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I caught myself before I frowned. I’d seen the handcuff when I’d watched her sleep. Night terrors could be some serious shit. It sounded like whatever was haunting her dreams had nearly killed her, and I wanted to know what had her all fucked up.
“What are the night terrors about?”
Marc shrugged. “She doesn’t know. Sometimes she can remember bits and pieces, but most of the time, she can’t. Brie has a shit ton of anxiety, although most people don’t know that about her. I was shocked she wanted to move from Tennessee to attend a college in Oregon. Only her parents, her psychiatrist, and I know about the nightmares, but she’s been terrified at the thought of leaving home.”
“That’s what you were blackmailing her with?” My hand clenched, ready to slam my fist into the asshole’s face again.
“She’s scared someone will find out. It will ruin any chances of her having a normal life experience. We’re from a small town, and that information would travel faster than a wildfire with sixty-mile winds behind it.”
“So, what’s wrong with you? I mean, blackmailing a girl to be with you is sketch. You got a tiny dick or some shit?” Jagger asked.
Marc glared at him. “You think you’re so funny.”
“Answer him,” I demanded.
“In middle school, I was an outcast. I was bullied and picked on, and I swore it would never happen again. When I learned Brie’s secret, I realized it was the perfect plan. She was the most popular girl at not only our school but at several in the area. Every guy wanted her, and every girl wanted to be her. So did I. She helped me reset my image and be someone.” Marc gave us a half shrug, as if blackmail was something he did all the time.
My hands itched to beat the shit out of him again.
“Wait, how did you find out about her night terrors?” Jagger asked, crossing his arms over his chest and rocking on his heels.
“I was sitting behind her mom at a restaurant when she talked to one of her friends about Brie. She wasn’t sure how to help her.”
Jesus Christ—spying, too? Internally, I cringed. Before they’d learned about my passion for football, my parents had been in that same spot, struggling to deal with me.
“But there’s more,” Marc said.
“Go on.” I resisted tapping my toe against the floor.
“She was kinky as hell in bed,” he said in a lowered voice.
I took a step closer, giving him a murderous look and raising my fist.
“Wait.”
I backed up. “Talk fast, asshole.”
“She’s into threesomes, anal, and role-playing. Sometimes, she wanted me to tie her up, get rough, and pretend I was raping her … but she called me Jacob when she came.”
My blood froze in my veins as my entire world flipped on its side, and acid burned its way up my throat with his words.She remembers.
ChapterTwenty-Three
Brie
At almost eleven that night, I closed my chemistry book and tossed it onto the couch. Standing, I stretched, my oversized grey sweatshirt rising and exposing my belly. My brain hurt after reading a chapter, then working on the assignment I had to turn in tomorrow. Between cheerleading and a social life, I was cramming in shit the evening before it was due.
The doorbell rang, and I frowned. I wasn’t expecting anyone. Grabbing my phone from the coffee table, I opened the app to see who it was. Unfortunately, I couldn’t tell who it was since they were staring at the ground and wearing a hat.The same hat Kane wore the other day.No way in hell would I answer until I knew for sure. I pressed the talk button on the app.
“Who is it?”
He looked up and removed his hat.
“It’s Kane.”
Odd. Why wouldn’t he show his face to begin with? It was almost as if he wanted to scare me. Irritated, I stomped to the door and flung it open.
“You scared me. I couldn’t tell who it was.” I blocked him from coming inside. I didn’t appreciate him showing up unannounced.
