Finding Her (Book 2 SAMPLE)

Chapter 4 - Mason

"Oh no. Don't smile.
You'll kill me.
I stop breathing
when you smile."

~~Tessa Dare

****************

~~Mason~~

My heart was still racing for a while after Anika had gone back upstairs, my thoughts scattered from just being in her presence. I had completely humiliated myself in front of her thanks to Kas's stupid prank and yet she had still come down to check on me. I felt... giddy, or at least like a little kid on the first day of summer vacation. Anika Rivers had willingly been in my room!

Willingly? What the fuck, Mase?!

"God, that sounds so fucked up," I muttered under my breath, pressing the tips of my fingers into my eyes.

"What's fucked up?" Kas asked from behind me, startling me. He laughed at my reaction. "Woah, what's up with you, man? Since when can I sneak up on you?"

I swiveled around in my desk chair and flipped him the bird. "I was busy and not paying attention."

Kas frowned and seemed like he wanted to press the issue but thankfully didn't. Finally he shrugged and leaned against the desk with his arms crossed.

"I gotta leave soon for my meeting, the one with that pretty councilwoman that likes me," he said, jumping right into the reason he had come down, this morning's incident already behind us.

"Oh, so you're going to visit your mom?" I asked innocently, making sure to keep a straight face as I blinked up at him.

As expected, Kas narrowed his eyes and scowled. "I said the one that's pretty and likes me, Mason. Not the evil bitch that grew my baby self."

I busted out laughing, unable to contain myself after his choice of words which earned me a harsher glare. Taking several deep breaths to calm myself, I managed to reduce my reaction to a grin which I mentally applauded myself for.

"Are you done?" Kas huffed impatiently.

"Yep," I replied, popping the 'p'. "Now what were you saying?"

"I have that meeting today regarding the building permit," Kas began again, careful to not to mention the councilwoman this time. "Were you able to find anything I can use if things don't go my way?"

Sighing, I switched into business mode and swiveled my chair around to face my screens. "Yeah, the first thing is that I'm almost positive she hates your mother, so that's already a step in your favor, if you're willing to admit relation."

"I don't know about that," Kas said, clearly unenthusiastic about the idea. "What else?"

My fingers flew across the keys on my keyboard in practiced strokes, the screens mounted on the walls coming to life. Each one held different bits of information, such as images, documents, videos, and news articles, all of them pertaining to one person. There were six screens in total that created a larger one when I put my system in sleep mode, but they were all being put to use as I did my job.

"Driver's license and social security card, insurance, etc., all match up to who she claims to be," I listed off in a bored tone. "No files or records hidden that even point to her being someone else, so that's out."

"Gold star for the politician," Kas said dryly. "Okay, what else? Is she clean?"

He sounded skeptical and he would be correct in feeling that way, and that's because he had me to find all her little secrets. That's who I was, the person the Southside Crew had come to when they wanted someone's digital footprints or access to something that a normal person couldn't legally do. It was my specialty and I loved it.