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“Listen, I’ve got to get ready for this party. I need you to call Detective Simmons and give him everything I just gave you. If he needs to talk to me, tell him I have like ten minutes, tops. I’m not letting this asshole ruin Tracy’s night and I will not be late to this party,” I say, my words clipped and on the verge of a yell.
“Yes, Ms. Holden,” he replies, pulling his phone from his pocket. I watch his eyes fall onto the pictures, his throat moving as he swallows hard. “I’m sorry,” he now says, his words quiet, and this is not how expect him to respond. “I’m sorry that you’re going through this and I’m sorry that I’ve now seen these pictures, too.”
“It is what it is,” I answer back as he tucks the pictures back into the envelope they were sent in. “I just want this asshole caught. I want this over.”
My phone begins ringing as soon as I start to back out of the parking space, the screen in the car lighting up with the name “Mom”, and I know now that they’ve gotten the envelope too.
As soon as I answer it, I can hear her yelling at my dad, both of their voices loud and booming. “Zoey!” she shouts. “We are just going to pay for this to go away. If that’s all he wants, then he can have the money,” my mom yells down the line. “I don’t want this getting out. You don’t need this.”
“Mom, you are not paying him. That’s what he wants. Let him release the pictures. I don’t fucking care. He thinks he’s going to hurt the Holden name, but all he’s doing is putting a target on his back,” I tell her, not giving a single fuck if he releases the pictures. People will see right through this and know it’s straight up blackmail.
“Your father is calling Detective Simmons right now,” my mom says, just as I hear Eric doing the same thing.
He’s going to have a busy night.
CHAPTER23
ETHAN
I’m walking out of the private bathroom that’s connected to my office when the knock sounds on my door and it opens before I have a chance to respond. “Oh good, you’re still here,” Brandon says, smiling as he walks in.
“Just about to leave and no, I’m not even late,” I tell him, grinning as I throw my suit over the back of a chair, having now changed into some jeans and a button down.
Brandon laughs, shaking his head at me. “Not late, but there is someone who’s early. Look who I found loitering in the lobby, flirting with one of your desk clerks,” he says, jerking a thumb at the office door just as my brother walks in.
“Jesus christ,” I say laughing as I walk toward him. “I thought you were stuck on a photoshoot and couldn’t get here till Thursday.”
Simon chuckles, embracing me in a warm hug. “Yeah, but then there was some huge blow up with one of the models, the usual bullshit, so it got canned early.”
I pull back, my hands on my little brother’s shoulders. “You should’ve called. I would’ve come and picked you up from the airport.”
Simon rolls his eyes at me, shooting a quick glance at Brandon. “Always the big brother,” he mutters, smiling at me. “Maybe I wanted to surprise you,” he adds. “Both of you.”
Brandon walks over, a grin on his face as he says, “Definitely a surprise, but a good one. Now I have both my groomsmen here for my bachelor party!”
“Hell yeah,” Simon replies. “You think I was missing this. I hope you guys got the message confirming the strippers I booked.” Brandon slow blinks as he stares at my brother, who eventually cracks up laughing. “Jesus, after all these years, I can still mess with you,” he says.
“You shithead,” Brandon says, punching his shoulder. “There will be no debauchery tonight, just drinks, poker and chilling with my boys.”
“What, not even a titty bar or topless servers?” Simon now asks.
“No!” Brandon and I shout at the same time.
“Fuck me,” Simon groans, rolling his eyes at both of us. “Haven’t you two changed? Speaking of, when am I getting to meet the infamous Zoey?” he asks, turning to me.
I huff out a laugh. “I’m guessing tomorrow morning, when you wake up hungover as all hell and crawl out of bed looking for caffeine.”
Simon barks out a laugh. “Great, should be a good first impression,” he says, rubbing his hands together. “Alright, if we aren’t going to a titty bar and you guys won’t let me get you a stripper, where is this bachelor party happening?”
“One of the private rooms here,” Brandon says, just as my phone starts ringing, Zoey’s name flashing on the screen.
I hold it up as I say, “I just gotta take this. Give me five?”
“You have two,” Brandon says, holding up two fingers as if to emphasize his point.
With a grin, I flip him off as I answer with, “Hey, baby,” just as Simon shouts, “Hi Zoey!”
“Hey— wait, is that your brother?” Zoey says as I walk away from the two of them, moving toward the window Zoey was standing in front of only an hour ago.
