Page 80 of Spark
Suddenly, his newfound fondness for weddings dimmed.“Fuck, yes.”
Tyler had no idea how he kept his composure as they found Addison and Ryan, said their goodnights, and made it up to Chloe’s hotel room.Time moved differently the second they shut the door, slowing to let them enjoy every kiss, every touch, every shudder and every sigh.Tyler lowered her dress from her body, tracing her blush with the tips of his fingers as he slid them over her again and again.Every touch engraved itself into his memory, and as they tumbled into bed and tangled together in ways that couldn’t be undone, he knew that Addison had been right.
Loving Chloe was the easiest thing he’d ever done in his life.And now that he had her, he didn’t ever want to let her go.
26
Tyler’s phone was under water.Or maybe he was under water?No, wait, he was in bed with Chloe.The wedding came back to him, the bare light at the edge of the curtains telling him only a few hours had passed since they’d drifted off to sleep, and he pushed his brain fog aside, forcing himself to focus.
His phone was ringing.At—he blinked at the clock on the nightstand—6:52 in the morning on the day after Ryan and Addison’s wedding.
In no universe could this be good.
Slipping out of bed, Tyler found the phone under his suit pants, hitting the green circle to accept the call before it went to voicemail, but not catching the name on the caller ID.“Hello?”
“Gates.I’m sorry for the early interruption.I wouldn’t call if it wasn’t important,” Capelli said, and cold fingers of dread ghosted up Tyler’s spine.
“Is Esme okay?”he asked, Chloe sitting bolt upright at the question.
“She’s fine.Her information is still secure.We don’t see any threat to her right now,” Capelli promised, and Tyler nodded to Chloe, who sagged visibly in relief.But it didn’t last.“There’s been a significant development in the case, though.We’re doing a briefing in thirty minutes.Sinclair asked for you and Chloe to come down to the precinct.”
“Okay.”Tyler’s mind raced, staticky from lack of sleep.“Can you at least give me an idea of what’s going on, here?”
Capelli paused.“It’s a long story, and we’re still putting all the pieces together.”
“Give me the version that fits on a Post-it note.”
“We have the hacker in custody.”
Tyler almost dropped the phone.“Youcaughtthe hacker?How?”
“That part doesn’t fit on a Post-it note,” Capelli said, “although I can tell you this.She’s very, very smart.”
“She?”Tyler blinked, trying to process, and nope.He was going to need verification he’d heard that right.“The hacker is a woman?”
“She is,” Capelli confirmed.“And right now, she’s holding all the cards.”
Not wanting to waste any more time, Tyler agreed to be at the precinct in twenty-eight minutes.He told Chloe everything he knew, which was damn little, and they went through only the most necessary hygiene before he re-dressed in last night’s clothes, and she threw on the jeans and tank top she’d packed in her overnight bag.They flew out of the hotel, with Chloe calling Lou and Carleen to confirm that Esme was fine and they were all safe, then trying to get ahold of an Intelligence detective whohadn’tgotten married less than twenty-four hours ago while Tyler drove.
“Xander’s voicemail,” she said.“Strike four.And ugh, my phone is almost dead.”
Tyler shook his head, measuring the passing streets, still empty at such an early hour on a Sunday.“They’re probably already there, and we will be, too, in a couple of minutes.But this is good.This woman is in custody.Intelligence must have something major on her and Navarro, or they wouldn’t have called us in.”
Chloe gave up a shaky nod.“I know you’re right, but God, I just want this to be over.”
“I do, too.”He squeezed her hand, trying to channel any calm he could muster in the contact.“It will be soon.”
They pulled up to the Thirty-Third less than two minutes later, hustling through the parking lot and past the front doors.Tyler stumbled to a stop at the sight of Addison standing at the desk sergeant’s counter, wearing a T-shirt proclaimingLook at Me, Getting All Married and Shit, a pair of sweatpants that were about three sizes too big on her and almost certainly Ryan’s, and the pair of frilly white Converse All Stars she’d had on beneath her wedding dress.
“Good, you’re here.Ryan’s getting coffee.I’ll take you guys upstairs.”
“How are you here?You guys gotmarriedlast night,” Chloe said, looking at least as shocked as Tyler felt.
A few tendrils of hair escaped from the wild knot on top of Addison’s head as she nodded.“Yep, and we don’t leave for our honeymoon until Tuesday.Plus, this isn’t just any case.It’s personal.Of course, we’re here.”
Whatever this hacker knew, it must be massive.Tyler walked beside Chloe as they made their way up to the Intelligence office, bypassing the main space to head into the wide hallway with interview rooms lining either side.Maxwell, Garza, and Sinclair all stood in front of the second one on the right, with Tara, Xander, and Capelli talking quietly a few feet away.Ryan came in behind them, pausing only to give Chloe a fast, hard hug and hand over cardboard cups of coffee to both her and Tyler before Chloe broke the silence.
“Okay, I can’t stand it anymore,” she said, looking from Addison to Capelli to Tara, her voice heavy with concern.“What in the world is going on?”
