Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

I t took less than two days for Keys to get back to them. He had set up Zoe with a new identity as ‘Zoe Scanlon’ and linked her as Jenna’s niece. He even took family pictures of Steel and Jenna with their children and somehow added a young Zoe into the mix. All three of Zoe’s ‘cousins’ had been filled in on the situation and were given Zoe’s backstory in case anyone ever questioned her presence in the family. It helped that both Jenna and her deceased sister Carolyn were estranged from Jenna’s parents, to the point where none of Jenna and Steel’s children had even met their maternal grandparents. It was completely believable, per Jenna, that Carolyn could have had a child and their parents would have never known. They had not even bothered to attend their own daughter’s funeral.

Jenna then spent a day going over her family history with Zoe. It was weird for Zoe. Not being integrated into another family or even the reminder that she’d lost her place in her own, but the fact that she’d lived under Jenna’s roof for over six months and she hadn’t even known anything about the struggle Jenna had gone through to be able to marry Steel. They were high school sweethearts, but he was from the proverbial wrong side of the tracks . Jenna’s parents had gone to extreme measures to keep them separated, but Jenna had risked it all. Her inheritance, her family, and her reputation to run away with “Jack” on her eighteenth birthday. Her parents had even gone as far as to have Steel arrested for kidnapping, but the charges had to be dropped because Jenna was over eighteen and did not back her parents’ story. Additionally, her father had tried to pay Steel to leave Jenna.

Steel had taken the money…but then used it to pay for their wedding.

Zoe’s jaw dropped. “What? Isn’t that stealing?”

Jenna shook her head. “They gave him the money. It wasn’t like he’d signed a contract.”

“Can I ask… I mean, how much was it?”

Jenna snorted. “A penny under ten thousand. But they thought Steel was so poor and would be so money-hungry that that would have been enough to entice him.”

Zoe looked around Jenna’s living room, at the memories upon memories of family pictures and the life Steel and Jenna had built together. “I can’t imagine. A part of me wishes my parents had tried to step in, seen who Davis was and warned me. But they were as blind as I was.”

Jenna reached across the table to grip Zoe’s hand. “We’ll find a way to get word to your parents that you’re safe and happy. That’s all we can hope for right now.”

“Thank you.” It would mean a lot to Zoe if that was possible.

Another couple of hours later and Carlos came in through Jenna’s front door. He had a massive smile on his face. “Ding-dong, the witch is dead!” he called in an excited voice. Though in uniform, Zoe noticed that his holster was empty.

Her eyes landed on his handcuffs and her cheeks immediately reddened at the memory of what they’d done with them the night before. Unsure of how she would handle being tied up, Carlos had suggested an alternative: they bind themselves together. Her right wrist had been cuffed to his, making for some interesting positions. Their laughter had been as loud as their moans.

His knowing smile as he bent down to kiss her in greeting told Zoe that he could guess where her mind had gone. Had he left the cuffs on his belt on purpose to get a response out of her?

Jenna gave Zoe a look too that said she wasn’t fooled, even if she didn’t know the specific cause behind Zoe’s sudden arousal.

To draw attention away from her, Zoe asked Carlos, “Who’s the witch that’s dead?”

“Belinda,” he answered, pulling up a chair next to hers. “Sat her down and told her in no uncertain terms that if she tries to show up for work again that I’ll have her arrested. The only way I could fire her more is if I literally put a match to her.”

Zoe still couldn’t believe the woman had had the nerve to continue showing up for work after Sheriff Hannigan had fired her. Like she thought his terminating her was some big comical joke.

“That means you have a job opening?” she asked, excited.

“I do. Happen to know a sexy lady who’s looking for work?”

Zoe turned to Jenna. “Are you happy with your job?”

Jenna laughed as Carlos growled. He forced Zoe’s face back towards her. “Let me try that again: do you know of a sexy lady who’s looking for work that also lives in my house and shares my bed and is living under a false identity?”

Zoe’s face scrunched. “That’s really specific. I mean, how would that résumé even look? Like—” Zoe’s words were cut off by her laughter as Carlos near tackled her, dragging her up onto his lap.

His hat nearly fell off, but Zoe caught it and placed it over her own head. She looped her arms around his neck, kissing the underside of his chin. Calming, she settled herself against his shoulder.

Carlos tipped his hat out of the way enough to place a kiss on her forehead. “No pressure, sunshine, but the job is yours if you want it.”

Zoe smiled against his beige uniform. “I want it. I’m just nervous about having such a public job.”

“Sometimes the best disguise is the one right in front of you,” he said as if quoting from somewhere. “If we present you as someone who has nothing to hide, why would anyone think you’re hiding?”

Zoe nodded. He had a point, but it still didn’t completely settle her nerves.

