I interrupted him, before I was tempted, “I have said the sacred word. The ‘l’ word and I can’t take that back.”

Denton quieted and asked, “Is it…Brian?”

At my pointed look, he shrugged and said, “Mena’s told me all about you guys.

It’s petty of me to pretend that I don’t know his name.” He sighed and straightened from the car. “Another time, without a Bryce in it, I’d have you on my arm for every gala and Hollywood party.”

“That would’ve been fun.”

“It might be. You tend to have a charisma that can’t be squashed. People hate you, but they also love you.”

The Queen of Geneva…

I sobered and noted, “So I’m told.”

“When you and Bryce break up—call me?” Denton requested.

“It might be sooner than you think,” I remarked. “Bryce is going pro-sports. He won’t be around for much longer.”

“Well…even though I have a hard time believing that you’d let him go without a fight, if that does happen—you have my number.”

I nodded and asked, “Is she going to be okay?”

Denton sobered instantly, the flirting vanished, and he remarked, heavily, “This just means that her progress isn’t as far as we’d hoped. She might have to go back to a group home and she’ll need weekly counseling sessions.”

“Is she…can you cure that stuff?”

“Therapy can work wonders. I think so—if the person is willing to do the work.

I’ve witnessed some miracles with Mena so far, but…she’s had a relapse that she needs to go through again. We’ve got some work ahead. She crumbled when she wasn’t approved by your two guard-dogs, but she’s convinced that you liked her.”

“I did.” I didn’t know why. I remembered Grace and murmured, “She should let Grace Barton visit her.”

Denton looked up, confused.

I shrugged and gestured outside, “That girl outside, the blonde. She’s kinda loser-ish, but…she really cared about Mena. She even risked her neck and came to me a few times about Mena because she was concerned.”

Denton nodded. “I’ll tell Mena that you think so.”

“And maybe I’ll come too,” I offered, though I needed to make it through the night first.

“That’d be good. Mena would like that.” Denton smiled kindly.

I wrapped my hand in a circling motion and asked, “So is our talk done? Because we’re going to get interrupted anytime soon.”

Denton smiled dashingly as the garage opened.

Corrigan stood, smirking on the pavement, as a crowd formed behind him.

Denton Steele’s name was whispered with revenue and awe and I laughed, “Oh god. I forget half the time that you’re a celebrity.”

The first rush of fans swarmed him, but Denton threw over his shoulder, “That’s another reason why I want to…” He looked to the car’s backseat, but Bryce strode to my side and plucked me off the ground. As he carried me inside, Corrigan smiled and shook his head behind us. He followed Bryce back up the stairs. We walked back into my dad’s office I saw that the television screens had now switched back to the doorways. I asked, “What happened to the other stuff?”

“We saved it all on a hard drive, but erased it on the network system,” Corrigan answered me.

“What does that mean? He shrugged and gestured towards the tech, who stood up and walked towards us, “So…what that means is that the feed, everything, originated here and was sent to an off-base account, this guy’s computer. I can’t cut the feed that’s automatically transmitted without losing the signal all together, but I was able to erase all the data and video recorded here at ground zero. That means that he can have downloaded the same input and still have it at his place. So he can still…”

“Watch us having sex,” I murmured.

“Yeah, but he won’t get anything new. The signal’s still transmitting, but the data is dead.”

Bryce cleared his throat and told me, “When you ordered the new alarm system, they didn’t install an alarm system. They installed these videos.”

The tech asked as he readjusted his coveralls, “Who’d you call for this?”

I didn’t want to know why a tech would wear coveralls so I shrugged, “I just opened the phone book and found someone to do it. I wasn’t really thinking rational at that moment.”

“Do you think it’s possible that this guy ordered the breakin so that Sheldon would get freaked and get a new alarm system?”

“It is, but how do you know which system she’d pick?” Bryce mused.

“Sitting right here,” I snapped, irritated. “And he’d know. He’s obsessed with me enough—I’m sure that he’d know.”

“You don’t remember what their names were?”

I shrugged, but something pricked at my memory. Something…I murmured, “Williams Alarms? Is there a place like that?”

“When did they install it?”

“It was after the breakin, the next day. I ordered it. They came and installed it.

They gave me the instructions and then I went to bed. I wasn’t paying attention to them. I went downstairs until they were done. I haven’t thought about it since.”

“Didn’t they bill you?”

“I…I gave them my credit card number. I suppose it’d be on my statement?”

The tech snapped his fingers and said swiftly, “I can do that. Give me the account number.”

I did and I noticed that his name badge said Kevin. As he brought up my last statement, I murmured, “Thanks, Kevin.”

He smiled a genuine smile and swung around in his chair, “Thank you, Sheldon.”

Bryce frowned, glanced between us two, and moved the computer screen towards him.

“Williams, Martels, and Alarms.”

“That sounds…not at all familiar,” I said. “Sorry.”

“How much did they charge her for?” Corrigan asked.

“$35.50”

“Are you serious?” Corrigan pushed his way to the screen. “That’s the cheapest alarm company ever. The cost alone would’ve steered me to another company.”