“Who sent you these?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. There wasn’t any return address or note or anything. Just the photos.”
“Do they want money?” I asked, thinking someone was trying to shake me down.
“If they do, they haven’t demanded it yet. Listen, kid, this is what I was worried about. Things like this always find a way of coming out. We have to bury it, but I won’t be able to bury it if Aiden is still in your life.”
“Bury what?”
We both turned to see Aiden standing in the doorway of my bedroom. This wasn’t good at all and I really didn’t know what to do or think. My mind scrambled for logic, but I just couldn’t think logically at the moment. Why… why did shit like this have to happen to us?
The lack of Macio’s body heat woke me up. It amazed me how quickly I became addicted to his touch and the way I sought him out in my sleep. Overnight stays were not something I had with many guys in my past. I was used to waking up alone, yet my subconscious knew when he was supposed to be near.
“Macio,” I said into the darkness of the hotel room. I understood his need for the hotel, but I would much rather have gone to his home after the fight. I sometimes resented sharing him with his team, but never with his dog Caesar.
I decided to look for Macio when it was obvious he was neither in the bedroom or the adjoining bathroom. I had a feeling that something was wrong, but wasn’t sure what it could be. Sure, we had that minor disagreement about the escort and that article about me and Seth, but we got over it. We had grown a lot in such a short time that even though our situation wasn’t ideal, I had faith that we were going to make it work.
I heard raised male voices when I approached the bedroom door. I couldn’t imagine what the hell Rupert was doing in our hotel room so early in the morning. What was so important that it couldn’t wait?
“Do they want money?” I heard Macio ask when I opened the door and looked out into the living room.
Rupert shrugged and said, “If they do, they haven’t demanded it yet. Listen, kid, this is what I was worried about. Things like this always find a way of coming out. We have to bury it, but I won’t be able to bury it if Aiden is still in your life.”
“Bury what?” I asked. I saw Rupert holding an envelope while Macio looked at photos in his hands. The ominous feeling from seconds before grew until I thought I would be physically sick. The devastated look on Macio’s face when he looked at me did nothing to make me feel better. “What’s going on?” I looked back at Rupert when Macio stood silent. I blanched at the triumphant look that briefly crossed Rupert’s face.
Then Rupert’s expression morphed into one of deep concern. “Seems the two of you weren’t as careful as you thought. Someone is blackmailing Macio with photos of you.”
“What?” I asked. Macio said nothing in response, but he handed the photos to me with a trembling hand when I reached for them. The frightened look in his eyes nearly killed me. I reached for him, hoping to comfort him, but he stepped back from my touch and shook his head. It would have hurt me less had he stabbed me in the heart.
I looked down at two photos of Macio and me kissing while in the hot tub at his house. I forced the fear that I was losing Macio out of my mind so I could focus. Investigative journalism had been my first love, so I let my natural instincts kick in. I looked at the pictures with an observant eye and picked up a few things. One, the pictures were taken in Macio’s backyard – his very private backyard that very few people had access to. Two, they were very poor quality, which told me an amateur took them and not some seasoned paparazzo like Troy Danvers.
Macio walked over to the large windows that overlooked the city. I saw his reflection in the window and the guarded man that I met at our first interview had returned. Gone were the laughing eyes and blinding smiles; instead, I could see him building a wall between us brick by brick. I knew I had to think fast or lose him forever. So, I told them the two things that struck me as odd. I was encouraged when Macio turned and faced me.
“What do you think it means?” he asked.
“Can I see the blackmail note?” I asked Rupert. I could tell a lot about a person by their grammar and word choices. Rupert turned a slight shade of pink and then admitted that none existed. “And this envelope just showed up at your hotel room at…” I looked at the ornate clock on the wall, “three o’clock in the morning?”
“I…”
“Don’t you find that odd, Macio?” I cut Rupert off before he could answer. Something was really wrong about the entire situation.
“What do you mean?” He came back to the middle of the room where Rupert and I stood.
“If I were going to blackmail you and had access to your publicist’s hotel room, then I’d take a little bit better advantage of the situation.” Macio tipped his head to the side and I hoped I was getting somewhere with him. “First of all, I wouldn’t have sent the photos without a demand for money…”
“Maybe that’s next,” Rupert said, cutting me off. “Could be they’re just waiting for the right moment.”
“Come on, Rupert. You’re smarter than that.” I looked at Macio and ignored the other man who sputtered in shock. “These pictures were taken when, babe?”
“A month ago,” Macio answered.
“Exactly. This person, who has shitty photography skills by the way, took a money shot like this and held onto it untilafteryour championship fight? Wouldn’t they ask for the money before? Not only does he or she show up after the fight, but slips this through Rupert’s door in the middle of the night? This floor isn’t accessible without an elevator key.” I reached for Macio and was encouraged when he didn’t pull away from me that time. “This isn’t some outside guy threatening to expose you, babe. This is someone getting back at you because they didn’t get their way.”
“I don’t think I like where this is going.” Rupert’s response was nearly a snarl and so different from how he usually spoke that Macio and I both turned to look at him. “Who are you accusing and what are you accusing them of?”
“Relax, Rupert,” Macio said. “Let him talk.”
I ignored Rupert’s outburst even though it only made the entire deal look shadier to me. “Macio, think about it. Kathy’s behavior in the limo, the escort in the room, and then her showing you that stupid story Troy Danvers wrote about me. Doesn’t it seem like too much of a coincidence?”
