Sticking to the Script: Cipher Office Book #2

by Romance, Smartypants

  Ken’s face went slack.

  “Did you just…air quote?” He sounded disgusted and I laughed. Finger air quotes were obviously an anathema to him. “It’s a good thing I’m in love with you, you know.”

  I stopped laughing, the seriousness of his words hitting me squarely in the chest.

  “You love me?” I asked quietly.

  He nodded, watching me carefully. There was a long silence, then he said, “Enough to overlook air quotes.”

  Just like that, the mood was lightened, and I barked out a laugh. “Shut up,” I teased. “I seem to remember you air quoting once.” I tossed a pillow at him, but he deflected it.

  “Never speak of that again, it brings me shame,” he said with fake solemnity. “Now, let’s have that shower.”

  Ken hadn’t been joking when he said it was smaller. We were very cramped and had a difficult time moving around each other to rinse, but, as I predicted, there was a lot of fun, inadvertent rubbing of the cocks.

  We were both wearing dopey grins by the time we dried off. Seeing him that happy after the week we’d had, was a relief.

  “I like seeing that smile back on your face, McPretty.”

  It dimmed fractionally, but he said, “It feels good to wear it again.”

  “I guess my magic ass made it all better,” I joked, trying to keep the mood jovial.

  “You make everything better.”

  He said it so matter-of-factly, it hit me hard. My Adam’s apple bobbed in my throat as I tried to swallow the sudden emotion. Mighty Thor, Ken was going to kill me with his heart.

  As we dressed and ate a quick breakfast, I thought about King and how Ken said I was being stubborn. I didn’t think I was being stubborn. Quinn—and now Dan—had their plates full, and I wasn’t going to add to their burden, especially considering there wasn’t any immediate need. But I did have to admit that I was being uncharacteristically passive. There was no reason why I couldn’t utilize the resources I had available without dragging Quinn or Dan into it.

  If anyone could help me and be discreet, it was Alex. This slow-moving, absurd situation needed to be resolved and it didn’t look like I had too much hope of King just going away. After each interaction, each contact, I tried to tell myself that there probably wouldn’t be a next time—that he’d get the message and go away.

  But he’d approached me last week. Pushed his body to mine. Said things that let me know he wasn’t through with whatever crazy shit he was doing. It was past time for me to be proactive, and maybe if I promised I’d be more proactive, make an effort to deal with the situation instead of pretending it would go away, then Ken would be happier.

  “Listen, DKM,” I said stopping him before he could open the front door. “I really am sorry about King and the worry. I promise you, I’ll enlist some help, okay? Not Quinn and not Dan,” I clarified. “But I’ll talk to our information officer today and see if there’s anything we can do.”

  Ken stood still, watching me, oddly expressionless. I thought I’d see relief on his face, but instead, he looked like the powered-down cyborg again.

  “What’s that look about?” I asked. “Don’t you want me to involve someone? Hasn’t that been your beef?”

  “I do.” He nodded. “I’m very glad you’ll talk to your information guy.”

  He reached for the knob again, so I put my palm to the door and stuck my face close to his. “But? Don’t leave me in the dark wondering how I’m screwing up. As much as I’d like you to believe I’m Nostradamus, I really don’t have a clue what’s going on in your head. Help me out.”

  He seemed to war with himself. He opened his mouth to speak, only to close it again. He growled, huffed, and started rubbing his hair and neck. Something was very wrong.

  Alarmed, I said sharply, “Ken, what is it?”

  “I’m sorry,” he blurted. He looked like he was going to confess a crime and my stomach flipped.

  “Sorry for what?”

  “I’m sorry I made you believe that King was my problem. I’m sorry you felt guilt over that. I’m an asshole.”

  He said this all in a rush and it took a second to comprehend that there was something other than King that kept him away. Something he didn’t want to tell me.

  “Tell me what the real problem is,” I encouraged, trying to modulate my voice to conceal the mild panic I was feeling.

  “I will,” he promised. “But not right now. I have to get to work and this conversation requires more time than we’ve got.”

