Page 103 of Swerve (Boosted Hearts 1)

So damn much.

I missed him—like a part of me had been torn away.

You did it to yourself.

That voice of doubt had been niggling at me since I told Neco I was leaving. My heart wanted to run back to him, agree to anything he wanted, anything to stop the constant ache in my chest, the feeling of wrongness at being separated from him—but my head knew that was the worst thing I could do. I didn’t want to end up resenting him, and that’s what would happen if I stayed.

I didn’t know what our future held, but I couldn’t imagine a life without Neco in it. I just hoped he felt the same way, that his feelings for me were incentive enough to fight for us.

Another sigh slipped past my lips and I grabbed my bag from the floor and sat in on the bed. I still hadn’t properly unpacked. I guess I’d secretly hoped Neco would show up and say he’d changed his mind, that he knew he had to trust me, that he’d sit down and we’d come to a compromise, but of course, that hadn’t happened.

He had texted me, though, to see if I was okay, then later to say goodnight, that he missed me. After that one, I’d burst into tears and cried myself to sleep.

I flicked the bag open and started sorting through it. I’d shoved everything in so fast; I had my laundry mixed in with my clean clothes. I made a pile on the floor then scooped up what I’d deemed dirty, and started toward the small utility room down the hall.

Something dropped on my foot.

I stopped and bent down to see what it was.

A small silver thumb drive lay on the ground.

I stared at it. Shit.

I’d planned to check it, but when I’d found Neco at the office, covered in someone else’s blood, I’d completely forgotten about it.

I dumped my laundry on the floor and rushed back to the living room, opening Harry’s laptop. It was already on, and I slid in the thumb drive, clicking “Open Files” when I was prompted.

It was full of photos, some videos. Considering what Neco found on Scott’s laptop, I wasn’t fired up to check them out, but what if there was something important to the case on here? He’d hidden it for a reason.

I opened the first file and jerked back.

Scott was sitting on a shabby couch in a shabby living room, waving at the camera and grinning. There was a poster of Marilyn Monroe on the wall and a set of ceramic dolphin candle sticks on a wooden bookshelf against the wall.

I swallowed down the lump in my throat, trying to breathe through the erratic pounding of my heart.

The shabby couch and the Marilyn poster had come from a garage sale on Lincoln Street. The couch had weird stains on the arms, and the bookshelf with the dolphin candlesticks had never once held a book. I knew these things because that was my living room. Or should I say, Valery’s living room. I checked the file date. This was taken a year after I moved out.

I clicked though the pictures. There were more of Scott and some other guy. He was older. He looked a lot like Scott. Father? Older brother? My stepmother was in several of them as well. I blindly worked my way through them, then opened the next, a video.

It was of Valery and Scott.

They were having sex.

I shot up from my seat. What in the fuck was going on? Pulling my phone from my pocket, I hit Neco’s number. He was my first port of call, always, and right now, I needed him. His phone went straight to voice mail. Shit. I tried Van.

He answered instantly. “Ruby.”

“Van, I need to talk to Neco, it’s important.”

He was quiet for several seconds. “He’s not with me.” His voice sounded weird.

“Do you know where he is?”

A pause. “Ruby . . . shit.”

Oh God. “What’s going on, Van?”

He cursed. “It’s Neco. Something’s happened.”