“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Blake asked.
I could tell he wasn’t pleased I was sharing what he’d told me about Jack in a weakened moment of total honesty. He would probably start glowering again anytime now.
Jack shook his head. “You have a very suspicious mind, Mr. Carson.”
“I get paid to have a suspicious mind,” he said with a frown.
“Now that we’re all on the same page, can you please help us figure out the memory stick?”
Jack flipped open his bag and pulled out a laptop. “It’s a secure set-up so no one should be able to see what’s on this except us. Does that satisfy your crazy side?”
Blake nodded. “Yes.”
I shook my head. He didn’t even deny it anymore.
Jack plugged in the memory stick. His fingers flew over the keys, then his brow furrowed. “Damn, grandma.”
I moved beside him and peeked at the screen. “What?”
“It’s password encrypted. Like hacker-protected.” He pushed the laptop back. “I’m good, but this is way above my paygrade.”
“Your paygrade is damn good,” Blake muttered.
“I know.” Jack cracked his knuckles. “Let me try one last thing.”
I watched the code go by on the screen and got dizzy with all the lines of letters and numbers.
“Seriously? Who the hell put this together?” He slammed on the keys and put together a very inventive string of insults.
Jack pressed his palms to the counter. “I need to call a friend.”
“Hell no.” Blake shook his head. “It’s bad enough I had to involve you in this.”
“They’re trustworthy.”
“If I don’t know them, they’re not trustworthy.”
“I’d trust Aidan Roth with my life. Hell, I have.”
I gripped Blake’s arm. “We’ve got to trust someone, Blake.”
He glared down at me. “You’re asking me to trust them with your life.”
“So far all they want is the diary.”
He clenched his jaw so tight muscles on either side flexed. “Do it.”
“Good.” Jack pulled out his cell and dialed. “Hey, buddy,” he said as someone on the other end picked up. Jack paced away and gave his friend a breakdown of what we’d been discussing.
Blake went from pacing to a stillness that worried me. When he got this silent and motionless, he actually scared me a little. Okay, maybe more than a little.
Jack came back into the room. “Okay, say hi to Lucy everyone.”
“Who the f*ck
is Lucy?” Blake said in a thunderous voice.
The woman on the FaceTime screen waved. “Me.” Her hair was so black it had a blue sheen to it. Her eyelashes were tipped in cobalt blue and her huge blue eyes were perfectly lined with an intricate black eyeliner. “So, here’s what we’re going to do. Jack is going to plug me into his laptop from the phone so I can get in there and do my thing.”
Blake clasped his hands at the back of his head. “f*ck
.”
“Don’t worry, Intense Dude. I’m just going to crack the code and let you guys look at what’s inside. I’ve got clearance higher than your entire company combined. I don’t give two shits what’s on granny’s diary.”
“Annabelle would be flipping out at all the shots about grandmothers,” Blake said.
“Yeah well, this granny kinda rocks,” Lucy said from the FaceTime screen. Her fingers flew over her double keyboard. “But I’m better.” Ten minutes later, and another lesson in insults later, she slapped a cup down on the table on her side.
I jumped.
“Got it.”
Jack clapped. “You are my goddess, Lu.”
“And don’t you forget it.” She tipped her head and I noticed the ends of her hair were the same blue as her lashes. “Peace out, bitches.” And the screen went black.
Folders unfurled on the screen. Folders inside folders, and spreadsheets. So many spreadsheets. It was going to take us weeks to decipher it all.
“Holy shit,” Jack said.
I swiped my hand over my face. “What the hell were you into, grandmother?” I frowned. “What’s that file? It’s not a spreadsheet.”
Blake pushed Jack out of the way and popped open the Word document.
“It looks like more diary pages.” He tabbed through them. “And a video file.” He doubleclicked the file and my Grandmother’s face filled the screen.
Eyes so much like my own stared back at me.
“If you’re seeing this video, then I’m dead. Whomever is watching this must protect my granddaughter, Grace Cordelia Copeland. She’s in danger.”
THE FINAL volume of this serial is coming this SPRING from both BLAKE & GRACE’s point of view.
Please sign up for our newsletter for information on the sale date.