  My face must have told him I couldn’t bear the suspense, because he added, “It’s nothing you need to worry about, okay. It’s family problems.”

  It was at that moment, when the agonizing tension melted from me, that I knew I was the most selfish person on Earth. Once I knew it was about family, my gut relaxed, my heart started beating to a natural rhythm and I knew it was going to be okay—for me. I knew I could wait out the day to hear the story. It made me a dick. I knew it did. I didn’t want Ken hurting, but if he was going to make me wait to talk, it was a relief knowing it wasn’t going to be a talk that ruined our relationship or changed us.

  I requested a cab, walked him to his bus stop and gave him a kiss, making him promise he’d join me at home after work.

  Once I got to the residence, I went up to my floor, but instead of going into my apartment, I knocked on Alex and Sandra’s door. Alex answered almost immediately.

  “Oh, you’re ready for Wally now?”

  I blinked. I’d forgotten he and I were sharing Wally duties while Dan was in London.

  “Y-yes. All ready.”

  Wally was standing behind Alex, snorting and whining, trying to get between his legs to greet me.

  “I’ll get his things,” he said, opening the door wider and retreating into the apartment. Wally came out into the hall and did a dance around me.

  “Hey, bud.” I gave the dog a head scratch and flank pat, waiting for Alex to return. When he did, he was carrying Wally’s leash and bed. “No food or bowls?” I asked.

  “I have some of my own stuff for him here, just not a bed or leash yet, so his bowls and food are at Dan’s.” When Dan’s schedule stopped being crazy, I was going to feel bad for Alex. He seemed to be attached to Wally and vice versa. I hoped he and Sandra would adopt a pup of their own, Alex was good with dogs.

  “Thanks.” I paused for a moment then asked, “Are you available today to help me with something?” I glanced away from his intense gaze, uncomfortable with revealing my need for help.

  “Is this something why you changed your phone number?” he asked knowingly.

  Jesus, this kid. Was there anything he didn’t know? “Yes.”

  He nodded. “I’ll be down in the center at eight.” He started to back into the apartment, but then added, “I walked Wally at six-thirty, so he’s good for a while.”

  * * *

  After changing clothes and taking the dog back to Dan’s, I met up with Alex down in the data center.

  I didn’t exactly know what I needed from him, or what I wanted to divulge. I supposed that first and foremost, I wanted to know King’s real name and whether or not he had a criminal record. Perhaps the facial recognition software could find out both of those things with a simple scan.

  Or maybe that was wishful thinking. I didn’t understand how any of it worked, nor did I know if private companies like Cipher could access databases. But, if anyone could, it was Alex Greene.

  When I walked in, Alex spoke without looking away from one of the many monitors along the wall. “Do you have a name for me, or is that what we’re going to figure out?”

  I took a deep breath and said, “I don’t know this guy’s real or last name, only that he said he was ‘King.’”

  Alex swiveled his chair to face me, his face free of reaction. He didn’t ask another question, instead, letting his silence encourage me to continue.

  “I was hoping maybe you could use the facial recognition software to find out what his name
is and if he has a criminal record.”

  “You have a picture of him?” he asked.

  “No, no. Well, I mean, I have one of his torso and one of his penis.” My face heated at the admission.

  Why did you say that, Thompson, you idiot?!

  Look at his face, I argued to myself. He’s been taking lessons from Sandra on how to pull secrets from people!

  Don’t let it happen again, man! Buck up! Pertinent info only!

  “Unfortunately, there’s no penis database from which I could glean the information.”

  I barked out a laugh. “I meant using the software on the cameras in the building.”

  “He was here? What date?” Alex spun his chair around to a computer and started typing.

  “You can do this?” I asked, relieved. “I was worried it was a big ask, I don’t know how this works, what databases you can use, et cetera.”

  He snorted. “Legally, we’re not supposed to be doing this. Illinois requires companies to obtain consent before scanning faces. I’m not overly concerned with that, though. As for the databases,” he shrugged. “I can access them all.”