The telltale snap of a camera startled Zoe so much, she sat up, almost clipping Carlos’s chin with her forehead.

“Sorry,” Jenna said with a soft smile. “I couldn’t resist. You two just looked too perfect.” She turned her phone around to show Carlos and Zoe the picture she’d taken of them cuddling.

Surprised, Zoe blinked. They looked… content . Like there were no challenges or angst in their world. “I love it,” she sighed. “I wish I had a phone so you could send it to me.”

She was about to ask Jenna to send it to Carlos’s phone when he suddenly sat up more. “Shit, I’m such a dumbass.” He had to shift her hip slightly to reach into his pocket. He pulled out a cell phone. “Here. Keys handed me this on my way in just now.”

“For me?” she gasped. She hadn’t had a phone in over three years.

“You need a phone, Zo. Keys set this up and backdated it so it looks like you’ve had it for years. He even added baby pictures that look a hell of a lot like Kyle.”

Zoe clicked the screen and found a picture of her son swinging on the swings in the communal backyard as the wallpaper. “How… I mean, when…” Her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. “Is that Photoshop ’ed?”

Jenna shook her head. “I saw Keys outside taking pictures of the kids earlier.”

Abby and Bulldog had volunteered to watch Kyle for her so Jenna and Zoe could talk uninterrupted. Her first instinct was to not allow Kyle out of her sight, but she managed to tamp that down. Beyond Bulldog being Carlos’s brother, Bulldog had proven his loyalty to protecting her and her son when he’d help shelter her for a year.

Zoe unlocked the phone to see a text message waiting for her. The fact that it wasn’t the only text message in her phone shocked her more than the message itself.

Keys: Remember to set a password.

“I don’t know what to say,” Zoe said, flabbergasted. “The last time I had a phone, Davis used it to control me. He always checked my messages and used it to track my movements. I couldn’t send a message or make a call without him knowing about it.”

Carlos’s arm came around her, touching her hand over the phone on the table. “Sunshine, I swear to you. This is your phone. I’ll even ask Keys to back off and not look in it anymore. I will never ask you to check your phone. It is yours and only yours.”

Zoe swallowed hard. “You gave me your tablet without hesitation. I could see everything of yours on it. But I…”

“I will never ask for your password,” Carlos continued when she hesitated. “I will even look away now as you set it.”

Zoe, though, shook her head. They’d sworn to be honest with each other, so she was. “No, it’s not that. I mean, it is. The idea of being controlled again frightens me, but not by you. I think just in general.”

He rested his chin on her shoulder, tall enough to do so even though she was sitting on his lap. “That’s a legitimate fear. Hell, some people don’t have cellphones because they think the government uses it to track them. Here.” He covered his eyes with a hand. “Make your password. I’m not even looking.”

“No, it’s not necessary, really?—”

“Sunshine, I’m not looking until you have a password on your phone. I’m stronger and more stubborn than you, so don’t even try to test me on this.”

Zoe looked down at her phone and then across the table at Jenna, who had a hand over her mouth like she was trying to contain a smile or laughter.

Just to end Carlos’s blindness, she quickly typed in her new password.

Immediately, another text message showed up.

Keys: Good girl.

Zoe frowned.

Zoe: How did you know I set my password? Can you see me?

She covered the front camera with a finger to see if that would work.

Keys: I see EVERYTHING.

Keys: Kidding. I set an alert to notify me once your password was set. The phone is no longer attached to my programs and solely yours.

Zoe cracked a smile.

Keys: I’m sending a message out to all the brothers and ol’ ladies with your new number.

At the ding across the table, Zoe glanced up to see Jenna checking her phone. She turned it around to show Zoe the message from Keys with Zoe’s new number. Jenna now knew it when Zoe didn’t, ironically.

Zoe’s phone let out a sharp ding too.

Jenna: [picture]

Zoe smiled when she saw the picture of Carlos and her. She saved it to her camera reel.

“Is this the world’s longest password or am I being punished for something?”

Zoe jumped, having forgotten about Carlos’s hand over his eyes. Just for the hell of it, she said, “I’m almost done.” Then she put the phone down on the table, turned on his lap, and kissed him.

On Zoe’s first day at work, she realized just how little work her predecessor did before her. Her desk was not only a disaster, but there were over three dozen sticky notes with random complaints, concerns, and suggestions. It took her over twenty minutes just to find her computer mouse. It was no wonder everyone thought Belinda was utterly useless. What did the woman do all day? File her nails?

By lunch time, Zoe had finally gotten her desk cleared off. Problem was, she now had a conference room full of miscellaneous paperwork, notes, and files to now organize.

“Ready for lunch?” Carlos leaned over the top of her desk. It had a high reception counter with a wooden top.

“You owe me so many orgasms for taking this job,” she said in a low, threatening voice. “I cannot even begin to describe the disaster that this place was.”

