Chapter Eleven

The Winterses’ household was packed with cops the next afternoon. They were scattered across all rooms, searching for any electronic bugs that may have been planted anywhere in the house, allowing Dr. D inside access into everything I do. Everything had been arranged the night before, when Detective Reynolds had suggested that we let the LAPD do a scan of the house for any listening devices or cameras that shouldn’t be there.

Dad hadn’t believed for one second that I was just at school, but he’d been surprising cool about the whole thing, losing interest after a few questions. It was probably because Mom had told him to suck it up and let me live my life. He did, however, tell me that I was still under house arrest and needed his permission to even open the window, which I promised I would adhere to. And I really meant it for five minutes. Maybe it was because Jack was always around so he knew I’d be safe, or maybe he had just given up on me. Either way, he had given me a pleasant surprise, but I made a mental note not to push my luck.

Jack and I couldn’t tell my parents about the latest phone call from Dr. D because that would involve us going into detail about where we were and what we were doing. But Jack had assured me that he had informed Kenny and Detective Reynolds in private. The party on Saturday was still our little secret though. It probably wasn’t a brilliant idea to keep secrets about this particular issue, but really, Dad was leaving me no choice with his psycho protective behavior.

But he was the last thing on my mind as I watched in dismay as two complete strangers dismantled my phone on the kitchen island. I know he was just doing his job, but if that cop so much as scratched my specially made gold back cover, there would be hell in all forms coming his way. I was concentrating so hard on the destruction of my phone that I didn’t realize Milo had quietly slipped into the room and taken a place next to me, leaning against the entrance of the kitchen.

“Hey,” he said with a smile. “How’s it going?”

My whole body tensed as I mustered an animated smile. “Good I guess. Not sure how I feel about this guy destroying my phone though.”

Milo gave a light laugh and said, “We’re just double checking to see if there are any listening devices embedded in it. You’ll have it back in no time, don’t worry. These guys are experts.”

I frowned at the officers who were still working on removing the back of my iPhone. I looked away before I started yelling about his lack of care with what I considered to be my lifeline.

“So how’s the investigation going?” I asked Milo.

“Pretty good. We still don’t really know how everything ties together, but if we find anything in your house today we can get a better idea of who we’re dealing with.”

There was a big chance Milo was sounding optimistic just to keep me from freaking out any more than I already was. Because from where I was standing, finding listening devices in my home was by no means a good potential outcome. But what did I know? He was the officer-in-training, not me.

Milo walked further into the kitchen, the other officers ignoring him completely. I didn’t follow him, choosing to stay put near the entrance. Getting in close proximity to Milo would involve a lot of restraint on my part, and I wasn’t sure I had it in me. The further the distance, the safer my hormones were.

“I like the Hepburn poster,” he said, fiddling with the cuff of his uniform.

“The what?”

“In your room,” Milo said. “The one above the bed. It’s nice.”

My face drained of color. Milo Fells had been inside my bedroom, and I hadn’t even gotten a chance to enjoy the special moment! What kind of cruel joke was the universe playing on me? Even worse, what if I had accidently left a bra lying on the floor or something? I mean, you got to at least take a girl to dinner before you check out her Guia La Bruna.

“Um, thanks. She’s my favorite.”

“I just knew you’d be into the girly stuff,” Milo said with a teasing smile. “I took one look at you and thought, yep, that’s a Tiffany’s kind of girl.”

Hopefully he would remember that analysis when he was buying me an engagement ring. I took a couple of steps into the kitchen, deciding I was brave enough to test the waters of this conversation.

“Oh really?” I said, as if challenging him. “What about you, smarty-pants? Are you a Tiffany’s kind of guy?”

Milo’s smile widened. “I’m more of a Diehard kind of guy. It goes with my cop image.”

I froze, racking my brains but coming up short. It’s like my mind had decided to temporarily go on holiday to the Bahamas. There were so many random violent movies with macho names that I had lost count.

“Oh,” I said, as if I knew exactly which one he was talking about. Fake it ‘till you make it. “Yeah. Yeah! I love that movie! That’s the one with the guns. And the fighting. And the guys, you know, and that chick.”

Milo was clearly suppressing a laugh when he said, “You’ve seen Diehard?”

I gave him my best deeply offended look. “Of course I’ve seen Diehard! It’s only like my fourth favorite movie!”

“Okay. Who’s the main actor?”

Oh crap. He got me there!

