Nothing was particularly out of place when I arrived. Shelly was busy with keeping tabs on the tech crew. It was usually something I did, but she promised to give me all the information after she finished. There was something fishy about that, but who was I to complain? I didn't want to check up on anything anyway. With school at an end, more people found more time to come here and relax with friends.
Taylor mentioned that Dylan had stopped showing up to work since Saturday. I didn't know if he ever had any family problems, but he has never missed work before. I'd have to check in on him and see what was happening. Right now I needed to go to the police station. There was someone I desperately needed to see. He would have the answers to my questions. It didn't matter if he answered them all indirectly.
I didn't expect to meet anyone at the station. Just a couple of nosy reporters and some officers I knew personally. I did expect to see Asher, but I don't know what he was doing today. Maybe he goes in later. Who I didn't expect was Sha'Kayla.
"...Hey," She muttered. "What are you doing here?"
"What are you doing here?" I asked instead. "I'm not really in the mood to talk. Maybe we can catch up on things later."
"Sure." She didn't say anything more and left.
That was odd. Usually she'd rant about any and everything. Maybe she was mad about what I did with Samantha when she walked off. I mean...it's not my fault Sam is hotter. Didn't matter anyway. I had business to tend to and worrying about her wasn't helping me.
"What's your business here today?" The receptionist asked without looking up. "...I'm waiting."
"I'm here to see Sheriff Davenport," I said. "Is he free now?"
"Yes. He's been waiting for you. Just go right in."
Okay. Today was getting really weird. Why was everyone acting like this? It couldn't have been about last night. I didn't think any of the policemen here actually cared about my personal life. Maybe some of them do.
I walked into Davenport's office. He was looking through some papers and muttering to himself. I casually looked around and took a seat in front of him. He didn't look up, but I knew he knew it was me. Of course it was me. Not unless he's had visits from so many other people and didn't really care. When he finally looked up, I raised an eyebrow in question.
"We're keeping a close eye on Wayne," He said. "What have you been up to?"
"Nothing much. I haven't heard from Paige since the party. What about you?" I crossed my legs.
"Typical. No one ever hears from her until something bad happens." He completely evaded my question. "We'll wait until something bad happens."
I uncrossed my legs. We weren't getting anywhere like this.
"I came here to talk about your daughter," I said.
"...Lexi?" He asked.
"Your real daughter, Ryder."
Stupid. I don't even think Lexi knows he's still alive.
"Natasha..." Ryder sighed and crossed his arms.
I stood up and looked around the office. It was different from what I remember. There were more books. None of them seemed to be on crime and investigation, so I needed to take a look at them.
"Why did you allow her to come and crash Lexi's gala?" I growled. "You and I both know how much she hates Lexi and how much Lexi despises her very existence. Yes, I can't stand Lexi sometimes, but we both hate Natasha with a passion."
"...What did she do this time?" Ryder asked as if he knew she went there to cause problems.
"Did you really make her try to take the drive?" I asked. Yes, I finally figured out what Cameron and Wayne were going after. "She doesn't know what disguise and trust means either."
"That's not what you want to know. It's not what you came for."
"You're right."
I picked up his Rubik's cube and pretended I knew what I was doing. It had been so long since I touched one of these. Could never solve them as a kid. Didn't know nor wanted to know if I could solve it now. Takes up too much time and energy.
"Natasha is a thief, Ryder," I started. "The hard drive Cam wants so badly is probably in her hands now. If not...then Lexi surely is smart and knows how to hide things."
"Then Lexi is the thief," He pointed out.
"Oh. Well, I guess what Wayne said is true."
Ryder stood up and snatched the cube from my hands. I shrugged and went over to his bookcase. I had much more to do while I talked to him. There was nothing he could hide from me if I really wanted to find out. That's when I noticed a knife on a stand hidden behind some books.
"Like father, like daughter."
