I had to ask the question. Because even though all signs pointed to Theo beingtheMr. Strickland, there was still a sliver of a chance that this was some horrible coincidence and I was planning to violently end the life of a completely innocent, albeit obnoxious, man.
Blake leaned close to the screen. “Can you zoom in on his face?”
I did, but it pixelated the image.
“Shit, I don’t know,” Blake said, straightening. “I was so drunk. I’m sorry.”
I gripped his shoulder. “Stop apologizing. This isn’t your fault.”
He pulled away. “Yes, it is.”
I shook my head. “It can’t be.”
He made a low sound of annoyance. “Don’t do that. Don’t make it out like I’m some little kid who got taken advantage of.”
But you are,I almost blurted.
“I’m twenty years old,” he said. “I chose to go to that party. I chose to get that drunk.”
“You said they kept giving you drinks you didn’t ask f—”
“Yeah, but I didn’t have to drink them,” he interrupted, dark eyes blazing with frustration. “Just like I didn’t have to keep playing when I realized I was in over my head. At any point during the night, I could have folded and gotten out of there.”
“Then why didn’t you?” The second the words were out, I wished I could take them back. It made it sound like I was mad at him. I wasn’t; I just wanted to understand how my brother had gone his whole life without screwing up only to gamble away his entire inheritance in one night.
“Alex broke up with me.”
My heart sank. Alex and Blake had been together since their junior year of high school. Our parents were good friends. I was pretty sure our moms had been secretly planning their nuptials for years. They were the perfect couple. Meant to be. And now Blake was telling me Alex had ended it?
He must have been heartbroken. No wonder he’d gotten blackout drunk.
“What happened?” I asked, reaching out to comfort him.
Blake shirked my touch. “He cheated on me.”
My mouth dropped open.
“For the past six months.”
Anger bubbled up from the pit of my stomach, not just at Alex for hurting my brother, but at Mr. Strickland for taking such obvious advantage of his heartbreak. Blake was kind, compassionate, and empathetic. He saw the best in everyone, was always ready to give people second chances, and didn’t have a mean bone in his body. He’d planned to use his inheritance for good, following in Mom and Dad’s footsteps, with the brightest possible future ahead of him.
And Theo Strickland had stolen it all from him.
I was going to fuckingkillthat man.
7
Tyler
My burner phone chimed withan incoming email as I pulled into my apartment complex. It could have been anyone—Josh with whatever random thought had popped into his head, or a contractor thanking me for a speedy payment—but my mind immediately went to Stella. Which was ridiculous. I’djustleft her shop; there was no reason for her to be emailing me.
Unless it was to beg me to come back and finish what we’d started....
I parked in my usual spot and grabbed my gym bag out of the front seat. Before getting out of the car, I checked my surroundings. So far, I’d managed to keep my real life and my secret life separate, but Junior Trocci finding the location of my last party had turned me skittish, and I’d spent the past week looking over my shoulder, wondering who might find me next. I had a lot of enemies in this city.
I didn’t see anyone, but I still unzipped my bag so I’d have easy access to the gun hidden inside.
Another email hit my phone as I got out of the car. Another as I climbed the stairs. Another as locked the door behind me. Who the fuck was this impatient? It must be one of my shadier contacts. My closest associates would have texted or called.
