Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 94220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
I jump up from my desk, searching around the monitor for an attachment…anything. Where the fuck could he have planted a mic?
As I begin a hunt around my room, I’m obsessed with my mission, trying to set aside that voice in me that whispers, This proves you’re losing it. You need help. There’s something wrong with you. But I persist in my search.
After checking behind my TV, under the bed, and in the closet, I stop. Think, Zane. If I were bugging someone, what would I need to consider?
It’d have to be wireless to transmit somewhere. It’d need to be voice activated so that I only picked up when people were talking. A battery wouldn’t be reliable, not for how long it’d have to function for him to have heard us talking about Dman, which means he would either need a way to get back in…or…leach off my electricity. The ceiling fan would take too long, but maybe the electric sockets?
I open my desk drawer, retrieve a screwdriver, and soon I’m unscrewing my outlets, and if that doesn’t make me feel like I’m losing my goddamn mind, I don’t know what will.
I’ve removed five before I get to the last one—at the nightstand on Leif’s side of the bed.
I’m all tension and suspense as I unscrew the frame.
Maybe once I’ve torn my room the fuck apart and seen there’s nothing here, maybe then I’ll have the confirmation I need that I’m fucking wrong and that all these connections in my head are just part of some manic state. I’ll be forced to face the truth.
As the screw comes loose, I hesitate to take the frame off.
Even before I pull it off, I accept that all this nonsense can only lead to an ER visit.
So I take that final step, and I see, tucked beside the socket, a mini green circuit board. The wiring from the socket has been rerouted to the device.
Tears well in my eyes as my jaw drops.
It wasn’t only in my head.
I was right. I was fucking right.
The relief is palpable as I put my hand to my chest, fighting back tears.
The bastard’s been listening in on our conversations. He knew we were meeting with Wes because he heard us making plans to meet up with him. And it’s very possible he knew about the Nights of Lights and followed us there.
The relief sweeping through me is so powerful, but nearly as fast as it came, it’s replaced by a new tension. Because he hasn’t only been listening in on what we were doing, but every fuck. Every sweet moment we shared in my bedroom, even last night when we exchanged I-love-yous.
Chills rush across my body as this sick feeling settles in my gut.
I feel so fucking violated.
So fucking pissed.
And so fucking right.
It was that bastard!
I’ve got you now, motherfucker.
29
LEIF
My mouth hangs open as I stare at the image on Zane’s phone.
When he headed upstairs, I hoped he might find something on his computer. Not a mic in the goddamn walls.
After our discussion at breakfast, he wasn’t even gone ten minutes before rushing downstairs. He wouldn’t explain what had him so worked up, but I knew it must’ve been something as he rushed me over to my parents’ place, hurrying with me to my bedroom. Despite my attempts to get him to reveal what he was excited about, he put his finger to his lips and searched my room, plugging a battery charger into every outlet before catching his breath.
Now that I’m looking at what he found in his room, his reaction makes perfect sense.
“He’s been recording us? Since the night he broke in?” He already explained that bit, but I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.
“Yes.”
I take a seat on the edge of my bed, studying the picture of the device. “How do you even know that’s what this is?”
“I ran a Google search on some of the key pieces in the design and searched for spycam. There’s a guy on TikTok showing people how to make these things. It can be synced up to Bluetooth, so all Isaac would have to do is come by the house, close enough to download whatever’s stored on the hard drive. When I was looking, I suspected it would have to be voice activated to save storage space, and I was right.”
He paces, his gaze scanning my room. Looks like he’s already trying to figure out what we’re supposed to do now that he’s found this. Fair enough, since I’m barely able to process it.
After we saw the photos of Jason Kilbourne from Wes, I was confident Zane had really seen Isaac, but I hadn’t expected this.
“Are you gonna call Detective Roth?” I ask.
“You kidding me? There’s not gonna be any way for her to prove this shit.”