Above all Else

by Sophia R Heart

  Another police officer stood beside me, his eyes darting down the street and around the side of the house. I glanced around uneasily, too, though I was sure that the guys had probably long scarpered through the French doors in the kitchen and out the back yard.

  Mary Smith, as she’d introduced herself, came back out of the house with a cup of coffee in hand and a large sweater to keep me warm. I pulled the sweater on, thanking her profusely. It enveloped me completely, coming to a stop a few inches above my knees. I’d run out of the house in my pajamas – short-shorts and a tank-top – and was grateful for something warmer to wear.

  We watched the house and waited for the other cops to come back out. I wasn’t sure if Kellan had gotten my first text, but texted him again to let him know that I was fine and that the police were here.

  The phone rang immediately.

  “Are you okay?” Kellan asked when I answered, something I’d never heard before in his voice. Fear.

  “I’m fine,” I reassured him. “The police are here. They’re searching the house.”

  “Good. I’ll be there in twenty.” He hung up. Twenty? They were closer than I’d thought. I wasn’t sure why, but I stared at the phone for a full minute. There would be hell to pay when he got here. I just knew it.

  The cops came out after a bit to let me know that there was no one inside the house. I wasn’t surprised. The intruders would have scarpered as soon as they heard the police sirens.

  They let me back indoors, and Mary, bless her, came along, too, for moral support.

  They wanted me to see if any valuables had been taken. Being careful not to touch anything while they dusted for fingerprints, I stepped into the study.

  It had been messy before – Dad had never gotten round to fully unpacking – but it was completely ramshackle now. Furniture had been tipped over, boxes and drawers emptied onto the floor. The intruders hadn’t managed to pry the safe loose, and it was thankfully still lodged firmly into the wall.

  It didn’t look like they’d taken anything. The flash drive was nestled safely in the back pocket of my shorts.

  The cops asked for descriptions of the intruders, and there were other questions too, about whether I recognized them, if I knew anyone who might want to break into Dad’s office… they even asked about Dad’s disappearance. I told them almost everything I knew.

  All the while, the flash drive burned a hole in my pocket. I wasn’t sure why I didn’t mention it to the cops, except that I had a feeling it contained clues about Dad’s disappearance.

  One thing I knew for sure was that Kellan would be a hell of a lot more efficient than the police. He didn’t have rules and regulations to adhere to, and he bent the law on a regular basis in his line of work. He’d be far quicker at securing information out of the flash drive and then doing something about it.

  So I kept my mouth shut and didn’t say anything. After all, I could always turn it in after Kellan and I had made a copy of whatever was on it.

  Mary excused herself after a while, saying she didn’t want to leave her dogs alone longer. I stood up, thanking her and letting her know that I’d get the sweater back to her as soon as possible.

  “Oh, keep it,” she said, waving a hand. “You take care now. I’d better get back to my dogs.”

  She left, and the cops moved on to dust for fingerprints in the kitchen and around the broken French doors.

  Kellan and Uncle Luke arrived just as the cops were wrapping things up. Uncle Luke addressed them by name and immediately began firing questions left and right. The officers also seemed to recognize him and all but stood to attention.

  Kellan pulled me aside, his face tense. There was a storm brewing in his grey eyes, and his jaw was ticking. “What were you doing here alone? I thought you were leaving for the weekend?”

  “I’m fine. No broken bones. No permanent trauma from being scared half to death in the middle of the night,” I said, pulling my arm away from him.

  Surprisingly, his face softened. “Are you okay?”

  My shoulders slumped. “Yeah. I’m honestly fine. But how did you get back here so quick?”

  “There was so much traffic that we hadn’t made it very far when I got your text. I turned the car around straight away. I wasn’t sure if your phone was on silent, so I didn’t text back, but Luke called his station to get a patrol car out here stat.”

  Uncle Luke stepped away from the cops and came over to us. “You were here all alone, April? I thought you were staying with your friend?”

