She hung up and tossed her phone on the sofa. “This new work arrangement is never going to fly.”
* * *
Dakota woke at five in order to work out before the day got away from him. After lifting and running on the treadmill in his home gym, he checked his phone on the way upstairs to shower.What the hell?
He had several missed calls and texts. And it was only six thirty in the morning.
His phone rang with a call from Crockett Wilde’s wife, news anchor Alexandra Wilde. “Hey, Alexandra. What’s going on?”
“We received an anonymous letter about you, along with two photos. “I snapped pictures of everything and texted them to you about twenty minutes ago. My producer wants to run with the story. Can you comment on it?”
His stomach dropped. “I haven’t seen it. Hold on.”
The letter was pieced together from magazine clippings.
Dakota Luck is doing a helluva lot more than running a real estate company. It’s time the public knew his real story.
The photos were the same ones the blackmailer had sent to him.Jesus. This is crazy.
To cover his concern, he chuckled. “You know, I thought the graffiti on my truck was from a disgruntled woman.” He kept his voice steady, but he was so fucking angry.
“Dakota,” Alexandra said. “It’s me you’re talking to. I haven’t interviewed you about Matt Hastings’s death but I think you need to tell your side of the story. How about an exclusive?”
The fury he kept in check broke free, sending adrenaline pounding through him. Talking about this would send the media into a feeding frenzy. He’d be hounded day and night.
He needed to deflate the problem before it blew up in his face. “I’ll call you back in five.”
He hung up and called his brother. If anyone knew how to handle the press, it was him. Sin answered, “Turn on the TV.”
He did. A different news station was airing the story, along with the photos.
“I’m so fucked,” Dakota bit out.
“The son of a bitch sent the letter to all the local stations,” Sin said. “Did Alexandra get a hold of you?”
“Yeah. I’ll give her an exclusive.”
“Schedule it at my office and we’ll strategize first,” Sin said. “Come by as soon as you can.”
“Do me a favor,” Dakota said. “Call your dad and let him know I’m giving Alexandra this interview.”
“Got it,” Sin said and hung up.
Dakota called Luther to keep him in the loop.
“I’m confident you and Sin will handle this,” Luther said. “Just find this person before they ruin your life altogether.”
Dakota called Alexandra back and scheduled the interview for later that morning. After he showered and dressed, he found Sammy at the kitchen table drawing a picture while Miranda organized flash cards.
“I’m making this for Provi.”
Despite the fact that his world was imploding, he would do everything in his power to shield his child. Dakota sat beside her. “That’s beautiful.”
Sammy had drawn the three of them watching a movie on the sofa. He glanced at Miranda.
“When Provi comes back for movie night, I’ll give this to her.”
“Samantha.”
