Chapter 2: Byte

BYTE

Iwasn't prepared for her to open the door and launch herself into my arms. I wasn't prepared for her to cling to me with such great relief and sob into the crook of my neck. I wasn't prepared for her to beg me not to let her go. I wasn't prepared for any of it.

I was sitting at a bar in Cedar Valley talking to a woman I had absolutely no interest in. Well, I did at first, but not after talking to her for a few minutes. As I was trying to come up with a polite way to ditch her, my phone rang.

I glanced at the screen, surprised to see Gabby's name. "Excuse me, I have to take this," I told the annoying woman and answered without waiting for her response. "Hey, Gab?—"

"Someone's in my house," she whispered harshly.

"Are you in the safe room?" I asked and waved my hand to get the bartender's attention.

I shoved a wad of bills in his hand and turned to the woman beside me. "Gotta go. Family emergency."

"Wait! Let me get your number," she said to my back because I was already headed for the door. I pretended not to hear her and all but ran for my bike.

I didn't need directions to Gabby's house. I'd helped when she moved in and remembered exactly how to get there. Thankfully, she wasn't far from the downtown area of Cedar Valley.

I darted in and out of traffic, rode between cars, and drove as fast as I could, but it still felt like it took forever to get there. Once I arrived, I jumped off my bike, pulled my gun from my holster, and entered her house through the open front door without hesitation.

No one was in the living room or kitchen. I started down the hallway and stopped dead in my tracks when a man stepped out of Gabby's bedroom.

"Hey! Stop right there!" I ordered.

He turned his head to look at me for one second before he sprinted out the back door. I ran after him and chased him through Gabby's back yard.

He glanced over his shoulder and saw me running after him. That's when he produced his own gun and blindly fired at me while he continued to run.

I took a shot at him, and I was fairly certain I hit him, but he continued to run into the wooded area behind Gabby's house. The fucker was fast. It didn't take long for me to lose sight of him once we were no longer out in the open. Instead of wasting time trying to find him, I turned around and ran back to the house to check on Gabby.

I knew exactly where the makeshift panic room was in her closet and hoped she was still in there. I knocked on the fake wall. "Gabby, it's Byte. Open up."

The door opened, and Gabby launched herself at me. Her legs went around my waist while her arms wrapped around my shoulders, and she buried her face in the crook of my neck.

"Are you okay?"

She answered by nodding her head against me.

"I need to hear the words."

"I think so," she said shakily. "Are you okay? I thought I heard gunshots."

"Yeah, he took a shot at me," I said and felt her tense in my arms. "But he missed. I'm fine."

I moved to the kitchen and attempted to place her on the counter so I could look her over and make sure she was okay for myself, but she refused to release her hold on me.

"Gabby," I said slowly.

"Please don't let go of me," she whispered. "Not yet."

"Okay," I promised and tightened my hold on her. "Are you sure you're okay?"

She nodded again, and that time, I felt the wetness from her tears. "Just scared," she said softly.

"You're safe now," I promised and moved to the living room to take a seat on her couch. "We need to call the club. And your sister."

"No!" she insisted. "They just left for their trip. You won't be able to get in touch with her until they land, and I don't want her to turn around and come home as soon as they get there."

"Okay, okay," I said and held my hands up in a placating manner. "But I can't keep this from the club."

"You have to!" she yelled.

"Why?"

"Because they'll want me to come back to Croftridge until Keegan gets back, and I can't do that. I have to work, and I can't miss school."

"Fucking hell," I grumbled and tried to think of a solution that would satisfy both of us.

"Should we report it to the police?" she asked quietly.

I sighed. When I agreed to listen out for Gabby while Shaker and Keegan were gone, I never once thought anything would actually happen. And for some reason unbeknownst to me, I was completely blanking on how to handle the situation.

"Listen, I understand where you're coming from, but I need to give Phoenix a call." She opened her mouth to argue, but I held my hand up to stop her. "He's reasonable. He knows how hard you've worked to get where you are. I'm sure he'll have a solution that won't compromise your education or your safety."

"Fine," she huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Call Phoenix."

He answered on the first ring. "I don't usually see your name flashing on my screen on a Friday night. What's going on?"

"Gabby's house was broken into tonight. She called me while she was hiding. I got here and chased the intruder outside. Shots were exchanged, but he got away. She doesn't want Keegan and Shaker to know until they get back. She can't come back to Croftridge while they're gone because of school and work. Police have not been notified. What would you like our next move to be?"

