Burning Hearts

by Marci Bolden

  “I saw Cody earlier. Do you know where she was headed?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “She could be in real legal trouble here, Brenda. Call her now. We need to find out exactly what she’s done so we can minimize the damage.”

  “Are you going to turn her in?”

  Without a doubt. The girl had uploaded porn onto the Internet without the consent of the participants. “Let’s get all the answers before we decide how to move forward. Do you mind if I look through her room while we wait for her?”

  Brenda didn’t answer. She seemed to be rolling all the possible outcomes through her mind.

  “Look, I’m not out to get Cody. If she did this, she is going to have to face the consequences. But maybe she didn’t. Maybe all this evidence pointing at her can be explained.”

  Finally Brenda gestured to the door to the right at the back of the apartment. “Go ahead.”

  Eva gathered the images back into her folder and walked into the dark-painted bedroom. The twin bed in the corner was angled so Cody would be able to see out the windows by leaning against the headboard. The built-in desk had big speakers and a PC with two monitors. Of course the desktop was password protected. She’d have to get Cody to log in if she decided to push the girl. She might just call the PD and hand this case over. Let them decide how to handle it. Her assessment that she was over this case still stood.

  She opened drawers and shuffled the contents. She wasn’t completely sure what she was looking for, but if there were other missing elements of this case, she wanted to figure them out before bringing in the police.

  Her search ended when the front door slammed.

  “What have you done?” Brenda screeched.

  “I didn’t do anything,” Cody protested.

  “Hidden cameras, Cody?”

  “I don’t—”

  “Don’t lie to me!”

  Easing into the living room, Eva watched the two standing in a confrontation. Cody noticed Eva and glared.

  Cody didn’t take her evil stare from Eva as she asked her mother, “What is she doing here?”

  “She’s an investigator! She knows what you’ve done.”

  Cody’s eyes widened, and she shook her head. “I didn’t do anything.”

  “Cody,” Eva started.

  “Fuck you!”

  Brenda took such a deep breath, her back arched unnaturally. “Young lady, you are in big trouble here.”

  “You need to talk to me,” Eva pressed.

  Cody narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth. Eva lifted her hands in the way that Holly did when she was trying to maintain or regain control. Amazingly, it worked, and Cody snapped her mouth shut.

  “Just answer a few questions for me, okay?”

  Brenda pushed her daughter to the couch and muttered for her to sit. Cody did, and when she looked up, the tough-girl exterior cracked and tears filled her eyes.

  “Cody,” Eva said softly, “I’ve talked to your mom. I know you thought you were helping her.”

  Cody sniffed and wiped her nose with the cuff of her sweatshirt. “I didn’t do anything for her.” She jerked her shoulders to shake Brenda’s hand off her shoulder. Looking at her mother, she gave her the evil look. “You make me sick. Both of you do.”

  “I know what you saw—”

  “Was twisted.”

  Brenda flinched. “Tiffany and I…”

  “That’s not what I’m talking about. Like I give a shit who you’re screwing.”

  Creasing her brow, her confusion evident, Brenda said, “Then what do you mean?”

  “Melly told me all about it.” Her voice cracked more with each word. “How you and Dad and the Tremants select women to live here. How you like them to look the same so you can all have sex with them. You’ve turned Jupiter Heights into your own personal whorehouse.”

  Whoa.

  “What?” Brenda practically screeched.

  “Look at her!” She pointed at Eva. “She looks like a fucking doll. You and Dad—”

  “I had nothing to do with that! Why the hell do you think I’m trying to get us out of here, Cody? I can’t leave him—”

  “Yes, I heard your excuse, Mother.”

  “It’s not an excuse,” she whispered. “What am I going to do without your dad’s income? How will I take care of you?”

  “I found a way to take care of myself.”

  “By selling pornography online?” Brenda spat.

  Cody gawked at her. “What?”

  “Show her,” she demanded of Eva.

  Eva held the folder up. “I’m not sharing those images with a child.”

  Brenda stared at her before finally conceding. “Someone put hidden cameras all over the building. And you know what happened to that footage? It was uploaded onto a porn site. And do you know who Eva tracked that website back to? You.”

