Page 81 of Undercover Desires

Fifteen minutes later, I slip quietly into the archive room at the station, grateful that Detective Reader isn’t present today. He mentioned never working on weekends unless there’s an emergency, which is convenient. I have full access here, but I can’t shake the feeling that I shouldn’t be doing this while officially working from home. Today I don’t give a fuck, I have pressing questions that can’t wait another day, especially after the disturbing discovery at my home last night. Every second longer Reader has my computer, I know the risk of him being able to get into it and stumble upon the information I’ve gathered about him grows. I need to find answers quickly so Caleb can have him dealt with.

I dive into my search, honing in on Detective Reader’s daughter, whose death continues to haunt him. The records show she passed away at the age of eighteen, her body discovered in the desolate Palm Springs desert three years ago. After some rummaging, I locate the report and carefully extract it from the box. My eyes scan the document, and I learn that Elsie Reader, just eighteen, had been found lifeless around 11:30 pm. Officers from the Palm City Police Department rushed to the scene following a report of an unresponsive female. Theirinitial observations revealed no signs of external trauma or foul play.

Witness statements indicated it was Reader himself who had stumbled upon his daughter’s lifeless form, prompting him to immediately contact emergency services. It’s so tragic, what he must have seen that night. But what I don’t understand is, why would he be taking over the trade and distribution of Euphoria X if he’s seen firsthand how dangerous it is? Surely this happening to his daughter would make him want to fight against the drug, not produce it. Maybe this wasn’t an accident at all.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Hamilton?” Detective Reader’s voice slices through the air.

I jump suddenly, startled, the report slipping from my grasp and falling to the floor. His piercing glare and flaring nostrils show his clear irritation.

“My job,” I reply with determination, refusing to let him intimidate me. I have every right to be here, just like any other officer in the place.

He approaches me with brisk strides and retrieves the fallen file. His face flushes with anger. “Your job includes reading the police report from my daughter’s case?”

I stare back at him. “Yes,” I assert, my resolve unyielding. “Especially when you have me watching the Riveras in relation to the Euphoria trade. This information is highly relevant.”

He returns the report to its original place and then turns back to me, his anger simmering. “You’re a sneaky little thing, aren’t you? Coming in on a Saturday, hoping I wouldn’t be here. Well, it turns out we have business to attend to today. I’m actually glad you’re here. You can help me. Follow me,” he instructs with a click of his fingers.

My time is running out, with just half an hour before I’m supposed to meet Caleb, but it’s clear I won’t be able to escape this situation. I quickly activate my recording app and discreetlyslip my phone into my back pocket, then follow Detective Reader into his office.

He motions for me to close the door behind me. I ignore his request and instead take a seat. “Help you do what?” I inquire, feigning ignorance.

“Arrest Kobe Rivera,” he replies with a sinister smirk that further unsettles me.

“For what?” I ask, my shock genuine. Even if he’s had time to get into my computer, there wasn’t anything on there he could arrest him for. Not a thing.

He tilts his head to the side, taking me in. “You’ve been holding out on me, Arabella,” he accuses. “Not giving me all the information you found on the brothers.”

I fix him with a glare. “My laptop was stolen; I couldn’t show you anything even if I wanted to,” I spit back. I’m not taking shit from him.

“How convenient,” he responds, seemingly unfazed by my anger. He reaches under his desk and pulls out my computer.

My fury surges. “You broke into my house and stole my laptop,” I accuse him angrily. I already knew it, but I wasn’t going to let on. I can’t believe how brazen he is about it.

He stands and comes around behind me, slamming the door shut, his glare piercing into me. “That laptop was police property, holding information that you should have been divulging to me on a weekly basis,” he snaps, his face redder than a tomato.

“There was nothing to divulge. I’ve been at that club for two months, and nothing points to the Rivera brothers being involved in any of the stuff you warned me about. They didn’t have anything to do with your daughter’s overdose. If you looked through my files, you would have found that. Heck, if you took the time to read the police reports in this office properly, you would have found that for yourself,” I say, wishing I had theopportunity to complete the report, but he already knows it has nothing to do with them, because he was the one who found her.

His lips curl into a smug smile. “If I gave you that information, you wouldn’t have started investigating the Riveras for me.”

“So, this is some sort of personal vendetta against them?”

He dismisses my question. “What this is, isn’t your concern. You did well. I have enough in here to warrant an arrest, and from there, we’ll build our case,” he states, rubbing his hands together.

“There was nothing there,” I murmur, confused. I’m puzzled about what he could be referring to. I had been building a case against him, but that’s not what he’s talking about.

He brings up a photo of Kobe’s office and points to a book with a black cover sitting on his desk. I took that photo before I knew him better. It was innocent, really. His door was open, and I took the opportunity to snap a quick photo on my phone so I could analyze it later.

“What is that?” I ask, genuinely confused. Am I missing something here?

“The Acevedo little black book that went missing from this office not too long ago. Stolen police property will be enough to arrest him, then we can search his club and go from there.”

My heart races, as I didn’t realize I had anything incriminating on my computer, not really, anyway. “Why do you hate them so much?” I glare at him, seeking answers as panic settles in. This is bad.

“Those boys stand for everything I despise in this world, and I need to set an example of them, show this town who’s really in charge: Me.”

“This is all about you having the power?” I retort, disgusted by his narcissism.

“I don’t expect someone like you to understand, but I didn’t get my way into this position by playing by the rules. Playing by the rules gets you dead like your daddy,” he sneers.

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