Page 19 of Beautiful Chaos

“How is that different from any other conversation we’ve had?” I scoff. Each one leads down a whole new road of leads to chase. Hours and hours behind a computer screen tracking down every name, every property, every possibility that could lead us back to the answers we so desperately crave.

I feel Scar’s presence enter the office before I see her. Can feel her eyes burning into my skin like the brand they are. It was odd that she didn’t beat me here this morning. She’s never spent more time locked away with a computer than these last few weeks. The only times she isn’t here is when she’s with Roe or when she’s training. I’m positive she would even be sleeping in here if we didn’t drag her to bed every night.

“Well, I’ve never heard of an underworked hacker,” Charles chuckles, drawing my attention back to the conversation and a surprised laugh eddies up out of me.

I immediately freeze and my laugh tapers off awkwardly. Charles clears his throat on the line as well. “Right, well,” he continues awkwardly. “I have confirmed Romano has not left the country and I’m fairly positive he’s not on the West Coast anymore. My father extended his initial visit here, but his movements have been erratic since he abruptly changed his departure date again. I think he may have taken him back east.”

I sit up straighter in my seat. That eliminates more than half my list and cuts down on the work I need to do. I look down at my own list I was slowly working through to cross properties off and sure enough, all the ones that I have been able to confirm he wasn’t there have been either on the West Coast or out of the country.

“That narrows down our search a lot,” I respond, not able to keep the thread of excitement from my voice.

“It does. My father has been reaching out to contacts back home and I’ve been tracking his movements. I’m fairly sure he’s trying to decide if Romano is worth keeping alive at this point.”

I tap my pen against the desk as I swivel my chair to meet Scar’s eyes. They’re lit up with a hungry hope that can only speak to her bloodlust. I start to smile at her but it freezes as I notice the hard and possibly hurt expression on Kade’s face as he studies her. I hadn’t heard him sneak in behind her and I don’t think she realizes he’s there either.

I sink my teeth into my lower lip as my gaze darts between the two of them. Are they fighting again? Everything has seemed just a little off-kilter since the gala. Like the balance we worked so hard to achieve is no longer as stable as it once was and one wrong move could leave us knocked on our side all over again.

“Do you know who he’s been in contact with?” I ask Charles, pushing my worries about Kade and Scar away for the moment. They may fight, but they always find their way back to each other. Scar needs to sort out everything that has been eating away at her and once she gets her head back on straight she will make things right with Kade.

Scar starts making her way towards me and I give one last lingering look to Kade to see how he’s going to react. His jaw clenches and his fingers twitch at the sound of Charles’ voice but he stays where he is. I turn back to my computer as I listen to Charles.

“They’re all highlighted in orange on the list I just sent you.”

I open a new tab and pull the document he sent me up and can’t help but chuckle at the color-coded list he sent.

“Red is for the associates I have confirmed have participated in illegal activities in the last twenty years. Yellow is for the ones I have found evidence of but only going back the last five years. Green are the ones I have found no evidence of but have worked closely with at least one of our families.”

Not only are they all organized by the most likely candidates, each one has detailed notes about the family, who they’ve interacted with, in what capacity, and any other detail that might pertain to our investigations. Even the least likely candidates have as much care and attention as the most likely ones.

“I’m impressed,” I admit. I can feel Kade’s rage burning into my back even from where he stands at the other side of the room. I clear my throat again. “Thank you, Charles. I’m going to give this list to Declan to see if he can add anything else to it. Call me if you have any more info about your father.”

“Of course,” he answers quickly, but I can sense his hesitance. An awkward pause fills the line, I hold my breath to hear what he has to say, and Scar’s fingers dig into my shoulders. He sighs and I can feel her tense in anticipation but he just says goodbye before hanging up.

I toss my phone down on the desk and pull her into my lap. Her fingers find the soft tendrils at the base of my neck and she winds them up, softly tugging on them. I hum at the familiar feeling and lean into her touch.

“Am I overworking you?” she asks jokingly.

I nod vigorously. “You really are,” I tease her. “I deserve compensation.”

She laughs but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes as they wander away from mine and look over the information I have scattered across the desk and computer screen. “Do you need me to stay and work through these with you?” Her eyes dart over my shoulder to Kade, they were supposed to train together today.

“No, Charles actually just lightened my load for the day. I’ll be fine.” I press my lips against her cheek, but she doesn’t react the way she normally does. I pull away to study her face and find the now familiar faraway look once again glazing over her eyes.

Any mention of him trips her up now. I wonder when she’s going to allow herself to forgive him and move forward. It’s clear to me she is already starting to, but for some reason she finds it hard to accept that it’s what she really wants.

I look over my shoulder and meet Kade’s hard eyes. Maybe it’s not just about her after all.

“Go, baby girl. I’ll hold down the fort while you and Kade work out.” I bring my hand down against her thigh and squeeze her, drawing her out of her thoughts. I push her hair back behind her ear and press my lips to her ear. “It’s all going to work out. Don’t worry so much.”

She leans into me and takes a deep breath, smiling when she gets back to her feet. Her hand runs through my hair as walks towards Kade.

“Come on, Big Guy. It’s been too long since I’ve kicked your ass.”

Chapter Six Kade

Sweat drips down my brow.I shake my head and wipe my hand over my face as I fight the smile that comes naturally at the sight of Scar’s maddening smirk.

It might be both my favorite and most hated attribute of hers. That little smirk that spells nothing but trouble. It all but guarantees that someone will be pissed off. Usually Luca. That’s when I adore it. Encourage it. Live to help her set fires that the others will have to put out. Again, namely Luca.

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