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“The photos didn’t show anyone touching us. Pat wasn’t even in the photos. Our eyes were closed, but our legs were spread, and we looked ready and willing.”
Donny stands then and leaves the bed in a rush. “I’m going to kill that fucking bastard. First he poisons my sister and then—”
“Donny, that’s not the end of the story.”
“Fuck. What the hell else happened?”
“We were told we had to meet him and hand over our evidence, and then he would hand over the photos. We both had to promise that we didn’t keep copies of either.”
“But you said you have the thumb drive?”
“We do. We kept a copy just in case he screwed us over. Which makes me think… He probably kept his evidence as well. And now he’s back. Back in Snow Creek when he knows he can’t be prosecuted for his crimes.”
“Drugging my sister and the two of you. Fuck. Fucking statute of limitations.”
“Yeah. I researched them myself. He’s free and clear now.”
“And he doesn’t have anything on you?”
I shake my head. “We fed him Benadryl, but it’s not a controlled substance. Not our finest hour, but technically, we didn’t break any laws.”
“But he did, the motherfucker.”
“Yeah, he did. Quite a few of them.”
“Whatever happened to him? Why did he leave town?”
“No one really knows for sure, but it happened pretty soon after this whole ordeal. Rory and I like to say that we chased him out of town, but in reality, it probably had nothing to do with us. His dad probably got a job somewhere else. Could be anything.”
“Still…he left town…and now he’s back.”
“I’m not sure why, though,” I say. “We still have the evidence against him. So if he still has the photos, we still have our leverage.”
Donny wrinkles his forehead. “I’m not so sure.”
“But the thumb drive was there.”
“Callie, have either you or Rory looked on the thumb drive?”
My jaw drops. “Oh my God.”
“Someone took the key to your safe-deposit box. Don’t you think it’s a little weird that the thumb drive is still there? And Pat Lamone is back in town?”
“I do now.”
He pulls me off the bed and into his arms. “I swear to God, I will protect you. Pat Lamone will be sorry he ever tried to fuck with the people I love.”
“He tried telling you his lies. He tried telling Raine his lies. Neither of those worked. So my guess is he’s going to bring out the photos, assuming he still has them. And he knows you have money, Donny.”
“Callie, I’ll spend my entire fortune protecting you if I have to.”
Anger rises in me. “I don’t want you to give him a damned nickel, Donny. Do not give that son of a bitch one cent of your money.”
“The money means nothing to me. I’d gladly spend millions to protect you, and I’ll still have plenty.”
“Don’t you see? If he truly still has the photos, plus he’s absconded with our evidence, he’ll never stop. Once he runs out of the money you give him, he’ll come back for more. Is that what you want?”
“None of this is what I want, but I won’t have you in danger. And I sure as hell won’t have your beautiful body on display for everybody else to salivate over.”