  “I... I changed my mind,” I said, sheepishly.

  Weeks had gone by, and nothing had happened. I’d gotten lax, and hadn’t taken Kellan or Uncle Luke’s worry over my safety seriously. In my defense, Archie Chambers hadn’t broken in, which was what they had worried about. None of us had anticipated this. Whatever this was. I hadn’t quite figured it out.

  “I dread to think of what could have happened to you, kiddo,” Uncle Luke said, pulling me into a hug. “Lying about where you are doesn’t help us keep you safe.”

  I trampled down the protest that rose to my lips. I hadn’t lied. I’d fully intended on going to Axel’s. I kept quiet though, knowing that he was just worried about me.

  “What’s the damage?” Kellan asked.

  “The French doors in the kitchen need to be replaced, and you’ll need to reset your panic button,” the officer said, looking at his notes. “Apart from that, there’s no other damage, and nothing appears to be taken.”

  “Nothing?” Uncle Luke looked surprised.

  “Either we got here in time before they found anything of value, or they were looking for something specific,” the officer said, tapping his pen thoughtfully. “It seems the office was the target – or they may have eventually moved through the rest of the house. In any case, we’ll fill in a report, sir.”

  Uncle Luke nodded, his face set in a hard frown. He didn’t appear too happy as he showed the cops to the front door, leaving me alone with Kellan.

  “Don’t,” I said harshly, before he could start berating me.

  I was mentally exhausted by tonight’s events. I couldn’t deal with a furious Kellan on top of everything else.

  “Come on,” he said instead, nudging me. “Grab a bag and some of your stuff. We’re staying at my place tonight.”

  “What?” I stared at him.

  “You can’t stay here – not with the broken doors in the kitchen. It isn’t secure.” He put his hand on my back when I didn’t move, steering me towards the stairs. “I’ll get them fixed first thing in the morning.”

  Hearing him as he shut the front door, Uncle Luke agreed, “It’ll be safer for you at Kellan’s. You can stay at my place if you’d prefer, though I won’t be there to keep an eye out. I’m heading back on the road. We can’t ignore this lead on Archie Chambers.”

  “Are you sure?” Kellan asked. “I can–“

  “I’m sure. You need to sleep, son. I’ll give you a call in the morning.” He clapped Kellan on the back. “I saw some cardboard boxes out back. I’ll flatten them before I go and tape them over the broken windows. It’ll provide at least some sort of barrier.”

  “I’ll help,” Kellan offered. Damn.

  I wanted to tell him about the flash drive and get his advice on what to do. Uncle Luke was a cop; I knew what he’d say.

  Besides, something those guys had said had been bothering me. A lot.

  I wracked my brain for something that would get Kellan alone upstairs.

  “Actually, Kellan, could you help me get my bag first? It’s on top of my closet and I can’t reach it.”

  He nodded, not thinking anything of the request, as he followed me up to my bedroom.

  I shut the door once we were inside and turned the lock. Kellan, who’d been heading towards the closet, turned around as he heard the lock click. His eyebrows shot right up, and he looked wary.

  “Don’t look so frightened. I’m not abou
t to come on to you,” I said, sarcasm seeping into my voice. “I just needed to show you this.”

  I pulled the flash drive out of the pocket of my shorts. Although it wasn’t much bigger than the size of my thumb, my shorts were cotton and the bulge would have been evident if not for the long jumper concealing my shorts.

  “What is it?” He took the flash drive from my hand, a frown appearing on his face.

  “It’s a silver tiara, Einstein. What does it look like?” I said, rolling my eyes.

  He wasn’t amused. “You know what I meant.”

  “It’s what those guys came here for tonight,” I told him, filling him in on everything I’d heard. He listened quietly and intently, only speaking once to call me an idiot for risking being seen when I’d grabbed the flash drive.

  “And you’re sure that they said you were out of town?” Kellan pressed.

