Sabs shudders. “I hate it when she uses her scary voice.”
Faye nibbles her bottom lip. “Whatever it is, it must be serious…”
When Kady returns with a raging Nash at her side, I have no idea what’s going on. And they both look livid; I don’t know who is madder out of the two of them.
“Is someone going to tell me what all this is about?” I can feel the fury radiating off Nash like heat from a furnace. I quickly jump up, wanting to calm him down. He relaxes a little when I stroke the tense muscles in his arms, but it doesn’t dampen his anger. “Talk to me.”
“It’ll be better if I show you.” Kady tells me as she grabs her laptop, turning it so the screen is facing me. “See?”
The other Stellas and I crane our necks to get a look. The headline makes my stomach sink.
THE GIRL BEHIND PACK FIRE’S BREAKUP.
Relief sweeps through me as you can’t see all of my face in the photograph, just a side-profile and lots of curls. It was taken on the night Jagger fled the stage and followed me out of Club Knotty.
Comments rapidly flash onto the screen, multiple new ones rushing in every second.
WHO IS THIS SLUT?
LET’S KILL HER!
BURN HER TO THE GROUND!
Dread sweeps through me.
“They’re just trolls, Del.” Sabs rubs my back. “Pathetic fucking trolls who have nothing better to do than hide behind a screen. Ignore them.”
“No one is going to hurt you.” Nash’s possessive rumble is so deep it vibrates in my own chest as I gnaw at my nails. A nervous habit I have yet to break. “We need to go home. Now.”
“Staying off campus is a good idea,” Kady agrees. “SVU is small, so it’s only a matter of time until Delilah’s identity is exposed.”
“But I haven’t even packed yet.” What to take with me is now the last thing on my mind. “I don’t know where to start…”
“I’ll go quickly pack a bag for you,” Faye offers, presumably sensing my overwhelm. “I’ll put in the essentials. If you’re missing anything, I’ll get Cole to drop them off later.”
She hurries away before I have a chance to answer, still dazed.
“How did the photo get out?” Kady turns on Nash. “Was it Jagger? Did he do this?”
“Of course not. He’s never wanted any of this,” he growls protectively. “Jagger has always wanted to hide Delilah’s identity and protect ours.”
His fury is clouding all my own emotions, making it hard to think straight.
“It’ll be okay.” I nuzzle into Nash’s chest as he wraps his arms around me.
“Sorry.” He shakes his head, his mood settling now that I’m closer. “I’m feeling more… rattled than usual.”
“Laz told me he was super emotional the week after he and Faye bonded.” Sabs nods knowingly. “It’s like a massive man-period.”
“Uh…” Nash clearly doesn’t know how to respond to that, turning his attention back to Kady. “Maybe it was Brad or Drew who leaked the photos? They’ll be angry about him leaving the band.”
“But Calder and I paid for all the copies of the photos.” Kady, who’s been pacing back-and-forth, freezes. “All but one. There is one other person who had a copy…”
“Valerie,” she and Nash say together.
All the pieces of the puzzle fall into place.
“Who the hell is Valerie?” Sabs asks. “A jealous ex?”