“Um . . .” I said, wondering if he would notice if I Googled it quickly. “It’s um, that guy . . . Harrison Ford.”

Milo just stared at me for a few seconds, looking amused. “You mean Bruce Willis?” he said.

“Yeah, that’s what I said.”

“Well what d’ya know? We found one,” one of the officers said.

I sighed with relief. If Random Cop One hadn’t stepped in, I would probably have resorted to making up facts about Bruce Willis just to keep my cover, and I wasn’t so great at fake trivia.

“You found a bug?” I asked, leaning in closer. My phone was now unrecognizable as it lay completely dismantled on the kitchen island, tiny silver pieces scattered around it.

Random Officer Two held up a small pair of tweezers with a tiny black thing attached at the tip. “There it is.”

“He bugged my phone?” I exclaimed. I had been totally convinced they were wasting their time. “How could he have gotten to my phone? I always have it on me!”

“Clearly not,” Random Officer One said, and I scowled.

“It might have been the UCLA kid,” Officer Two said, placing the bug on the counter next to the rest of my phone’s insides. “He’s a tech student, so he’d know his way around your phone.”

Well that was dandy and all, but I was more worried about how he reached my phone. Fear crept up my spine. What if he had snuck into the house while I was asleep? Our security was great, but this guy was clearly crafty. Officer One reached into his LAPD jacket and pulled out a similar black device to the bug, placing it inside the back of my phone, exactly where the other one had been.

“What are you doing?” I asked. “Didn’t we just take out a bug?”

“Yeah.” Milo said. “Now we’re bugging your phone.”

“I don’t get it. Isn’t that the bad guy’s job?”

Milo’s lips curved into a half-smile. “Usually. But sometimes the good guys can use it to their advantage too.”

“So . . . what does that mean?”

“It means,” Officer Two said, restoring the small silver objects to their original places. He must have worked part-time at Apple in a previous life. “Next time Dr. D calls you, we’ll automatically be alerted and be able to listen in on the call. And if you keep him on the line for at least sixty seconds, we’ll be able to trace the call.”

Alright, that was a little badass. Plus, it seemed simple enough. If bugging my phone meant that we’d be able to end all this drama in sixty seconds, I was down for that. The only problem was, those golden sixty seconds could still be ages away, and just the idea of that was making me restless.

“So what do I do in the meantime?” I asked the officers. “While we wait for him to call, I mean.”

“Sit tight,” Officer Two said, sliding my now completely intact phone across the counter toward me. “Don’t stress. Maybe invest in a guard dog.”

“I already have a dog,” I told him.

As if perfectly timed for the moment, Famous shuffled past the entrance of the kitchen and disappeared down the foyer. He seemed completely unfazed by the strangers dispersed around the house, and was concentrating heavily on sniffing the polished floor.

“Yeah,” Officer One said with a snort. “Trained killer that one is.”

I narrowed my eyes at the two officers, fighting back an aggressive eye roll. I sincerely hoped Milo’s police training didn’t involve cracking lame jokes, or else my love story would have a big problem.

“I’m going to go update Reynolds,” Officer One said, after he had finished chuckling. “You guys check out the study; see if there’s anything there.”

“You coming, Fells?”

“Yes, sir.”

The two officers left the kitchen, leaving Milo and I alone in silence, except for the distant noises of the many cops shuffling around the house.

“I better go check out the study,” he said, finally breaking the awkward tension.

“Right.” I nodded. “I better go check the . . . fridge.”

“Right.”

Milo headed for entrance, and I slapped a hand over my eyes, my back to him. Fridge? Real smooth, Gia.

“Hey, are you going to that Halloween party this weekend?”

I lowered my hand and turned to face him. “What?”

“I didn’t mean to pry,” Milo said. “I just saw the invite on your desk, and I was curious. I’ve got a few friends who go to school at UCLA, so I got an invite too. Are you planning on going?”

I blinked at him for a few seconds, unsure of what the right answer was. Jack and I had thought about going, but hadn’t come to a decision yet. But if Milo was going to be there, I definitely needed to re-evaluate my options.

“I don’t really know too many people there,” I told him. “But I might. How about you?”

“It’s not really my scene,” he said with a smile. “But if you wanted some company then I’d be happy to tag along.”

Um, YES. That would be fabulous, thanks. A night out with Milo Fells would make my life. I just needed to work around the whole bodyguard dilemma. There was no way I could get Milo to fall in love with me with Jack always standing an inch away. Plus, there was still the issue of Brendan, who at the end of the day, was still technically my boyfriend. Technicalities. They’ll always get you.

