AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Alright,” I mutter as I wake up my computer. “What are you hiding, Baby Williams?”
Opening the email and downloading the file, I see photos of Derek talking to people on tour, the guys on tour, and Lennon. Slowing, I zoom in on the photos of Lennon and Derek. I don’t know how I never realized they were the same person, exceptthisLennon appears stronger. Her smile is real, her confidence radiant, even when some of the photos are black and white.
The Lennon I knew… was quiet. She ghosted through classes, trying to make herself as small as possible. I was there when Derek made the bet with the football team, but I refused to be a part of it. The act of sex alone was distasteful to me, much less a bet to have sex with a girl who just wanted to be left alone. If I had cared enough, I would have kept an eye out for her, but by then I was stalking predators during away games and killing them.
I’m not a good man, and I won’t pretend to be anyone’s hero.
There’s something about how Derek looks at Lennon that stirs a feeling I don’t understand inside of me. As I get to the tail end of the photos, I find a photo of Derek pushing Lennon’s hair behind her ear, and another where he’s in the doorway of what looks to be a changing room as he takes photos. There’s this look ofwonderandawethat doesn’t look like professional admiration.
My lips twist to the side as I continue moving through the photos. Cursing under my breath, I see Roark’s arm thrown casually over Derek’s shoulders as they laugh.
“Son of a bitch,” I mutter. It appears there is more than meets the eye to Baby Williams, but I never thought it was a secret relationship. At least… maybe? My gut is yelling at me, and I’ve learned never to ignore it. Sending a few of the more damning photos to print, I run upstairs to shower and dress. Baby Williams and I have to talk.
* * *
Standing outside Grant’s home,my car is the only one in the driveway. I know he has cameras inside his home because I helped install them. Sighing, I text Derek. We haven’t installed spyware on his phone because up to this moment, there wasn’t any reason to.
Grant is giving him just enough rope to hang himself with, and I’m unsure if I should sit and watch or help.
Baby Williams, I’m outside. Care to come out?
Derek: I swear I’m gonna put you through a wall if you don’t cut that shit out.
I smirk as I watch lights begin to turn on in the house. His rooms are in the basement, and Grant is out of town tonight fucking his mistress. I haven’t met her, but apparently they’ve been hot and heavy since I was in high school. I may need to look into who she is, because knowledge is power.
I want to be the most powerful player on the board, starting now. Starting with finding out why the O’Reilly girl is in a mental institution. I shouldn’t care, it shouldn’t matter, but something feels very wrong about putting a beautiful, confident, talented woman in a place like that.
Marian made her bed, she fucked around on her husband instead of just hiring someone to kill him or running far away. She’s safe in her tower, doped up on meds. Derek spoke to her in the car today as a reward for being a good boy, and while she sounded groggy, all seemed well. Her son also seemed to relax a bit too after speaking to her.
There’s something about him being a good son that makes me want to have this chat before talking to Grant. Derek’s father is hiding shit from me, which makes me less inclined to share.
So you keep telling me. I’ll show you my damage if you show me yours. Come on out and talk. You and I both know it’s not safe to discuss anything inside the house.
I am showing my hand slightly in saying this, but I know Derek is smart. The door opens, but I continue to lean against the tree in the yard. The air is perfumed with the scent of magnolia, and I breathe in deeply. Derek and I aren’t friends, but he saw my darkness, and I swear he barely flinched. I want this to mean something, and I want to know more about the O’Reilly girl. She left town the last I heard, and I was glad for it.
This town was always too good for her and not safe. I know what those boys tried to do to her, and I know they all lied about fucking her. The cheerleaders liked to talk at parties while they drank.
Derek closes the door behind him and begins to walk towards me. He’s taking measured steps and I want to tell him to hurry the fuck up, but I won’t. My facial features are congenial, even though this conversation will occur along the lines of an interrogation. Only I don’t have him hanging from a hook in a warehouse.
But I do have the threat of bringing my suspicions to his father, and this will have to be enough.
“What’s with the late night house call?” Derek asks with a raised eyebrow. His body is loose, calm, no tension. Scanning his face, I hide a frown that wants to form due to his blank expression. “We just saw each other, and you don’t seem like the clingy type.”
Great. Now he’s teasing me.
“I had an interesting call when I got home, and wanted to talk to you about it,” I tell him with a smirk. The tree is covered in tiny lights, so there’s enough light for him to see the photos. Handing him the folder, I continue. “We had some very productive ‘meetings’ together, so I decided to learn about my new partner in crime.”
Derek rolls his eyes as he opens the folder. “You couldn’t just ask me like a normal person? You accused me of laying it on thick earlier today, but I believe you’re enjoying building the suspense here. Am I going to hang from a hook next?”
There’s a thin air of humor coloring his words, until he sees photos of Lennon. A literal tremor flows through his body and he bites his lip before he appears to pack it all away. The photo of Roark brings his eyes to mine, the anger shimmering within them very real. It appears I’ve poked the beast.
“What are you playing at, Orion?” Derek asks darkly. The darkness awakened today swirls in his eyes and something in me enjoys it. Shifting, I’m surprised to be rocking a semi.Huh. Interesting.
“I am not playing at shit, but it appears you have something to lose if I take these to your father. Give me something. You all seem very close, and I doubt he knows about it.”
Derek blows out a breath, shaking his head. At first it appears he’s going to tell me to fuck myself, but he surprises me. “I’ve been obsessed with Lennon O’Reilly most of my life. There are a lot of reasons why, but it started in middle school and continued from there. I tortured her because I thought she owed me something. Then I forgot about her when I went to college, played professional football, as much as I could anyway. I saw her perform with some friends, and this woman is magic with her bandmates. They have power in their words and people can’t help but come alive when they hear her.”
I nod because I’ve heard their music. I have a playlist of their songs for long road trips. Something about them called to me. I just had no idea why.