He inhaled deeply. "You said shots were exchanged. Was anybody hit?"

"He missed me. I might've gotten him in the shoulder. Not sure, Prez."

"Okay, here's what we're going to do. I'm going to send Edge your way. He'll call when he's about ten minutes out. That's when you call the police. Report everything as it happened, with the exception of who fired the shots. Wipe your gun down and give it to Edge when he gets there so it'll have his prints on it. Once the cops are finished doing their thing, bring Gabby back to Croftridge with you for the night. You two stay at your place and come see me after lunch tomorrow," he ordered. And that's why he was the president—problem solved in a matter of minutes.

"Thanks, Prez," I said before he ended the call.

"What'd he say?" Gabby asked anxiously.

I explained the plan to her and waited for the inevitable question.

"Why do we need to say it was Edge who shot at the guy?"

"Uh," I shifted uncomfortably. "That's something I can't tell you." When she narrowed her eyes, I felt compelled to give her a little more of an explanation. "Let's just say it won't be problematic for Edge, but it could be for me."

"If this is one of those times that it's better for me to know as little as possible, I'm okay with that."

"It absolutely is," I admitted. Truthfully, I'd managed to avoid any major run-ins with the police for the entirety of my life. I didn't know what would happen if I did, and I didn't want to find out. All it would take was one fingerprint to turn my world upside down. Thankfully, I'd been wearing gloves when I arrived and was careful not to touch anything once I'd taken them off.

"Should I go ahead and pack a bag for the night?"

"No, wait until after the police come and go. This is technically a crime scene, and we don't want to disturb any evidence."

A few minutes later, Edge called to let me know he was almost at Gabby's house. I waited another minute or two and placed the call to the police.

Edge knocked on the door twice before letting himself in. "Hey, brother," he said and held his hand out for my gun. Then he turned to Gabby. "You doing okay, sweetheart?"

"Yeah, I think so. I'm a little rattled, but I'm not hurt."

"Good. When the cops get here, you called Byte, like your sister told you to, and I arrived with him. He found you in the safe room while I chased the guy out of the house."

Gabby nodded her head vigorously. "Got it."

"What bar were we at?" he asked me.

"The Watering Hole. We stopped there after having dinner with Irene," I explained.

"I doubt they'll check, but she'll say I was with you?"

"She'll say whatever I ask her to," I told him. Irene had been looking out for me since the day I arrived in Cedar Valley all those years ago. And I knew she always would, even if that meant lying to the police on my behalf.

"Who's Irene?" Gabby asked as three sharp knocks sounded on the front door.

"Show time," Edge said quietly.

I opened the front door to greet the two officers and invited them inside.

"So, tell us what happened," they started.

They spent the next hour asking us questions and looking through Gabby's house. Somewhere in the midst of that, another crew showed up to dust for fingerprints. It felt like it took forever before they were finished. As they were heading out the door, one of the officers pointed to the alarm panel on the wall beside Gabby's front door. "It'd be a good idea to keep your alarm on whenever you're home, not just before bed."

"Uh, yeah, I will," Gabby stammered. "Thanks."

I waited until I heard their cars pulling out of the driveway before I asked, "What was that about with the alarm?"

"It was on. I know it was. I get home, turn it off, and reset it in stay mode immediately. Without fail. But it didn't go off," she explained.

"You're sure?" I asked, even though I knew she was. Shaker and Keegan would have drilled that into her head. They were no slouches when it came to safety.

"Yes! Look," she said and handed me her phone. On the screen, her security app showed the alarm being disarmed by her, reset in stay mode, and disarmed again minutes before she called me.

"I'll be damned," I mumbled to myself.

"How is that possible?" she asked. "I use my fingerprint to turn it off and on."

"Do you also have a numeric code you can use?"

"Yes, but I never do."

"Okay, so one possibility is someone hacked into your system and disarmed it using a numeric code. The other possibility is someone made a copy of your fingerprint and used it to get into your house," I explained.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying whoever did this is likely someone you know."

Her eyes widened in shock. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, but we can figure out who that might be once we're back in Croftridge. Do you want to go and grab your things?"

"Sure. I'll be just a few minutes," she said and took a few steps toward the hallway. She stopped and turned back to me with a terrified look on her face. Without a word, I got to my feet and followed her to her bedroom.

"Thank you," she whispered.

I nodded in acknowledgment. She was scared, and rightfully so. Her sense of security had been abruptly stolen from her, and it would take a while for her to get it back.