“Well,” I said, “I’m always up for a good shindig!”

Oh good God. Why couldn’t the ground just split into two and swallow me up? Never in my entire life had used the word “shindig” like some kind of hippie living in a van, and my brain had chosen that exact moment to make a life change. Jack appeared suddenly in the doorway, allowing me a second to cringe as the attention shifted to him. He looked at Milo, then at me, and back at Milo.

“The officer with the unibrow is looking for you,” Jack told him. “I think he wants to check out the fourth floor.”

“Thanks,” Milo replied. He glanced at me with a smile. “I’d better go check it out.”

My over-enthusiastic smile didn’t drop until he had left the kitchen, and his footsteps were no longer audible in the foyer.

“What?” I snapped at Jack, who was clearly itching to pass some judgement.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Yeah, but you’re going to.”

“Gia,” Jack said, giving me a knowing look. “He seems a little more interested in getting in your pants than actually solving this case.”

I stared at Jack for a few seconds. “Is that bad?”

Jack rolled his eyes. “You’re beyond help.”

“What’s it to you anyway?” I demanded.

“I’m actually doing something to keep you safe,” Jack replied, looking annoyed. “He’s just playing footsies in the kitchen while everyone else is doing their job.”

I crossed my arms over my chest and said, “What, are you jealous?”

“I don’t do jealous, Gia,” Jack replied with a scoff. “Besides, he’s not even a real cop! It’s like playing dress-up.”

There was an awkward silence as Jack and I glared at each other. What the hell was he so worked up about? Jack was acting way out of line for someone who didn’t seem to give a damn about my personal life on any other day.

I opened my mouth to continue fighting, but the sound of a familiar voice calling my name out caught me off guard.

“Brendan?” I said, more to myself.

“Gia?” Brendan repeated, his voice coming from somewhere near the front door.

“Oh my God,” I said, eyes widened. “Brendan!”

Speaking of jealousy, Brendan really did have the worst timing. My boyfriend was in the same house as Jack, my extremely attractive but equally frustrating bodyguard whom he hated, as well as my perpetually annoyed father and the future love of my life, Milo. My L.A. mansion had turned into the House of Horror in the blink of an eye.

I pushed past Jack roughly, passing four LAPD cops as I ran to the front door in a panic. If I got to him before Dad, then maybe I could do some damage control. Unfortunately for me, Dad was already at the front door, alongside an officer I had forgotten the name off. He was watching Brendan disapprovingly, Aria and Veronica unexpectedly standing by his side.

“Oh!” I exclaimed, a little out of breath. “Hey guys.”

“Hey Gia!” Brendan replied. He looked like he wanted to hug me, but kept glancing nervously at Dad who was now eyeing the gun holstered on the officer’s belt.

“Can we talk?” Aria said, giving me a little smile.

“Nice to see you kids again,” Dad said politely, and frowned at Brendan one last time before making his way down the hallway.

I led the gang into the closest living room, awkwardly watching two cops make their way past me. I had no clue why we needed so many officers to search the house! Sure, six stories is a lot, but Dad had practically ordered the whole of the police department to conduct the process.

“So what are you guys doing here?” I asked once the police officers had left the room. Brendan took a seat uncomfortably on the edge of the sofa, but the rest of us remained standing.

“I needed to talk to you about something but my car broke down at school,” Brendan explained. “So Veronica and Aria gave me a lift.”

“You’re never at school anymore,” Aria said, as if I hadn’t noticed. “So we figured we’d all stop by and see what’s going on.”

“Nothing’s going on,” I lied.

Veronica raised her eyebrows and said, “Gia, you and Jack are always AWOL, you never reply to our texts or calls, there are cops all over your house and a giant police van parked in your driveway. Want to tell me again how nothing’s going on?”

“I’ve been sick. Super sick,” I said nervously. “So has Jack. I think he caught it from me.”

Brendan, Aria and Veronica evaluated my appearance as I fidgeted uncomfortably. An Alexander Wang romper and a full set of makeup didn’t exactly scream illness. The outfit had been planned with Milo in mind, not an impromptu high school reunion!

“You don’t look sick,” Veronica said.

“Well, I am.”

“And then what?” Aria asked, crossing her arms over her chest. “You decided to kill someone? What’s with all the cops?”

