True Colors (The Masks #1)(55)

She pulled in a shaky breath and pressed the tissue to her eyes. Micah rubbed her back, placing a sweet kiss on her forehead. His fond touch seemed to jolt something inside her and she popped off his shoulder. Fear struck her features. She stumbled off Micah’s knee and popped back into her chair.

“If Liam finds out what’s happening right now, he’s gonna...” She pointed at Micah’s lap and looked ready to puke. “He’s very particular about who I talk to. Please don’t tell him I let you touch me.” Her quavering voice tore at my heart and it was doing the same to Micah.

He leaned over her, running his hand down her back. “I’m not going to let him hurt you anymore,” he whispered.

“You can’t stop him.” She met his deep gaze.

“I’m not going to let him hurt you,” Micah repeated slowly.

But Indie just kept shaking her head. “If he finds out about this, about what Libby told you, he'll find a way to hit us all where it hurts the most. He watches everything. He’ll figure out the best way to make our lives a living hell.”

The threat was frightening because I knew how real it was. Liam did know how to get to people. He preyed on their weaknesses and always knew the perfect way to strike. Everyone around this table was at risk. But in spite of that, there was a sense of freedom and unity among us.

Everything had finally been spilled and I could tell Libby felt a deep sense of relief. Even through Indie’s fear, I could sense a spark of hope. So I decided to build on it.

“Indie, he doesn’t know what’s happening right now. He’s not here.” I pointed around the study room. “We’re the only people privy to this conversation and we can trust each other. Together, we can bring an end to this.”

Her fleeting hope shimmered a little brighter. “How?”

“We need to out Liam. There’s bound to be some kind of proof of what he’s doing.” I looked to Libby. “How does his business work?”

“Well.” Libby sniffed. “Every morning when I get to school there’s a new set of assignments, or a test to complete, in my locker. I have to finish it three days before the deadline so whoever the work belongs to can tweak anything and make it sound more like them. If I’m late with a deadline...I find other stuff in my locker.”

“Like what?”

Libby looked at Indie, who grimaced and whispered, “Photos of what’s been done to other people who don’t toe the line or a flash drive with video footage.” Indie swallowed back the details and I didn’t press her for more. I didn’t want to know.

“Liam’s crew can be pretty...mean.” Libby squeaked.

I gripped her hand, most likely in an effort to quell my own shaking. “Who do you deliver the completed work to?”

“We leave it in our lockers to be collected.”

“Liam knows all his workers’ locker codes,” Indie said.

“I leave the work in a manila folder.”

“Are you assigned to certain students?”

Libby nodded. “I have three, some have up to five.”

“Woah,” I whispered. “No wonder you’re so exhausted. You must be working round the clock.”

“I don’t know what else to do.” Her voice tripped. “I can’t have him calling my parents. You know what he’s like. He can convince anyone to believe whatever he tells them to.”

“Do you get paid for any of this work?”

“No.” Libby’s voice was small and full of resentment.

I looked to Indie. “But Liam gets paid, right?”

She closed her eyes, looking pale and exhausted. “$100 bucks for test results, $25 for every page of standard homework, $150 for an essay and $250 for a full research assignment.”

Her voice was devoid of life as she rattled off the amounts.

My jaw went slack. “How many clients does he have?”

“About 45 regulars and another 50 one-offs. Mostly juniors and seniors, a handful of sophomores.”

“Stella’s one of them, isn’t she?” My voice was hard and clipped.

Libby bit the edge of her lip. “I work for her.”

Breaths punched through my nose as my nostrils flared. “We have to stop this. It’s not fair.”

“If he finds out you even said that, you’re dead. That warning on Friday was real. You don’t have to get into this.” Indie’s emphatic voice did nothing to sway me.

“I’m already in it and I’m not backing down. I’ve seen how scared you are. How scared Libby and all her friends are. It’s not fair to keep going on this way. All we need is a little evidence and we can expose Liam’s whole operation.”

“Doing that will affect so many people...all the workers and the people paying for the services...me and Libby included.”

“I know.” I grimaced, glancing at Libby. “That’s why the decision has to be yours. If you don’t want me, or Micah, to say anything, we won’t. This will be the last conversation we have about this. I’ll walk away.” I so didn’t want to do that, but I wouldn’t fight Indie or Libby on it. If they wanted to keep suffering that was their choice. I’d given them an out and I just had to cross my fingers that they’d take it.