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Brooke squared her shoulders as she faced the McIntosh compound. She had prayed she would never set foot inside this place again, but she couldn’t run from her problems. And she couldn’t send her knights in to rectify something she had done. She needed to be the one to face the demons of her past.
She took each of the stone steps with confidence. This wasn’t like the last time she was here. No one would ever drag her out and stuff her in a trunk again. She had the love and support of the two most incredible men. They had given her the strength to face this. Because of them, she had to do this. She loved them enough to put herself here again—the last place she ever wanted to be.
Tyler’s sports car was parked in front. As she climbed the front porch steps she could hear loud voices from the other side of the door. Panic shot through her. Tyler and Lee were irate.
She didn’t hesitate. Brooke burst inside, landing in the middle of their circle. Their eyes darted toward her. She suddenly felt like she was surrounded by a pack of lions. Luckily, two of them were hers.
“What are you doing here?” Tyler asked. His face was stern. Lee was as determined as his friend. He made a protective stance toward her.
“Brooke, you don’t need to be here.” He shook his head.
She stepped forward, locking eyes with her cousin. “Yes, I do. Niall has no right to do any of this. I can take care of my family problems. It’s what I should have said this morning.”
Niall laughed viciously. “So you sent your men to take care of your little fuck-up, but you don’t trust them enough to take care of it?” he mocked. “This little arrangement the three of you has is fucked up.”
Her eyes narrowed. She could claw at his face. She could kick him in the balls. She could spit on his cheek. But she held her ground. She didn’t want him to know how much she hated him. Niall would love to see the hatred in her eyes. It was as if it fueled him. As if the way people despised him pushed him to be worse. She never understood that about him.
Tyler stepped in front of her, but she didn’t want him to protect her this time. She could handle Niall.
“I can do this, Tyler.” She pressed a hand to his elbow. “Please,” she added softly. She watched in amazement as he cautiously moved so she could face Niall on her own.
She stared at Niall. “You’re not going to the media.”
He rolled his eyes. “You sound like these two. I’m happy to keep your illegal escapades to myself if you hand over a hundred thousand to start. But that’s just the start.”
She didn’t let her eyes bulge or her jaw drop. She had to stay steady. Of course he would threaten more blackmail. He was going to hang the hacking over her head as long as he could milk them for money. It would never stop.
“You aren’t getting the money and you aren’t releasing the story.” She gritted her teeth. “Your threats don’t mean anything to me.”
Lee was behind her. She felt the warmth of his body as he laid a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, trying to convince him she could do this. But God, did it feel good to have him behind her. It was as if she could draw strength from his body. She needed every ounce of it right now.
Niall sat on the couch, crossing a leg over his knee. “See, what you don’t get is that I have dirt on you. I’m the one with all the card. I set the terms and you pay up. That’s how this works.”
“What you don’t get, is that I have way more on you,” she hissed. “That’s how this works.”
He raised his arms in the air, chuckling. “My hands are clean. I had nothing to do with your internet heist. You can’t trace that to me. Not even the accounts. You know they are ghost accounts. You insured I was in the clear. And it was exactly what I wanted. So thank you again for that.”
Brooke reached in her pocket and held up a thumb drive. “But I have every other piece of dirt on you I could find.” She slammed the drive on the coffee table. “And that is just one of many, many copies.” She tilted her head in his direction.
Niall reached for it, but Tyler cut him off. “Don’t touch it,” he snarled, knocking Niall back on the couch.
“There’s nothing there,” Niall snapped.
“Are you so sure?” Brooke glared. “You don’t have multiple accounts? Texts to associates? Email chains? Are you sure your hands are so clean?”
“You collected evidence against me? Against your own family?” He sounded stunned.
Brooke nodded. “You wanted me to be the hacker. Don’t you remember? You created this little skill I have. And I took full advantage of it.”
“But you’re using it against me? You’re turning on me?”
“It’s all there, Niall. And if something happens to me, or to one of them there are plenty of copies that can be discovered that will incriminate you. I’ve planted them all over t
own, so don’t even think about trying to find them. As soon as one is discovered, you’ll be in prison the rest of your life. I can guarantee it.”
He looked at her and then his eyes flicked to Tyler and Lee. “Fuck.”
Tyler collected the drive from the coffee table. “We’ll take this as one of the insurance pieces that you aren’t going to release that story about Brooke.”