“Does this have something to do with Dr. D?” Veronica asked, and my eyes widened in alarm.

“Who?” Aria asked, and Veronica gave a little sigh.

“Cops?” I exclaimed, as if it was ridiculous for them to even think that way. “Dr. D? No! That’s crazy talk! These guys are . . . the Los Angeles Pest Department. I think we have termites.”

It was definitely one of my better on-the-spot explanations. It deserved a gold star at the very least. Aria made a face and inched closer to Veronica, as if bugs were suddenly going to burst out from under the floorboards and attack her.

“Oh, hey guys,” Jack padded into the living room with a relaxed smile on his face. Aria and Veronica both greeted him with genuine warmth, but Brendan actually groaned a little.

“Don’t you have a house of your own?” he snapped at Jack.

“Is that an invitation to move in with you?” Jack replied. “Because I accept.”

Aria and Veronica both gave quiet laughs, but I didn’t even crack a smile. It was hard enough dealing with the two boys when they pretended to like each other. Now that they were being open about their hatred, it was going to be ten times worse!

“Isn’t there somewhere private we can talk?” Brendan asked, giving me an exasperated look.

“The house is kind full right now with the pest department . . .”

“Pest department?” Jack said, raising his eyebrows.

“Yes, Jack,” I shot him a go with it look. “The pest department. We can talk outside if you want.”

“The pest department’s van is blocking your driveway,” Veronica told us.

“Yeah, good luck getting past that thing,” Aria added, inspecting her nails. “Besides, I’m staying for this conversation. I drove you all the way over here, Brendan. I’m not your chauffer.”

I caught Veronica’s eye but looked away immediately. Aria may have bought that lie, but Veronica could see right through me. I was waiting for her to call me out, but she stayed silent, and I found myself more grateful for her than I had ever been before her.

“Oh for cryin’ out loud!” Brendan exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. “Fine! Everyone can stay.” He turned to me with an intense look and said, “Gia, I’m dropping out of school.”

“What?” everyone in the room said at once. We all looked at each other, as if our brains had suddenly connected and morphed into one.

“I’m moving to Texas.”

“I’m sorry, what was that?” I said, scared that I may have heard correctly.

“I got a job on a cowboy TV show!”

“What in the actual—” Aria began.

“Hell?” Jack finished for her. “You got hired to be on TV?”

“Dude,” Brendan said, trying to remain calm. “I play a lot of sports. I will not think twice about kicking your ass. You want to take this outside?”

“You can’t, the pest department van is blocking the driveway,” I reminded him.

“’Cause I will take this outside if you want me to!” Brendan continued.

“You can’t,” I repeated, rolling my eyes. “The pest department van is—”

“What are you going to do?” Jack sneered, ignoring me. “Throw your ping pong ball at me?”

“Hey!” Brendan cried, rising to his feet. “I am a four-time champion!”

“Enough!” I exclaimed. “Jack, shut up. Brendan, are you insane? You can’t drop out of school! We only have a few months left!”

Brendan glared at Jack for a few more seconds before reluctantly turning his attention back to me. “Gia, this could be my big break. I’ve been trying to get into the industry for forever, and I finally scored this opportunity. It’s not a big role, but it’s enough for me to take a risk.”

“Brendan,” I said, trying to be patient with his stupidity. “That’s great and all, but I don’t think you’ve thought this through. I mean, it’s Texas! Texas! You’ve lived in Hollywood your entire life! How are you going to live in Texas?”

“I’ll adjust!”

“So when you say it’s not a big role . . .” Jack prompted, and I shot him a warning look.

“If you must know, I play a horse trainer on the show. My character’s name is Cowboy Stan,” Brendan replied haughtily.

“Stan?” Aria said, making a face. “Boy, that’s unfortunate.”

“No, cowboy, that’s unfortunate,” Jack told her, and Veronica and Aria giggled at his lame joke, despite half-assed attempts to keep it in.

Okay, that one had been kind of funny. But poor Brendan was clearly not enjoying the conversation, and I didn’t need to make it worse. But seriously, who’s ever heard of a cowboy named Stan? Doesn’t the Big Book of Cowboy Baby Names only contain Bill, Billy, Bob, Bobby and Howard? There’s no Stan on that list!

“You can laugh all you want,” Brendan said to my friends and Jack. “But when I’m famous, you’ll all be sorry.”

“What do your parents think about this?” I asked, fully aware that it could not have gone down well in his house.

