Jake finally found what he was looking for—two small memory cards at the bottom of Mona’s purse. He grabbed one and jammed it into the camera. The card’s photos folder popped up immediately. There were a bunch of pictures of himself and Mona. Jake couldn’t help himself. He quickly scanned backwards, checking out all of the images. At the end of the memory card was another folder labeled: “Imported Archive.” Jake selected that folder.
A photograph displayed. It was Mona. She stood on top of a crane. A penthouse was below her, and she was flashing the upside down V sign at the camera—
The selfie.
He was staring at the selfie. The truth hit Jake like a sledgehammer. He was looking at the original sin. Mona was the explorer on the video surveillance. His mind was full of shock—and truthfully—awe.
“And to my left, we have Nancy Sloane, Rhonda Smith and . . . Mona Rosas representing the Friends of Unincorporated Brooklyn!”
Applause erupted. Jake scrambled to get the camera ready. Click. Click. Click. He snapped photos of Mona as she moved the shovel into the ground with the two other women. Then she released the shovel and waved at the crowd.
Jake zoomed in. A small diamond necklace glistened on Mona’s neck. The diamonds formed the letter “M.” He hadn’t noticed it earlier. He definitely hadn’t given it to her.
▪
Half an hour later, Rivett found Mona chatting with Adriana and the little girls.
“I’m really proud of you,” Jake said.
“Ready to go to lunch?”
“Definitely,” he answered.
They turned and walked across the lot. Jake pulled Mona closer to him. They kissed. “We’ve each done wrong,” he said. “And that’s okay. I just want to tell you that. I forgive you, because you forgave me—”
“Babe, what are you talking about?”
“Oh nothing.” Jake paused for a long moment. “Just one question. Where’d you get that necklace?”
THE END
ENJOY NEVER GO ALONE?
Dear Reader:
More RIVETT is coming fast. Next time, he will be catapulted into events on the international stage. As usual, each book in the Rivett series is a thrilling standalone, but reading them all pays the most dividends. To stay up to date, sign up for my mailing list: DenisonHatch.com/signup/
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Denison Hatch is a screenwriter and novelist based in Los Angeles. Although he lives in the proverbial desert now, he is originally from Delaware—land of rolling hills and DuPont gunpowder.
Denison has a number of feature and television projects in development, including his original screenplay, Vanish Man, which is set up at Lionsgate. A graduate of Cornell University, Denison lives with his wife and big dog in little house in Hollywood.
Never Go Alone is the second novel in the Jake Rivett series.
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Never Go Alone Page 26
