Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

Willow

"Holy shit!" Samantha yells from her bedroom.

I sit up, realizing I fell asleep on the couch. According to the clock on the wall, it's only nine.

She runs out of her bedroom with her laptop. "I found something huge." She sits next to me.

I rub my eyes as I sit up. "I don't want to watch a sex video."

"There's no sex, and trust me, you'll want to see this."

She plays the video, and it begins with Tyler staring at the camera. A doorbell rings and his attention turns to his front door. This video is not in the bedroom like the others but is in what appears to be the living room.

From what I can see, it's a large apartment with modern furnishings. I bet this is where his family thought he lived or lives.

Tyler moves off camera, but a moment later, a man I don't recognize comes into view with Tyler right behind him.

"You have to get rid of that intern. She's already caused us two missed shipments," the man says.

Tyler crosses his arms. "That intern is my niece. We don't fire family."

The man steps very close to Tyler until their noses are practically touching. "Then bring her into the business. Because if she doesn't stop interfering, the next order I get will be to eliminate her."

"Jesus," Tyler says as he walks away from the man and closer to the camera. "You would kill my niece for doing her job?"

The other man frowns. "No, for screwing up our deal. Our boss doesn't tolerate any mistakes. You knew that the moment you agreed to this. You promised your family wouldn't interfere."

"No, Benson, I promised to get the job done. That's it. How I do it is my business."

Benson's hands go to his hips. "Well, here is your chance to fix how you do your business. You have one week to get everything back on track. If his drugs are not on your delivery trucks by then, he may go after more than just your niece."

Tyler turns to face the man. "What the hell does that mean?"

Benson shrugs. "He doesn't like leaving a trail."

"Before he does anything rash, he needs to consider how easy it would be for him to find some other company willing to transport his goods across the country."

Benson laughs. "The demand for fentanyl is high these days. Trust me, he can find someone else. He'd just rather not deal with the hassle of training someone new. So, fix this." The man walks off camera, and the door slams shut.

Tyler stares into the camera. "If anything happens to me, that man's name is Benson Hyde. His boss is Zavier Carte. I didn't want to get involved in any of this, but they threatened to kill my family if I didn't. Now they are threatening them again."

The video ends. Samantha glances at me, smiling.

"Why are you smiling? This is horrible."

She closes her laptop and sets it on the coffee table. "Don't you get it? We leak this and Tyler will go down."

A wave of nausea hits me as I realize what she's saying. I stand up and go to the kitchen. I need tea for this conversation. As I fill the kettle with water, Samantha steps into the kitchen and boosts herself up onto the counter.

"You don't like the idea?" she asks.

I shake my head. "If we leak this video, it will likely get Tyler killed. And if they figure out who leaked it, they'll come after us."

Samantha stares at the floor, frowning. That's her thinking look. She doesn't say anything more as I get a green tea bag and put it in my favorite mug. It says, "World's #0 programmer."

She frowns at my mug. "What does that mean anyway?"

I shrug. "Programmer humor."

Samantha sighs. "Back to the video, you're right. We can't leak it."

Thank God.

She stares at me with her devilish smile. "But we can make Tyler think we will."

"No," I say. I grab the kettle before it's ready and pour water into my mug. I prefer it cooler anyway.

"Hear me out," she says as she jumps down from the counter. "We find a way to get a message to Tyler. We tell him we have a copy of all of his videos."

"I think he already knows someone has a copy. Otherwise, how would one have been leaked to the press?"

Samantha's eyes grow large. "Oh no, he might think his girlfriend did it. Okay, we need to act fast."

The girlfriend. No, he can't suspect her because if she saw any of those videos, she'd have left him.

"We get a message to Tyler stating we will release this video with Benson unless he turns himself in for illegally videotaping himself having sex with all those women," Samantha says.

I take a sip of tea. Too soon. It needs to steep longer, so I set it down. "It won't work."

Her smile drops. "What do you mean? Why not?"

"If he turns himself in, who is going to keep the illegal drug activity going at his family business? Plus, if someone really wanted to hurt him, they wouldn't blackmail him. They'd just turn over the videos. No, he'll make it his mission to find whoever sent the note instead."

Samantha frowns. "You really think he'd do that?"

"I do. I was with him for six years. Remember?"

She sighs. "Okay, fine. I'll go back to watching the sex videos to see if I recognize anyone else."

I glance at my phone. "You were in there for two hours. How many videos are there?"

She grabs a can of sparkling water from our refrigerator. "I'm only watching the first few minutes of each, and I've taken a few breaks for my sanity. But there are a little over one hundred videos."

Over one hundred? He was with over one hundred women while we were together? The nausea returns.

"When did he get that scar on his chest?"

"It was a few years before I met him. He said it was from a surfing accident. Why?"

