Once we caught our breaths again, I leaned back, taking in his blazing eyes and dopey smile.
“Don’t think you can just walk out of my life again. You’re stuck with me now.”
The serious words betrayed his easy demeanor. But I cherished the moment, committing it to memory. His words were special, his actions even more so.
I buried my face in his neck. “I guess that means I’ll be staying the night.”
He growled and lightly bit my earlobe before carrying me to his bedroom.
Chapter23
Gunner
I leftFreya in the safety and warmth of my bed and went to my study, answering my phone once the door was closed behind me.
“What did you find?” I asked, knowing there was only one reason Carter would call me at two in the morning.
“I’m so sorry, Gunner, but it’s Blake.”
I sat down at the edge of my desk, my legs no longer willing to support me. Blake had been with me almost as long as Carter. I was an honorary uncle to his daughter, Sofia, who he was raising on his own.
We spent the holidays together. Birthdays. Christmas. Thanksgiving. There’d never been a year we missed. We were family.
I couldn’t believe it. But Carter wouldn’t make a mistake like that. He had good reasons to be so cocky. He was the best hacker out there.
“Are you sure? Without a doubt?”
Carter sighed. “I am. I’ll send you what I’ve got, and you’ll see there’s just too much proof to make this look like anything else.”
My phone alerted me to an incoming email. I opened the file and scrolled past emails and text messages between an unknown number and Blake.
It documented our movements. It even told them that I’d gone to the cabin. My men knew the closest town to my hideout, and from there it wasn’t too hard to figure out where exactly the cabin was. Something Blake must have done.
I put the phone back to my ear, suddenly feeling drained. “Take him in.” All the earlier feelings of finally having everything I wanted were gone. The betrayal cut deep.
“Meet you at the interrogation room in thirty,” Carter said, and we hung up, my throat closing up.
I had to do the last thing I thought I’d ever do: interrogate one of my best friends.
Freya stirred when I came back to the bedroom but didn’t wake up. I pulled my clothes on, careful not to make any noise. Before I left, I placed a soft kiss on her cheek, unable to help myself. Her now-familiar scent floated around me, grounding my raging emotions.
I took the stairs down to the office, needing to clear my head before facing Blake.
Why did he do it?
When I walked onto the floor that housed Locked Security, it was dark, only a low light coming in from the back, where the interrogation room was.
“Boss,” Carter greeted me. He was standing in front of the door, looking as destroyed as I felt. “He said he’ll only talk to you.”
“Sofia okay?” I asked, thinking of the bubbly girl who had come to mean so much to all of us. The last thing I wanted was for her to get caught up in any of this. Or to leave her by herself at Blake’s place. But Carter loved her just as much as the rest of us and would have left someone with her.
“She wasn’t at the apartment.”
That was odd, but Blake might have wanted to keep her away, knowing we’d find out eventually. “Find her.”
“Already on it. She’s not at her usual babysitter’s.”
Blake didn’t have any family left, and Sofia’s mom had left two weeks after she was born. There weren’t many places he could take her, since he usually brought her to the office if he didn't have anyone to watch her.