  “Positive,” I confirmed.

  “Did you tell anyone else you were planning on leaving?” he asked me.

  “No one.” I shook my head. “I made the decision last minute, and then changed my mind practically straight after I’d made it.”

  “So the only ones who knew were you, me, and Luke,” Kellan said after a weighty silence. “How do you know I wasn’t in on this?”

  “I know you. At least, I know how much you care about Dad,” I said honestly. “Besides, you’ve been staying here every night for the past two weeks. You could have searched Dad’s office yourself.”

  A flash of dry humor passed across his face. “Thanks,” he said wryly.

  “They could have… I don’t know. They could have been listening in on our phone calls?” I said uncertainly, not ready to lose someone else in my life. I didn’t want to think that Uncle Luke couldn’t be trusted.

  “Maybe.” He didn’t look convinced. His eyes moved towards my door before he straightened, pocketing the flash drive. “Until we know for sure, we’re going to have to be careful around everyone.”

  “You think I should have given it to the cops?” I asked him.

  He was silent for a long moment. “I’m glad you didn’t. It could be useful to our search – and the cops certainly wouldn’t have shared what was on it with us. We’ll make a copy, and if it’s something useful, then we’ll forward it to the police.”

  I nodded, noticing that his thinking was scarily like my own. I hoped that there was some explanation for tonight that didn’t involve Uncle Luke’s betrayal. I wasn’t sure if I could handle that.

  Where we went from here and whether we’d tell the police or not, Kellan and I were in this together. And with that thought, I realized that I trusted him. I trusted Kellan Reed.

  It was a frightening thought.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  * * *

  - NOW -

  I’D NEVER BEEN to Kellan’s apartment before.

  It was exactly like I’d imagined. Modern, functional, and minimalistic. There was an open floor plan across the apartment. A sleek kitchen area that looked barely used took up one side of the apartment and was divided from the living area by a kitchen island that had three stools in front of it. There was a massive flat screen on one wall, and a mini-bar against another.

  As soon as I stepped inside the apartment, I smelled Kellan. His smell, his scent, was all over the place. But there were no pictures on the walls, nothing that really made the place feel homely. It was a bachelor pad through and through.

  “What?” Kellan said from beside me. I turned towards him, surprised to find his eyes already trained on me.

  He leaned against a wall, arms crossed casually over his chest. He’d shrugged out of his jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, showing off the muscles on his forearms.

  “Have you made any changes since you moved in?” I asked teasingly, as I moved further into the apartment. The place looked like a showroom apartment; stylish yet unused.

  “Not really.” Kellan shrugged.

  “Not really?”

  “The flat-screen,” he clarified. Boys and their toys. I rolled my eyes. Seeing my face, he said, “I’m hardly here, ballerina. I come here to sleep, shower, and occasionally eat. That’s pretty much it.”

  “That’s... sad,” I said truthfully.

  “It’s more than I ever thought I’d have so don’t pity me, princess. With the way I was living my life in high school and after I turned eighteen... my life wasn’t headed towards a good place. It certainly wasn’t headed here. I’d probably still be on the streets or back to doing all sorts of illegal shit to get my hands on some cash,” Kellan said, taking my backpack from me. “You want something to drink?” he asked as though he hadn’t said anything out of the ordinary.

  “Um... sure.” I cleared my throat, realizing that my mouth had been hanging open a little. Even though I’d already known most of what he’d said, I hadn’t heard it directly from him. He’d never been one to share. “I’ll have some coffee.”

  “At this time?” He raised an eyebrow. It was almost one o’clock in the morning.

  I shrugged, trailing after him into the kitchen. He flipped a light switch as he moved, more spotlights in the kitchen turning on. Thinking about what Kellan had said, I imagined it was a huge accomplishment for him to have this place.

  Hell, it would be a mammoth achievement for anyone his age. Most twenty-three-year-olds were riddled with debt from college, or just starting out in life. Kellan had rented his old apartment, but he owned this one.

