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“Wouldn’t I know if that happened?” she pressed.
“If they wanted to use your identity for their own purposes, you’d see signs—like being locked out of accounts or suddenly not receiving any texts or calls. But whoever did this isn’t interested in stealing your identity, they want tomanipulateit. And so long as their usage is in sync with yours, chances are you wouldn’t notice unless you specifically looked.”
Ellie contemplated that possibility. The thought of someone digging into all the details of her life documented on her phone made her stomach twist. At least she could be grateful that she wasn’t someone who tended to share her innermost thoughts via messages.
“I understand. But I can’t just drop off the face of the planet. Not with Harry or my dad,” she said.
“Text or call them from Sofia’s phone. Or better yet, Ash’s place, since you’re staying there. Give them the landline and his cell in case there’s an emergency,” Chad suggested.
That was doable. She could tell them both that her phone died and that she was waiting to get it repaired. Harry could manage her calendar, and anyone who needed to reach her would eventually contact him if she didn’t respond.
She nodded. “I understand that I shouldn’t use the new phone to contact my work colleagues or friends in LA, but can I use it to contact other people? Like Sofia? Or Asher?”
“Of course,” Sabina answered. “You can even give the new number to your dad if you like. We just don’t want anyone from your life in LA to know that we’re investigating your phone. Nor do we want them to know you have a new device.”
She hesitated then nodded. She’d put her trust in HICC before, and they’d done the best job they could with the shitty situation. She needed to trust them again. Even if she thought their plan might be overkill.
“Okay,” she said, drawing out the word. Hating what would come next. “Now that we have the issue of the phone dealt with, we need to identify suspects, don’t we?”
Sabina’s expression sobered, and she nodded. “We do. And I hate to say it, but it’s probably going to be someone close to you.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“Cody Warwick! You promised me no more polar bear swims!”
Asher looked through the window to see his cousin-in-law, Tia, with her hands on her hips. She stood under the covered—and heated—porch, but she faced the lake as she shouted.
“Tia Warwick, I did no such thing,” Cody called back. “I promised you no moremorningpolar bear swims. Which, I might add, was not a hard thing to promise since I much prefer keeping warm with you in the mornings, anyway,” he added.
“Mitch challenged him to swim the bay,” Ryan explained, joining Asher in the living room. He’d just arrived and was glad he’d missed whatever debate his cousins had gotten into that led to the challenge.
“I did not take your name when we married,” Tia retorted. “Mostly so that I could distance myself from all the dumbass things you do.” She might have muttered those last words, but they were loud enough for everyone to hear. Asher smiled as Tia shook her head and turned away. She tried to keep Cody from doing anythingtoostupid. And for his part, Cody generally listened. But one of the things Asher loved most about Tia was that she picked her battles. She’d known what she was getting into when she agreed to marry Cody—including his penchant for accepting juvenile challenges. And so long as whatever Cody wanted to do wasn’t truly dangerous, she didn’t object too much.
“The main bay or Cody’s bay?” Asher asked, debating with himself whether to take his coat off. Ryan had made himself comfortable inside, but everyone else was gathered on the porch. Including Ellie. She had her hands wrapped around a steaming drink as she sat with Sofia, the two of them huddled around the firepit. Brad and the twins were in the hot tub, and one of the three said something that had the two women shaking their heads.
“Just Cody’s,” Ryan answered, taking a sip of his beer. “But that’s enough if you ask me. He’s going to freeze his balls off.” Cody and Tia’s waterfront property sat back in a small private cove. But the inlet was part of a much larger bay.
Asher shook his head. “Nah. He bet Ethan that he and Tia would have more kids than Ethan and Kara. He won’t want to risk losing that wager.”
Ellie leaned closer to the fire, her dark hair falling over her shoulders as she warmed herself. She turned and said something to Sofia, who nodded in response. Sofia’s reply—whatever it might have been—broke the serious moment though, and Ellie threw her head back in unrestrained laughter.
A sight that froze him in place.
Her smile, her joy, sucked the air from his lungs. Unable and unwilling to do anything else, he drank in the vision of her. The sparkle in her eye, the rosy color of her cheeks, the delighted, easy expression on her face.
The pull to go to her was physical. Something felt deep in his gut. He’d made a hash of their morning, but he wasn’t going to let that define who they were. Who they could be.
As if sensing his intense regard, she looked up. Catching his gaze through the window, their eyes held. Then Josh spoke, and she turned away.
“What’s up with that?” Ryan asked.
Asher gave himself a mental headshake and started to unzip his jacket. “What’s up with what?”
Ryan raised a brow and took another sip of his drink. No one did a silent interrogation as well as Ryan. Not even Chad.
Asher exhaled. “It’s complicated.” Ryan continued to stare. Asher scowled. “Fine, it’s not complicated. We had a little…misunderstanding this morning and I was kind of an ass about it.”
“But you’re so nice. How could you possibly be an ass?” Ryan asked, the tiniest of grins emphasizing his sarcasm.
