Page 65 of Grant’s Blaze

In theory, she’d already lost her husband because of Sebastian. Well, there was no theory involved. That was straight-up the reason Sean Gibson was gone. Now, I was about to hear an account that would detail how her employee and young friend, Hannah Farsey, had unknowingly been put in harm’s way too.

Damn it.

How soon until Rio realized there was nothing about me redeeming enough to stay with me? Why would a woman want a man like me in her life when all I did was bring a black cloud of problems?

And these weren’t problems like a hangnail or leaving the house with one navy-blue sock and one black sock, thinking they were a matching pair. These were big problems. Big, deadly problems that seemed to be getting bigger by the day.

Sure, our sex was amazing. Off the freaking charts was more like it. I could make Rio come three different ways just by talking to her about it. Once my cock was involved, she didn’t stand a chance. But we had to have a life outside the bedroom too. Or so I was told.

But I had to cross that dismal bridge when I got to it. For now, all that mattered was focusing like I had blinders on, seeing nothing but the pertinent facts as Elijah stepped free from Abstract’s massive cooler. I even ignored being surprised by his subtle shiver. The man was usually a walking furnace.

“Okay,” my friend stated with a decisive clap of his hands, which drew Rio and Hannah out from where they’d been huddled and silent near her desk. “Grant and I have swept the place and can’t find any bugs or cameras. If there was something in here, it was likely temporary, and whoever put it here took it out with them when they left. Needless to say, I think we’re pretty safe to talk here. It will save us the risk of being overheard in public or being followed to our private homes. Which brings up another question. Hannah, bring me up to speed since you are new to the group here. Where did you say you live currently?”

This bastard didn’t need to be taking notes the way he was playing it at the moment. God, I knew this guy like the back of my hand, but I just sat back and watched him work his magic. Later, when I told Rio and pointed out all his techniques, she’d be outraged on Hannah’s behalf. He actually had a smart pad out and was jotting stuff down, but it was all for show. The man had a photographic memory.

“I live with my parents and sisters,” Hannah replied in a voice so small, it was almost impossible to hear her over the hum of the commercial-grade appliances. She started fidgeting with the cuff of her chef’s jacket, but damn it if Elijah wasn’t staring like she’d started a full striptease. And the girl was so engrossed with her nervousness, she had no comprehension of his attention.

Finally, when she realized no one was talking, she looked up. My buddy simply shifted his eyes to the screen in front of him, then up to her as though he just did so for the first time and hadn’t been mesmerized by her the entire time.

Well, damn.

If I had to place a cash bet on the table right there, it’d be on the odds that my best friend was sporting an erection for this young woman. While true, she wasn’t his usual type. But maybe my estimations were getting rusty. I hadn’t seen Elijah Banks this transfixed with a female since—well, since Hensley Pritchett.

There! I said it!

And I hoped like hell the witch’s name didn’t work like Beetlejuice, because Hensley was the last piece of trouble any of us needed to deal with right now. Least of all the friend I had to keep laser-focused on the glaring mystery at hand.

“And where did you say your parents live, then? Exactly?” Elijah persisted with Hannah.

Normally I’d be backing up the guy with at least some visual high-fives, affirming how deeply I valued his tactical commitment, but it was now coming across as raw douchery. And I definitely wasn’t the only one to notice.

Poor little Hannah was sizing up my friend with folded arms and a tight glare. “And how does that possibly concern you, Mr.—I’m sorry, did you say—Barks?”

“Oh, shit,” Rio sputtered, thankfully under her breath. Still, I squeezed her leg under the counter. I really didn’t want to see her and Elijah at each other’s throats constantly, and he didn’t always have the easiest sense of humor.

“It’s my concern because we may need to set up a security detail for you, and I need to know where to station my team.”

“Okay,” I swiftly interjected, “Hannah, why don’t you just finish telling us what happened here, and we’ll deal with all that afterward? I’m sure Rio has that information in your employment records. We can look it up and let you get on with your afternoon.” I turned to Hannah with a look of genuine care. “I know you’ve already had a long day, and I’m sorry it’s been that way.”

Thankfully, my manners garnered a polite nod from Hannah in return. She centered her composure before explaining what happened yesterday when everyone else had gone home. The poor girl was so increasingly upset while telling the story, Rio went and put an arm around her for support.

Wisely, Elijah maintained his quiet attention during the whole account. When Hannah rolled around to the part about seeking Rio out this morning, he finally asked, “Do you have your phone here?”

“Yes, right here.” Hannah pushed the device across the stainless-steel counter, barely touching it along the edges, as if it were contaminated.

“Have you used this phone since yesterday?” Elijah inquired. “For anything at all?”

“No. I went straight home last night and just left it in my purse overnight. I didn’t tell anyone about it until informing Rio this morning.”

“I need to take this with me and have someone who is better at the tech side of things look at it. Are you okay with that? Is there a password on here?”

“Yes, there is, on the lock screen.”

“I’ll need that.”

Hannah grabbed a sticky note from the desk, jotted her password, and gave it to Elijah. He looked at it before folding the paper and putting it in his pocket.

“Word of advice? That’s a terrible password. Not secure at all. If you use that on other things like websites and social media, you should change them all to something with at least ten characters. And not in numerical or alphabetical order.”