Hack X Love

Episode-6

Nati Grant's POV

A lone bulb remained in the ceiling fixture, but it was sufficient to reveal the destruction that surrounded me. I brought a shaking hand to my mouth as my mind fought to take in the wreckage: Lila's overturned furniture, slit sofa cushions, smashed knickknacks, and shattered picture frames. Horror had my mind in its icy grasp, and I flung myself forward blindly. "Lila? Lila. Are you here?"

There was nothing but silence. Terrible and total, it was broken by the crunch of glass underfoot.

I bent and gathered up the remnants of a picture frame that had contained a photo of the two of us. I had the identical frame and photo.

Summer Memories, the frame read, and there was a cute little beach landscape in one corner: bucket, umbrella, chair in the sand. But no picture. I glanced quickly at the immediate area and didn't see it. The fine hairs at the nape of my neck moved. Whoever had been here, whoever had done this—would they be looking for me next?

Don't touch anything. Call the police. My mind screamed commands at myself, but stunned horror kept me paralyzed in the middle of the wreckage.

It was possible that Lila had fainted, or been hurt, or—Don't even think about it. The picture frame hit the floor. I ripped through the apartment, turning on lights, calling my sister's name—only silence echoed back around me.

Think, think. Lila's mattress was askew in the bedroom. All the drawers had been rummaged through. Her clothes were half off the hangers, and a cascade of sequins and silks and lace spilled across the floor of the closet. But the designer handbags were all present. So was all her jewelry, even the more expensive pieces. Somebody had been looking for something, and this wasn't a robbery.

Lila's not here.

I didn't know whether to be relieved or worried.

What if whoever did this kidnapped her? Ugh. Or she could be partying out of town, the victim of a random break-in. But why the weird text with the address?

There was nothing I could do here alone. Time to call the police. I held up my cell phone in shaky hands and had dialed nine when I heard footsteps in the living room. All hostility forgotten, I hastened from the bedroom by instinct, anticipating that I would see my twin standing in the doorway, surveying the destruction with the same shocked incredulity I was experiencing.

And then we would figure this out together, and everything would be alright. Despite all the scheming and flakiness, things always wound up working out for Lila, and there could be nothing wrong with my invincible twin, not if I had anything to do with it.

But it wasn't Lila in the living room. My feet stumbled to a halt as I gazed at the dark-haired stranger. The front door was wide open—damn, I hadn't closed it behind me, had I? This guy had just walked in. All the blood in my body congealed at once.

Who are you?" I demanded as his eyes jerked up to mine. For a second, an expression of something like shock swept across his features before recognition replaced it.

"You must be Nati," he said. That he came to that conclusion so easily made me somewhat uncomfortable.

"Who are you?" I asked again.

His eyes locked onto mine steadily when he said, "Your sister is in trouble.".

That was such a typical comment that I would have chuckled, but the mayhem around us was evidence enough that Lila had reached a new height of troublemaking. And he still hadn't answered my question. His jaw tightened beneath its cover of dark stubble. Illness brewed in my stomach, rising up into my chest, and warning bells were clanging in my mind.

What kind of trouble?" I asked, hearing the tremble in my voice.

The man drew a breath and cast a sweeping glance around. Nothing about him was menacing, even if his presence made me want to run. His gaze alighted on a picture of Lila with Ava's parents (Emily and Ryan Reynolds), its frame knocked sideways on the wall, and something softened around his eyes. “I don’t want to talk here,” he said. “Someone could be listening.”

“Who?”

"Come with me." Ignoring my question, not waiting for my answer, he turned and departed the apartment. I massaged my chilly flesh and crossed my arms. The only thing I could think to do was slam the door behind him and finish my call, but if he had information, I might as well listen. On trembling legs, I trailed him into the hallway, closing the door behind us. He led me to a nook near the elevator, and silence surrounded us on all sides. It was as if all the other people in the building, the entire world, had disappeared.

"When was the last time you talked to her?" he asked, and I rummaged through my brain, trying to hold my feelings back. I thought about the message still on my phone, just an hour ago, if that. But something did not want me to tell this man that.

"Thursday," I said and hoped the lie was not showing on my face. That had been only the last time I'd physically seen her.

She's fine. I just talked to her.

What if Lila had not sent the message? What if someone else had her phone?

