Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 70294 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70294 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
He struggled but I kept him pinned to the ground.
“I don’t know who the fuck you are, but fuck you,” he said. “I’m not deleting shit.”
I could smell the alcohol on his breath.
He’d been drinking, so much that he smelled like the inside of a vodka bottle.
He was going to enjoy his DUI.
“I’m going to watch you delete it. Or I’m going to ruin your life.”
A plume of dirt flew up in the air as he kicked and struggled with all of his limbs.
He was reaching for something with one of his hands. I tried to pin his arm but before I could restrain him, I saw something from the corner of my eye.
He had a large rock in his hand.
A rock that was coming at the side of my skull, hard and fast.
“No,” Andrew’s voice came from beside me.
Right as the rock connected with the side of my face, Andrew dove in. Pain split across my skull, and I could feel a bit of blood trickling out.
I ignored it.
It was a blur of motion as I moved to one side. I hit the ground, losing my grip on Colby.
But Andrew had him. I got back onto my hands and knees and looked up in time to see Andrew holding him down, bringing his arm up to punch him in the jaw.
“Don’t,” I said, reaching out to grab his arm.
He was going to do it again.
Punch someone, the way he’d done in the bar.
His deepest regret.
Something he swore he’d never do, and something he shouldn’t do.
And I watched as Colby just laughed, holding his phone up again in his hand.
“Just another video for me,” he said. “Do it. Punch me. I’ll show the whole fucking world.”
I only had a moment to act.
I came in fast, like a snake striking prey.
I took the phone from his hand and ran, looking down at his videos as I bolted off. I found them quickly, deleting them, and then permanently deleting the backup copies.
There were always backup copies, and I knew exactly where to find them. I checked his voice recordings as well, making sure that there hadn’t been any other way he was recording Andrew’s voice.
When I heard the sirens coming from behind us, I thought it was pure luck.
I made my way back over to the two of them.
“Are you okay?” I asked Andrew.
“Never been better.”
“I don’t know how they know we’re here, but the cops are arriving.”
“Called them the moment you got out of your car,” Andrew said.
Something bad was hovering at the corner of my mind, though.
Even if we got rid of the videos, even if the cops came and nabbed Colby for a DUI…
He still had the information.
And information was all he needed.
He could tell Coach Ennick about Andrew’s past relationship with his son.
He could post online about Andrew, too, talking about the bar fight and the secret relationship, too.
There was nothing we could do to stop that.
“How much is it going to take, Colby?” Andrew asked him now, as the wail of the sirens came closer.
The fuck does that mean?
Colby gave him a glare. “Lots.”
“Ten thousand,” Andrew said, glaring straight down at him. “And you don’t say a fucking word.”
Something went cold in my chest, like it was turning to stone.
I’d forgotten.
Andrew had the currency that actually could control information.
Real currency.
In my world, that had never been an option.
But for him…
“Not even close,” Colby spat back at him. “I know your family’s fucking loaded, Peachel. More.”
“Fifteen thousand. And you don’t say a single goddamn word. Ever.”
“Going to need a lot more than that. Give me fifty thousand dollars.”
“Will you say a word of this? To anyone? Including your football team? Your boys? A single goddamn person on planet Earth?”
My stomach was sick.
Fifty thousand was more than many people’s annual salary, and Peachel could just toss it out.
Just like that.
To a guy who was blackmailing him, for fuck’s sake.
“Fifty thou, and I’m your quiet little fucking bitch forever, Peachel.”
Was this what it was about the whole time?
Did Colby somehow know that Peachel would be willing to pay, and do all of this just to have a chance at it?
How many times has Andrew been extorted?
Used for his family’s access to wealth?
“Fifty thousand. You don’t deserve a penny of it,” Andrew said.
The police arrived soon after. They found my switchblade, but I knew my rights, and in Tennessee it was legal to carry a knife. They questioned us, and I told them that I was following Colby in my car because I knew he was drunk, and wanted to ensure his safety.
Colby was ultimately taken in for his DUI, but he went in with a smile on his face due to the paycheck he knew he had coming his way.
About an hour later, Peachel and I were allowed to head home.