“They weren’t pleased,” he admitted. “I don’t think my dad will ever speak to me again. But I have some relatives who live in Austin and I’m moving in with them. My parents don’t really have a choice. I’m eighteen; I can do what I want.”

Somehow I thought that the police and parents around the world would disagree, but hey, he had made up his mind. There was obviously no way I was going to stop him now.

“So, I guess we’re breaking up, then?” I asked, taking a wild guess.

Two police officers walked past the living room and disappeared through the front door. Hopefully they were almost done with their inspection so I could kick everyone out and bury my head under a pile of pillows.

“Well, I was thinking,” Brendan said, suddenly looking excited. “Why don’t you come with me?”

Everyone in the room was silent for a few seconds. Jack coughed quietly.

“Come again?” I said, checking to make sure I had actually heard that correctly.

“You don’t have to drop out,” Brendan explained. “But you could apply to colleges in Texas and come live with me! I think it could really work!”

I couldn’t think of a nice way to say “hell no, you must be absolutely delusional,” so I kept quiet for a few seconds. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings or anything, but if Brendan thought I was going to become Cowgirl Stan, he had another thing coming.

“Brendan, I’m not moving to Texas with you. I’m sorry but that’s just never going to happen.”

“Can I just say something?” Jack asked, raising his arm as if he was in elementary school.

“No!” Brendan and I said at the same time.

“Fine,” Jack replied, making a motion of pulling a zip across his lips, which were curved into a wide grin.

“Just think about it!” Brendan pleaded.

“Brendan, I can’t,” I said, shaking my head. “I—I’m sorry, but I just can’t!”

Brendan gave me a defeated look. “So this is really it then?”

“Looks like it.”

“Does it have to be?”

“I’m sorry, Brendan.”

Aria and Veronica awkwardly exchanged looks with Jack, who was finding this whole situation incredibly amusing. I actually felt a sudden wave of sadness sweep over me. Okay, so Brendan and I didn’t have an amazing Katherine Heigl-worthy love story. But we had a pretty good “like story.” I had spent all this time thinking Brendan and I were going to have a mutual breakup; end things as friends because we both knew it wasn’t working out. But clearly we hadn’t been on the same page. I had just dumped someone! I had never done that before.

“I think I should go,” Brendan said quietly. “I leave next week, so I’ve got a lot of work to do.”

“Next week?” Veronica asked him in surprise. “That’s so soon!”

Brendan shrugged and I felt even worse. He looked so sad, and I didn’t feel nearly as guilty as I should have for neglecting him ever since Jack had moved in.

“I’ll walk you to the door,” I told him, even though it was about fifteen seconds away.

“No that’s okay,” he said. “I know the way out.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but Milo walked into the living room and cut me off.

“We found a total of eight bugs so far; two in your bedroom,” Milo informed me. He turned to look up at my friends in surprise. “Oh! Sorry, I didn’t know you had guests.”

“Oh my gosh, EW! Bugs?” Aria cried, running for the front door. “I’m waiting in the car! Just don’t come near me!”

It took me a few moments to overcome the fact that Aria had actually believed the pest department cover-up before finally turning my attention back to the real issue at hand. Aria must really hate bugs if she hadn’t even noticed how hot Milo was. Brendan gave me one last sad look and followed Aria, leaving Milo, Veronica, Jack and I standing in the living room.

“Was it something I said?” Milo whispered to me.

“No, that’s okay,” I assured him.

“That’s my cue. Good luck with the bugs,” Veronica said and gave me a quick hug. “Call me.”

I promised I would and watched her walk out the door, my head spinning in confusion. I had ended things with Brendan. I was prepared for this. But for some reason, I still felt so empty and sad. Maybe it was because I knew Brendan hadn’t taken it well, or maybe it was because he was one of the very few normal things left in my life. I didn’t mind all the new entries, particularly the good choice in men that the LAPD had. But my life had gotten pretty crazy in the last few weeks, and it felt like everything was passing me by at an incredible speed.

“Well that was . . .” Jack began, struggling to find the right word to describe what had just happened.

“Abrupt,” Milo finished for him.

I wheeled around to face both of them with a defeated look on my face. Both men were looking at me expectantly, waiting for me to cry or laugh or just say something. To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what I could say. Some psycho freak had somehow managed to get into my house and plant listening devices all over the place, I had just dumped my boyfriend who wanted to make me his cowgirl bride, and now I was very much single and had two painfully attractive guys standing a few feet away from me. I was a complete and utter mess.

