Page 39 of Hidden
Asher:Any chance you know what this is? Before you make some smart-ass comment, I found it hidden in Ellie’s room
Of all people, Chad and Sabina would understand the seriousness of his question. During one of his and Ellie’s many conversations over the past week, she told him about Theodore Davies. A deranged man who’d stalked her and her friends for months. He’d been identified and captured because of the work of HICC. Sabina had been part of the team that brought him down. And while Chad hadn’t been with the company at the time, he’d studied the case.
Asher tucked the device into his bag and while he waited for Chad to respond, he pulled out a pair of clean clothes and his shaving kit. He’d just flipped on the shower when Chad texted back.
Chad:It could be a couple of things. None of them good. Don’t tell anyone and come straight to HICC when you get back
Asher’s stomach roiled as he turned the water off. He had a lot of questions. But only one had his fingers flying across the small keyboard.
Asher:What if there’s more?
Chad:What are your plans today?
Without hesitation, Asher quickly relayed their rough timeline: leave LA by noon, be in Mystery Lake by five. Assuming the predicted storm didn’t slow them down too much.
Chad:What about her staff?
Asher:Harry, her PA, and Ricardo, her chef, are here but heading out when we leave. I assume a cleaning crew will be in at some point, but not sure when
Chad:I can have someone there this afternoon to do a sweep, but I want to talk to Ellie first
Asher agreed. Ellie needed to know what he’d found. And needed to be a part of the plan to address it.
Asher:I’ll find out when the crew is coming. If it’s today, maybe she can postpone them. If it’s not today, we can talk about it when we get to HICC
Chad:Good idea. Let us know
Asher agreed then set his phone down. He stared out the window as his mind flooded with what-ifs. There were more than a few of them to distract him. But only one kept climbing to the top of his list. He doubted many people had access to Ellie’s bedroom. Two of whom were now in the house with her. He didn’t want to suspect either Harry or Ricardo, but he wasn’t willing to risknotsuspecting them.
Glancing down at his clothes stacked on the bathroom counter and his shaving kit sitting beside the sink, he decided shaving could wait. So, too, could a shower. Shucking his flannels and sweatshirt, he quickly changed into his jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. Then, after pulling on a pair of socks and brushing his teeth, he grabbed his laptop.
Ricardo might not like him hovering in the kitchen area, but the central location would let Asher either hear or see both men.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Unless Asher needed both hands to navigate the mountain roads, Ellie kept a tight grip onhis right one. The second she’d finished her fitting, he pulled her aside and told her about the device he’d found in her room. Her stomach, and nerves, hadn’t been steady since.
At least they were already taking steps to figure out exactly what the object was, though. As soon as they’d climbed into her car and headed north to Mystery Lake, they’d called HICC. She’d given them the all-clear to enter her home and do a thorough search. She initially thought they’d do it that afternoon—Chad had told Asher he had people available. But after discussing it, they decided to wait until tomorrow. Sabina and her team wanted to know more about the device so that they could ensure the team covered every base.
“Another storm,” Ellie said as flakes of snow started landing on the windshield.
“Not like the one last week, though,” Asher agreed. His steady calmness helped ease some of the tension in her body. But she couldn’t stop her mind from drifting back to her first—and as far as she knew, only—stalker. The situation had been beyond horrific. People had died. Was it happening again?
When she’d asked Chad and Sabina that question, both seemed confident that this was different. Davies had tracked her all over the country but never gained entry to her private space. Whoever was behind the device in her room, well, it could only be one of a few people. Which both gave her some comfort and freaked her out completely. On the one hand, she could count on both hands the number of people who had access to her bedroom. On the other, that meant that someone in her inner circle wasn’t who she thought they were.
“Tell me about your dad,” Asher said.
She glanced over to find his eyes focused on the road. His question was casual, but she saw it for what it was—a distraction. And as far as distractions went, she had to admit it was a good one. Because even just the thought of her dad and his bar made her smile.
Despite the snow, they made it to HICC in good time, chatting the entire way about Mexico, her dad, and his many idiosyncrasies, as charming as they were.
She was still smiling when they walked in the door and were greeted by several people. At Sabina’s direction, Asher handed the device over to one of her team members—a young man named Collin—then Chad ushered them into a small conference room. Where Sabina handed her a glass of wine.
The petite woman shot her a wry grin then shrugged. “I’d offer you something harder, but since I’m not sure who’s driving, I thought I’d play it safe.”
Before Sabina even finished talking, Ellie responded, “He is.” She pointed to Asher, who stood in a corner talking in hushed tones with Chad.
“Whiskey it is, then,” Sabina replied without hesitation.
