Sweet Retribution (Rydeville High Elite #3)(18)

“Okay. I think I know where you’re going with this,” Drew says, “but how do you plan to achieve it?”

“We need to find those tapes, and then we go to some of the men he’s blackmailing and offer to let them”—I make little air quotes with my fingers—“buy’ them from us but the payment isn’t cash, it’s the removal of their support for his campaign.”

“What if your father has backups?” Sawyer asks. “Because I’m pretty sure he will have.”

“Then we find those and destroy them too.” Confidence drips from my tone, even though I know finding one set of tapes will be challenging enough. “And if we can’t locate them, we bluff. We’ll tell them we have all copies. We can duplicate and triplicate the files if we need to, to make it look convincing. I don’t really care if Father uses them against those men once we get them to remove their support for him first.” I draw a deep breath. “Which is why we can only reveal all this the day of the vote. If the bastard tries to use the backups against the others after that, I’d consider that a win-win.”

Drew nods proudly at me. “Because it would discredit them too and bring the whole institution into disrepute.”

“Exactly.”

“That should be part of our play,” Xavier says, his eyes lighting up.

Sawyer nods. “We can set it up so that the tapes are revealed just after the vote goes against your father,” he says, and I can almost see the wheels turning in his head. “We can make it look like it was your father’s ‘insurance’ in case the vote went against him.”

“That is fucking perfect!” Excitement bubbles up my throat. “Because that’s exactly his M.O. No one would stop to question that it wasn’t his work.” Every nerve ending in my body is heightened, and I wish we could fucking get to work right now. I’m itching to set this in motion.

“It’s a good plan,” Kai agrees. “But it all hinges on finding those recordings. Do you know where he keeps them?” Kai looks at Drew. “Because this won’t work if they are as well-hidden as the evidence your mom found.”

“I know where they are,” Drew says, his face turning to stone. “They are in the vault in the dungeon. He likes to bring his victims in there and watch the blood drain from their face as he shows them the footage on a big screen.”

“I love it when a plan comes together.” Xavier rubs his hands with glee. “Why didn’t you think of this before?” he questions Drew.

“There were a few reasons. One, the vault is protected by a top of the line security system and armed bodyguards. It’s virtually impenetrable. Two, I have no clue where he keeps the backup files, assuming he duplicates them, but as Abby has outlined, that’s no longer a concern. And three,” he looks pointedly at me. “I was focusing on another angle.”

“Manning Motors?”

Looking at the floor, he bobs his head.

“Well, that one is pretty easy to lock up tight now we both have access to our shares when we turn eighteen,” I say.

He lifts his chin, nodding. “I’ll get working on that straightaway. I’ll set up secret meetings with the board members, beginning with those I can trust not to run to Father. I’ve already built up good relationships with most of them. And I know a few of them regard you highly after your internship that summer, but to most, you’re an unknown, and that might make a few of them nervous. We need to present a strong case, Abby, if we are to get them to support our position and vote the bastard off the board.”

“I’m sure we can present an attractive proposition, and if not, I’ll find dirt we can use to blackmail them.”

Jackson chuckles, and Drew arches a brow. I sigh. “I know, D. And it’s not the way I want to play it, but this is war, and it means we need to use whatever tactics are in our arsenal. I don’t like playing dirty, but if we have to, I’m not going to lose sleep over it. The objective is to stop that bastard, and that’s all that counts.”

“I know we need to be smarter than him. I just hate seeing you with your hands dirty.”

“We all know who Abby is,” Kai says, winding his fingers through my hair. “And while it’s not what I want for her either, the means will justify the end.”

“Thanks, baby.” I press my lips to his, hoping he still feels this way when he discovers exactly what I’m going to have to do to pull this off. “The other area we need to investigate is his background. Father’s kept that hidden for a reason.”

“Xavier and I have already started digging, but the records have been buried,” Sawyer confirms.

“Not that that will stop us,” Xavier says, biting heartily into a green apple. Little bits of juice spray around his mouth, and Sawyer looks at him like he wants to grab his face and dunk it into a sink full of water. “Batman and Robin are on the case,” he adds, winking at me. “Have faith.”

“I better be fucking Batman in that equation,” Sawyer deadpans, glaring at Xavier for even bringing it up.

“There’s only one Batman in this equation, and it’s not you.” Xavier grins before taking a massive chunk out of his apple. “I’ve got the leather getup to prove it,” he adds, winking. “But don’t worry,” he mumbles while he chews, “I’ll buy you some leggings.” He flicks his eyes up and down Sawyer’s legs, smirking as he savagely bites into his apple, spraying more juice over his face.