“As much as I hate to admit it, Jeff is right. Something is going on here, and we need to get this sorted out.”
“Well, what do you suppose we do?” I ask, backing down and reclaiming my seat.
Casey is being nice enough to let me crash on her couch until things get settled. The last thing I want is to put additional stress on her, so I pack my emotions away and focus on the situation at hand.
She pulls out her phone. “I’m going to start looking at what’s being talked about online.”
I can’t stand to look at my phone. I get no less than a dozen calls each day asking for exclusive details of my love affair withtheAshlyn Reed.
“Uh-huh…” Casey clucks, looking down at her phone.
“What is it?”
“I didn’t really see anything in the articles I’ve been browsing, but then I headed on over to FaceBook.”
“And?”
“Andy Clayton is bragging about his new Mercedes and a trip to Europe next month.”
My brow scrunches. “The Andy Clayton that ran to the tabloids when Ashlyn made it big? Her prom date?”
Casey bites her lower lip, her face askew with thought. “Yeah, who works at the car rental company in town…”
“Maybe he came into some money. Lottery. Inheritance,” Jeff interjects.
Casey frowns. “We were pretty tight in high school before he became a dick, and I don’t believe there was any family money. I suppose lottery could be it, but there is no record of it, and
being three days after the gossip bomb dropped, and him being a known gossipist…I just think it needs to be investigated.”
“Let’s just say it is this Andy guy, how the hell would he have gotten those details?” Jeff says.
“I guess he must have been on the property. It’s gated, and there’s a stone wall, but there are some places it could be scaled.”
“It’s the only thing that makes sense,” Casey says.
I cock a brow. “In what world does that make any sense?”
“Look, let’s just assume that Andy got a big payday from ratting on Ashlyn. He’s not just going to stop. He’s probably out there right now looking for his next big payday.”
I mull over her words, which seem to make sense, despite how insane it all is.
“We need to call her,” Casey says.
I pick up my phone and dial her number, but I’m sent straight to voicemail. She doesn’t pick up for Casey either.
This whole situation is crazy. Absolutely absurd. But strangely, what Casey is suggesting is the only thing that makes sense.
And even if it means Ashlyn never wants to be with me again, I have to do whatever it takes to protect her.
I get up from the couch, determined to do something about the injustice.
“Wait! I’m coming too.” Casey jumps up to join me.
“No, I’m not bringing you into this.”
“Not bringing me into this? The second you asked to sleep on my couch, you brought me into this.” She turns to Jeff. “You’re coming too.”
The last thing I want is to drag my sister into whatever mess I’m about to start, but if it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have this sliver of hope.
