Son of a bitch.
Trey peered down the hall Ava had snuck out, then back to the computer screen. The notes were all about Harrison Rivers, and based on the familiar shorthand, these had come from JJ.
He exhaled heavily and opened the application to update the medical file before he forgot to do it. Once that was done, he hid Ava’s notes once more, retrieved his phone from his back pocket, and headed outside for privacy.
“Hey. What’s up?” JJ asked, a smile in her voice.
“Why are you havin’ Ava look at your notes on Rivers?”
“First of all, Sherlock, I’m nothavin’her do anything. She called me. Said you gave her my number.”
He certainly had not, but he didn’t bother to tell JJ that.
“And secondly, why does it matter?”
Trey could think of a thousand reasons, most notably the fact that Magnus would go apeshit when he learned about this.
“She’s a grown woman, Trey,” JJ stated firmly. “She doesn’t need anyone’s permission.”
He paused for a moment, wondering if he’d spoken out loud.
“Plus, she’s rather intuitive. She noticed that Harrison’s birth name doesn’t match his biological mother or father and wants to know why.”
“How’s that intuitive?”
“Because I didn’t even catch it. She’s right to ask because if there was another man in Maria Delgado’s life, he could very well be a lead. Perhaps he knows why she’s been missing since Rivers was six. And get this—”
“Stop,” Trey interrupted. “Don’t tell me this shit. I don’t wanna know.”
JJ was quiet.
“If Ava’s lookin’ into it, that’s between the two of you. If she wants my help, she’ll come to me.”
Not that Trey expected that to happen since Ava was keeping this on the DL. But if Magnus learned that Trey was complicit, he didn’t want to think about the hell that would rain down on them. Ava had a right to look because it was her life, but Trey wasn’t going to do this backward. He had no intentions of keeping secrets from anyone. Especially not now that things were finally on the right track for him and Magnus.
“Okay, then. I’ll give her a call and let her know what I found.”
“JJ?”
“Yes?”
“I don’t mean to be an asshole.”
“No. I get it. You don’t wanna overstep.”
“It’s not that,” he corrected. “It’s… Tell me one thing. Do you think there’s any chance you’ll find somethin’ that’s worth puttin’ her through this again?”
JJ sighed, and her voice was kind when she said, “I think there’s somethin’ to find. I know Rivers is at fault for what happened to her, but I believe he’s also at fault for Shayla Andrews.”
“He’s dead, JJ. It’s not like he can be prosecuted for the crime.”
“No. But his father can be.”
“His father?”
“If that asshole was complicit in coverin’ this up—which I truly believe he was—he needs to be held accountable.”
Trey didn’t have a rebuttal for that. She was absolutely right.
