Page 9 of Hacker Salvation

I had to know a few things. I listed out my questions. She had laid out her recollections of the night, but I needed to ask about more significant issues, starting with a lot of whys. No matter how many ways I looked at the evidence, it appeared obvious that someone was trying to set her up. I wanted to sweep her up into my arms and take her away from everything. But I had to face reality. We needed to figure out who was trying to frame her and what had happened to Nate.

I finally drifted off to sleep, sitting against the wall outside her room, once I was convinced the place was safe and so was Annabella.

* * *

Annabella

When I walked out in the morning and saw John sitting by my door, I jumped and clutched my chest while he looked away and tried to hide a frown. “Sorry. Didn’t expect to find anyone outside my door,” I mumbled.

The way he was hiding his face, I knew what he thought. Obviously, he was convinced it was the sight of him that had me off balance. But the sight of him made my body hum. Last night, I had tossed and turned in bed—not because I might be convicted of murder, but because images of John had kept circling through my mind. The way he’d walked into the sheriff’s station with purpose and meaning. The scar on the side of his face that he kept trying to hide was sexy as hell. I wanted to run my hand down his face. Well, that wasn’t the only place I wanted to run my hands. Closing my eyes, I tried to get my body back under control.

“Wanna get some coffee with me?” I asked. I felt awkward. I normally had a strict schedule, but after being arrested, my schedule had suddenly cleared. I’d canceled everything that hadn’t already been canceled. Last night, I’d used Daisy’s phone to contact my manager, who was in hysterics by the time I talked to him. It had taken me an hour to calm him down, and he’d agreed to cancel all of my future engagements until further notice. In two days, I was scheduled to make an appearance at a local art show. I wasn’t even sure why I was scheduled for the art show other than my manager said it would be good press. The director ofLast Lovehad put my scheduling on hold and was shooting everything else. The studio didn’t plan to cut my section out of the movie… yet. He hadn’t said those words, but I knew they were there between us.

I sighed. “I’m free. Sort of.”

He smirked, and that little twitch of his lips made him even sexier. We made our way down to the kitchen together. We weren’t the only ones who were awake at such an early hour.

Brock was up, and Daisy was sitting with him. “You’re awake,” she noted quietly.

I nodded. “Yes. And I wish I weren’t. I can’t handle turning on the television, the news, and social media.” I rubbed my face. “Everyone thinks I’m some kind of scorned lover turned killer.”

“I don’t,” John mumbled.

I snickered. “I have a small cheering section.” I reached out and patted his hand. “Thank you for that.”

He quickly left the table, his face turning several shades of pink, and went to make the coffees.

All of my emotions were so close to the surface, I was afraid they might erupt at any moment. “What do we do next?” I asked. “Nate hasn’t magically appeared overnight? I really need to get my phone back.”

Daisy and Brock exchanged a look. “No. He hasn’t.”

I groaned. “I don’t understand. What could’ve happened?”

“We need to get back in the house and look around as soon as they release the crime scene,” Brock said. “In the meantime, you need to collect all the assets that you can. Just in case.” He nodded at John, who was returning to the table with mugs of coffee.

“I didn’t know how you liked it,” he mumbled as he set a mug down in front of me then pushed the cream and sugar toward me.

“I don’t suppose you have any Baileys?” I asked. His lips twitched. “Kahlúa?”

He sank down in the empty seat beside me. “I’m pretty sure you need to be on top of your game right now. You can’t be drinking.” He glanced at Brock, who nodded.

“When this is all over, mimosas on the beach,” Daisy promised. “You pick the beach.”

My eyes watered. “Thank you. Greece maybe. Or we could go to some beach in Mexico.” I rubbed my eyes.

“First, let’s clear your name and find out what’s going on with Nate,” Brock urged. “Have you been too Nate’s office before?”

“Yes, many times. When we were kids, we spent hours at the firm, and I would stop over every so often in the last few years.”

“Good. Can you get John into his office?” When I nodded, Brock continued. “John, look around to see if you find anything and put this into the computer.” Brock handed John a thumb drive. “This will give me access to Nate’s computer and the network. Jessica and I need to leave around six tonight.”

My heart sank as I wondered what would happen if we didn’t find out what was going on by six.

John squeezed my shoulder. “I’m going to stay until we figure out what is happening.” I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding. “Antonio and Kat are also here to help if we need them.”

Daisy smirked. “You only need Kat if you need to take someone out. And she’s a long way from her alligators, so we would need to find her acid to get rid of the bodies.” she said with the straightest face.

“Alligators?”

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