  Cody’s face paled. “No. That’s not what I did. Mom! I didn’t do that.”

  “Then where did all this money come from all the sudden, Cody? Your dad thought you were selling drugs.”

  “I set up a website for Melly and showed her how to access it. I mean, yeah, I did use Dad’s credit card for the bill so I could pocket the cash she paid me. But it isn’t for porn.”

  Eva frowned. How low could Melly sink? Using a teenager to cover her tracks.

  “Are you sure about that?” Brenda asked. “How do you know it isn’t for porn?”

  Cody jumped up and marched into her room. Brenda and Eva stood back as she typed in her password and opened the browser. With a few taps on her keyboard, she brought up a website for a romance book readers’ club.

  Cody gestured to the screen. “Does this look like porn to you?”

  At first glance, no, it didn’t. But to Eva’s trained eye, it only took a moment to notice that all was not as it seemed. “Cody, turn the volume down and stand over there with your back to us, please.”

  After she did as she was told, Eva started clicking on the options on the products. The more she clicked, going deeper into the descriptions, the murkier the site got. Finally she clicked on a tag that read “Triad.” There, the page changed to an unlisted page offering a variety of threesome videos. Brenda gasped.

  “What?” Cody asked.

  “Don’t you turn around,” Brenda warned. She moved to block the girl’s view. “That bitch used my daughter.”

  Eva took a breath. The female voyeur, the one she’d caught on video placing cameras, wasn’t Tiffany, Brenda, or Cody. It was fucking Melly.

  “Why would she do this?” Brenda demanded.

  Thinking back on the confrontation in the locker room, she sighed. “Because she figured it out. Like Cody said. She figured out Neal and Shane were bringing in a specific type of woman. Courtney was trying to break up Melly and her boyfriend and likely pull her into their lifestyle. She knew about it, and instead of exposing it, she decided to make money off their manipulations.”

  “But why put me up there? I didn’t do anything to her.”

  “You’re Neal’s wife. She probably assumes you’re in on this, too.”

  “I want that bitch in jail.”

  “I’m sure you aren’t alone in that,” Eva said. “I’m going to need you both to come with me.”

  Brenda instantly grew aggressive. “You’re not arresting my daughter.”

  “I’m not arresting anyone. I’m not a cop. But I am an investigator who can help you so she doesn’t get arrested. I need to know everything, from the beginning, Cody, so I can try to get you out of this mess. Now, come with me. I need to get my keys and take you to my office. I’ll sit with you and help you work out the details before the police get involved.”

  “Do we have to involve the cops?” Cody whined.

  “You set up a website. You didn’t know what the content was really going to be, but yes, we have to involve the cops. Melly putting revenge porn on the Internet is illegal. You were unknowingly used, but you are a witness to a crime and the police wi
ll want to hear from you. I can make this much more comfortable for you. If you want me to.”

  Brenda and Cody looked at each other before Brenda finally nodded. “Yes. We’d like that.”

  Josh sat, fingers entwined as he stared at his laptop. Man, he’d blown it. Big-time blown it. He didn’t stop staring at the blank screens until Sam held out a cup of tea. “Thanks,” he muttered.

  “Eva will come around,” she offered.

  Josh shook his head. “I don’t know. I really screwed this up for her. She was right. I never did belong here.”

  Sitting beside him, she gave him a gentle bump and then gasped when he winced. “Sorry. Sorry. I forgot about your ribs.”

  He groaned. “No. I deserved that.”

  “Oh, come on, Josh. Once she calms down, she’s going to see that you didn’t do any of this on purpose. You’re not trained to think like she is. Your brain isn’t always trying to stay ahead of the situation so you can see what’s coming before anyone else. Listen,” she said gently, “I get it. I know what it feels like to be on the outside of this group. They are scary smart. I actually have had nightmares about being interrogated by them. They are intimidating as hell, and trying to fit in with them is hard. Not because they don’t have their arms open to us but because we aren’t like them. You tried too hard. That’s all. You just tried too hard.”

