Just the thought of Selene’s reputation being forever ruined made me feel furious and impotent.
“How did he get control of the webcam?” I turned back to Luke, who sat down on the armrest of one of the living room couches, Selene’s phone in hand.
“It’s tricky but not impossible. Hackers often use sophisticated malware to get access to a webcam, and once they have it, they can access it whenever they like. Sometimes all a person has to do is open an infected email, click on the wrong ad, or visit some virus-ridden site, and that’s it. The victim doesn’t necessarily know they’re being watched because the indicator light on the camera can be turned off,” he explained with a shrug. He was clearly a lot calmer about this than I was. But then, no one had touched anything ofhis.My hands shook with the suppressed desire to beat down whoever had been spying on Selene.
I didn’t care if I did end up in jail; I was going to give him exactly what he deserved.
“So now there’s also the risk that he might release this private video of yours or maybe pictures of the doll in her underwear if you go to the cops?” Xavier asked.
Fuck…someone had seen her in her underwear, had seen her in a way that, up until recently, only I ever had.
The idea tormented me, overwhelmed me.
Then the monster grabbed me by the neck and began throttling me, cutting off my breath.
I began to beg my rational mind to stay with me, to not abandon me.
To help me, to stay awake.
But a powerful force contracted all my muscles.
Rage put all my senses on alert.
A little voice in my head urged me to pour everything out.
It spoke to me. It was named IED.
And there was nothing I could do to keep it from slithering around inside me.
“Shit,” I blurted out, messing up my hair. My right hand was shaking. I had started to sweat, and I could feel my heartbeat throbbing in my temples. I was so anxious; I wanted to smash something. Logan tried to put a comforting hand on my shoulder, but I flinched away from him because I couldn’t stand to be touched by anyone just then, not even him.
“Hey, Neil, you’ve gotta calm down,” Luke suggested. “This situation is already very delicate.”
“Agreed. Also, you keep saying ‘he’ when you’re talking about Player, but what makes you so sure it’s a guy?” Xavier asked.
“My instincts are never wrong,” I answered angrily.
I hoped to high heaven that it was a woman, some bitch who wanted to ruin me, to destroy me. I could have accepted any kind of blackmail or deal with her as long as she kept Selene and my family out of it.
“What if it’s one of your exes? Scarlett, maybe?” Jennifer interjected, speaking for the first time since I’d gotten there. I stopped pacing and turned to look at her. Her blue eyes were locked on me, cool and wicked as ever. It irritated me, being stared at in that hungry way, like she wanted me to tear off her clothes and fuck her right there in front of everyone.
I shook my head, making a face.
“No…I don’t think so. The spying, this sextortion thing… It just feels more like something a man would do,” I answered shortly. She screwed up her forehead and chewed on her lower lip, considering my words.
“Protecting you and her is the most important thing. She shouldn’t be alone in Detroit. Whoever Player is, he knows where she lives and is blatantly targeting the two of you. He struck out with Chloe and Logan, so…” Luke shot a glance at my brother, who had remained silent as the rest of us spoke, troubled by the insane turn things had taken. “You should bring her back here where you can keep a closer eye on her until this is dealt with,” he finished, getting up off the couch. He walked over to me and handed me my Babygirl’s phone, which I stared at blankly.
I stroked the dusty rose cover of it and tried to swallow the bitterness that was lodged in my throat like a handful of nails.
I felt drained.
This was why I didn’t want her becoming a part of my life.
My problems were inexorably sucking her in.
I had always meant trouble for anyone around me; now I was trouble for her as well.
“Bullshit. I think she’d be safer there than right by Neil. He’s the one Player’s after,” Jennifer commented tartly. I looked over at her and could clearly see how irritated she was at the idea of Selene coming back to New York. Instead of thinking rationally about the problem, she was worrying that Babygirl was going to come and snatch her favorite toy right out of her hands.
