Page 25 of Erase Me
“Nice look,” Vaughn joked when I reached the cars.“Very manly.”
“Yeah.”I took a towel he grabbed out of his car and pressed it to the wound.“I’m guessing you use this rag to polish your car?”
“Exactly.But the wax is very antiseptic.”
“I’m sure.”
“All done?I saw Volpe’s assistant making her way through the lot.She practically sprinted up the stairs toward the hotel.”
I nodded.“The two bodyguards are in a boat a couple of slips in from the yacht.But you’d better get to them before they wake up.They’re not going to be happy when they come to.”
“No problem.And Volpe?"
“He must have fallen overboard.He had a lot to drink.”
“I’ll take care of things from here.”He tossed me my keys.
“Tomorrow, make an anonymous call to the police.Get his sidekick arrested for sex trafficking of underage girls.”
“Happy to do it, boss.”
“Oh, and one more thing.”I pulled the immobilizer from my pocket.“I need you to trace this device.”
Vaughn cocked an eyebrow in surprise.“It’s not yours?”
“Nope.”
He pulled his phone from his pocket, opened an app, and ran it over the device.“Where did you find it?”
“Doesn’t matter.Just find out who it was issued to.”
“Can I hold onto it?”
“No.”
“Okay then, boss.I’ll get back to you when I know something.”
ChapterSix
Avalie
I readReed’s invitation to dinner tonight a few times, but it didn’t raise any warning flags.
Luckily, I now knew his identity, his reason for being in San Clemente, and his mission.
Sitting with my feet up on the railing of the tiny balcony of my seedy little apartment, I stared down the sunlit street in the direction of his place.
I had to believe I was still okay.Aside from accidentally leaving my immobilizer behind, he’d have a very difficult time figuring out who I was.One of my many skills was that of a master hacker.Creating false digital footprints was an easy thing to do.Any record of me would be inaccessible to him from here.
To make sure that my identity was thoroughly innocent, Payam was monitoring any online searches for me today.The inquiries about my phone number or first name from Reed’s IP address, which I figured he’d do, revealed that Avalie Briar did indeed reside in San Francisco.Her job description agreed with what I’d told him, and a quick check on social media displayed a network of friends and various posts, establishing my legitimacy.
Once again, I found myself going over his text.A question lingered in my mind.Why did he want to see me?I was a person who was accustomed to compartmentalizing my personal and professional life.I didn’t generally do things on impulse.
Maybe he wanted to see me because of the copy of the Jane Austen book I left behind.
Or maybe he found my immobilizer and was suspicious about what the hell I was doing with it.
Maybe he really missed me, especially the great sex we had.But getting together again seemed like the desire for something more on his part.And Reed’s job wasn’t conducive to relationships.
