Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Jack

T he party had barely begun, and already I felt out of place. People were trickling in, most of them Bradley’s friends, plus a few we’d gone to school with. I leaned against the kitchen counter, taking a slow sip from my beer and trying to blend in.

Bradley pulled out all the stops—there was an open bar, a disco ball hanging from the ceiling, and a ton of food Liam and I had spent all morning preparing. This party was Bradley’s show, no doubt about it. I felt like an extra in my apartment, just here because I happened to live with the guy who actually wanted to throw this thing.

I glanced around, looking for Liam. He wasn’t in the living room, which probably meant he was hiding out in his bedroom, waiting for the coast to clear. He and I were never exactly the party animal types, and the thought of him alone right now bothered me more than I wanted to admit. Lately, something was off with him, and even though I’d asked him multiple times what was going on, he always brushed me off, claiming everything was fine. I knew it wasn’t, though. I could see it in his eyes, hear it in his voice. But I didn’t know how to reach him.

A loud knock at the door snapped me out of my thoughts, and Bradley called out from across the room, “Jack! Door, man!”

I sighed and made my way over, hoping it was someone I actually knew. When I opened the door, my jaw nearly dropped. There stood Nessa in a slinky red dress that left very little to the imagination, smiling in a way that was both charming and terrifying. Without a word, she wrapped me in a tight hug. As if that wasn’t enough, she gave my backside a quick pinch. I jolted back, stammering, and she winked at me.

“Where’s the bar, handsome?” she asked, already scanning the room for her next target.

I pointed her in the right direction, watching her glide through the crowd as if she owned the place. Knowing Nessa, she’d have the room captivated within minutes, probably collecting enough gossip to fuel her for a month.

Glancing at my watch, I wondered how long this party was going to drag on. I wasn’t sure how much more small talk and forced smiles I could handle. A quiet night in bed sounded a lot better than this circus. But more than that, I just wanted to make sure Liam was okay. Perhaps I should go check on him?

Liam’s bedroom door cracked open, and there he was, stepping out with this flat, unreadable expression on his face. Damn it. He wasn’t fooling anyone—especially me. The second he noticed me looking, he pulled his lips up into a smile that looked about as real as a three-dollar bill. He walked over, muttering something about needing a few drinks to get through the party, and immediately headed for the beer. I was about to follow him when a voice called my name.

“Jack!” I turned to see Laura, a girl we’d gone to school with, grinning and moving in for a hug.

“Hey! Good to see you, Laura,” I said, patting her back as we separated. She caught sight of Liam, and they hugged too.

“Liam! It’s been forever.” She exclaimed, giving him a once-over like she was trying to measure just how “grown-up” he’d become.

“Great to see you,” Liam replied, looking genuinely curious. “What are you doing now?”

She laughed, shaking her head. “Oh, it’s totally not what I majored in. Finding a job was a pain in the ass, so… I became a content creator.”

I chuckled, instantly assuming it was Instagram or TikTok. “Oh yeah? Got a page we can follow?”

Laura blushed, darting a quick look around to make sure no one else was listening. “Not that kind of content, Jack.” She lowered her voice. “I won’t tell you where you can find my, um, work. Oh, wait—you’re gay, right?”

Liam and I both nodded, and she exhaled with a laugh. “In that case, you guys won’t care.” She pulled out her phone, tapped a few times, and handed it to me.

I took one look at the screen and nearly dropped her phone. The photo staring back at me was Laura—or Raven Stone, as it said across the top of the page—dressed head-to-toe in black leather, holding a riding crop. She had this intense look on her face, and I felt my eyes go wide.

“Oh my God,” Liam breathed, looking over my shoulder.

Laura burst out laughing and yanked her phone back. “What? You guys know me! This is my day job now.” She winked. “You better keep your mouths shut.”

“Promise,” I said, a bit dazed, and Liam nodded emphatically, though he had this curious look in his eyes.

Liam, still looking floored, cleared his throat. “So, uh…how does a poli-sci degree turn into…this?”

Laura gave a shrug, her expression brightening. “Well, political jobs were difficult to come by. They also don’t pay much. So I had to think outside the box. One thing led to another, and I realized I could make serious money doing this. Plus, I had some ground rules from the start. I didn’t want to actually have sex with anyone on camera. So being a dominatrix was the perfect answer.”

“Wait,” Liam said, still looking a bit stunned. “So…what do you do exactly?”

“Just indulge some men’s fantasies about being dominated,” Laura smirked, clearly enjoying the effect this was having on us. “I talk to them, insult them, or sometimes I’ll have a guy on set that I can ‘dominate,’ but he never touches me. I’ll just spank or humiliate him. It’s all very staged, but the fans eat it up.”

“How much are you making, if you don’t mind me asking?” Liam blurted out, and I was about to cut him off, but Laura just smiled like she’d been waiting for the question.

“Oh, happy to share! At first, I was only making a few hundred dollars a month,” she said, clearly enjoying the suspense. “But then it just exploded. Now? I’m clearing almost six figures a month.” Her grin widened as she looked at both of us. “The site keeps 20 percent, and I get the rest.”

Liam’s mouth dropped open, and I nudged him with my elbow. “Close your mouth before a bug flies in, would you?”

