Blood red love by Dripping Creativity

13 

The Wednesday felt like one long wait to get to when Charlie was to meet up with James. She was unfocused at work and Lucas asked her a couple of times if she was okay. She decided to work extra once she had talked to James, thinking her mind would be more focused by then. Charlie hadn’t heard a word from Vidar since his last message, telling her everything. They had once again gone back to employer–employee relationship. Maybe that wasn’t so bad, Charlie thought. After work, she messaged James. 

C: Hi, we need to talk. Can you come around my place? 

J: Sounds serious. I’ll be there in 30. 

Charlie got home and walked around her apartment, nervous and on edge. When James knocked on her door, she was relieved to finally get it over with. 

“Hi there,” he said. Walking inside, he reached out for her, but she took a step back. 

“Hi,” she said. 

“So there is something serious you need to talk about,” he concluded. 

“Yeah, I talked to Huxton yesterday,” she told him. He froze and looked at her, trying to figure out where this was heading. 

“Oh, right? Everything was okay with him?” he asked. 

“It was. He wanted me to babysit on Friday. I told him I would since you and I hadn’t made plans. The strange thing was, he was really surprised that we were going out,” she told him. She could see how uncomfortable he was. 

“Oh, yeah, right. So the thing is,” he started. 

“I thought you had okayed it with him,” she said. 

“I was going to,” he told her. 

“But you said you already had, two weeks ago. Why did you lie?” 

“I was afraid he would say no. I thought if I just got a chance to show you how good we could be, then we could convince him together,” he said. 

1 

“You knew he would say no, because you had told him what case you are working with,” she told him. She saw him look even more guilty. 

“He told you,” was the only thing he said. 

“He did. How could you not have told me? I asked you and you didn’t tell me. Was all this a way to get information from me?” she asked. She wasn’t prepared for the look he gave her, it was all the confirmation she needed. Charlie had thought it was a possibility, but now she realised she had never believed that he would use her like that. 

“Charlie, I tried to get you to back away from him. But you are so dammed stubborn. So I thought, why not keep an eye on you and at the same time maybe get some useful information,” he explained. He looked like he was in pain. 

“And let’s hope for some s*x as a bonus? What the f**k James!” 

“No, Charlie. I promise it wasn’t like that. Yes, it started with me maybe using you. But after the first date, seeing you like that, the way we fitted together. It stopped being pretend,” he told her. 

“Wow, well, don’t I feel special? You know how hard it is for me to trust people. You knew this was the first time I have dated since him. And you do this to me? That night when you picked me up from work. You hadn’t been working late at the station, had you? You were tailing Vidar, and you saw an opportunity, didn’t you?” Charlie almost screamed. The guilty look on his face told her everything she needed to know. “F**k you, James. F**k you! Did you think about what it could mean to me if my boss found out? That I could lose my job? The reputation I would get? Not only did you use me, you endangered my entire future. Get out and don’t call me again. And just to be safe, let Huxton and Tyson get a week or two to calm down before you call them and apologise,” she told him. 

“Charlie, please. Just give me a chance. I’ll give up the case,” he told her, reaching his hand towards her. She took a step back. 

“No, James. I don’t want to see you right now. Out!” she said, pointing at the door. 

“I’ll leave. But please, please, listen to me. Mr Grim is not a good man. Please don’t associate with him,” he said as he walked to her door and then he was gone. Charlie locked the door and dialled Lilly. When she heard her friend’s voice, she broke down and started crying. 

Lilly had spent two hours listening to Charlie and calming her down. Charlie knew she should have called her brother, but she wasn’t confident she could get through the call without crying. She figured an hour or two of work would calm her down. She started going through the data the tracer programs had been collecting during the day. The feeling she had seen this before returned and it hit her. At first, she refused to believe it. Now, when she knew what she was looking for, it took her less than half an hour to find it. Charlie meticulously went through the system, isolating everything that could cause issues. She double and triple checked. She went into her old files and compared. There was no way she could deny what she was seeing. She took her phone and dialled. 

“Charlie? Please tell me you have reconsidered. I will come right over if you say you’ll let me,” James answered. 

“What did you do, James?” she asked in a cold, detached voice. 

“Charlie? What are you talking about? Are you okay?” 

