Justin’s rage peaked. He made a sound in his throat that likely should have been a scream, but came off as a warbling honk. Harlow would have laughed had the situation not been so serious.
“Or is it because your pride can’t stand the thought that Evie would choose someone like me over someone like you?” Shep hummed. “Bet it hurts that she’d rather run away and be with some normie than get with your bitchy ass.”
The honk turned into a screech. Justin tore away from Prince, and Harlow prepared to take him down before he could hurt Shep, but Justin didn’t get far. Prince caught him by his hood and yanked him back. Justin thrashed and tried to shrug out of his hoodie, but Prince grabbed him by the back of his shirt’s collar and held tight.
“She’s a fool if she thinks she can run off and be happy with someone like you.” Justin was so incensed, spittle flew from his lips. Shep took a small step back to avoid it. “All she needed to do was figure out she’d made a mistake and come back to LA so we could keep filming. That’s it. It’s not so fucking hard, is it? And then all of a sudden she’sin lovewith you. Fuck that!”
Shep tilted his head to the side. “So get rid of me, Evie comes back to LA, and you get to advance your career. Interesting.”
“You stole her from me!” Justin swiped at Shep, but too much distance separated them for him to land any blows. “You fuckingthief! Youshould be arrested!”
“I think we’re probably done here,” Shep said. “But I’m gonna keep filming, anyway, because I figure someone’ll probably get a laugh out of this.”
“Fuck you!”
It seemed that the conversation—and the confession—had come to a natural end. Harlow eyed Prince, who stood stony-faced behind Justin.
“Prince?” Harlow asked. “Is that enough for you, or will I have to escort Mr. Outerbridge to the police station myself? I understand if you don’t want to get your hands dirty…”
“It’s past that point.” Prince tugged Justin back, causing Justin to honk again. “I won’t fight you, H.”
“Prince?” Justin made an attempt to turn, but was limited by the way Prince held his collar. “What thefuckare you saying?”
“I respect Mr. Warwick,” Prince said simply. “And now, hearing what you have to say on the matter, I believe that he’s telling the truth.”
“What?” Justin glared at Prince. “How can you say that?”
“As your bodyguard, it is my obligation to protect you, Mr. Outerbridge,” Prince said solemnly. “And right now, it looks like the biggest threat to your wellbeing is yourself.”
“Prince!”
“H.” Prince turned his attention to Harlow. “How would you like to proceed?”
Justin was kicking up such a fuss that what few pedestrians there were had diverted their course and disappeared, favoring other streets. Still, with the amount of noise Justin was making, it would be impossible to talk it out—the safest bet would be to isolate Justin somewhere in order to take further action. “You have a vehicle?”
Prince nodded.
“Get him contained. Keep him there. I think, at this point, calling the police to the scene is the best idea for all involved.”
Justin snarled. “Fuck you, Harlow! Fuck you!”
Harlow didn’t deign him with a response. Justin wasn’t, and never had been, worth his time.
Prince, thankfully, was willing to listen. He led Justin away as Justin shrieked and cussed. Shep, who’d fallen silent, continued to record until Justin was out of sight. When he ended the recording, Harlow ruffled his hair. “Thank you. You did me a solid.”
Shep shrugged. “You had my back. I’ve got yours, too.”
