Rogue Investigation Read online

  “I’m learning a lot,” I said slowly. “He’s…he’s brilliant, but also…”

  “Kind of his own brand of ass?” Charley guessed.

  “Not as abrasive as Dr. Dickbag,” I said, my lips flickering up into a grin. “He’ll listen to my opinion - sometimes. But other times…” I let my voice trail off, shaking my head. I wanted to tell her everything, but I didn’t want to betray Robert’s trust and overstep my bounds. At the same time, it did feel nice to say something, to get this off my chest. “He won’t even give me the time of day, you know? Like, I know I don’t know as much as he does, but he could at least pretend to consider my opinion. Why have me work for him if he won’t take what I have to say seriously?”

  “At least you have your foot in the door,” Charley pointed out, not unkindly. “And Robert likes you. He’ll listen. Eventually. It might take you going over his head for him to see it, but -“

  “Wait, what do you mean?” I asked, interrupting her. I was about to take a sip of my shake but stopped just before I reached the straw.

  “Sometimes, you have to do it without asking for permission, you know?” Charley asked. “Do you think I asked anyone if I could offer baked goods to the med office? No. I just did it. And no one has stopped me. And I’m starting to win people over with it.”

  I chewed my bottom lip.

  “And,” she continued, lifting a shoulder as she began to tug at the petal between her fingers. “I’m hoping, eventually it’ll rub off on him. Either that or he’ll get so tired of me pestering him that he just gives in and does what he’s supposed to.” She glanced up at me. “Maybe you just need to do what you think you’re supposed to do and worry about the consequences later. Like, if I could, I would follow Dr. Dickbag all over the med office whether he wanted me to or not. But I can’t. They won’t let me in. But maybe…”

  “Why?” I asked. “Knowing how he feels about you and the situation he’s forced to be in, why would you do that?”

  “Because I know I can help, even if he doesn’t think so,” she replied. Her voice was serious, unwavering.

  “Would you stop picking at that thing?” Martha dropped off the check, glaring at the finger that kept poking at the fluff from the hole. “It’s been there for years because you can’t help yourself.”

  I cleared my throat and tossed a twenty on the table while Charley put down her own cash. Only when Martha left did I look at Charley.

  “So,” I said. “You think…” I couldn’t put what she said into my own words. They wouldn’t come out right.

  “I think if you think you can make some kind of difference, you have the responsibility to try,” she said. “Because, if you don’t, then what? What happens if your help could have saved the world and you didn’t?”

  Chapter Six

  While Charley’s words were a little dramatic, they stuck with me for the rest of the night. Which was probably why she said them in the first place.

  My mother was pleasantly surprised to see that I’d be staying in the entire night. We played poker and watched Jeopardy and we even said our prayers together too, even though I wasn’t sure I still believed in the one true God the majority of the world used to believe in before the gods made themselves known.

  By the time I pulled on my pajamas and crawled into bed, Robert hadn’t texted me. I knew I shouldn’t expect him to. Whatever he and Christian Steel were discussing wasn’t my business, but it’d be nice to hear from him.

  The heavier the silence between us, the easier it was for me to think about Eddie Ronin and how I could help the academy find the traitor.

  But was it worth the risk if the traitor was Dean Rogers?

  I wasn’t sure.

  By the time the next morning rolled around, I still didn’t have any sort of answer. I pulled on my uniform and trudged over to history. Professor Johnson discussed mythology, the powers the gods seemed to possess - scary powers that rendered humans incapable of disobeying, like mind control, the ability to read thoughts, to move inanimate objects with their minds. Everything we thought was supernatural was natural for them, and there was no respite, no protection.

  “This is what tech support is working on,” the professor continued, just as the class ended. “If you’re unsure what you’re specializing in during your time here, sometimes glory comes behind the scenes, not on the front lines.”

  I smiled a little, though it didn’t reach my eyes. She wasn’t lying. Out of all departments, tech support seemed to be lacking. Even med and health had more specialists, despite Dr. Dickbag at the helm.