I picked it up and examined it. I did recognize it. Asher talked about this for so long I often thought of taking it myself to shut him up. A Malaysian Keris. Stupid ceremonial knife. Asher did like to swing it around a lot. Bragged about it being the only thing he'd love to inherit to kill anyone he wanted. The hilt had his father's initials carved into it. I knew if Asher had his hands on it, he'd have his there too.
"So...was it you or Natasha?" I asked.
"What?" Ryder snapped.
"The Monteil Keris. Such a sacred item to the Italian mafia. If anyone finds out you have it..." I turned to look at him. "Let's just say no one will trust you anymore. Not even...Karmen."
"What else do you want, Luca?"
"What makes you think I want something?"
"No one comes here for nothing. Not unless they really want something from me."
"Well...for a really good price...Brad wants you dead."
⭕️⭕️⭕️⭕️⭕️
I opened the back door and brought in the groceries. I immediately noticed something different about the dog. I got on my knees and sighed. Of course Lexi was the one to finally give in. I always like calling the dog "dog". It would take some time to call her Mocha. What sort of name is that?
"Mocha?" I muttered. "Such a stupid name, little buddy."
I returned to putting up all the food and hummed to myself. With the media bored and not really caring about us anymore, I had more freedom to do things. That meant I didn't have to worry about closing the curtains or warning the guard about getting mauled. The house was quiet, so I assumed Lexi had taken the kids with her. Maybe her friends took them.
I retreated upstairs. I was in the middle of undressing, and I noticed that Jasmine's window was opened. I went into her room to close it. At first I was worried some reporters had gotten in, but the alarms would have gone off if they were forcing their way in. Maybe Lexi left it open for ventilation or something.
"Hi, Luca," Someone called.
I jumped and turned around. Rylie was standing in the doorway holding Dominic in her arms. My eyes widened at this. What was she doing here? I thought she was on tour or something.
"Wh-what are you--What are you doing here?" I sputtered. "How did you get in here?"
"...The window," She said. "Lexi asked the same thing. You should know me by now."
"Where's Lexi anyway?"
"With Ash. They went by his house for something and I think they might go see Brad. I don't really remember what she said."
"...Oh."
I thought of Lexi being all alone with Asher. Anything could happen. Even if Asher had a girlfriend, he still didn't let go of his player ways. You really think I'm the only one that pays the media to write only good things about me? No. Asher was in the tabloids way before I was as famous as I am now. It wasn't even about women then. Just weird gossip.
"Why are you with your family?" I asked.
"Oh. I sent them on a trip to Disneyland," Rylie said. "I don't think Nathan likes to be followed whenever I go on tour. I can't blame him."
"What makes you think my house is your refuge? Take note of all the cameras outside."
"Why do you think I came through the window?"
I slid past her to my room to shower and change. To be honest, I didn't like being alone with Rylie. She always said the oddest things and made me wonder if she was actually human. It was awkward at times. Was normal even in her vocabulary? I don't think so.
After my shower, I bumped into Rylie again. She was going downstairs after putting Dominic down for his nap. She smiled at me and laughed to herself. What?
"What are you laughing at?" I demanded.
"Nothing." She laughed again. "You just look really nice."
"Just going to prepare a little something for Lexi tonight," I said.
"Trying to get back on her good sigh, eh?" She wiggled her eyebrows at me. "It's not even worth a shot."
"No."
"Liar."
"I swear."
Rylie ignored this and we went to the living room. We didn't have anything to talk about, but she was here in place of our nanny. I guess it was worth it to ask why she was in Palm Springs.
"Are you staying here for a while or leaving?" I asked.
"I'm leaving. I have a concert in two days..." Rylie sighed. "I don't think Nathan will want to come with me this time."
"Does your manager know you're here?"
"...Of course she does."
I froze. Was she kidding or did her manager actually know she was here? I was not about to be part of her schemes. I learned my lesson last time.
"You know I'll call him and--" I threatened.
