Fallen Crest Public(126)

I paused.
As she started down the stairs, she added, “And he doesn’t, you know.”
“What? Give a flying f*ck about you?”
“Care about me like that. We’re friends, only friends.”
I followed her to the bottom, but no one was around. “You didn’t come back to be friends with him.”
“No.” She jerked her head to the right. “They’re down there. Logan said you’d be coming, so I came to get you. They need to get the tape first.”
“You didn’t come back to be friends with him,” I pressed.
“I didn’t. You’re right. My parents shipped me out here so I thought it was my second chance.” She skimmed me up and down. Her top lip curved up in a sneer. “It didn’t take me long to catch on that I was wasting my time.”
Pausing outside a door, she reached for the door handle, but stopped. “You ready for this? Logan told me a little of what they’ve been planning. It’s going to be brutal.”
“Besides setting her up for Budd Broudou?”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Okay. Showtime.” She flashed me a grin and opened the door.
I held back. Mason had more planned? Then I heard Kate’s shrill voice. “What is that whore doing here?”




27




Kate had dressed for me.
Her jeans were ripped in the crotch area. She’d worn them before, always with a skimpy thong underneath. Kate thought they turned me on, but they didn’t. They never had. Those jeans were her signal that she was down for anything. I knew I could have her anyway I wanted and some of those times, I’d take her up on the offer. That was all Kate had been to me. I had an itch, and I used her to scratch it.
I regretted it now.
She came in with no question, no regret, no doubt and she came straight for me. I didn’t do a thing. Someone normal would’ve reacted. She was coming into a trap for slaughter, but I wasn’t normal. She was going to touch me and I wanted to shove her away. I didn’t do that either. She ran her fingers over my chest. The tips of them trailed down to the front of my pants, and she rubbed there.
I turned it off. This was Sam touching me. This was Sam in front of me, pressing against me. I did what I had done all week. I pretended. “You have a present for me?”
“I do.” Excitement lit up her face and she held up the camcorder.
I took it from her and saw she had the video ready for me to watch.
There was no sound, just an image of Logan on the couch and Tate kneeling before him. His eyes were closed as he leaned back on the couch. His hand was tangled in her hair as her head moved, sucking on him.
I passed the camcorder to Logan.
“Hey—” Kate stopped herself.
There it was—doubt. I caught it and it was the first time it showed all week. Then she stopped and it was shoved aside. Desperation flared for a moment before blind trust came back over her. She gave it so readily to me.
I told her, “He doesn’t care. He just wanted to see the evidence before it goes viral.”
“Oh.” Relief flashed over her face.
“You have other copies?”
“Just what’s on there.”
“And this.” Parker held up a USB drive. “We’ll keep it safe.”
Ethan snatched it from her hands. “I don’t think so.”
“Hey!”
“We’ll keep it safe,” I said.
Parker cast Ethan a sidelong look, but quieted.
Kate’s hand grew bolder as she continued to rub on me. She was more insistent. “So what’s next?”
“Did you email this to anybody?”
“Just Tate. I’m sure she’s freaking out.”