  By the time I got to the lab, I was starving. I hadn’t eaten this morning, and sitting in class and taking notes could only distract me so much. Robert was on that mechanic’s creeper, underneath his vehicle, so I mosied on over to the breakroom consisting of snacks and energy drinks and grabbed a bag of fish crackers. I needed something salty and cheesy in order to relieve my annoying hunger, the crunch satisfying the thoughts that still muddied up my mind.

  I leaned against the wall next to the door, closing my eyes and letting myself relax for a moment. Charley’s words kept ringing in my head over and over again. At what point was it my responsibility to do something about the traitor? Or was I thinking too highly of myself? Was it any of my business? Who did I think I was, believing I had the power to do anything? That I could make any sort of a difference?

  “You sleeping on the job, Freckles?” Robert asked, seemingly from nowhere.

  I practically jumped out of my skin. I nearly snorted out fish crackers from my nose. “Jesus Christ, Robert,” I said, placing one hand over my heart, as though it would alleviate the way it slammed against my chest.

  “Uh uh.” He wagged a finger at me. “You know you’re not allowed to say that name anymore.”

  I sighed, trying to steady my breathing.

  “You okay, kid? You seem tired.” It was like we had never argued. Like he hadn’t been interrupted by Christian Steel. I wasn’t sure if I was annoyed or relieved by the casual nonchalance. “I thought by giving you the night off, you’d come to the lab well-rested and ready to go.”

  “It’s difficult to sleep knowing someone is betraying you to the gods,” I muttered before crinkling the empty bag of crackers and throwing it into the nearby trash can. “Did you know the gods can control you with just a thought? They could make you do things you would never want to do. Did you know that?”

  “Easy there,” he said, putting up a hand. “Yeah, I knew that. I saw it.”

  I furrowed my brow. “You were there?” I asked. “At South Haven?”

  “Someone had to suit up Vic,” he said in a low voice. “Look, what happened, happened. The best thing we can do is learn from it.” He clapped his hands together. “You all snacked out? Ready to work?”

  I furrowed my brow but followed him out of the room. “What did Christian Steel want, anyway?” I asked. I knew it wasn’t any of my business, but I could at least ask just to see if Robert would tell me.

  “What? Oh, yeah.” He shook his head. “He wanted to form some kind of partnership.” He waved his hand, almost dismissively. “Pairing his weapons with my technology.”

  My brows perked as we headed back into the lab. “That’s an interesting premise,” I said.

  “Oh, gods, not you too,” he said, easing himself onto the creeper. “He thought it would be a boon for both companies. We’re not exactly direct competitors or anything like that, but I don’t want to get involved with the likes of him.”

  “Why?” I leaned against the workbench, glancing around. I pointedly ignored the glow of the encased dagger, the Ilumenescent element practically pulling me towards it. I ground my heels into place, pressing my palms firmly into the cool wall behind me. I had no intention of moving until Robert asked me to hand him a tool.

  “What do you mean, why?” he asked. He adjusted himself on the creeper from underneath the vehicle. “The guy isn’t as smart as I am.”

  “To be fair,” I said, lifting a finger. “No one is.”

  “Ah, thanks, Freckles,” he said. “You sure know how to stroke a man’s ego.”

  I ignored his charm as he began to fiddle with something. “Look,” I said. “You’re both successful businessmen and billionaires. You both are playboys and philanthropists. And maybe he’s not as smart as you, but he is taller -”

  “Shots fired.” He suddenly reappeared, giving me a long look. “You think I should have agreed?”

  “I think you should have asked him why he wanted the merge in the first place.” I glanced down at him. Already there was some oil on his face. I had to suppress the urge to wipe it away, and pressed my backside into my hands even more. “I doubt he’s the type to want to work with anyone, really. He seems kind of like a loner to me.”

  “Explain,” he said. “Can you get me the wrench? The three-eighth one?”

