Evin's Fight (Southern Charmers 3)
“Pure heart of gold,” he whispers, a single second of full gratitude before his posture changes. “Grady?”
“There’s a car in the back waiting,” he answers, a black blur whizzing across the room.
Evin catches the object mid-air.
Red BMW a block away, rental plates from Georgia. You need to check it out.” Grady’s arm closes around Tasha’s chest and she loses it, squirming, kicking, thrashing her head. “Let go of me!”
Marco drops my hand, walks past them without a word or glance her way. Grady drags her behind, and her screams don’t die until the downstairs door slams.
“What just happ—eughedd?” My question is muffled by Evin’s sweater as I find myself engulfed in his arms.
“She called Isaac this morning looking for money. He knew she was high, drunk, doped—whatever, she was jacked up.”
“She needed money? She blew through one hundred thousand dollars in a month?”
“If she’s on drugs, that’s not hard.”
“What did Isaac do?”
“He knows what’s happening so he agreed to meet her in Atlanta. When he showed, she was coming down and got paranoid. She jumped in the car and headed this way. He’s been following but lost her at the city limits and called me.”
“That’s who called?”
“He was one of many. Darby got word she tried to check into the Brasher and was denied. Tony Sanchez also got a call looking for a place for her to stay. He unloaded on her, and she went unhinged when he mentioned pressing charges.”
“You knew she was headed here.”
“I did. Grady got a call from someone, too. He spotted her coming.”
He’s wrapped so tight, my lungs burn. “I can’t breathe.” His hold loosens, giving me room to face him. Worry and fear are fixed on his features.
“Evin, she’s gone.”
“Never felt that kind of fear, knowing she was hyped on God knows what and coming for you.”
“She’s deranged and possibly sick.”
“She’s an unpredictable live-wire.”
I frame his face, tipping up to kiss him softly. Some of the tension eases and he squeezes my waist. “What do we do now?”
“Marco’s got her. Now we wait.”
“Now we wait.”
Chapter 37
Evin
“Sweetie, we’ll get answers.”
“Believe us, we’re digging into this,” Marco assures.
A glass of amber liquid fills my line of sight, and I snatch it, swallowing most in one swig. Dad offers the same to Marco, Isaac, and Grady.
The computer in Grady’s lap taunts me like a ticking time bomb. “How long before we know exactly what is on that thing?”
“It depends on what is stored and how long Tasha has been collecting information. I’ll review every file personally,” Grady answers confidently.
“Let’s be clear. She didn’t collect, she stole. From the files we’ve seen so far, she invaded everyone’s privacy.”
No one disagrees.
After the scene at the studio, Poppy drove Tasha’s rental back here. Mom and Dad were waiting. In a moment of weakness, I gave Isaac my address and invited him. I relayed the confrontation and we scoured the rental. Poppy collected all the receipts she could find to help create a timeline. Isaac and I took a shot at cracking into the laptop with no luck.
It wasn’t until Marco and Grady arrived that Grady got in. What he found is disturbing. Somehow, Tasha accessed Poppy’s phone, including personal videos and pictures. She also has files on Marco, Karen, and me.
One glance and Grady confirmed this kind of privacy invasion requires high-tech skills.
“The simple explanation is someone hacked into our cloud accounts, right?”
“That’s one way to do it, but that takes a certain expertise.”
“What’s another way to get access to this information?”
Grady raises his eyes to Marco, who seems to be holding on by a thread. “Fuck,” he hisses, downing half his drink.
“She could have hired someone that got close enough to extract the information using devices.”
“Meaning someone followed us?”
“All of you. It could have been as simple as someone sitting next to you in a coffee shop. With the right equipment and open Wi-Fi networks, they could easily do this. Regardless of how it happened, she paid generously.”
Rage surges in my veins. Out of nowhere, I realize. “Tony.”
“Tony?” Poppy scrunches her nose. “What does he have to do with this?”
“She got into his email and replaced my quarterly report with a fake. Someone would have had to have access to his original to make it look legit.”
Understanding settles over her and she nods. “A super hacker could probably also review your incoming texts. Which would explain how she knew about Rina.”
Mom huffs at the mention, knowing way too much on the subject.
“Is there any information in that computer who she may have hired?” I ignore Mom’s glare.
“I’ll dig deeper.”
“Or you could ask her when she dries out,” Mom suggests bitterly.
“It doesn’t matter who she hired. It matters what she planned to do with it,” Dad counters.
“She’s pissed Marco backed away from the chance at a Presidential run, but even more so that he’s giving up politics altogether. Marco turning his back on her, and Karen supporting his decision is betrayal.” Poppy concludes, “She thinks she has the upper hand.”