Liam was full of questions. “What kind of equipment do you use? Is it expensive to get started? Do you need a special setup, or…?”

Laura grinned, clearly amused. “It depends on what you want to do. Some people keep it super simple—just a ring light, a decent camera, and a mic. Others go all out with fancy backdrops and editing software. But honestly, if you look great on camera, you don’t need much.”

As she continued explaining, I couldn’t help but notice how animated Liam looked. For a guy who’d been so down, he looked genuinely curious and engaged, his usual spark back for the first time in days. I felt a pang of relief, but barely had a second to enjoy it before Bradley called out to me from across the room.

“Hey, Jack! Can I talk to you for a sec?”

I turned and made my way over to where he was standing, looking a little frazzled. “What’s up?”

“Do you mind coming to the bodega with me?” he asked. “I completely underestimated the number of people who’d show up, and we’re gonna need more beer if we’re keeping this party alive. Mind helping me haul it back?”

I glanced over at Liam, who was still deeply engrossed in his conversation with Laura, and

shrugged. “Sure, let’s go.”

Bradley flashed a relieved smile as we walked toward the front door. But the second we opened it, both of us froze. There was a crowd of police officers standing there, looking dead serious. One of them stepped forward, holding up a document.

“I’m Detective Bryant,” he announced, voice flat. “We have a warrant to search Bradley Mitchell’s apartment.”

I blinked, stunned, trying to process his words. “Uh…there’s no one here by that name.” I turned, intending to laugh it off with Bradley, but he wasn’t smiling. He looked terrified.

“This is my roommate Bradley Wellington,” I said, my voice catching as I realized something was seriously wrong.

“Shit,” Bradley muttered, his face turning white as a sheet.

The officers pushed past us, filing into the apartment with an intensity that made everyone pause. In seconds, chaos broke out. People scrambled for the door, bolting like cockroaches when the lights come on. Drinks got spilled, a couple of glass bottles shattered, and the music cut off.

The only one who stayed behind was Nessa. She marched over, hands on her hips, eyes flashing with fury. “Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on?”

As Detective Bryant and his officers fanned out, I watched Bradley edging toward the front door, eyes darting around the apartment like he was ready to make a run for it. He was almost there, too, until one of the detectives noticed and intercepted him, blocking his escape.

Just then, another officer came out of Bradley’s room, holding a stack of hollowed-out books. “Detective Bryant,” he called, loud enough for everyone to hear. “Look what I found in these.”

The officer opened a book, and several little baggies filled with white powder spilled out onto the floor.

The silence in the room was deafening. Bradley froze, his face contorting between fear and panic, and then, like he just couldn’t help himself, he bolted again.

This time, one of the officers drew his gun, holding it low but ready. “Freeze!” he commanded. Bradley put his hands up, defeated, as two officers moved in to cuff him.

As they read him his Miranda rights, Nessa turned on Liam and me, her face red with fury. “Are you boys dealing drugs in my fucking building?!”

“No!” I shot back immediately, horrified she’d even think that. “Nessa, we had no idea.”

Just then, Bradley looked over at us as they led him out, his face streaked with tears. “I’m sorry,” he said, voice choked. “I’m so sorry. Jack, Liam…they knew nothing. This is all on me.”

We sat there in the wreckage of our apartment, the three of us slumped on the couch, staring at the disaster the cops had left behind. Cabinets yanked open, cushions overturned, every inch of our place inspected and dumped back like it was trash. Even the bag of flour in the kitchen hadn’t escaped—who knew that’s where Bradley had been stashing drugs?

The drugs they found in his bathroom alone would have been bad enough, but the baggies of white powder they uncovered in random spots around the apartment made it feel worse somehow, like we’d been living in the middle of a lie we never signed up for.

Nessa was sitting between me and Liam, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees, shaking her head. She’d gone from yelling at us to gently patting Liam’s shoulder, to now rubbing her temples like this was all too much to deal with.

She sighed, finally breaking the silence. “Look, I know you boys aren’t the bad guys. How could you have known that your roommate was a drug dealer?”

I looked over at Liam, who sat hunched, staring blankly at the mess. “We didn’t,” he mumbled. “Bradley was our friend. We’ve known him since freshman year.” His voice wavered, and he shook his head. “Or, I thought we did.”

“Yeah,” I added, feeling the anger creep back in. “Turns out everything he ever told us was a lie. From his name to…to everything he did behind our backs. All this time, he’s been selling drugs, living this second life, and we were just…” I swallowed, clenching my fists. “We were just collateral to him. Extras in his fucking movie.”

I punched the pillow beside me, wanting to hit something harder. I felt Nessa’s hand on my shoulder, calming me down, and I took a deep breath, trying to let the rage out.

She yawned, stretching, and gave us a gentle, sympathetic smile. “Well, it’s been a hell of a night, that’s for sure.” She leaned in, planting a quick peck on my cheek, then on Liam’s. “You two get some sleep. You’ll need your heads clear to deal with whatever mess this drags you into next.”

With that, she stood, waved, and headed toward the door, leaving Liam and me alone in the wreckage of our place, with only each other and the mess.

I turned to him, and he looked back at me, his face blank but his eyes wide, like he was barely processing any of it.

I exhaled, feeling the weight of it all drop on my shoulders. “What the hell are we going to do now?”