Dirty Addiction (Dirty 2)

“This is Jeremy and Kate,” Brody says, pointing to a man and woman who are also sitting in the room.

They both turn, smile at me, and nod, and then they immediately turn back, typing quickly on the computers.

“They are here to help us hack into all of Gabe’s systems. If we can break in and hopefully find some hard evidence of Gabe doing something illegal, we might be able to stop him. Our plan is to turn it over to journalists first, so that then when we turn it over to the police, they won’t be able to deny it.”

I glance around the room, but all the people are working hard on the computers. I don’t know what their credentials are or how good they are with a computer. But I know their skills with a gun and car aren’t great. This might actually be where they are capable of doing some damage to Gabe.

Brody eyes me up and down as I wear his T-shirt and boxer shorts. I run my hand down my bedhead, and he takes a deep breath. And then his lips kiss me again like it might be the last time. The rest of the room fades. The people, the typing, the danger. It all escapes us as hold each other.

Noah clears his throat loudly. “You need to be working, Brody. There will be time for making out later. We need all hands on deck.”

Brody slowly pulls away from me. “I am working. I’m keeping Skye happy and relaxed.”

“Skye is perfectly capable of taking care of herself,” Noah says, still typing away on his computer.

Brody sighs and then grabs my hand, pulling me toward the bathroom. He gives me a wink as we enter the bathroom, but just as Brody is about to shut the door, Noah slams his hand hard against the door, preventing it from shutting.

“Seriously? You’re not fucking in the bathroom again. You do realize we heard everything on the plane, right?”

My face blushes, but Brody just scowls.

“Get out,” Brody says.

“No, you

’re the best programmer we have. We have a chance at saving Skye, so your ass needs to be behind a computer the rest of the day.”

“He’s right,” Brody says, kissing me hard on the forehead again.

I close my eyes.

And then he walks out of the bathroom and back to a computer.

Noah stands at the door a second longer. “We’re going to figure this out. In the meantime, here are some clothes.” He reaches behind him and pulls out some jeans and a T-shirt.

“Thanks, really. Brody has some really good friends if you are willing to risk your life to help him.”

Noah shrugs. “He would do the same for us.”

Noah walks away, and I shut the door. I reluctantly turn the water on in the shower. My heart is torn because I don’t know if I want to shower and wash away every remaining scent of Brody in my hair or all over my body. But, on the other hand, I want to wash away every touch from Gabe. But the water will calm me, and I just have to pray that I’ll get another moment with Brody even if it is for the last time.

I strip and then step into the steaming hot shower, trying to push both men out of my head and just focus on what I want. I want to be alive. I want to survive to go back to the wonderful life I’ve created for myself. I love my life, and no man is needed to make me feel better about it.

Still, every time I close my eyes, the darkness of everything that Gabe has done creeps in. And, every time, the only thing I can do to push out those images is replace it with Brody.

I abruptly turn off the water, refusing to close my eyes again. I get dressed in the jeans and T-shirt, but both are too big for me. I applaud the guys for remembering to give me clothes at all. And then I step back out into the hotel room. Everyone continues typing and ignoring me, even Brody this time. He put headphones on to drown out the world, even me.

I walk over to Brody and lightly tap him on the shoulder. “How can I help?”

“By telling me anything and everything you can on Gabe. Tell me some of the worst things you saw that there might be some evidence connected to,” Noah answers instead.

“What type of evidence?”

“Threats against you that might have been recorded, threats against other people, money laundering, abuse, anything criminal. Start with the worst, but even something simple that could get him locked away for a few months would be a good start until we can find harder evidence on him.”

I sit down on the edge of the bed, trying to think about all the horrible things that I just spent my entire shower trying to push out of my head. “Money laundering, I have no idea about, but I wouldn’t put it past him. But I have no idea where to start with that. Abuse? He’s never been physically abusive to me, not yet anyway. And threats, he was very careful to never put anything in writing or say anything over the phone or in any public space really beyond the occasional whisper into my ear.”

“Tell me anyway. Tell us all the stories you can think of; maybe there’s something you’re missing.”