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Leo
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. Leo 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.
Hunter stepped in front of her, but she didn’t want him to protect her this time. She could handle Leo.
“I can do this, Hunt.” She pressed a hand to his elbow. “Please,” she added softly. She watched in amazement as he cautiously moved so she could face Leo on her own.
She stared at Leo. “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.”
Drew 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.
Leo 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.”
Alison 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.
Leo reached for it, but Hunter cut him off. “Don’t touch it,” he snarled, knocking Leo back on the couch.
“There’s nothing there,” Leo snapped.
“Are you so sure?” Alison 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.
Alison 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, Leo. 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 town, 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 Hunter and Drew. “Fuck.”
Hunter 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 Alison.”
Leo turned his head, ignoring the three of them.
“Let’s go.” Alison feathered her fingers through Hunter’s strong hands and then Drew’s. “I want to go home.”
They followed her outside, closing the door to the compound behind them.
Alison felt her knees buckle, but Hunter held her steady. “I think you better ride home with me, sweetheart. Drew can drive your car.”
“Of course.” Drew looked for her keys.
There were so many things she wanted to say, but she used everything she had back there to get through the confrontation with Leo. And it had worked. She was free. They all were.
Drew buckled her in the front seat as Hunter stuck the key in the ignition. She looked at them. “That drive is blank.”