  “It wasn’t that, Sam. I got overprotective of Eva and spoke without thinking of the consequences.”

  “Okay. So she’ll understand that, too.”

  “No, she won’t.”

  A pounding against the door made them both jump. Josh put his hand to his ribcage as he stood. Seeing Neal Price through the peephole, he debated whether he should answer. Looking over his shoulder, he frowned at Sam. “Let Eva know Price is here.”

  Sam pulled her phone from her pocket as he opened the door. He was about invite Price in when Shane Tremant shoved him aside and grabbed Josh.

  Crap!

  “Where is it?” Lifting Josh off his feet by his shirtfront, Shane carried him into the condo. He dropped him with enough of a shove that Josh stumbled backward.

  Sam had jumped up and now grabbed Josh’s arm, helping him find his balance. “What the hell are you doing?” she demanded.

  “Who are you?”

  “She’s one of them,” Neal Price said. “She works for the PI.”

  Josh put himself between Sam and Tremant. As if he could protect her. He’d more than proven that he wasn’t up for that task, but the way Shane was glaring at them, he was going to at least try to defend his friend. Josh might not be musclebound or trained in martial arts, but he wasn’t the pushover that men like Shane Tremant and Neal Price seemed to think he was. Balling his fists, he lifted them, ready to fight.

  Shane laughed. “Didn’t get enough earlier, huh?” His smile faded, and fury filled his eyes. “I want whatever evidence that bitch has. Then I’ll leave.”

  “I don’t know what you mean.” Josh deliberately cast his eyes toward his laptop, just a quick glance that was enough to distract Shane.

  Shane turned his attention to the computer on the coffee table. When he headed that way with Neal Price following behind, Josh grabbed Sam’s arm and pulled her toward the door. They were almost there when a loud banging rang out. Josh ducked, and Sam squealed. They both turned to see what was happening and watched as Shane smashed Josh’s laptop against the corner of the coffee table several more times, effectively destroying it.

  “Damn it,” Neal cursed. “This is going too far, Shane.”

  “I’m not going to jail because your stupid ass hired a two-bit PI.”

  “Shush,” Sam whispered before Josh could counter Shane’s assessment.

  He snapped his lips shut. He had, indeed, been about to tell Shane Tremant that Eva was amazing at her job and his ass was in more trouble than he realized. Sam was right, though; his mouth had caused him more than enough trouble already.

  Neal raked his fingers through his hair. “Shane. Do you honestly believe a PI wouldn’t have a cloud-drive backup of her files?”

  Shane looked at Neal and then at Joshua and Sam.

  “Erase them.”

  “How would we know how to get to her cloud drive?” Josh said.

  The tension in the condo elevated as Shane seemed to ponder his answer. Reaching behind his back, he pulled a gun. Sam squealed, Josh tensed, and Neal cursed.

  “Put that down, Shane,” Neal insisted.

  Josh held his hands up. “Listen to your friend.”

  “You.” Shane used the gun to gesture at Sam. “Erase the files.”

  “She doesn’t have Eva’s password,” Josh answered for her. “The only person who does is the head of the company.”

  Shane cursed, paced a few times, and then turned the gun on Neal. “This is your fault. If you hadn’t hired her…”

  The door opened, and Eva stopped just inside the condo. Her eyes darted around, clearly taking note of the situation. She barely moved her mouth but seemed to say something and then stepped in, leaving the door open. “What’s going on, guys?” She kept her attention on Shane, not even acknowledging Josh and Sam, as she slowly eased forward.

  “You’re going to erase your files,” Shane ordered. “Whatever you’ve got on me.”

  “Why would I do that, Mr. Tremant?”

  He aimed the gun at Josh. “I’ll kill him.”

  “And go to prison for murder?”

  Josh didn’t know how she was keeping her cool. He was starting to sweat as his heart rate increased at the constant pumping of adrenaline through his veins. His fight-or-flight instincts were definitely telling him to grab Eva and Sam and run, but he forced his feet to stay grounded.

  Let Eva do her job, Joshua.

