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Ryker takes out his phone and begins typing.
“What are you doing?” Lance looks worried now.
“Sending an anonymous tip to a friend of mine in the FBI to check you out, my friend.”
“Is this because of Amelia?”
His whiny voice is annoying as fuck. “Yes, and if you say her name again, I don’t give a fuck if it ends my career, I’m going to put your teeth down that scrawny fucking throat.”
“She made me.”
I close my eyes and shake my head. How can someone be so dumb? “That’s it, you had your chance.”
I nod at Ryker and he grins. “And send.”
Lance pales. “You did it? You sent it?”
“Tick-tock, mother fucker. The nasty shit you like is frowned upon over here.”
“Fine, I’m going but I want a hundred grand or I’ll ruin you. I already did it once with those pictures and my interviews, and I’ll do it again.”
I draw back my arm and punch him square in the face and he goes down to the floor as I bend to speak into his ear. “If you ever fucking threaten me or mine again, they won’t fucking find your body. Nod if you understand.”
He must believe me because he nods.
I walk out into the fresh air and Ryker follows. “That was fun.”
I roll my eyes. “Come on, let’s get a beer.”
“You want me to monitor shit and make sure he goes home or gets arrested? Don’t want this little fucker to disappear.”
“Yeah. Thanks, buddy.”
Ryker slings an arm around my neck. “Anytime, Beck.”
Finally, I feel like I have some semblance of control back. Now I just need to bridge this gap between me and my Tink.
25: Amelia
“Cheers.”I clink my glass against Lottie’s and Audrey’s and force a smile that falls flat. This is the first night I’ve managed to get out of my house without being hounded since this nightmare began two weeks ago. To say I feel wrecked is an understatement. My entire life has been picked apart and analyzed by strangers. I’ve been called a slut, a whore, told that my family’s money bought my degree, or that I fucked my professors. None of which are true. Harvard even told me they wouldn’t let me do my Ph.D. there because they didn’t want the negative publicity.
Beck has been amazing. He’s been there through it all. Holding me while I cry, defending me, and fixing things. Including my Harvard place, which involved a hefty donation. He even dealt with Lance when I told him Lance was likely the one that leaked it. He hadn’t been happy that I hadn’t told him about the confrontation at Disney or the threat. When I explained I didn’t want to make his stress worse about his mom, he’d reluctantly understood my motives.
I can’t be sure that Ryker was behind it, but Lance was arrested when police found illegal porn on his laptop. He was deported and banned from entering the United States again. His social media was also deactivated, again indicating Ryker. I suspect Beck had him do it. He did all of that and yet he can’t fix my partially broken heart, just like I can’t fix his. A piece of us is missing and it hurts more than I ever imagined it could.
“Hey.” Audrey clicks her fingers in front of my face. “Snap out of it.”
I groan and place my head on her island, where all the snacks are set up for girls’ night, including my favorite maple bacon pretzels and peanut butter cups. “I’m sorry.”
Lottie rubs my back and smiles. “It’s okay. We understand.”
“No, we don’t. She needs to stop moping. Xander turned out to be a dick but Beck is here and he loves her. She needs to remember that.”
My head pops up and I glare at Audrey. “Hey!”
Audrey gentles her tone. “Honey, I know you’re hurting, and what Xander did was unforgivable but you need to remember that you still have one man who adores you, and he’s hurting too.”
I pop a pretzel in my mouth and chew as I consider her words. Xander has hurt me, his inability to tell the world the truth and defend me cut a slice out of my heart with every headline and yet I can’t hate him. I knew going into this that he was very private and had still to come to terms with his sexuality. Having tasted a slice of what life in the public eye looks like, I get it even more. But what Audrey says is true. I have Beck still and what I feel for him grows stronger every day.
