Clark,” I said.

“Okay.” She pouted and picked up the desk phone to let the sheriff know we were there. When she hung up, she clicked a button on the wall next to her phone. I heard a loud click come from the door to our right. The door was solid steel and creaked when I swung it open. The young girl was on the other side when we stepped through. She waved for us to follow her as she walked toward an open area lined with deputies.

Detectives and officers stared as we walked back toward the sheriff’s office. I was used to being stared at. People always wanted to know how I’d gotten the scar. Then they would get mad when I said I didn’t want to talk about it. But today, people were staring because Neal was walking through. I heard someone murmur about the software he’d created to help with facial recognition.

Sheriff Clark’s office door was open, so Neal and I walked in. The older sheriff was sitting behind his desk. I handed him Annabella’s passport before sitting down in the leather chair opposite him.

Neal took the seat next to me. “Sheriff, what have you found?”

Sheriff Clark leaned back in his chair. “No, ‘hi, how are you?’”

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