Bleeding Edge: Elliot Security (Elliot Security Series Book 2) by Evie Mitchell (short story to read .txt) 📗

TV and couches. An Xbox, PlayStation, and DVDs sat on a massive entertainment unit and ready for a moment’s notice. I found it, thankfully, empty.

Flopping face down on one of the couches, I grunted as my body bounced slightly on impact. Still face down, I blindly reached for the coffee table, feeling around for the stereo remote. I hit the play button, shifted to Emmie’s relaxation mix, and promptly fell asleep.

I woke to the boys from One Direction singing about hearts, and a hand gently turning me on my side. The chorus thumped out as Luc crouched beside the couch, smiling down at me while gently rubbing my shoulder.

“I don’t know why these 1D boys are singing about carrying anyone.”

I blinked up at him, confused by both his statement and appearance.

“They wouldn’t be able to carry a bag of flour, let alone another human. They do not even lift, bro.”

I laughed a little, reaching up to rub my dry eyes.

“You’ve been holding out on me.” He sounded amused.

“Hmm?” I struggled to sit, stretching and yawning as I valiantly tried to shake the drowsy cloud of my nap.

“You’re a romantic.”

I shrugged, stifling another yawn. “Isn’t everyone?”

“Come on you. Let’s go.” He tugged my hands, pulling me up and off the couch. I stumbled into his chest, and he absorbed me, hands settling briefly on my hips. I looked up at him. He grinned, reaching a hand up to brush a chunk of my hair behind my ear. I flushed, quickly stepping back.

Luc dropped his hand. “I swung by home and picked up the Alfa. You can sleep on the way.”

We headed outside to a sky painted in deep pinks and purple as the sun set. “Crap. How long did I sleep?”

Luc smirked. “About five hours. The boys were about to kill you if they heard another prepubescent song about love.”

I shrugged, getting in the car. “I like happy endings. Love songs make me happy. They’re relaxing and have great melody.”

“Next time? Fall asleep to a mix longer than an hour.”

I shrugged again and snuggled into the side of the door. “Did you get him?”

Luc barked out a laugh, short, sharp, and unamused. “Yeah, we got him. The cops are questioning him now. I grabbed the stuff you sent through and provided the file notes. The Grosfords should recover their money soon enough.”

“Good. I like it when we get the bad guys.”

He chuckled. “Same.”

Chapter Three

Emmie

A reasonably uneventful week followed the closure of the Grosford case. Lots of paperwork and interviews with the police, a few written testimonies and walking through my evidence-collection methods. The usual things I did following a case closure. The only abnormal occurrence was the introduction of one Ms Jetta Oliver.

As in, Jetta Oliver, daughter of rock legends who’d tragically died, sister to Courtney Oliver the current top-of-the-charts pop princess. Jetta Oliver, lyricist to the stars. That Jetta Oliver.

Addie had been purposefully vague about why Ms Oliver was at Elliot Securities. Despite our best efforts, she’d only dropped enough hints for us to piece together that Jetta and Paxton Elliot - owner of Elliot Securities- had romantic history and Jetta had gotten into trouble. Pax considered the situation serious enough that he’d moved her into his house. The gossip mill was going crazy chewing over the mystery.

Saturday night saw me sliding onto a seat at Eighty-six. Diners chatted, orders were called from the open kitchen which ran along one wall, and people chatted while watching the chefs work. Big blackboards took up the other walls with large white letters proclaiming the specials. The place had great share food and drinks alcoholic enough to make you tipsy with one sip.

I volunteered as designated driver, having stopped to pick up Jarrett, one of my closest friends at Elliot Securities, Kel, and Addie before heading in. We were all seated and waiting when Luc walked in with Pax’s blast from the past. Cute tight skirt, silk top with just a hint of cleavage, ankle boot heels, and styled hair, Jetta Oliver looked like a curvier, edgier Taylor Swift. As Jetta introduced herself, the hair on the back of my neck lifted. Automatically my hand curled into a fist under the table as I slowly shifted, casually checking my exit pathways as I searched for the danger. I found only Luc’s eyes on me. I relaxed, unclenching my fist and wiping my sweaty palm against my jeans.

“Are you staying for the gossip?” I teased, watching a smile play at the corners of his mouth.

Luc shook his head. “I’ll be at the bar.” We all watched as he walked off, his butt looking phenomenal in his jeans. Kel sighed heavily. “If I didn’t work with that boy…”

She turned back to the table, winking at Jetta as she held out a hand. “I’m Kel.”

Addie scoffed, rolling her eyes. “That’s a shitty greeting. Here.”

She waved a hand at me. “That’s Emmie, she’s a hacker. Emmie is our go-to, she can do pretty much anything with computers. You need IT support? This girl is it! She’s responsible for background checking all my boyfriends.” I blushed and look down at the table. I couldn’t deny her claims because, alas, I’d screened the last three of Addie’s boyfriends and vetoed all of them. She had truly atrocious taste in men.

“This,” Addie continued, sweeping a hand towards Kel, “is Kel. Kel is our undercover sis-ta. Pax hired her for her looks, but also her kick arse-ness. Complete bad arse.”

Kel chuckled. “I just like the pay. It keeps me in designer cars.”

I watched as Jetta laughed along with the table.

Addie gestured to the lone guy in our group. “And this, my darling, is Jarrett Shannon McKinnon the third. He’s half Maori, half Scottish.”

Jarrett reached over and clasped one of Jetta’s hands, drawing it to his lips and pressing a kiss against her knuckles. “Absolutely charmed.”

We kept the conversation light, sounding each other out. We chatted, savouring delicious food, and I watched as they drank, getting loose and laughing a