27. Oli

27

OLI

It must be the panic, because I do something I never would have done in my normal life. Instead of letting the janitor bolt like I clearly should, I grab the phone out of his hand and run towards the back of the office.

Good thing most of my colleagues are wearing noise-cancelling headphones, and even better that they're used to Megan and I screaming and getting up to God knows what on a daily basis. Otherwise, they might find it very suspicious that I ran into our janitor, started squealing, and then ran back through the office with him chasing me.

Megan is standing outside her office door, staring at me, and to her immense credit when I shriek ‘get him!' she doesn't even hesitate to run after us, her heels clacking on the tile floor. I barrel into one of the spare recording booths at the back of the office - which, it isn't lost on me, is an honest-to-God converted janitor's closet - and Nikos' dad is right on my heels, grabbing for the phone that I've got clutched to my chest. I can feel his breath on the back of my neck and smell the alcohol. How did we never notice that our janitor was a blackmailing drunk asshole?

The door slams, and Megan screams ‘got you!' I turn just as she tackles the guy to the ground, which is doubly impressive considering her six-inch heels and perfectly fitted trousers.

The janitor falls to the ground with a thud, his breath whooshing out of him, and I look around the small space. There's a chair in front of the recording setup, and a pile of cables sitting on top of it. Blessedly, there's also a pack of zip ties, like someone was in the middle of doing cable organisation and just gave up.

Actually, that was me, two weeks ago. I thank myself for my foresight and kneel down next to Megan, who has the guy in a very impressive headlock. Her lip is split and bleeding - he must have gotten in an elbow to her face, which makes me ill just thinking about.

If I have anything to say about it, this guy is done hurting the people I love.

‘How do you know how to do this?' I pant as she wrenches his arms behind his back for me to zip tie. I do up his wrists as tight as I can without cutting off the circulation, then make the ties just a little bit more snug. The fucker deserves to suffer for everything he's done to us.

‘Judo.' She grins, and for a minute I'm just a tiny bit terrified of my best friend. ‘My ex did it, and she had thighs that could crush your head, and watching her throw people on the mat was so hot - '

‘Now's not the time!' I squeak as she gets off Nikos' dad's chest and hauls the guy to his feet. Together we drag him to the chair, wrists bound, and shove him down. He's snarling at us, but Megan holds him in place while I zip tie his kicking feet.

Once he realises that he's good and stuck, the fight goes out of him - or his body, at least. He turns to me, grimacing.

‘Who the fuck do you think you are?' he growls. His accent is a thicker version of Nikos'.

‘Someone who cares a fuck-ton more about your son than you do,' I snap. I hold the phone up in front of him, dangling it before his face. This is the phone he must have all his blackmail on - and I'm sick thinking of how long this has been going on.

Megan straightens her hair, tucking a strand that's flown loose into her bun. ‘What do we do with him now?

I eye the recording setup, and a plan starts to come to mind. I've read so many dark romances that I practically have a PhD in blackmail.

‘We're going to fuck him up.' I say, pushing my hair out of my eyes and heading to the camera. ‘So badly that he's never going to hurt anyone again.'

‘Oh please.' The guy rolls his eyes. ‘What on earth could the two of you possibly do to me? I have so much dirt on you, Oliver Cane, that I can ruin your life with the push of a button.'

‘I know exactly what to do,' I say as I turn the camera on and hit record.

‘Ah.' I can tell the moment Megan gets it because a smile spreads across her face. With the blood from her split lip, it's terrifying. ‘Classic.'

‘What are you talking about?' Nikos' dad has gone from dismissive to just a tiny bit intimidated. I don't blame him - Megan looks like she's ready to crack some skulls.

‘Don't mess with bitches who read,' I snarl. ‘We know every trick in the book.'

Megan laughs, and it's so evil that I laugh too. I've always been a side character, someone who doesn't take things into his own hands or take risks. But Nikos changed that.

For him, I want to be the hero of the story.

I hold up the phone again. ‘I have this, and I'm very sure that it contains evidence of numerous crimes. So you're going to tell me everything, and I'm going to record it. And if you do, I won't go to the police right now with all of it.'

He gapes at me. ‘How do I know you won't still go to the police?'

I shrug. ‘You don't. But something tells me that you're really familiar with blackmailing people and then going back on your word, so I think this is actually just karma.'

He blanches, and for a moment I think he's just going to clam up. But then Megan steps out of her heels and picks one up, hefting it experimentally. ‘How much damage do you think a stiletto to the eye would do?'

God, I fucking love my bestie.

‘Ok.' He licks his lips, sweat breaking out on his brow. It's just like I thought - he's actually a coward. Once he isn't able to hide behind threats, once he's actually put in a position where he doesn't actually have the upper hand, he's crumbling. ‘Here's what happened.'

It takes thirty minutes for me to wring the entire confession out of Nikos' dad. The worst part is when I start asking about his mother's death. That makes my stomach churn, because he's almost proud of the fact that he pushed a woman down the stairs and killed her in front of her own kid - and then held it over Nikos' head for his entire adult life, claiming that he would press charges and reopen a criminal case that would ruin Nikos' life, and maybe end with him in jail for a murder he didn't commit, of a woman who he still mourned.

All the while, Megan is tapping frantically on her phone. When I'm done and end the recording, she looks up at me. ‘Selina sent me Nikos' itinerary and a plane ticket for you. You have three hours until your flight leaves - you better get going.'

My eyes sting with the tears that are threatening to spill at the way that she's supported me without question. I wrap her in a hug. ‘Thank you.'

She squeezes me back. I pull away and look to Nikos' dad. ‘Call the police. Tell them that the janitor pulled you in here and assaulted you. Your lip is proof that you fought back, and then you zip-tied him to the chair using your badass judo skills.'

‘What?' Nikos' dad's eyes bulge out of his head. ‘You said you wouldn't if I confessed!'

I shrug. ‘I said I wouldn't. Megan is her own woman.'

She laughs, and I do too. I'm going to make this right. ‘I'll let you know when I land,' I say, pressing a kiss to her cheek. ‘Thank you for everything, really.'

‘Go get your man,' she says, and so that's what I do.