Page 93 of After All The Wreckage
I didn’t wait for him to argue again, just checked the camera feed myself, pulled on a pair of disposable gloves, and slipped into the hall. Not even thirty seconds later, I was inside Walden’s room. I went immediately to the desk and plugged in the charger with its hidden camera. Normally, if I needed a money shot, I would place the camera so it had a view of the bed, but I didn’t need information on Walden’s sexual proclivities. This time, I really needed to hear who he was talking to and what they were saying. Still, out of habit, I stuck the smaller camera at the base of a lamp on the bedside table.
With those items in place, I moved over to the closet. His luggage was tucked inside. Expensive. Just like the handmadesuits hanging there, and the silk ties draped over the rod. Several pairs of high-end shoes, perfectly shined, were lined up on the floor.
I punched in the standard master code on the safe, but it didn’t open.
In the bathroom, the counter was littered with a shaving kit and more creams and lotions than even Nan had. A cologne bottle that had to have cost him a pretty penny sat next to them. Everything about Walden screamed of a wealth he shouldn’t have.
Out in the room, I eyed the desk and the computer cord sitting there, wishing he’d left his computer. My phone buzzed, and I looked down at it, worry coasting through me, but it wasn’t Gage, it was Shay.
SHAY: Where are you? Your Nan said you asked her to stay the night at Harriet’s. What’s wrong?
I ignored the text, looking around the room one more time before bringing up both cameras on my phone. “Testing. Testing.” My voice echoed through, clear and strong.
I went to the door, looked back, and noticed the edge of a silver box barely sticking out from under the bed. I jogged back, pulling out a hard-sided gun case. What the hell was Walden doing with a gun when there were none registered to his name?
I pulled a pocketknife from the inside zipper compartment of my jacket, flipped it open, and stuck it into the lock. I did my best to not leave a visible mark, but if someone stuck the lock under a microscope, they’d know it had been broken into.
When the case opened, my breath caught in surprise.
Money. Bundles of hundreds. At least two hundred thousand dollars stared up at me.
I swallowed hard. He’d left the money casually lying around under the bed. In a locked case, sure, but easily broken into. It had taken me under thirty seconds to get inside it. What the hell was in the safe if he had this much money just sitting here?
I lifted several of the bundles, thinking about how long this money would keep Mom at Shady Lane. Thinking about how easy it would be to take it, and knowing I never would. Mom would hate it. She wouldn’t want to live off bad money. Never in a million years.
Below the bundles was a Smith & Wesson SW1911. All black, with extra bullets.
A good gun. Not my favorite. I preferred my Glock 19 with its 9mm cartridge allowing room for more ammo and less recoil. Plus, owning and shooting it gave me experience with the gun of choice of the FBI. Looking at this one, I regretted again not bringing mine today.
I debated taking the Smith & Wesson as nothing good could come from Walden having it.
But then I remembered Monte’s voice and the promise I’d made. I didn’t plan on shooting anyone. I wouldn’t have to if I did my job right. I fought with the instinct urging me to take it, and instead, took a picture of the serial number so I could run it and see what came up.
My phone buzzed once more as I was putting everything back inside the case. Gage. My heart skipped a beat, and I eyeballed the closet, which was pretty much the only place to hide if Walden walked in.
GAGE: Are you okay?
I didn’t waste time replying. I’d already been in the room longer than I’d planned.
After putting the gun case back exactly where it had been, slightly sticking out from the bed skirt, I headed for the door. I’d checked the camera app on my phone, rechecked the hall from the peephole, and started to open the door when voices halted me.
I closed the door most of the way, heart hammering as I watched through the crack while a couple walked by arm in arm. They were laughing and smiling as if they didn’t have a care in the world, and my chest squeezed at the image they made. I had no idea what that was like… feeling light and free and in love.
I’d never loved anyone but my family and a boy I’d never really known. Shay had once accused me of holding on to a mirage I’d created as a teen. But after having spent several days in Gage’s presence, I knew the truth.
It wasn’t a mirage. I hadn’t made up anything about him. He was exactly the noble, kind hero I’d thought he was even back then. Wounded and tormented for sure, but life hadn’t broken him. It hadn’t turned him into something ugly or dark. Broody maybe, but not dark.
He’d laughed today. Laughed and winked and shown me a glimpse into that boy I’d first fallen for. What would it be like to see him that way all the time? To be the reason he got some of his joy back?
The couple’s voices drifted away, a door down the hall clicked shut, and I made my way out of the room and over to ours. As I stepped inside, Gage froze, caught in what I presumed was pacing along the edge of the bed.
“Thank God,” he said quietly.
Why did the simple relief in his voice make my entire being light up?
Why did every word and look he directed at me seem more poignant and real than anything anyone else had ever sent my way?
How could I possibly experience this with him and then leave it behind?
