Chapter 12: Gabby

GABBY

"Are you nervous?" Byte asked.

Keegan and Jacob were back from Scotland, and we were on our way over to their house with dinner.

"I'm not sure nervous is the word I'd use," I said. "But I'm definitely not looking forward to telling her about everything that happened while she was gone."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," he assured me.

"Well, we're about to find out," I said as he parked in the driveway.

I guess I was nervous. I picked up a few bags of food and went straight to the door without waiting for Byte.

Keegan engulfed me in a hug as soon as she opened the door. "Gabby! I missed you so much!"

"I missed you, too," I said and wiggled my way out of her arms so I could put the food on the table.

"Hey, Gabby," Jacob said and wrapped one arm around my shoulders. "It's good to see you."

Keegan started unpacking the food when Byte walked in, carrying a box of more food.

"Hey, Byte. What are you doing here?" Jacob asked.

Keegan looked up and froze. Her eyes moved from Byte to me. "Something happened," she said knowingly.

I nodded slowly. "Yeah, something happened. But everything's okay. Well, sort of."

"Just tell her," Byte encouraged.

I exhaled heavily. "Someone broke into my house the Friday after you left. I hid in my closet and called Byte. Byte chased after him, but he got away. We notified the police, but so far, nothing has come of it."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Keegan asked, sounding hurt.

"Because I knew you'd either come home or spend the entire trip worrying about me. Byte agreed to stay with me and play bodyguard until you got back, and Phoenix okayed it."

Keegan sighed. "Well, I can't say I'm happy about it, but I do understand."

"Did anything else happen?" Jacob asked.

"Yeah, a few more things," I said. "The following Thursday, we woke up to find Byte's tires slashed. We came back to Croftridge that afternoon. The next morning, I woke up with the flu, confirmed by Patch. We stayed in Croftridge all week and went back to Cedar Valley on Thursday since I had to work on Friday. However, Employee Health didn't clear me to return to work. I have to go back next week to be rechecked. We left the hospital and went back to my house to find that someone had broken in again and ransacked the place. After filing another police report, we came back to Croftridge, and here we are."

Keegan sat silently with a look of shock on her face.

"What about your alarm system?" Jacob asked.

"Whoever's doing this has been able to access her alarm and disable it. The same thing happened with the cameras I installed after my tires were slashed," Byte explained. "For the time being, Phoenix has Edge, Diesel, and Ink at Gabby's house in case anyone shows up."

"Do you have any idea who it might be?" Jacob asked.

"We think it might be a guy Gabby went out with a few times, but I haven't been able to track him down. From what I can tell, he was using a fake name, and everything he told Gabby was a lie. He obviously has some computer skills because he's been able to cover his tracks, as well as hack into her alarm system."

"I don't think you should stay at your house until we catch whoever's doing this," Jacob said.

"I agree," Keegan added. "Even with Byte staying with you, someone could get into the house when you're not there and plant a bomb or something."

"I'm not disagreeing with you, but I can't stay in Croftridge. Depending on traffic, I'd spend almost two hours each day commuting."

"I'm sure we can find a short-term rental in the area," Keegan said.

"I don't think that will work," Byte said. "If the rental property's in your name, or anyone's name associated with Gabby, it'll be easy to find her. There's also the possibility of her being followed."

"I think I have a solution," Jacob said and pulled out his phone.

"You can't just say that and not tell us what it is," Keegan said.

Jacob finished typing out his message and placed his phone on the table. "Luca Peccati has several guest houses on his gated and guarded estate. I can't think of a safer place for her in Cedar Valley."

"You want me to stay with a mafia boss?"

"His association with the mafia has never been confirmed," Jacob pointed out.

"I'm not sure how I feel about this," I admitted. I'd heard of Luca Peccati, but I'd never met him. And I wasn't buying what Jacob was selling. Confirmed or not, I wholeheartedly believed Luca was involved with the Mafia and was likely one of the top bosses.

"I'll be with you," Byte said.

"What?" I asked in surprise.

"You'll still need protection when you're traveling to and from work and school, and anywhere else you need to go," he explained.

I hoped no one noticed how relieved I was when Byte said he'd be going with me. The moment those words left his mouth, all of my reservations vanished.

"What about Shadow?"

"Who's Shadow?" Keegan asked.

"He's our dog."

"You two have a dog?"

"Sort of," I said. "He was a stray Flint found at Byte's house. I want to keep him, but my schedule isn't exactly conducive to having a pet, so Byte agreed to help me with him until I finish school and get a new job."

"If he can't go with us, I'm sure Flint won't mind watching him," Byte said.

"Or we can take care of him," Keegan offered.

Jacob's phone buzzed on the table. He read the message and smiled. "Luca has a house available. When should he expect you?"

"I have clinical hours on Tuesday, so sometime tomorrow afternoon."

Jacob exchanged a few more texts while the rest of us continued on with dinner.

"Luca said the guard at the gate will be expecting you. He'll show you where you'll be staying and get you set up with keys and a gate code. And you're welcome to bring the dog."

"Great," I said. "Now, tell me all about Scotland."