13. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
B rody
“Is everyone calm?” I look around the faces at the table, avoiding Ivy’s. Looking at her is liable to do two things to me—make me want to fuck or yell. Neither is appropriate for the discussion we’re about to get into.
“Just say you mean me,” she says. “Everyone knows it.”
Of course, she won’t give it a rest. She’s trouble wrapped in a pretty package and she loves using her power to pester me.
“You wish.” I’m one more barb from rolling my eyes like a petulant teenager. That’s how badly she gets to me. “Let’s just get on with it.”
“You just have to get the last word in,” she drawls.
“Oh my goodness.” Nick laughs. “I’ll have the last word so neither of you can.”
“Sure that’s the only thing you’re having tonight?” I turn on my friend.
He has been a real pain tonight, teaming up with Ivy. He’d indulge in anything that gets him laid or makes him laugh. I know he doesn’t want to sleep with Ivy. I’ve seen him with the ladies he wants to bed. He turns the charm up a thousand notches and it’s nearly nauseating.
With Ivy, he’s playing the flirting game. He’s in it for the fun.
Each time they put their heads together to speak, Ivy glances in my direction to make sure I’m watching. She gets her satisfaction from seeing me stew in my anger. I try to pretend I understand what they’re up to, that I don’t care, but I do. Even if they’re only playing up their interactions to get to me.
They’re expert players and I’m the loser. The butt of their childish joke.
“What do you mean?” He has the guts to look relaxed and at ease.
My skin crawls as she leans into him again, whispering something that makes them laugh.
I get savage satisfaction from the fact that she’s doing all of that because of me. She’s not immune to me. I’ve gotten under her skin like she’s gotten under mine.
Go ahead . I play back her reactions to my touch earlier. Tell him I had my fingers up your pretty little hole and I made it come so well.
“Brody!” Zane’s voice draws me out of my imagination rabbit hole. “Can we begin?”
“Of course. Tell us what you found.”
Zane clears his throat and begins. “I found”—everyone leans in—“nothing substantial so far.”
“Oh…” Iris’s face falls.
“What?” Ivy says.
They both look disappointed. But that’s not the update I received from Zane earlier in the week.
“What about the lead you were following?” I ask him. “You told me it was promising.”
“It was. We were able to find the location of Katie Ross and her boyfriend.”
“Mom and… Tyler?” Iris’s face reddens.
According to what I learned, Tyler used to date Iris. It’s no wonder she feels hurt hearing about him again.
The need to find him and smash his face for betraying her pummels through me. I won’t hit a woman but her mom deserves to be named and shamed. Theirs is a moral fault, outside the purview of my job, but Iris has a good heart that has suffered too much. Equal to the fear for her safety, she doesn’t deserve the hurt they have caused her.
“W-where are they? What are they doing?” she stammers the words out.
Ivy goes around the table to wrap her arms around her sister. She lays her cheek on her head and rocks her slowly. “They are pieces of shit. Don’t worry about them.”
I exhale the tension building in my chest, glad she has someone to support her in a more meaningful way than the violence I’m picturing.
We all watch them in somber silence.
Then Ivy’s eyes dart up, demanding something from us.
Sera gets it first. “Yes, complete assholes. Your mom and your ex. Both of them. How could they do that to you?”
“Not only is that weird as hell, it’s also disgusting,” Nick says.
“They left you when you needed them the most. They’re not people you should lose sleep over.” I glance at Iris’s cheek. “Or a tear.”
She giggles lightly and wipes her face.
Zane’s eyes are glued to his laptop. Then he looks up as we’re all turned in his direction. “Uh…” He blinks rapidly like his brain is working overtime. Iris can’t see it but Sera mouths something to him. “What?”
“Repeat after me,” Sera mouths.
He gets it and nods firmly. “You-you…” he repeats her words out loud. “Deceive? Deserve. You deserve… b-beets? Better. You deserve better!” he nearly yells the words at Iris.
“That was strange, Zane. But I appreciate the sentiment.” She sniffs. “Thank you. All of you.” She looks around the table and pats her sister’s arm still around her shoulder. “I don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t have you guys with me. I know you are all here because your job requires it, but it feels good not to be alone right now.”
Sera smiles softly and pats her arm.
“We’ve got you. No worries.” Nick beams at her.
“Unfortunately,” Zane continues with the reports, “we don’t have anything on Luke Ross or the money he embezzled.”
“Son of a bitch.” Ivy’s face is a mask of pure, unadulterated anger.
I believe I’m her least preferred person at this table, but even I have yet to see her with so much dislike in her eyes.
“I’m sure the money he stole is helping him to hide his tracks,” she spits. “While Iris lost her house to pay off the debts he took in her name.”
