Finding Forever Read Online Free PDF Page B

Swear.”
    â€œBut why do you think these guys only wanted Taylor?”
    â€œTo kidnap her? Hold her for ransom?” Simone asked. “She was the only celeb. I mean, Evan was invited, but he didn’t come, and there weren’t any other celeb types there. I don’t know. Why else would they take her away except maybe for money?”
    â€œIf it’s for a ransom, it’s already been two days and they haven’t made any demands. That makes me think this might be about more than money.”
    Simone crunched her eyes. “You know, most sixteen-year-old girls I meet aren’t anything like you.”
    â€œBlame my parents,” Brooklyn answered. “They let me watch way too much TV as a kid. My friends call me ‘G-ma’ for being able to remember every plot line from shows like Law & Order and CSI . My parents always thought I would end up wanting to be a cop or a lawyer or something. But I picked journalism. That way I still get to solve mysteries, but without the ulcers. Or the guns.”
    â€œWhat do your parents do?”
    â€œMom’s a lawyer. But not like one of those rich lawyers. She’s a public defender.”
    â€œSo she defends criminals?”
    â€œ Alleged criminals.”
    â€œOkay.” Simone fashioned air quotes. “Alleged.”
    â€œShe loves it, even though she has to work like fifteen hours a day. And my dad, he was a cop. Twenty-two years on the Twin Oaks Police force.”
    â€œA cop?” Simone’s eyes widened. “You’re not going to tell him about me, are you?”
    â€œI won’t be telling him anything.”
    â€œYou promise? Because that would be really bad. The cops can’t know all that stuff about the drugs.”
    â€œI definitely won’t be telling my dad anything.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œBecause he’s dead.”
    Simone’s mouth dropped open.
    Brooklyn rubbed Simone’s shoulder and got to her feet. “It’s okay. This bench is killing me, by the way. Let’s go for a walk.”
    They stepped off the bleachers and walked over to the Coffee Cartel in a strip mall across the street from campus.
    As Brooklyn scrolled through Simone’s cell phone pics, Simone fished inside her purse.
    â€œYou smoke?” Simone asked. “’Cuz I’m all out.”
    â€œDo you run across the 101 at rush hour?” Brooklyn asked.
    â€œHell no. I’m not stupid!”
    â€œExactly my point. You’re not stupid. You don’t want to die! So why do you smoke? Smoking is my least favorite thing that humans do—besides making bad TV shows, bullying vulnerable people, and starting pointless wars.”
    â€œOkay, okay, fine.” Simone tapped her coffee cup on the table and bit the nail of her pinkie finger. “I can’t disagree with you. But I still really need a smoke.”
    â€œWhy do so many people in Hollywood smoke, anyway?”
    â€œGood question.” Simone pressed her lips together. “I think it starts off as something you do when you’re bored at parties. And then it becomes something you do instead of eating. Bythe time you’ve gotten that far into it, it’s really hard to stop. You’re hooked, addicted. I know this from personal experience. It sucks.”
    â€œFinally! An honest answer from you!”
    â€œHey, I’ve been honest,” Simone said with a laugh. “Okay, maybe not at first I wasn’t.”
    â€œTo say the least.”
    Brooklyn knew a Hollywood girl like Simone would never be friends with someone like her. But she was enjoying hanging out with her, despite the circumstances.
    â€œI’m glad you came to me,” Brooklyn said. “I won’t disappoint you, and I won’t betray your trust. You have my word.”
    â€œI know you won’t. It’s just that being an assistant to someone as famous as Taylor Prince, you learn pretty quickly that you