Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

Charlotte Mitchell

“ H ere you go, love,” Rochelle says. She passes me a plate of lasagna that she and Miles brought over. She was kind enough to bring a meal for us to share, and I’m grateful because I haven’t had a decent meal since I moved here; only a whole lot of mac and cheese and ramen noodles.

Again, that money Feenix continues to send me for my videos would really come in handy, but instead, I’m just letting it gather as evidence. Currently, my fake name is well-off with a sum of money that’s tempting as hell, but I promised Miles, who stands next to the edge of my bed, which I’m sitting on, that I wouldn’t touch it. I can keep at least some promises since I seem to be breaking them left and right lately.

“Thanks,” I tell Rochelle. I take the plate and fork from her and set it on my lap. Immediately, I fork off a generous bite and shove it into my mouth.

Miles must have had a big day because his square of deliciousness is almost gone.

“You really need to eat more, Charlie,” Rochelle suggests as she sits next to me on the bed. The mattress dips, and she holds her plate in front of her with a grace I don’t possess while using her other hand to dig in.

Together, we all look at the wall I’ve created. More notes have been added to it since my adventure this morning.

“I eat enough.”

She pokes my hip with her fork, telling me she knows better. Together, we eat in silence for a little while.

Miles, having finished his last bite, nods in pride at my wall. “You’re doing well for just a few days.” He angles himself toward me. “When was the last time you saw Feenix?”

I set my empty plate to my side and lean back, using my arms to support me from behind. “Last night.”

“Did you find out his last name yet?” Rochelle asks, chewing thoughtfully.

I shake my head. “I will though.”

“I have a rough feeling about him,” Miles grumbles as he strokes his jaw with his free hand. “Just because he doesn’t handle the sex trafficking, it doesn’t mean he isn’t just as bad as this Andre fellow.”

I pucker my lips, and though Miles doesn’t see, Rochelle is probably more observant than him and frowns at the side of my face. “He’s not so bad.” A lot of secrets, but there’s something under the surface. I know it. There has to be. My heart won’t believe otherwise, and at this point, I’m starting to trust everything that organ suggests. There’s no point in fighting it anymore .

I have feelings for Nix.

And I know nothing about him.

In a nutshell, I’m screwed, and I cannot show it to Miles.

Rochelle’s frown only deepens, and it’s then I know I’ve said the wrong thing, at least to her. Because Miles seems unaffected by that comment, having not read into it like she has.

“You just wait,” he says, turning toward me. “The more you discover, the more you’ll realize I’m right.”

“Sure, sure,” I say, averting my eyes back to the wall.

Miles' phone rings, and he holds up a finger, putting a pause in the conversation before pulling it from his pocket and heading out of my bedroom door.

“Probably the Captain,” I mutter as an excuse for his sudden departure. I hear the apartment door click closed as he takes the call in the hallway. He’s never been able to have a conversation with others around. We’re too distracting.

“When did this Feenix guy start becoming more than the job itself?” Rochelle asks quietly.

I whip my head to face hers and find her expression curious. “What?”

She rolls her eyes heavenward and lowers her half-eaten plate to her lap. “I know smitten when I see it, Charlie. You’re in real trouble here.”

My shoulders deflate, and I slump in my seated position. “I know,” I whine softly. My eyes widen as I add, “Please don’t tell anyone. Please, Rochelle.”

She holds up a hand. “Your secret is safe with me, but you should be considering your own safety here.”

I lean forward and scrub my face with my hands. “I’m more worried about my heart. ”

“That it’ll stop beating?” she asks sarcastically, insinuating my impending death.

I drop my hands to my lap and study my palms for a second before raising my gaze to hers. “That it’ll break.”

She gives me a sympathetic look. “That’s a very real possibility. He’s not who you think he is, no matter how much you wish otherwise. You know what he does for a living, but you only know a sliver of who he truly is. Don’t let yourself romanticize him.”

I sigh, knowing she’s right but also knowing that, deep down, I don’t care. I like him and I can’t just banish those feelings. “My husband just died. I can’t be falling for someone else.”

She places a hand on my knee. “You and Nathan may have been married, but you weren’t together for a long time, Charlie. I wish you were falling for someone more respectable, but at least you now know that falling for someone else is a possibility. That you haven’t revolted against the idea of finding another person to have in your life.”

“Yeah,” I whisper, grabbing her hand and twining my fingers with hers. I need the support right now, and she’s always been supportive of my life. A mother when I needed one most.

