Chapter Twenty-Seven

Tatum

I'm not sure how he managed to do it, but within an hour of Reed being home, the account where the video and picture were posted had been deleted.

It wouldn't stop Wells from making a new one and doing it again. If anything, I'm expecting this will piss him off more.

"Are you still up for watching our show?" Everly asks.

Hayes and Colter went to pick up pizza, and Hallyn and Ava plan to come over. I hate being a fun hater, but I'm honestly not feeling up for hanging out anymore.

"Maybe in a little bit. I need to try to get a hold of my brother."

He hasn't replied to any of my texts. I also want to check on Reed and see how he's holding up.

"No problem. Hayes should be here any minute. I can bring you up a slice of pizza if you want."

"That's okay. I'm not feeling too hungry right now. I'll heat some up if there are leftovers. I appreciate it, though."

Everly gives me a reassuring smile and gives my arm a comforting squeeze. "It's going to be okay. I know it feels overwhelming right now, but Reed will handle it. I promise."

I want to tell her that confronting Wells Perry is no small feat, but I know Reed has my back and will do everything he can to help me.

Reed's door is closed, so I don't want to disturb him. He mentioned having some contacts who might help and suggested I hang out with Everly while he worked on it. I don't want to bother him, especially while he's trying to sort things out.

I sit on the edge of my bed and check my phone, looking at the unread messages from my brother. It's unusual for him not to respond, especially when he's not busy with a game or practice.

I hit the call button next to his name. After several rings, he finally answers. For a moment, I expect it to be his voicemail.

There's a lot of background noise and rustling. "Hello? Tate, is everything okay?"

It sounds like he's holding his phone close to his body, and the noise is muffled.

"Talon? What the hell? Where are you?"

"Hang on," he says. I can barely hear him telling someone on the other end, "Hey, wait for me, okay? I gotta take this call."

It's early for him to be at a party or a bar, especially on a Sunday afternoon during hockey season.

"Sorry, Sis. What's going on? I saw your texts."

I sigh. "Where are you? Can you find somewhere quiet? I need to talk to you about something serious."

"About what?" he shouts, and I clench my teeth.

The noise in the background dies down as he moves somewhere quieter. "All right, I'm outside now. What's going on? You said it's serious…"

Tears prick at my eyes. I'm struggling to find the right words. We haven't even discussed my relationship with Reed yet.

"You remember how Wells called me from an unknown number a few weeks ago?"

There's a brief pause. "Yeah?"

"Well, I started getting calls earlier this afternoon from an unknown caller. It was like the number was blocked. You know how it doesn't show you the number, and instead, it says unknown caller on the caller ID?"

"Did you answer it?"

"No, but I'm pretty sure it was Wells. They called a handful of times. The first time I sent it to voicemail, but after I didn't answer, it's like I pissed him off more. A few minutes later, I got one of those security codes sent to my phone like someone was trying to log into my InstaPhoto account."

"Aw, fuck. Are you kidding me?"

"I was able to log in and change my password to my email and InstaPhoto, but when I still didn't answer, I got a text message from another number I didn't recognize."

"What'd they say?"

"Well, they sent a photo and a video."

The line falls silent again. "Okay…"

"The photo is hard to make out because I wasn't looking at the camera, but it's very clear to me. You can see my tattoo on my shoulder as clear as day."

"What were you doing?"

"Umm… I don't think you want to know that part."

"Are you fuckin' kidding me, Tatum?" He sighs. "Who's in the photo with you?"

"It's of me and Wells. It's hard to make out when he took it, but I think it was from when we were staying at his lake house. He took them without me knowing while we were together, doing…"

"You don't have to tell me, Tate. I think I can figure it out."

"All right, well, there's something else I need to tell you."

"What?" he barks, and I hold the phone away from my ear.

I hear the doorknob of my bedroom open, and Reed appears in the doorway. I hit the speaker button so he can hear the other end of the conversation.

"I've been seeing someone."

"Let me guess, it's Reed. I thought I told that fucker to stay away from you."

My eyes dart over to Reed, and he crosses his arms over his chest and shrugs like he doesn't have a care in the world.

The line goes muffled again, and I overhear Talon say, "No, I can't tell her right now."

"Who are you with, Talon? Who are you talking to?"

"Huh?"

"I heard you. If you think you're quiet, I'm sorry to burst your damn bubble, but, uh…"

"Just let me talk to her," a female voice says on the other end. I recognize it, but it's hard to place.

"Do you want to call me back later when you're not busy?"

"No!" Talon shouts. I hear him grunt, and it's clear he's with someone he doesn't want me to know about.

I don't go around fending girls off. I don't really give a shit who he dates or fucks.

He doesn't do much dating, at least not when I was in Rixton. He's probably a shitty boyfriend, if I'm being honest. He's a grump one thousand percent of the time.

"Just call me later when you're not busy. All right?"

"Tate, are you still there?" Talon's voice growls in the background.

"I'm here. Who's this?" I ask, pressing my finger to my ear to hear better.

The woman's voice on the other end sighs, making my heart race. "I've been trying to reach you. I sent a few texts, but your brother said you changed your number."

"Wait, Wren?" I blurt out.

"Yeah, it's me," she replies softly.

"Whoa, wait, what are you doing with Talon?"

"It's kind of a long story, honestly. One that you probably don't want to hear about right now."

I run my hand through my hair, releasing the clip and scratching my scalp. It offers a momentary relief from the tension and the pounding headache that's been persistent since the calls started.

"I didn't know you and Talon were friends."

"It's not what it sounds like, Tate," Talon shouts. The phone starts rustling again, and I'm done with this conversation.

"Look, I've got friends here, and I need to go," I lie. "Talon, call me later when you're free."

"Wait, Tate—"

"All right, talk to you later." I press the end button. I turn off my phone, needing a break from everything.

I'll call my brother later, but I don't want to be bothered right now. By anyone.

Reed is still standing in the doorway, and I've forgotten he's there.

"You all right?" he asks.

I let out a heavy sigh and collapse onto my bed, pulling the blanket over me. Reed dims the lights, letting only the soft sunlight filter through the window, reminding me I forgot to order curtains.

He climbs in behind me and wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me close until my back molds against his chest.

"It's going to be okay," he whispers.

"Maybe, but right now, it feels like everything is piling on me, and I don't know what to do."

"Do you trust me?" he asks softly. His hold tightens as he waits for my answer. When I don't immediately respond, he repeats, "Do you?"

"Of course I do. But how does that help with Wells? He's never going to stop. He'll keep making my life miserable and pushing everyone away."

"He can try, but there's not a damn thing he could say or do to drive me away."

"You say that now, but things might change once he starts targeting you."

"I need you to trust me, Tate. I'm going to handle this. Don't worry about how—I'll make him disappear. Just trust that I'll make this go away. I'll make him go away."

He holds me until I begin to drift off. Just as sleep starts to pull me under, I feel Reed's lips brush against my ear as he whispers, "I love you. I promise, I'll never let anyone hurt you."