  I turned to the opened toolbox and grabbed the wrench. Before I came to work for Robert, he never put his tools where they were supposed to go. He just dropped them in the box then wouldn’t be able to find it so he’d either have Robort look for it or buy a whole new set. One of the first things I did was make sure to organize his toolbox and keep it as organized as I could. Unfortunately, my night off seemed to have inspired some chaos because while the three-eighth wrench was where it needed to be, others were in a pile within the box itself.

  I handed Robert the wrench before dropping to a squat and started to arrange them once more.

  “Well, I mean, it’s not every day someone like Christian Steel comes by himself unannounced, right?” I asked. “My first thought would have been what he wants outside of the merge.”

  “You think there’s more to this supposed partnership?” Robert asked as he scooted back unde
r the vehicle.

  “I don’t know Christian Steel to really make that guess,” I said, lifting a wrench and narrowing my eyes to look at the size engraved in the side of it. “I just think…I don’t know. Maybe he wants to help.”

  “Help?”

  “You know,” I said. “With the gods. Maybe he was the weaponry but not the technology. You have the technology to protect and defend, to track and find, but so far, I haven’t seen any actual weapons.”

  “Man-made weapons can’t kill the gods,” Robert said. He grunted, and the crank of the wrench in metal hinted at what he was doing. “We learned that in South Haven. It was a joke.”

  “Well, maybe Christian found something,” I said. “You’re not the only person with a personal vendetta against the gods, you know. We all lost something that day. The world, I mean. I wouldn’t be surprised if people all over the world were trying to come up with a way to defeat them just like you and Dean Rogers and this school.”

  “So…you think I should have said yes?” he asked after a moment. The clatter of metal on metal rang through the room and he pushed out from under the vehicle before sitting up. His dark hair was disheveled. More grime stuck to his cheeks, his nose.

  “No.” I shook my head, forcing myself to look back at the tools and internally reminding myself that I needed to organize them and not stare at Robert. Hadn’t I seen him look this way enough times to be used to it by now? Yes, Lara, he has broad shoulders and nice arms. “Maybe just try to figure out why instead of writing him off, I guess.”

  “Huh.” He stood up abruptly, smacking his palms on his thighs, like he was trying to wipe the grease off.

  “Why do you do that?” I asked before I could stop myself. “You ruin your pants every time.”

  “If it would make you feel more comfortable, I could always just take them off.”

  I snorted before I could help myself.

  At that moment, there was a knock on the door. I practically jumped out of my skin. No one came down to the lab - ever.

  I turned on the heel of my foot, nearly toppling over the toolbox and ruining the small amount of traction I had gained at reorganizing them only to see a beautiful, slender woman type in a code and get access to the lab. Her straight, strawberry blonde hair was pulled into a professional ponytail and she was dressed in a buttoned shirt tucked into a tight pencil skirt that flattered her body in ways I didn’t think would ever work for my own. She walked with grace and had a look of pure maturity about her. I assumed she was a few years younger than Robert was.

  I stared at her for a long moment, mouth agape.

  Was this…was this his girlfriend?

  I almost laughed at the thought of Robert having a girlfriend but maybe he did. Maybe his whole playboy reputation was just a front so no one knew about the one person he truly cared about?

  “You must be Lara,” the woman said warmly, offering me a wide smile. Her red lip gloss somehow did not wash out her face or get swiped across her pearly white teeth. “Robert’s told me so much about you. It’s nice to finally meet you.” She stuck out her hand.

  “Oh, um…” I tucked stray hair behind my ear before sticking my hand in hers. “I'm really sorry, I’m not sure who you are.”

  “Don’t worry.” She dropped my hand and casually flicked her wrist. “Robert doesn’t go around telling people about his personal assistant. He likes everyone to believe he can do it all himself.” She winked. “I'm Abby.”

  “That sounds…like Robert,” I said, not entirely placated.

  “Would you mind if I spoke to him about a couple of meetings I need to get on the books with him?” she asked.

  “Abs, she doesn’t need to leave.”

  My heart squeezed like someone just pinched it. I didn’t like the moniker. I didn’t like any of it.