She squeezes my hand. “Have you looked through the rest of his stuff?”

My shrug is small. “A little. I haven’t brought myself to look at his laptop though.”

With a little more pressure on my fingers, she releases my hand and stands. “I think it’s time we change that,” she says as she heads out of my room. I hear her set down her plate in the sink, and a second later, she’s returning with Nathan’s laptop.

“Now?” I ask when she hands it to me .

“Miles might be awhile, and you shouldn’t have to look into his life without someone by your side.” She sits back down beside me and scoots in close. “Now, open it.”

Sadness wiggles its way into my chest, but I do as she asks and lift the screen to open it. The screen glows, and I type in his password. It’s always the same, and for someone who is in accounting, I’d teased him in the past about the security risk he’s taking.

The screen opens to the desktop lined with folders and spreadsheets.

“That’s a lot of clients and businesses,” I breathe out.

“Not really,” she corrects. “But he probably specialized in certain areas.”

I look at her. “You really don’t think that’s a lot?”

She shakes her head and leans to get a better glance. “It doesn’t look like there’s anything personal. Do you know anyone on there?”

I bite the inside of my cheek and read the names of each folder, but I almost miss it. I almost overlooked it, but something in my brain niggles, and I go back to reread a certain folder again. “Oh my god,” I whisper.

“What?” she whispers back.

I point to the folder. “That’s the business Andre is supposedly with.”

Her head juts back as if she’d been slapped. “The matchmaking business?”

I nod and glance at my bedroom doorway, wondering if I should go interrupt Miles so he can be here when I open it.

Rochelle reaches and clicks on the folder before I have the chance to fully decide. Spreadsheet after spreadsheet opens in the folder, but it’s one name in particular that catches my attention right away.

Feenix Blaylock .

I swallow thickly and quickly shut the laptop before Rochelle can see it too. For some odd reason, I don’t want anyone knowing his last name even if it is fake. Like Andre’s, it’s most certainly fake, and there’s probably a shit-ton of suspicious and incriminating stuff tied to it.

“What are you doing?” she asks with a scowl.

“We should wait for Miles,” I say as a way of an excuse.

She leans away, but the scowl remains. “Okay.”

My mind races. Now that I know his last name, it becomes a little more real, this thing I have for him. The possibility of arresting the man I’m falling for becomes a living, breathing thing. There is no happy ending for me here, but still, it doesn’t sway my heart. Still, it beats only for him. I don’t know how to convince it otherwise, how to tell it that, in the end, it’ll only bring tears and I’ll be forced to pick up my own pieces, yet again.

First my mother, then my father, then Nathan. And now Nix.

No, I can’t tell Miles about this. Not until I look into him myself. I know here and now that there will be parts I keep to myself to protect Nix. I won’t be able to help myself when all becomes revealed to keep things secret, to bury them in the dark. But how far will I go? How deep will I get myself for this one man? Will I go down with him?

A part of me doesn’t care if I do.

Tucking my fear deep, deep within myself, I set the laptop by my plate and fake a yawn. “You know, I’m tired.”

She blinks a few times and checks her watch on her wrist. “It is a little late.”

Jumping on my way out, I ask, “Do you mind? I can give Miles a call tomorrow with this news. ”

My phone dings on my nightstand as she gives me a nod and stands. I rise with her, and together, we embrace.

“Don’t do anything stupid, Charlie,” she whispers into my hair. “I’d hate to see something happen to you.”

“Okay,” I murmur into her ear because that’s all I can say. I can’t promise her anything at this point because everything I plan to do is a reckless decision.

She lets me go, reaches for my empty plate, and heads out of my room. Moments later, I hear the apartment door shut, and I take a few deep breaths to calm my racing heart.

What the hell am I going to do?

My phone dings again, and on numb feet, I head to my nightstand. It’s the phone Nix gave me, and I pick it up to read the text.

I clamp my jaw shut.

Nix: Gala in two nights.

Nix: Don’t try to get out of it. A dress will be sent to you tomorrow, and appointments have been made for your hair and nails.

My heart thunders in my chest for two reasons. Reason number one is that I’ll be surrounded by people who might make Miles refuse to let me go. And reason number two is that there is so much I could discover if I don’t tell him I’m going.

Me: Who’s my date?

Nix: Me.

Butterflies flutter in my stomach. Yeah, Miles definitely isn’t going to know about this.