“Don’t delete it. Probably should check her out…just to see, you know? She’s probably seeing someone or married. Or a former Board associate looking to kill me–or you.”
“No one has to know,” Alex said as he waved his phone in the air before he tapped on it to access Nattie’s phone.
“She can’t tell you’re doing this, right?”
“Not unless I want her to know,” Alex murmured, his eyebrows pinching as he stared at his screen.
“Yeah, don’t let her know. On the off chance that she’s actually interested in me, I really don’t want to screw this up.”
Ava shifted closer to Alex, resting her chin on his shoulder as she peered at his screen. I lifted my chin, too, even though I couldn’t see over the top of his phone.
I was dying to know what he was seeing. Were there thousands of male contacts? Flirty text messages? Pictures of her with a guy?
“Well?” I prompted.
“It’s weird.”
“Weird?” My stomach clenched. “Like weird or weird bad?”
“Just weird,” Alex said, still scrolling. “No pictures. No contacts. Almost nothing.”
“Almost nothing?”
“There’s a set of calls between her phone and another number along with a series of text messages with that same number.”
I screwed up my face. “That’s it? Only one number?”
Ava bobbed her head as she poked a finger at Alex’s phone. “Check for social media apps.”
“None,” he answered with a shake of his head. “It’s like she’s only had the phone for five minutes.”
“Maybe she has,” I postulated. “Maybe it’s brand new.”
“Usually you transfer your stuff,” Alex answered.
“Maybe her old phone was lost or destroyed, and she couldn’t.” I found myself searching for any excuse that could normalize this odd situation.
“Or she’s using a burner,” Alex murmured.
Ava snatched the phone from his hands, scrolling on it.
My heart rose into my throat. “What are you doing?”
“Reading the texts.” Her jaw unhinged a moment later, her features twisting in surprise.
“What?!” I asked, my fingers tightening into fists.
“There are like three texts. It’s like she deletes them regularly.”
“Read ‘em, babe.” Alex leaned an elbow on the table, propping his head up in his palm.
“The first one saysSearching now…will send info when I have it. She answeredThanks. The last one saysStay safe.”
“Stay safe?” Alex asked.
I’d noticed the odd words, too. Was Nattie in some sort of danger?
“That’s what it says. I mean, that totally could be a euphemism, like…love you or take care.” Ava shrugged as she sat Alex’s phone on the table.