  I needed air, to get away.

  “No, it’s fine,” I said quickly. “I’ll let you…”

  I didn’t finish my sentence, leaving as quickly as I could.

  I managed to get outside into the afternoon sun, away from the perfect perky personal assistant and away from Robert’s cute nicknames for her. Instead, I leaned against the back of the building, blinking away tears.

  I was being ridiculous.

  I knew this.

  But I couldn’t help it.

  Something putrid tickled my nose. I glanced to my left.

  Of course.

  I was right next to the dumpster.

  I shook my head. Whatever was causing that scent was disgusting. I needed to close the top -

  Except, when I went over to the dumpster itself, when I reached for the top and glanced down, two grey eyes stared back at me, dead and lifeless. Blood was everywhere/

  Dean Rogers was dead, and his body was stuffed into the dumpster behind the tech support lab.

  I did the only thing that made sense in that moment.

  I screamed.

  Chapter Seven

  I couldn’t stop shivering.

  Not when Robert somehow found me, not when he pulled me into his arms, one hand cradling the back of my head and guiding it to his shoulder so I wouldn’t have to see the sight of Firth Rogers any longer.

  I didn’t even know how he had heard me. I didn’t know how he made it up to me or where his fancy PA Abby was or why I felt so comfortable and warm in his arms, but he was here and I felt safe.

  I wanted to cry. That seemed like the right reaction to something like this, but the tears wouldn’t come. It was like I was incapable of crying, which made no sense, since I had cried recently during Thanksgiving, during that still moment alone when I remembered my father wasn’t coming back, wasn’t going to walk in the door and take the largest slice of the dark meat turkey and drown his mashed potatoes with Mom’s homemade gravy.

  It wasn’t long before campus security showed up. They made me give them a statement, but I didn’t say much. I told them the truth, I didn’t leave anything out, but the problem was, there wasn’t much to say.

  “We’re going to have to shut down the academy for a day or two,” the officers told Robert. “We’ll have to reach out to the local PD and -“

  “Do what you have to,” he said. “Make sure the students are aware there are insight counselors who are available twenty-four-seven, if anyone wants to talk.” He glanced over at me. “We need to tell Dalton.”

  Fuck.

  I had forgotten about him.

  How could I be this selfish? How could I forget that Dean Rogers had a family? He seemed like an imposing man, and I wasn’t exactly fond of him just because Robert didn’t seem to be. But that didn’t mean he deserved this.

  “And I want your report on my desk first thing,” Robert insisted in a no-nonsense tone. Gone was the charming playboy; this was the firm businessman.

  The officer nodded as two people dressed in black began to collect the body.

  The smell caused me to double-over and dry heave once, twice. Robert gently took my elbow and led me away from the dumpster.

  “Hey, you’re okay,” he said. His other hand went to the back of my head.

  “I…I don’t know what happened,” I said, once I could get hold of my voice.

  “No one does,” he said. “That’s why there’s going to be an investigation -“

  “Robert.” I cut him off, locking eyes with him. “Come on. It has to be the traitor. The person in talks with the gods. Either that, or there’s a god already here, blending in. What if the dean found out? What if he was going to tell you and he couldn’t? What if -?”

  “Hey.” A little more firm, a slight tightening of his hold on me. “Hey. You’re losing control. Take a breath. I’m right here, okay. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

  “Me?” I jerked away from him. “This has nothing to do with me. Robert, we need to -“

  “We don’t know what happened,” he said. Again, there was that tone, that edge, like he was talking to a child having a tantrum. “That’s why we’re going to investigate. Lara, we can’t jump to conclusions right now. We can’t see what we want to see. We have to see what’s there.”

  “What’s there?” I jerked my arm behind him. “What do you think is there, Robert? His body in a dumpster behind your lab! That’s what’s there. This a couple of weeks after -“ I cut myself off, not wanting anyone to overhear me. “After Deeno’s. You can’t think it’s some kind of coincidence, can’t you?” I waited, watched as he held my gaze without contradicting me. “Robert?”