Compassion for them clamps around my chest. Neither deserves the struggle they are facing now because of their parents.
“We’re doing all we can to find him,” Nick says.
Ivy draws in a deep breath and nods. “Tell us about the person who broke into the apartment.”
“We don’t have anything on that yet, either,” Zane says.
Disappointment fills their gazes.
“I spoke to Callum,” I chime in. “Someone messed with the security cameras at the time the break-in took place. They didn’t want to be found out. They’ve been scouring surrounding cams to look for connections but that’s slow-moving because of the bureaucratic hoops they need to jump through.”
“And our case is not a priority for the police,” Ivy says.
“We’re trying our best,” I say with an emphasis. “But I can’t promise how quickly everything will be resolved.”
“Of course,” she says tightly, refusing to meet my eyes.
“About the threats, we have found that numerous people are sending them,” Zane says.
After taking Ivy and Iris on, we took over control of her socials and have been keeping up with the messages sent to her. I’ve come to one conclusion—people are insane. Both the ones that make it seem like she’s the love of their lives and those who threaten to hurt her if she doesn’t return to performing.
“But one person has sent four separate threats. Two before the break-in and two afterward.”
Iris’s eyes bulge. “Who?”
“We don’t have their identity yet but based on what I’ve gathered, I suspect that it may be someone you know personally.”
This is the first time I’m getting this information. The shock on the sisters’ faces reflects how I feel.
“How did you come to this conclusion?” I ask.
“Nick hinted at it. When I dug into it, it made total sense.” Zane nods at him. “Tell them.”
“Right.” Nick is uncharacteristically serious. “The wordings used were personal. A lot of accusatory ‘you-s’ and self-referential ‘me-s.’ I’m aware that when fans form parasocial relationships with their idols, they tend to believe they have a direct relationship with them. But this one wasn’t like that. They referred to details the public shouldn’t know about. Things restricted to someone in your private employ or with close access to you.”
Iris looks up at Ivy. “I can’t think of anyone who’d send those threats.”
She didn’t know her parents were stealing from her either. No one expects her to know the perpetrator. But saying so would surely earn me a terse reprimand from Ivy, so I keep my thoughts private.
“We think it’s someone from your former label or closely connected to it at the very least,” Zane says.
“How do you know?” Iris’ brows pucker.
“It’s in the letters,” Nick says.
All eyes focus on him.
“What? You want to hear what the letters say?” He looks pointedly at Iris. “It’s not pretty.”
“I can handle it.”
Ivy grips her shoulder. “You don’t have to.”
“I want to know. I may be able to tell who it is.”
“Brave. I like that.” He signals to Zane.
With an indifferent expression, Zane clicks on the laptop and hands to Nick.
“Ready?” Nick raises an eyebrow.
Iris squeezes her sister’s hand. “Yes.”
“‘My love, Iris, what’s happening right now is messed up. I never imagined it would turn out this way. Seeing you every day, being close to you, and touching you, I took it for granted that our days were numbered. I thought we had years together, but you had to go and ruin everything. You left. We were going to conquer the world, but you chickened out like a little bitch. Come back. I miss you. I miss the way you drank from your favorite checkered cup. I miss how you gasped at the little gifts from your fans. You are so innocent, aren’t you? Sometimes I want to cuddle up next to you and…’”
Nick cringes. “I’ll just skip that part.” Clearing his throat, he continues, “’I can’t let you go, Iris. I need you. You need me too. I will get you back. Even if I must take you from your sister’s side kicking and screaming. Yes, I know where you are. I’m watching you. Always. Take your time, but you’re going to come back to me.’”
Even though I’ve read them before, the unhinged words make me cringe, and the faces around reflect the same feeling. That person is one sick bastard.
Iris’ face drains of color. “What do they others say?”
Nick clicks on the laptop. “Uh… basically the same level of crazy with this very telling line—‘I’m coming for you, Iris. Get ready for me.’ They sent this two days before someone broke into your apartment.”
She sighs, pressing her hands to her forehead. “I can’t think of anyone who would say something like this.”
Ivy rubs her shoulder, whispering something in her ear.
“That’s where I come in,” Nick says. “I’ll be going undercover to find out who.” He smirks. “Don’t look so worried for me. This is my job, remember?”
Iris breaks the silence first. “Thank you.”
Ivy nods and maintains eye contact with him.
“Good.” I sit up, bringing the attention to myself. “We are all caught up.”
“That wasn’t so hard now, was it?” Ivy says.
I don’t glance at her to find out if she’s speaking to me. Once everyone leaves and her little charade with Nick ends, I’ll still be saddled with her.
Best to save my mental strength for when it really matters.