  No wonder Quinn likes him so much. Alex’s casual disregard for legality reminded me somewhat of Quinn’s own ends-justify-the-means vigilante code.

  When justice fails, he finds a way to make people pay. When he found me as an internal auditor, we worked together to bring down a CEO and CFO for fraudulent reporting. What we had done hadn’t been strictly legal, but it was necessary. He offered me a position in his young company, and I hadn’t needed any time to think it over.

  It didn’t matter to me that his methods weren’t above-board. This was a man who knew how to find the bad guys and make them go down hard. I respected that, I wanted in on it. I supposed I had my own warped moral code where technical honesty and the ends justifying the means was a perfectly right and correct way to move in the world. I also supposed Quinn saw this in me, like maybe he had Alex and knew there was a place for us with Cipher.

  Since Janie had come into his life, Quinn had kept the vigilantism to a minimum, preferring to work within the bounds of the law. It was for the best, really. Janie was too smart to not catch on to his dealings eventually, and she would have never condoned it or accepted the risk. My opinion was that, either way, I was happy to work for Quinn Sullivan.

  “Steven,” Alex said, reclaiming my attention. “What was the date?”

  “Oh, right, yes. It was June twenty-third. No, wait, it was after midnight, so the twenty-fourth,” I corrected.

  Alex pressed a few more buttons and footage from one of the lobby cameras appeared on screen. The timestamp said 12:00 AM. I could see the front door clearly, the video quality surprisingly crisp.

  “What time do you think you came in?”

  “I’m not sure. 1:15ish,” I guessed. “Possibly earlier.”

  Alex skipped forward until the video showed me crossing the threshold of the entry. He slowed the playback, and we watched, frame by frame as I entered, followed closely by King. For several frames, he had his head tilted down, like he was looking at the floor. I worried we weren’t going to have anything usable—at least from this camera—but then he looked up to the ceiling and for a moment, straight into the camera. Bingo.

  Alex froze the video, zoomed in on King and asked, “This your guy?” I nodded.

  Within minutes, Alex had given me a name and an address. Jacob Kingston Moore. He lived in North Park, and further digging resulted in an arrest record. Criminal threats, breaking and entering, criminal trespass, and assault were what he had been charged with in the past, but charges of criminal threats and assault had both been dropped. Separate arrests, months apart. The B&E charge and criminal trespass somehow were misdemeanors and the only penalty had been fines.

  “What the hell?” I said softly, deeply disappointed in what I saw before me.

  Alex looked at the information and said, “He’s been lucky.”

  “Yeah, I was hoping this guy was on parole or something.” I pasted on a smile for Alex and said, “Well, thanks for looking him up for me. At least I know his name now.”

  Alex looked at me for a long moment, his blue eyes piercing. “What did he do?”

  I shook my head. “Nothing anyone could do anything about.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  *Steven*

  By 7:00 PM, when Ken arrived at my apartment, the morning’s disappointment regarding King had faded.

  I told myself that I wasn’t at square one, I knew his name and his address, so I did have something to give to the authorities if the situation escalated. But seeing his arrest record had been chilling. Seeing his lack of convictions had been frustrating. I supposed I hoped he was hanging by a thread as far as the law went, possibly on strike two of the three strikes. I didn’t know if three strikes was a thing anymore—I just wanted leverage or hope that I could make him stop. As it was now, I didn’t have anything. The police would shrug if I made a report. Pictures of me? So what? A picture of his penis? They wouldn’t care. I didn’t have proof that he’d put his hands on me or intimated that he’d retaliate if I hurt him. Looking at this from the outside, I recognized that I had nothing—nothing against him and no recourse.

  I shook it off, knowing I was in a much better position and frame of mind than I had been two days ago. Two days ago, I didn’t know if Ken was on the verge of dumping me, didn’t know who King was, and didn’t know if I was going to have to marry my best girl friend to save her from her evil cousin and his nefarious scheme to take over the world.