Carlos grinned down at her. “Gladly. I was thinking the diner for lunch, but I’ll happily take you into my office and have you instead.”

Zoe’s face blazed, both with arousal and with embarrassment for her unchecked words. They were not the least bit professional. “Who sits at the desk while I’m on break?”

“Generally, no one. If you hit that button on your phone there,” he pointed, “it will forward the dispatch calls to either my cell phone or yours. When you leave for lunch, make sure you take a radio with you, even if I’m with you. At night, before you go, make sure you forward the calls to Bert’s cell.”

She nodded slowly. “I need to make a manual or something. This seems like almost too much for one person to do.”

“I have it in my budget to hire two more deputies. We’ll take a look at it and see if we can hire a part-time receptionist too.”

“Even a volunteer,” Zoe suggested as she grabbed her purse from the bottom drawer where she stashed it. “I’m sure there’s some people in town who would be willing to help out. I can’t imagine how much has been missed under Belinda’s reign.”

“Most everyone has my cell.” Carlos stepped back as Zoe walked around the counter. “Pretty sure the entire town knew not to count on Belinda if she was the one to take down a message.”

“Why did she last so long? From what you told me about Sheriff Longhill, I can’t imagine he handled such disorganization well.”

“He honestly thought her ditziness to be humorous. I never understood it, but I also wasn’t one to question my boss. Well, that boss,” he added, likely hinting at Sheriff Hannigan. “I respected Longhill too much to say anything and just made sure that the townsfolk knew they could call me instead.”

“That’s a lot on you.” The more time she spent with Carlos, the more she realized just how much he took on. He cared so much about his town and the people who lived there. He really was a good, honorable man.

Carlos shrugged her statement off. “It’s my job.”

“It’s more than that,” she said as he held the door to the diner open for her. Having been at her desk all morning organizing, she realized how much she needed to pee as they entered the diner. “Grab us a seat?” she asked. “I’ll be right back.

He nodded once. “Iced tea with lemon?”

“Please.”

She headed towards the bathroom. After taking care of business, Zoe exited the stall and headed towards the sink to wash her hands.

Zoe jumped when she saw a man was standing against the counter, arms crossed casually over his broad chest.

Her shoulders sagged. “What’s with you and ladies’ rooms?”

Owen smiled down at her. “It is good to see you, Zoe.”

She gave him a sad smile. “I’m so sorry about Conner, Owen.” Though it had been just over a year since his death, this was the first time she’d seen Owen since the night he’d rescued her at the courthouse to pass along her condolences.

“He died protecting those he cared about. It was the way he would have wanted to go.”

Zoe wasn’t sure what comfort that truly was. The end result was still the same. His twin had still died. Though his face was emotionless, Zoe saw the concealed pain in Owen’s eyes.

“Why are you here?” she asked him.

“Jack sent me to check on you. He hadn’t realized WiseWave620 was among the club Conner had sent you to until a couple of days ago.”

Zoe blinked. “Who is among what now?”

“The club’s hacker, Keys. That’s his handle.”

“Why is it concerning that Keys is here?”

“Not concerning,” he corrected. He moved out of the way so she could start washing her hands. “Actually, pretty damn convenient. I’m glad he was able to set you up with a better identity than we were.”

“He said yours was solid too.” She reached over for the paper towels.

Owen studied her for a minute. “How are you and the sheriff doing? The two of you seem pretty cozy walking arm in arm down the street.”

Zoe’s cheeks heated. Carlos was making it known to all that he was dating her, that she was Jenna’s niece, and that she was his new secretary. In a way, it was admirable. He wasn’t trying to hide her like she was some dirty little secret. “We’re doing really well.”

“And he treats you good?”

Recalling the number of orgasms Carlos had given her the night before, she had to bite back a smile as she confirmed, “Very well.”

“Good.”

“Was that all?” she asked, a bit confused. “You came here just to ask me how I’m doing? There has to be more, Owen. You wouldn’t risk showing your face in this town otherwise.”

He shrugged. “I’m looking for someone who was rumored to have been in the area. Figured as long as I was here I’d stop in to check on you.” With a slight shrug of his shoulders, Owen added, “Conner made me promise to keep an eye on you if anything ever happened to him.”

That sounded exactly like something Conner would say to his twin.

Owen reached forward and chucked her under her chin. “Keep your head up, Zoe. You’re finally coming out of your shell. I can’t wait to see you fly.”

That said, Owen left the ladies’ room. Zoe stared after him for a moment before following. She didn’t see him anywhere in the diner and wondered if he could have already exited.

“Everything okay?” Carlos asked as she sat down in the booth opposite him.

Zoe nodded. “I just had the strangest conversation I think I’ve ever had in a ladies’ room, which is actually saying something…”