  He’d dug himself out of the hole he’d been in, and he’d thrived. Kellan had started off living on the streets, and I could only imagine how desolate life must have been for him, how bleak his future must have looked, back then. It was remarkable how far he’d come. It was something to be proud of.

  He moved around the kitchen, opening and closing cupboards as he looked for coffee.

  “Don’t you know where things are in your own apartment?” I asked incredulously.

  He glanced over his shoulder at me, and shrugged. “I don’t really have a place for anything. I just put things away in any cupboard that I can find space in. Haven’t been here for a while so I can’t remember where I last left things.” I shook my head in disbelief, and mentally planned to organize his cupboards for him first chance I got. “My laptop’s on the couch. You can boot it up while I make the coffee.”

  I did just that, suddenly antsy to learn what was on the flash drive.

  Kellan joined me moments later, passing me a steaming mug of coffee. I accepted it, stilling when I noticed Kellan’s eyes dip down to my bare legs. The jumper I still wore was long enough to cover my shorts, giving the impression that I wasn’t wearing anything on underneath, and had ridden up as I crossed my legs.

  His doorbell rang then, making him jump.

  He got up to answer the door, his face having blanked, and I gulped my coffee like it was a lifeline.

  I put the mug down and shoved the flash drive into the USB port on the left side of the laptop, pausing when I heard a female voice at the door. Kellan’s body blocked my view of the visitor, but I could hear her loud and clear.

  “–thought I heard you come in. I haven’t seen you much these past few weeks. Well, even less than usual,” she said, her laugh low and sultry.

  I shifted awkwardly on the couch, an uncomfortable knot forming in the pit of my stomach. Who was she? I hadn’t ever known Kellan to have a serious girlfriend, just a fleet of random girls that I never saw him with more than once.

  I watched Kellan shuffle his feet. “That’s very... nice of you, Melanie. But I’m really tired, and I was just headed to bed.”

  Relief immediately filled me at his curt attitude. I didn’t know what Kellan would sound like with a girl that he was seriously interested in – and to be honest, I never really wanted to find out – but I imagined that he wouldn’t be half as brusque as he was being now. His attitude bordered on rude.

  After a few more words, Kellan shut the door
and slumped against it.

  “Another Stacey? Can’t shake her off?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

  Stacey had been this girl he’d hooked up with shortly after he’d moved in with us. It had been what effectively killed off any last remnants of my crush on him. She hadn’t taken him seriously when he said he wasn’t interested in a girlfriend, and had turned up at the house every day for at least three weeks hoping for another shot at him.

  He cleared his throat as he came back to the couch, and if I wasn’t mistaken there was a definite flush in his cheeks.

  “She’s married,” Kellan said flatly.

  “What?” I was appalled.

  “I’ve never been there, princess, nor will I ever. I guess you could say that I’m... possessive when it comes to my relationships,” Kellan said, his grey eyes turning stormy. They looked primal. Seductive. I glanced away.

  “What do you think is on here?” I asked, looking down at the laptop.

  Being here with Kellan… it made earlier on tonight feel so far away. But I couldn’t go back there with Kellan, back to that place where my feelings had overwhelmed me. I’d been a little kid last time with a one-sided crush, but I’d still been left burned. I imagine I’d be left shattered now.

  There was a moment of silence. “I haven’t got a clue,” he finally said. “Here.”

  He pressed a button, and the contents of the flash drive appeared on the screen. There were files after files. Folder after folder.

  This was going to take a while.

  All the files and folders were named with an assortment of random five digit numbers and letters that made absolutely no sense to me. I decided that starting at the beginning was a safe bet, and clicked on the first document.

  It was a list.

  There must have been dozens, if not hundreds, of names recorded. Next to the names, there were columns that registered the occupations, home addresses, and photographs of the people listed. Curiously, I scrolled down the page.