“What did you do, James? Why would you do something this stupid? Do you realise what you have done?” she asked. 

“You found it,” was all he said. 

“How long have you known I worked for him?” she asked. 

“The same day you signed the contract,” he confessed, 

“You had to have known I would find it. I did so once. How could I not a second time?” 

“I know, I knew from the moment the memo showed up in my computer that you would find it,” he admitted. 

“So why didn’t you remove it? Or tell me?” she asked. 

“You never showed me how to remove it,” he said with a humourless laugh. “I was going to tell you, I thought I had more time. It took longer last time.” 

“You were waiting for me to fall for you.” It wasn’t a question and James was smart enough not to say anything. “You need to tell you superior,” she told him. 

“I can’t do that, Charlie. You know I can’t,” he objected. 

“James, you installed an illegal software into the system of a person you are supposed to be investigating. Not only is the software itself illegal, it is considered as illegal tap wiring to siphon information like this. You know this, you explained it to me,” she told him. 

“I know. That’s why I can’t tell them. My career would be over.” 

“If you confess, they might be lenient with you. What do you think Mr Grim will do when he finds out? It will be so much worse if you don’t do damage control, James,” she said. 

“Or no one finds out. We remove it and everything is forgotten,” he told her. 

“That would make me an accomplice, and it would mean I would break my contract with Grim INC. Do you know how much trouble that would get me into?” 

“Not if no one found out,” he said. “You know I’m a good guy. Why would you choose a criminal before me?” 

“James, do you hear yourself? I haven’t seen any evidence Vidar is a criminal, and I’m guessing you haven’t either if you’re this desperate. But you are a criminal. What you have done is breaking more laws than I can think of,” she told 

him. 

2/5 

“Charlie,” he started. 

“No, James. Despite everything, you have been there for me, and I want to do right by you. I won’t tell my boss about this until the morning. You have that time to do what you think is right. I’m sorry.” She hung up and looked at her phone. She swallowed and called her brother. 

“Charlie! Do you know the time?” Huxton said. 

“We have been worried sick. You promised to let us know how it went,” Tyson added. Apparently, she was on speaker with both of them. 

“Are Liam and Aiden nearby?” she asked. 

“No, they are sleeping. Charlie, you sound weird. What is happening?” her brother asked. 

“James has done something really bad and I don’t know what to do,” she said. 

“What has he done? Did he hurt you?” Tyson asked. 

“No, no. He was a bastard, and he hurt my feelings, but that is not important now.” 

“Not important?!” her brother shouted. 

“Hux, the children,” Tyson scolded him. 

“Huxton, you need to call him. He will need you, both as a friend and as a lawyer,” Charlie said. 

“You are scaring me Charlie, what is going on?” her brother asked. She told him. 

“He says he won’t turn himself in. He wants me to cover it all up. But I can’t do that,” she finished. 

“Of course you can’t. That is a selfish request that you shouldn’t even consider,” Tyson told her. 

“F**king right. I will call him. I’ll talk some sense into him. You shouldn’t worry about it. Do your thing. He has got himself into this mess. He needs to get himself out of it,” her brother agreed. 

“Charlie, I’m going to come and get you,” Tyson said in a soft voice. 

“Thank you, Tyson. But I’ll be fine.” 

“I wasn’t asking, love. I don’t want you to be alone, not right now.” There was something unspoken in his voice. It took Charlie a while to figure it out. 

1/5 

“You are worried he is coming after me?” she asked. 

“I don’t think he would. But you never know, he must be desperate. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you. Your brother will make up the guest bedroom while he talks to the idiot and I will come and collect you. The beasts will be thrilled when they wake up and see aunt Charlie,” Tyson said. There was no room to decline. 

“Thank you,” Charlie told him. 

“I’ll be there in twenty minutes. I’ll text you when I’m there.” They hung up and Charlie put together a small bag with things she would need. She fed her fish and made sure everything was in order. Then she took out her phone. 

C: I need to see you as soon as possible tomorrow morning. I have found something. 

Her boss responded a minute later, making her wonder what he was doing this time of night. 

V: I will clear my morning, come to my office at eight. Are you safe? 

The message made her smile for some reason. 

C: Yes, I will be staying the night away from home. I’ll see you at eight. Good night Mr Grim. 

V: Good night lilla lo