"Gosh. I'm serious this time, Luca. He told me I can come down here." Rylie laughed.
After making sure Rylie and Dominic were safe inside the house, I left to find Sha'Kayla. She told me she wanted to talk, so I was willing to listen to her. I was wrong for leading her on, so I had to find some closure. If that was even a thing anymore. Meeting me at my favorite beach was a little much. A lot of people knew me here. Not creepy at all that she knew.
I walked down the pier alone. People were walking and jogging past me. Couples made me look lonely and people walking by themselves still made me feel a little left out. Especially when they saw someone they knew and called their names to get their attention. Ugh. It made me think of walking with Lexi.
"Luca!" Sha'Kayla called out.
I turned and pulled my mask up over my nose. Really? People were staring. I didn't want some lone reporter to find me. Sha'Kayla bounded up to me and threw her hands around my waist. I did all I could to pretend I wasn't her and gave her a weird look. The people stopped staring and continued on with their day. Good.
"Don't yell out my name like that," I hissed.
"Oops." She giggled.
She grabbed my hand and we began walking towards the beach. I examined everyone walking by in the sweltering heat. No one seemed to be bothered. Maybe I was extremely hot, because of my secret meeting with Kayla. I was sure the reporters were giving me the run around. Someone could be watching me right now. If they did it last night, they'd do it again.
"How'd it go with Lexi?" Kayla asked. I didn't respond. "...Bad? Good? What happened? Did she do something stupid."
"No, none of that," I assured us. "She's just getting brave. She went somewhere with Asher and I don't--"
"Really?"
"Yes. She left her untrustworthy friends with our daughter."
"That's...dumb. What if something happens?"
"Exactly," I agreed.
"Do you believe me now?" Kayla asked. "Do you believe she doesn't care, because she's busy swapping spit with some hair model?"
"Nasty..."
"My point exactly."
"I don't get why she would suddenly do that. She has always treated him like a friend. They've hardly spoken to each other. She's never mentioned him in any conversation."
"That's because she's tricking you! I did it to my ex all the time."
"You're you. Lexi is plenty different."
That had to hurt her, but I didn't care. Lexi was nothing like Sha'Kayla or Samantha. Yes, we annoyed each other half to death, but we still loved each other. I did hate her for most of our marriage, but I tolerate her existence. We are getting a divorce, but at least we both agreed on it. If it had been anyone else, they would do anything to get my money.
"Asher has a girlfriend anyway," I continued. "Even if Lexi did try and make a move on him, I have eyes and ears everywhere. I once had a tracker put in her phone."
"Amazing! Did she ever find out?" Sha'Kayla asked.
"Yes. She eventually caught onto how I knew so much when I wasn't with her and bought a new phone."
We continued walking on the sand and looked around the beach. I tried finding a spot far away from other people. Couldn't risk getting mobbed for questions and pictures. Before I could find one, Sha'Kayla veered off on her own to the water. I didn't have a change of clothes, so if she went in I couldn't help her. We really needed to talk about last night though.
"Sha'Kayla," I called out. "Come back. We need to talk."
"About what?" She asked. "I thought we were here for a normal day. Just two friends."
"We are, but I really need to talk to you about something. It's important."
When she didn't listen to me, I turned around angrily and almost collided with someone. The man had stepped back and was looking at me with so much rage. I felt that if he were to push me I'd fly back ten feet. Yes, he was that huge. It reminded me of when I got engaged to Lexi. I've lost a lot of build recently.
"Watch it," He growled.
"Sorry, bro. My fault," I said.
When I actually looked at him, I actually recognized him. We were partners when I first got into the agency. He left for something and never came back. If I cut his dreads a little shorter and if he lost his build, he would look like he had years ago. It was great to see him again, but something was up. Why was I seeing so many old friends and enemies in one city? They all couldn't be after the same thing.
"Aaron? It's...nice to see you again."