  Now? Now I knew Ken was in love with me, knew his troubles weren’t about me or King, and Daniel O’Malley had stepped up to save Kat and the world. Things were looking up for Steven Thompson, yes indeed.

  Once Alex had come back to collect Wally, I decided to order Chinese for dinner. When Ken walked in, I met him with a sound kiss.

  “Hey there, sexy thing,” I greeted.

  He dropped his gym bag on the floor of the entry and squeezed my waist. “You’re in a great mood tonight, I see.” He dipped his head to nuzzle my ear with his nose and whispered, “Rub some of that off on me.”

  “Ooh, gladly.” I gave him another kiss but kept him from deepening it. I wanted to have our talk before we started yanking our clothes off.

  I took him by the hand, led him into the kitchen and announced, “Ta-da!” with a flourish. I had the countertop littered with boxes and boxes of take-out. “It’s the same food from our date. I figured we could have a little do-over, but this time, I’d be clued into the fact that I could get a little action at the end of the night.” I gave him a wink, making him laugh. “We’ll have lots of leftovers that you’ll help me with this time.”

  He shook his head and smiled widely, like I was crazy in the best way. “You’ve made my day a thousand times better, just by being you.”

  I swear, this guy…his candor and heart were going to kill me. “You do the same for me,” I admitted. “I’ve never felt like this before. It’s addicting. You’re addicting.” Deciding that was enough mushy stuff, I interrupted the mood, “Load up your plate, let’s go eat!”

  After we got settled, I asked, “Did you have a hard day at the hospital, or are you stressed out because we’re going to have that talk?”

  He chewed and bobbed his head back and forth. “A little of both, actually,” he said once he’d swallowed.

  “Well, don’t stress over me,” I insisted. “I’m here to support you, not make your life harder.”

  He stared, his brow scrunched. After a moment, he sighed, and it was hard to interpret. Could a sigh be dreamy and frustrated at the same time?

  “That’s what I’m talking about,” he shook his head. “Right there.”

  “Right where? What are you talking about?”

  Instead of answering, he said, “I told Kari about you on Sunday.”

  My body stilled. This wasn’t going to be good. “Okay,” I said slowly.

  “She didn�
�t take it…very well.”

  I nodded my head and repeated, “Okay,” encouraging him to continue, but my face was starting to lose blood. Dread filled me. He hadn’t been completely honest when he said it wasn’t about me—that it was only family problems. This was absolutely about me.

  “She said some nasty shit,” he said in a rush. “And I asked her if I was disinvited from the wedding if I brought you as my guest. She said we needed to cool down and talk later.”

  I exhaled deeply and closed my eyes. “You hadn’t come out to your family until now?” I didn’t like this. I didn’t like the idea that I was the wedge, that I was the bombshell in the family. Suddenly, I felt a whole lot less secure.

  “That’s just it!” he bellowed, then seemed to check himself and continued more calmly. “They’ve known for years. I guess I didn’t realize that Kari had her head in the sand this whole time. It hurt.” His jaw clenched. “And it made me angry. So angry.”

  I felt a small sliver of relief at that—knowing his sexuality was not new information to his family. But I was afraid of what this meant for us. I scooted closer to him and laid my hand on his. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, but I have to ask…” I couldn’t keep the worry from my voice, though I tried mightily. “Were you thinking of breaking up with me this week?”

  “No!” he insisted. “Hell no.” He grabbed the sides of my face and brought our foreheads together, making my glasses shift. His vehemence erased some of my tension and I sagged in relief. “Not for one second, do you hear me? I love you.”

  I love you. I let the words wash over me and I tried to soak up the comfort and reassurance, but they didn’t quite have the same impact they’d had this morning. He loves his family, too. I didn’t know if loving me and loving his family was going to be compatible in the long run. Eventually…

  I pulled away and sat up straight. Ken examined my face then continued, “I just needed time to get over the sadness of losing Kari, too.”

  I frowned, not understanding what he meant. “Too? And what do you mean, ‘losing?’ You guys are going to talk it out. Emotions are running high, but you’ll work it out.”