Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 77354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
“There’s no way.”
Of course he doesn’t believe me. “If you don’t want to hear it from me, then maybe you’ll listen to Aarvi.”
I pull out my phone to see if she’s sent me any news, but there’s nothing. She said she’d message as soon as she knew anything.
“Let me out,” I say.
“I’m going to call her,” he says, not opening the door.
“Call her. But let me out. I’ll be waiting for your apology.”
He unlocks the car doors, his phone already pressed to his ear.
I’d really like to know what Aarvi says. But at the same time, I’m done. I don’t want to be the person Bennett immediately looks to if something goes wrong. I slam the car door shut and head into my building.
I’m exhausted.
I want to be at home.
I want my sister.
I want a KitKat and an episode of Love Island.
I understand Bennett has trust issues, but I’m not sure I can handle being the prime suspect the moment something goes wrong. I’ve worked my arse off trying to get some kind of resolution for him. Then for him to turn around and suspect me? After all the time we’ve spent together? I understand people used his mother. But he’s not her, and I’m not them.
The lift doors are closing and I’m half waiting to see if Bennett appears before they do, his expression full of apology. Again.
But he doesn’t.
And after an hour of waiting for him to pound on my door, I turn off the light and try to sleep.
TWENTY-EIGHT
Bennett
She should have told me, but I understand why she didn’t. I tip my head back on my headrest and sigh.
“And you know this for certain?”
“Do you recognize the number?” she asks. “That’s definitely the cell that’s been facilitating the attacks.”
“I don’t understand why Leo would use his own number. Wouldn’t it be easier just to buy a burner and use that?”
“I can’t answer that,” Aarvi says. “But it’s definitely coming through that cell. I have no doubt about that. Always this time of night, early in the week. Everything tracks.”
“And Efa helped?”
“Without her, I would have had to come to you with my suspicions and you would have shut me down and we’d be making no progress whatsoever.”
“I wouldn’t have shut you down,” I snap.
“Bennett, you’re very loyal to your friends. There’s no way you would have entertained the idea that one of them had betrayed you.”
I don’t respond. I’m so careful with people I don’t know. So distant. But with my five best friends? I’m as open with them as I am with anyone.
“Is it possible that someone could be covering their tracks by using Leo’s phone?” I ask.
Aarvi doesn’t respond right away.
“Even if there’s a zero point one percent chance, I want to verify these findings,” I say.
“There’s a chance,” she says. “They could be routing it through Leo’s phone as a cover. It’s unlikely.”
“But possible.”
“Yes.” I can tell she believes it’s Leo, but she doesn’t know him like I do. “There are lots of reasons why he might be doing this. He could have run into money difficulties.”
“Leo’s got plenty of money.”
“But maybe he’s a gambler or has made some bad decisions. It could be sport for all we know. Plenty of attacks are just for the fun of it. But—”
“You’re right.” I cut her off. “Let’s do some checks.”
“On Leo?”
“On everyone.” My friends are my safe zone. The people I can go to to let off steam about work or bounce ideas off. To them, I could admit when I wasn’t getting the results I wanted from my business or my life or whatever other area might be falling short of expectations.
But those five people don’t feel safe anymore.
Nothing does.
Aarvi’s right. I wouldn’t have believed her if she’d told me someone in my inner circle was responsible for the attacks. That would have been a mistake.
“Make sure you include Efa in those checks,” I say.
“Efa? That doesn’t make sense. She’s been trying to help.”
“Maybe,” I reply.
Maybe she’s been trying to push blame onto others. There’s no doubt these attacks started to worsen just before she blew into town.
“What do I need to know about her?”
“I’ve already had a security check done. Everything seemed okay, but I want her rechecked.”
“I’ll arrange that, but for what it’s worth, I don’t think she’s anything to worry about.”
“I like to deal with data rather than guesswork.”
“She’s never pushed me for any information at all. In all my dealings with her, there’s been nothing to make me suspect she might be part of the attacks.”
“Just check her out.” I don’t want to continue rehashing things. I’ll do that in the privacy of my hotel room tonight. “So next Monday, do we run the checks again? I can take the tracking device. That way, I know it hasn’t been tampered with.”