“There’s one more thing.” I had to get out every last bit of the venom so it wouldn’t poison us.
He nodded and waited while I blew my nose and collected myself.
“Scott threatened me again. Last night, he texted me to remind me he could ruin me. I should have told you right away, but I knew I’d have to explain this, and I didn’t know how. I panicked. I’m sorry.”
“I know.” Instead of looking angry or hurt, he seemed relieved.
“What do you mean, you know? And how are you not lecturing me about safety concerns, Mr. Tall, Dark, and Deadbolt It?”
He laughed. It was contagious. I joined him. Bella came to see what the excitement was about, carrying a red rubber ball in her mouth.
Kyle patted her head. “In a minute, girl.” He held my hand. “I know about Scott’s texts. We have a warrant tomonitor his electronic devices. Pasco saw his text to you, and your response, and that you deleted them.”
“Pasco knows Scott has dirt on me? Does the whole team know? This is humiliating.” I was spiraling.
Kyle held me again. I was getting used to having him put me back together every time I fell apart. “They don’t know the details, but I’d like your permission to tell them.”
“Please—”
“Cam, think about it. Scott is blackmailing you. Last night’s texts were probably a warning to back off and stop cooperating with the police. You know we’re not going to back off, and he’ll keep holding out that threat, or worse.”
I shivered. Kyle pulled me onto his lap and enveloped me completely in his warm, solid comfort.
“The only way to stop him, to eliminate the threat, is to destroy the blackmail material.” He stroked my hair. “Luckily for you, you know people who can make that happen.”
I sat up straight and looked at his face. He was serious.
“You can really do that?”
“With some help. I know it sounds scary to have them know about the recording, but my teammates are professionals and the best at what they do. They’re also my friends. They have my back, which means they’ll have yours, too.”
He’d told me he would be there to catch me if I fell, and I was falling now. And here he was, staying true to his word. And if the choice was between his small, tight team finding out the truth and the entire world seeing me naked, there was no contest.
“Yes,” I said, “you have my permission to tell them. But please, promise me they won’t see the video.”
He tensed, but nodded. “I’ll make sure it’s destroyed, and if anyone needs to see it before erasing it for any reason, I promise it will be me.”
27
KYLE
Igave Cami the option of listening to my phone call with Pasco. She declined. She trusted me to handle it delicately and competently. I didn’t take that trust for granted. I placed the call from my home office and explained the situation as succinctly as I could, using the term “compromising recording” to describe what Riker had on her. Pasco was respectful and professional, as I’d known he would be. But when I explained my plan, he shot it down immediately.
“There are no files like that on his registered phone, his burner phone, or the cloud server he uses,” Pasco explained. “The minute we inherited the FBI’s electronic-device warrants on this operation, I tapped into Riker’s phone and ran a discreet and mostly legal search. There was nothing incriminating, but I could tell he’d recently deleted some large files from his phone and the cloud.”
“Large enough to be video files?”
“Perfect size to be that.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “When did he do that?”
“A week ago last Thursday, right after the local newspaper reported Cami’s detainment.”
After the FBI had leaked the story to them. “Fucking Forrester,” I muttered. “Is there a way to find out where Riker moved them?”
“No,” Pasco said.
My spirits sagged further. I’d promised her. “There has to be a way to find that video and destroy it.”
