Page 71 of Spark
“Dude.Dude.No way.Protected witness information is stored on the RPD’s most highly safeguarded database.Accessing it isn’t like hacking into the mainframe to change a parking ticket.It’s a totally different bag of cats.We’re talking state-of-the-art multifactor authentication.Cutting edge detection and alert systems.Defensive measures and adversary tactics.The Intelligence Unit’s tech geek is into some crazy NSA-level shit.”
“Are you saying you can’t do it?”
“Of course I can do it,” Runner snorted.“What I’m saying is, I’d get caught.”
Simon’s control slipped, and no.This wouldnotdo.There would be too much attention on Leo if he had to stand trial.If Simon wanted him dead, he’d have to take care of the charges, first.
“Your safety isn’t my concern.I pay you to obtain information, and I want the name of that witness.Unless”—frost crept into his tone as he tightened the vise—“you’d like me to pay your mother a visit at Tranquil Gardens.”
The loaded silence was all he needed to know he’d hit the mark, dead center, although Runner gave bluffing a shot, anyway.
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.I don’t have any family.”
“I think we both know that’s not true,” Simon said.“Lovely assisted care facility she’s living in, although honestly, for what you pay every month, the security could be better.It would be a shame if she were to have an accident.A fall at her age could crack a skull.Snap a femur.Shatter a hip.Maybe all three.”
“You cock sucking asshole,” Runner growled, and Simon tsked.
“That’s really not necessary.All I want is a name.”
Silence unfolded over the line for a beat.Two.Three.Then, “It’s going to take a couple of weeks.”
Simon bit down on his frustration, snapping it in half.“That’s too long.”
“You didn’t barge into that lab and set shit on fire without a plan, did you?That was Tic Tac Toe, and this is world champion chess, so, yeah, it’s going to take a fucking minute.Unless you want me to get caught before I can get access?”
Damn it.Runnerwasthe best in the business, despite the attitude, and Simon needed that name.“Work as fast as you can.And keep me updated on any further case activity.If anyone from any department goes digging for so much as one more shred of evidence, I want to know about it.”
“Anything else?”Runner asked icily.
“No,” Simon said, and only after he hung up did he allow himself to smile.
The beginning of the end started right now.
Tyler had been so blindedby the happiness of seeing Chloe after a day and a half of his being on-shift, then her working a double at Sweetie Pies, that he didn’t realize his strategic error until he pulled up in front of Lou and Carleen Dempsey’s house and saw the cars jamming the driveway and lining half the block.
He prided himself on being preternaturally calm.Always able to control his feelings, even to cancel some of them out if the occasion called for it.But starting with that kiss four months ago, Chloe had changed all of that.Now, as he stood here on the walkway, practically a twin of that emoji with hearts for eyes at the thought of just being in Chloe’s orbit and seeing her smile?Tyler was the polar opposite of calm.He was absolutely, one hundred percent rocked off his axis.
Even worse?He didn’t want to fight how he felt about her.He wanted to feel every second of it.To not let it go.To not lethergo.
Even if it wrecked him.
“The party is inside, you know,” came a warm, familiar voice, and he smiled as he turned to greet his mother.
“You’re out here,” he pointed out, leaning in to kiss her cheek, then take the casserole dish she’d carried over from next door.“Lasagna?”
She held up her hands.“I know Lou’s probably got it covered.You know how much he loves to cook.But with this crew, I figured extra food won’t go to waste.Especially since Esme is staying for a little while.”
After some fast-turn paperwork and a bit of a scramble, Esme had moved out of the group home three days ago and in with Lou and Carleen.Tyler hadn’t hesitated to help, although that had really only consisted of loading two Hefty bags full of clothes into his Mustang to take across town and rearranging some furniture in the Dempseys’ guest bedroom so Esme would have a desk by the window, where—Carleen insisted—the light was better.He and Chloe had hung around the house for the rest of the day, and although Esme had spent a decent amount of that time in her room, she did cautiously make her way out for pizza before he and Chloe had left for Chloe’s place, where Tyler had spent his second night in a row wrapped up in her arms.Getting up at the ass-crack of dawn for a full shift at the fire house a handful of hours later had been brutal, but he had absolutely zero regrets.He’d caught up on sleep this afternoon while Chloe had spent a little more time with Esme, and according to Chloe’s texts, she seemed to be adjusting, albeit slowly.She’d even started new classes yesterday.
The thought delivered him back to the walkway, where the sun was just beginning to tip low toward the horizon.“Thanks for agreeing to home-school Esme for a little while,” Tyler said, but his mother waved him off.
“Chloe did all the work, finding the online academy with specialized programs for students who need an alternative environment.Anyway, Esme’s a fast learner.It’ll take her a little while, but she’ll be okay.”
A protective pang went off in Tyler’s chest at the thought of everything the kid had been through in the past few weeks, but he nodded.Chloe had Esme’s back, and he had Chloe’s.They’d all be okay.He’d make fucking sure of it.“Of course she will.She’s learning from the best.”
Stepping back to usher his mom up the flower-lined path to the house, they covered the ground to the front door in only a dozen or so steps.His heart pinballed against his ribs when Chloe answered the bell, her cheeks flushing his favorite shade of pink as she gave up a wide, gorgeous smile.
“Hey!Hi, I’m so glad you’re here,” she said, hugging them one right after the other, and yeah.Yeeeeah, keeping his thoughts PG was going to be next to impossible, considering the last time he’d seen her blush like that, it was because he’d just made her come with his tongue.“I need your help.”