  “You’ve got several witnesses here,” she told Tremant. “You going to kill us all? And do what with the bodies? And the evidence trail? You really think nobody else has seen what I have on you, Shane? The ball is already rolling. All you’re doing now is making things worse. Why don’t you put the gun down and have a seat? I’ll tell you everything we know.” She’d continued moving closer until she had effectively placed herself between Shane and Josh and Sam.

  Josh hadn’t even realized what she was doing until it was too late. If Shane pulled the trigger, Eva was taking the bullet. Un-fucking-acceptable. He started to move, but Sam grabbed his shirt.

  “Don’t interfere,” Sam whispered. “You could spook him.”

  “We?” Shane looked beyond her and let out a flat laugh. “Don’t tell me that pussy is your partner.”

  “No. He’s not. He’s just an asset. I have an entire team that I report to, Mr. Tremant. Every bit of evidence I have, they have. You can kill us all. You still won’t get away with embezzling from the HOA.”

  Shane’s jaw tensed. “I’m not going to jail.”

  “Holding three people hostage isn’t the best way to reach that goal.”

  “I’m not holding anyone hostage.”

  “Oh, so we can go,” she said.

  He lifted the gun. “Don’t you fucking move.”

  Josh started to move forward, to get Eva out of harm’s way, but Sam tightened her hold on his shirt.

  “Don’t move. She’s working him.”

  “So you are holding us hostage, then?” Eva lifted her hands and moved closer to him. “That’s bad planning, Shane.”

  “Just delete what you have on me.”

  “I told you. That won’t matter.”

  The panic on his face was obvious. He was trying to figure out his next step, but as always, Eva was two steps ahead. Shane reached up with his free hand, dragging his fingers through his hair. As he did, his attention was no longer on the gun aimed at Eva. Just a split second of obvious distraction, and she was on him.

  Josh jumped, surprised at how fast she moved, like a cat attacking her prey. Eva closed the distance, slapped her hands—one on Tremant’s wrist and the other on the gun—and had the weapon aimed at
Tremant’s head in the blink of an eye.

  Shane screamed, clutched his hand, and looked up at Eva, stunned. Confused. His mouth sagged as she aimed the gun with far more confidence than he ever had.

  “What the fuck?” He stepped forward, and she lifted the gun.

  “Don’t,” she warned.

  He started to call her bluff, started to move. Silently dared her to shoot.

  “I kicked your ass once today. You really going to make me do it again?”

  “I’m not going to jail,” Shane insisted.

  “Yeah,” Eva answered. “You are.”

  Josh’s stomach tightened. He didn’t want to see Shane Tremant die, but if he took one more step toward Eva, Josh would kill the prick himself. Stepping forward, pulling his shirt out of Sam’s grasp, he let out a breath of fire without even trying. He was enraged by the threatening look on Shane’s face.

  “Shane,” he said, his voice unexpectedly calm. “I suggest you back away from my woman.”

  “Your woman?” He smirked as he looked at Josh. “You can’t handle a woman like this. Me, on the other hand…” He made a show of looking Eva over, top to bottom, before licking his lips.

  Josh ground his teeth and took a step forward, but he didn’t have a chance to let loose on Tremant. Eva kicked Shane in the knee, his groin, and then his face. She shoved him to the floor and pressed her knee to his back. She pointed his gun at the floor next to his face, making sure he saw how close the barrel was to his head.

  “You, on the other hand,” she muttered, “are going to make some prisoner very happy.”

  “Police! Do not move!”

  Josh cried out, “Stop! She’s the good guy!” He lifted his hands high, showing he was unarmed but determined to prevent Eva from getting shot.

  They ignored him. “Drop the gun.”

  Eva did as told, tossing the gun in her hand out of Tremant’s reach, and then held her hands up. “I’m a private investigator. I have a loaded weapon on my right hip.”

  She kneeled, knee in Tremant’s spine, while one of the officers patted her down, removing her weapon and gathering Tremant’s before backing off.

  Josh started to protest when the officer put cuffs on Eva, but again Sam reassured him that it was fine. Once they knew she wasn’t a danger, they’d release her. Tremant was cuffed next. Neal, the prick, stood there without any threat of being arrested; at least not yet.