CHAPTER FIFTEEN

"Morning, Dad," smiled Brittany.

"Good morning. You headed to school?" he asked.

"It's Saturday, Dad. The weekend. You remember that, don't you? The time when young people have fun, go to the lake, swim, that kind of thing," she smirked.

"You're a real comedian. Is that what you and Tyler are doing? Are you going to the lake this weekend?"

"No. I've actually got a lot of homework this weekend. I'm working on a special project in my political science class. Tyler's actually been a great help." Red nodded, pouring himself another cup of coffee. "Did you have fun with Shelby last night?"

"Brit, don't, honey."

"Dad, she's a nice lady. I like her. She's perfect for you, and I think you should give this a shot."

"Honey."

"Dad. Don't be so afraid of this. She's not Mom. Not even close. That is a woman who would love a man forever, and you deserve that." She kissed his cheek, grabbing her backpack to head out to the grove to work in the sunshine.

Red sucked in a deep breath, watching as his only child left the house. She was a young woman now. She wasn't someone that he could control or order around. Intelligent, brave, and adventurous, she was going to carve her own way.

There was a sudden loud knock on the door, and he looked up to see Shelby standing on his porch.

"Red? Red, are you in there?" she called.

"Hey, what's wrong? Are you okay?" he asked, pulling her into the cottage.

"I'm not sure. I got a message on that dating site from one of the same men who stood me up. I don't think he realizes that he contacted me once before. The message is very much like the first one he sent."

"Come on. Let's go find Code or one of the other tech boys."

They found Code seated in the cafeteria with Hannah, her brother Angel, and his wife Mary. When Red explained what had happened, he handed Code the phone.

"I think I know why it did this," he said. "I cleared out your history in the app, and I revamped your profile."

"You did what?" she screeched.

"Sorry. I meant to tell you that yesterday and got distracted. We were trying to get them to bite again. I wanted it to feel like you had a lot of money, you were incredibly lonely, and that you would fall for some line by a guy."

"But that's not me," she said, sniffing back tears. Mary reached for her hand.

"Of course, it's not you. That's why Code did what he did. He's trying to lure these men in. Obviously, they thought you were too smart to meet them and give money directly. That's why they hacked into the banking information of your profile. They don't even realize that you're the same person."

"How do you know all this?" asked Shelby.

"I was an FBI profiler a very long time ago," said Mary. "Nowadays, I enjoy my nine grandchildren. These men saw something in you that they liked, Shelby. They're screwing with so many people they can't remember who they've fooled. What did the message say?"

She held up the phone for everyone to see.

Love the photos. Ur beautiful. Can we talk?

"Text him that you'd like to talk to him," said Code.

"No. N-no," she said, looking at Red. "I don't want to speak to him."

"Honey, I'm not going anywhere," said Red. "This is all make-believe. We're going to monitor everything, and if this man decides to meet up with you, you won't be alone. We're going to stop them."

"What if he steals from me again?" she whispered.

"He can't. The card was a pre-paid card that has no money left on it," said Code. "If they try to hack into the profile and your payment information, they're going to be very surprised."

"It's just a game," said Hannah. "Not one of your making but play the game and nail these bastards. You can do it." Shelby nodded, taking the phone and typing a message back.

Love your photos as well. Love to chat, but I'm in Rio until tomorrow. Leave for Monaco next Wednesday.

"Damn. You know how to lay it on thick," smirked Angel. "Good girl. They'll eat that up." The sound of a reply echoed on her phone, and she looked down, then held it up for all to see.

Ur my kind of woman. I'm in international trade. Travel all the time. Just happen to be in town for a few weeks.

She looked at the others, then sent another message.

I can meet Monday night. Cisco's on Canal at six.

Done. See you there.

"Now what? I don't want to meet this person," she said, twisting her hands together.

"You won't be alone, Shelby. Angel, Bull, Gaspar, all of them will be with you. You will never be alone with this man."

"I'll be there," said Red. The others all looked at him. "I'm not letting her do this alone. I'll be there."

"That's cool, brother," said Angel, "but just remember the goal is to keep her safe, but also to catch these assholes. You can't jump in right away. She'll have comms on, and there will be at least six men in that place."

"Cisco's is known as a couples bar," said Shelby. "It's always filled with couples having a night out. It's very romantic."

"Then we'll be romantic," smiled Angel, kissing his wife. "It will all work out, and we'll be sure that she's protected."

"I want to be there," said Red. "I know I won't have anyone by my side, but I could go in as a bartender or waiter. I will be there."

"Alright, brother. We'll make sure you're there," said Code. "Shelby, if anyone else texts you on the site, respond how you see appropriate."

"Appropriate? This isn't me. You've created a profile of a woman that doesn't exist. I'm not all the things you put in there."

"Yes, you are. You're everything he put in that profile," said Red. She just shook her head, finding it hard to believe that anyone saw her in that way.

"I trust you," she said, looking at Red. "I trust you all. Just please, please don't leave me alone with this person."

"You will not be alone," said Hannah, squeezing her hand. "Come with me. I think today should include some girl time. Hair and nails with Keegan and Winter, a new dress from Gwen, and maybe one day, when you're ready, a tattoo from Callan."

"I might have to think on that one," smirked Shelby.

"Hi," smiled Victoria.

"Hi," said the table, smiling at the young girl.

"Um, did you know that there is a verification feature on the dating site that allows for the profile owner to speak and say a few lines? You know, so people know it's a real person."

"No. I didn't know that," said Code. Shelby shook her head, shrugging her shoulders. She opened up her small tablet and went to the website to the profile of the man who had contacted Shelby.

"How did you know that?" asked Red. Victoria just smiled at him. She hit the verification button, and a man's voice came on.

Hey. I'm as real as it gets. Looking for love and my future everything. Hit me up and let's make magic happen.

"Eww," frowned Mary.

"I know," said Shelby.

"I agree, but now you have his voice. You can run it through your databases for any voice identification software that the government might be using. Or, of course, the one we've been developing at G.R.I.P." She laughed, covering her mouth in her excitement.

"Kid, you're something else," said Code, shaking his head. "I'll start running that through today and see what comes up."

"I feel better already," smiled Shelby. She turned to Red. "Will you be here when I get back?"

"I'll be picking you up at six for dinner tonight," he smiled. "You can't keep me away."

"Come on, Shelby," said Hannah and Mary. "Let's go pamper ourselves."

"She's pretty great, brother," said Angel. Code looked at Red who was nodding, watching every step that Shelby took.

"I know. Believe me. I fucking know it."