She walks back to the living room, and I follow her, carrying my tea. "The last sex videos I watched were from before the scar."

So, he wasn't with a hundred women while with me. I should feel relieved, but I don't. I sit down on the couch again. "He's been taking videos for that many years?"

She nods. "And since I think I'm only halfway, it looks like it might go back pretty far." She grabs her laptop and heads back into her bedroom but turns back before entering. "From the little bit I have seen, he's not that good at sex. You might consider dating around so you can experience someone good."

"Okay." That was not what I was expecting her to say.

She goes into her room and thankfully closes the door so I don't have to hear anything. I sink down as my thoughts race. Tyler was making sex tapes before he knew me and, likely during what I call our honeymoon stage, when I thought everything was great.

But I need to stop thinking of it that way. This wasn't an ordinary relationship with a great time and a not-so-great time. As my therapist explained, this was always about control for him, not love.

How could I have been so blind not to suspect anything was off about him? Would I see red flags with Durango?

I take a deep breath and shake that thought away. I've known Durango since I was in high school. He comes from a good family and isn't a narcissist like Tyler. He's a good man. A good man who has been patiently waiting for me to come around and be ready for something real with him.

And now I am. When he returns from his assignment, we'll reschedule our first date.

I stare at my phone. I want to talk to him, but I can't. That's something I'll have to get used to.

My mind goes back to Tyler. If we can find a woman to come forward, will that really take Tyler down? He comes from so much money. What if he finds a way to buy himself out of trouble?

My phone vibrates, and I grab it, hoping Durango found a way to message me. It's a text from an unknown number, and I race to check it.

The moment I see the message, my stomach drops.

Unknown Number: After you left, I installed security cameras. I wondered why you came back. Willow, you shouldn't have fucked with me.

I drop my phone on the couch and run to Samantha's room, opening the door without thinking. Fortunately, she's watching some comedian on her laptop.

"He texted me," I say.

"Who?"

"Tyler. This phone, it's a new number. How?"

She jumps up. "Where's your phone?"

I point to the couch, and she grabs it. It's still unlocked, and the message is open.

"He's typing more." She points to the bubbles on the bottom of the screen.

Unknown Number: Living in Queens now? Interesting choice. Think I'll stop in and say hi.

Someone knocks on the door, and we both jump.

"No way it's him," she whispers as she glances at the door. "Is it?"

The person knocks again, and Samantha goes to the door and peaks through the peephole. She doesn't move, so I walk up beside her. She steps back and reaches for the doorknob.

"No!" I whisper yell.

"It's not him. It's our neighbor. He's leaving."

"Not another misdelivered package," I say.

Samantha opens the door and grabs something. She brings it inside as she reads the note out loud. "It happened again."

She sighs. "Yep." She walks to the kitchen and sets the box on the table.

As she starts to open it, I move to the other side of the room. "What are you doing? It could be a bomb!" I yell.

She points to the label. "It's some makeup I ordered."

I step closer and see that it is from her usual store.

"You think Tyler will send a bomb?"

I rub my arms as a chill runs through me. "You saw his texts. He threatened me. Who the hell knows what he'll do?"

"It's a secure building. He won't be able to get up here even if he does show up," Samantha says.

I point at the package. "The delivery guys can get up here. You don't think he can't talk his way up?"

She stares at the box. "You're right. And this guy seems unhinged enough that we should probably go somewhere else for a little bit. I'll get us a hotel room."

"No." I really don't want her to keep paying for things. It's great she can afford to, but I don't want to keep taking her up on it. "Let me check something. I might have a place we can stay."

I type a message to Piper, briefly telling her what's going on and asking if she thinks it would be okay for the two of us to stay at Durango's place. I can't believe I'm even asking.

She replies right away.

Piper: Durango would want you to stay there. Is there anything I can do to help? I can beat up your ex for you.

I laugh, but she's likely serious, and she could probably do it. Before I can respond, another message comes in.

Piper: I'll meet you there with a key. How soon can you get there?

Willow: It's too late. Maybe I should meet you there tomorrow.

Piper: You wouldn't have asked if it wasn't important. I'll be up for a couple of hours anyway. So when should I meet you there?

I can't argue with her. She's right, I need to go tonight.

I turn to Samantha. "We can stay at a friend's house. How soon can you be ready to go?"

"Twenty minutes," Samantha says.

"It takes an hour on the subway to get there, so I'll tell her an hour and a half."

"Wait." Samantha grabs my arm to stop me from typing. "If this guy is coming after us, I'm calling a car. I won't get trapped on the subway with him. Where is this place?"

"Brooklyn."

She smiles. "We'll be there in an hour."

I let Piper know. Hopefully, Tyler is bluffing and not on his way to New York. The last thing I want is to lead a dangerous man to Durango's place.