“Who was that?” Milo whispered to Jack.

“Who?

“The sad one.”

“Nobody!” I replied for him. Milo didn’t need to know about my relationship with Brendan. Or lack thereof now.

“Are you okay?” Jack said finally, actually looking a little scared that I was going to throw a lamp against a wall or something.

“Yeah.” I said with a shrug, struggling to keep my emotions in check.

The LAPD seemed to have completed their job because they were slowly making their way out of the house and loading up their van with their intricate devices and black thingy-ma-bobbies.

“Any more?” Milo asked a passing officer.

The officer held up two tiny electronic bugs in his gloved hand, exactly the same as what was in Milo’s hand. “One in the master bedroom. I think Andrews has some more with him” he replied, before leaving along with his fellow cop friends.

“That’s insane!” I cried, turning to Milo. “How could he have even gotten into the house?”

“Was there anyone who came over recently? Someone that isn’t a good friend, or maybe an unexpected visitor?” Milo asked.

“Not really,” I said with a frown. “Not that I can remember.”

Milo nodded grimly and said, “Who has access to your entire house besides your family?”

“Just Anya and the housekeepers. But they’re completely harmless. I mean, Anya has been with us for almost eight years!”

“We’ll need to interview all the housekeepers anyway, just to be sure. Anyone else?”

“That’s it,” I replied with a shrug. “Oh, and the bodyguards I guess.”

Milo looked at Jack thoughtfully, before nodding slowly. He had an assessing look on his face as he sized Jack up. Surely he didn’t think one of the bodyguards was to blame! I mean, Jack was annoying and frustrating and probably capable of some form of evil, but I highly doubted he’d gone around my whole house planting listening devices for himself or anyone. Kenny, I’d probably believe a little more. He was really scary with his beady eyes and his bulging muscles. But every muscly, beady-eyed guy can’t be presumed an evil genius just because of his unhelpful features.

My parents were standing in the hallway near the front door, talking to another police officer that was filling them in and most likely asking the same questions Milo had just asked me. Up ‘til now, it seemed that Ao Jie Kai was the prime suspect. But Milo looked like he had just found another one. Jack wasn’t an idiot; obviously he had noticed the intense look Milo had been giving him. But thankfully he kept his mouth shut and pretended to be overly interested in a painting hanging in the living room.

“We’ll send these to the lab,” Milo told me after a few, excruciatingly awkward minutes of silence. “Maybe we can find some fingerprints. But mostly it gives us a good indication of how far this guy is willing to go, and how high-tech.”

I nodded, even though I didn’t really understand what he was talking about. If planting listening devices didn’t already tell us Dr. D was a lunatic, then I don’t know what would have. Milo’s lips curved into a half smile and my heart did its break dancing thing for a few seconds, before he left the living room and walked toward my parents.

“He thinks I did it, doesn’t he?” Jack asked, the moment Milo was out of earshot.

“Jack!” I exclaimed. “That’s ridiculous. Of course he doesn’t.”

“He gave me a look!”

“Don’t be so dramatic. He didn’t give you anything.”

Jack looked at me knowingly. “Gia.”

“Okay fine! He gave you a look.”

“What would you do if I actually had done it?” Jack asked, and I looked at him.

“What?” I replied. “Planted all these listening devices in my house for some psycho freak to listen in on everything that happens so that he can call me later on and freak the living daylights out of me?”

Jack thought about it for a few seconds. “Yeah, that seems about right.”

“I’d kick your ass.”

“I’d love to see you try that.”

Whatever sadness I had experienced five minutes ago had passed and I was actually really glad it was over. I mean, yeah that was a bit quick, but whatever. You can’t dwell on the past. Now I could focus on the more important things in life, like my stalker, my schoolwork, and potential colleges. Oh, and my future life with Milo Fells, and naming our two children. I may even name one of them Stan, in honor of Brendan. Okay, that’s a joke. I’m not naming my kid Stan.

“He can run all the background checks he wants on me,” Jack said, as we both watched closely as Milo and other officer talked to my dad. “But he’s not going to find what he wants.”

I cocked up an eyebrow. “Is that so?”

“Well,” Jack replied, with a nonchalant shrug. “You dig deep enough you can find anything on anyone.”

“Even on you?”

Jack smiled, his gaze still on Milo. “Especially on me.”