"Thursday," he muttered to himself, and I saw calculations being done behind his eyes. Today was Saturday. Whatever he worked out, he didn't tell me. Lifting his eyes back to mine, he asked, "Early? Late?"

My eyebrows narrowed. "Late Thursday. Then I tried calling her Friday night and all day today and couldn't get through to her." As he began to look more concerned and more contemplative, I had to try to hold on to some shred of hope, on to everything that I knew about Lila and how she operated.

Look, she's just gone out of town for the weekend. That's all. If I know Lila—and believe me, I do—she's in New York or Vegas right now. She didn't want to work my parents' party, and she'll show up Wednesday pretending everything is fine and asking why everyone is not talking to her. That's just the way she is." I gestured to the apartment. "This? It could be some random break-in. It's possible.

He was shaking his head while I was speaking. "You don't know her like you think you do."

Oh really? I'd womb-shared with the woman. I was the leading expert on all things Lila, even beating out Ava's parents. "Who are you? Don't brush me off this time."

"Call me Griffin."

"She has never mentioned you. Not once," I said to him icily. "I need to get back in there. Call the police or—"

He stepped into my path when I attempted to circle around him, but didn't touch me. Luckily, because I was ready to start screaming. "No police. Not yet. Not until we know what we're dealing with."

I gave him another suspicious look over. If something illegal was really going on, how did I know he wasn't in on it and this wasn't some kind of trap or setup? All the terrible things Lila could have gotten herself mixed up in, if she wasn't out partying somewhere.

He seemed to read my thoughts. "She wanted to be at the party. She was looking forward to it. She wouldn't have missed it." He drew a breath. "I was going to go with her."

"Are you her boyfriend?"

He laughed without humor. "I wouldn't say that."

Lila had mentioned nothing about any man lately, boyfriend or otherwise, and she was usually loose-lipped even about her most casual s****l conquests. My wariness factor went up a notch. He was Lila's type, though. She dated dark and brooding. I preferred cute and nerdy.

"And you just happened to show up here at the same time as me? Checking up on her? " What if Lila had texted him, too? My mind was so full of possibility and suspicion that I couldn't see straight. I shook my head as he began to talk. "I don't know what to think. But I'm family, and you're not, and this is making me uncomfortable.

You need to leave."

"Just don't go to the police yet. Okay?"

He left, and I had five million questions swirling around my brain but couldn't choose one to ask, and I didn't want him hanging around anyway. He gave me the creeps. No police? When there was obviously trouble? He had to be unsavory. When someone tells you not to call the police, that's when you should.

The question that made my blood run cold was this: How unsavory was Lila?

Jesus," I muttered to myself after the elevator doors closed on Griffin's frowning face.

I did not want to think my twin was engaged in any criminal enterprise, but I did not know. What would an investigation turn up?

I did not know what to do. I hated how keeping Lila safe and making excuses for her had become second nature. I hated not knowing if my sister was a victim…but I almost hated not knowing if she was corrupt even more.

"Okay," I told myself, letting myself into the apartment and fighting not to let the horror of finding it like this get the better of me again.

If I had gotten that message and responded, Sure, sis, whatever you desire, I am your faithful servant, and not gone straight to Lila's Loft, I would never have discovered.

The safest step now was to not touch a thing. Just in case… No, I didn't want to consider possibilities for the place becoming an actual crime scene if Lila wasn't found. Anything could be cleaned up later. After she came back. Safe.

I'll even help you. Like always. Jesus, Lila.

I looked around at the damage and sighed. All my sister's pretty things. Her pictures. I reached into my pocket and retrieved my cell phone, scrolling down to Lila's last message, the one that had asked a favor. Go to this address and ask him for help. An address here in Denver. Well, at least she hadn't been asking me to crisscross the country.

Ask him for assistance? Who? And assistance with what? Thank you very much, sis. I shot a message back asking for information, but minutes ticked by and there was no response. I had not exactly expected one. Something made me suspect Lila did not share that information for a reason. That was never a good thing.

Sighing, I let the back of my head meet the door behind me with a thud. I stood there for a while, feeling exhaustion seep into my bones.

It was when I lifted my head that I noticed something odd. Across the room, Lila's computer was still standing. Burning at the top of the screen was the little light that signaled the webcam was on.

Cold fingers ran down the back of my neck. Someone could be listening, the stranger had said.

And watching.I peeled out of Lila's Loft without a backward glance.