14. Gilli #2
I can’t look at him. “That’s what got me into this mess. I force myself out of my comfort zone as much for spite as for growth. And I want better for myself even if I’m not always capable of it. I work hard for my dreams but something happened to me. I’m hoping those dreams are still possible.”
My eyes dart up to meet his.
His lips are tight now, his mouth a razor line, but there’s no other change to indicate a shift in feelings.
“I don’t see you as a bully,” I tell him. “I think lives are made on second chances. You’re a good person, Aiden, no matter what you did.”
“Maybe when we both get around to sharing our stories, once the gory details are aired you’ll change your mind. Maybe not.” He cocks his head to the side and nods once before standing. “I look forward to it, though, Gilli.”
I blink at him. “Why? I guess that’s what I don’t understand. Why do you genuinely care?”
“I know what you’re thinking.” He steps over and my breath catches when he bends in front of me, his hands gripping the arms of my chair, pinning me in place with his proximity. “It’s not just the family connection. I want to know you .”
“There isn’t much worth knowing,” I tell him tightly.
“Is that what you think or what life has taught you to believe? You don’t want to keep playing small? Start now.” His expression softens an inch and makes him even more devastating. “If something happened and it was outside of your control, then it wasn’t your fault. Okay?”
His hands move slowly from the chair arms to my knees. Warmth spreads through me where he touches as Aiden hoists himself back up to standing. Pain flashes across his features before he gets his knee in a better position.
I can’t tell if I’m disappointed or not .
The mood immediately lifts with his grin. “If you want to go anywhere today, let me know. I took my break yesterday, so I’m free to play chauffeur if you want to have a little fun. Or if you want to risk driving your rust heap to town, be my guest.”
His attention shifts briefly to my lips a second time, and then south toward the swell of my chest. Oh yes. His idea of fun would be a nice distraction.
Desire curls in my stomach.
“Actually, do you mind if I use your phone? I’d like to look up some things online. I’m sure Soren told you, but he had a shit fit when I borrowed his yesterday.”
“Borrowed, is that what you call it?” Aiden asks.
He’s hesitant to give it up. I try to make a joke of it. “What? You’ve got nudes on there you don’t want me to see?”
“Personal stuff,” he says with a laugh. It’s impossible to miss the slight edge of defensiveness in his tone. “The nudes are out there in the open if you want them. Or use the laptop instead.”
A laptop? They’ve got one stashed here somewhere? I know my way around a computer much better than I do a cell phone, considering how cheap mine was.
“Is there a way for me to search for things without anyone knowing or being able to see what I’ve searched? Maybe anonymously?”
I’m spouting off about things I know nothing about. My own VPN at home was installed thanks to a coworker taking a computer science course at the time. I hadn’t felt right getting a cam girl account without one.
Aiden is ready to ask more questions, I’m sure of it. I’ll give him credit, though. He simply holds out a hand to help me up.
“I’m sure we can set something up for you,” he replies.
Half an hour later, Aiden settles me at the table with the laptop unlocked and ready for use. “If you find any great porn, save it for me, okay?” he teases.
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, okay, like you need help. I’m sure you’ve got your favorites already.”
“I do, but I’m always happy to find more.” He turns around and pauses in the doorway. “If you need help…”
I arch an eyebrow at him. “I know who to yell for.”
“I won’t be far.”
But he gives me the space I need and dammit, I’m happy for his presence.
Aiden wants to be of use. In his way, I think Soren does too, but maybe the three of us have gotten too far away from polite society to know how to be communicative anymore.
I draw in a breath and tilt my neck from side to side, working out the kinks in my shoulders. But stalling is only going to make my nerves worse. My fingers tremble on the keyboard as I bring up a browser to log into my account.
I think better of it at the last moment, just in case someone is monitoring it for recent activity.
Besides, I know what name I need to look up anyway. Heading over to a search engine, I type in the username in connection to the site I use and press enter. And hold my breath as I wait for the results to load.
At the top of the screen, I’m asked for a correction on the username I typed. Do you mean Maxx 8U ?
Nope, I sure don’t. My heart constricts at seeing it right there in front of me in typed bold letters.
The first few sites are a bust, too. Nothing more than those pay-to-search ones where they want you to give them a credit card so they can give you all the details of a person’s life.
I make it through every entry on the first page before I stop and lean back in the chair. My hips are sore from sitting in such an uncomfortable position and my eyes have started to blur.
I set my glasses aside and scrub my knuckles into my eyes, groaning at the sensation. Maybe I’m going about this the wrong way.
The dude who threatened me might not restrict himself to sites like mine. For all I know, he’s a plague online, making his gruesome offers to other women.
I head back to the search bar and type in a new string of keywords.
Maxxx8U + Threats + Money
This time, the first website brings up a thread that mentions the username specifically.
My nose practically touches the screen and I grab for my glasses before I click on it. The sub thread on the website boasts a headline capitalized and in bold.
CAM GIRLS/SINGLE WOMEN BEWARE!
Interacted with a skeezy username in December, offered a buttload of money to hurt myself .
The sub thread cautions anyone, not only women, from interacting with the username and lists a variety of different names, all iterations of the one I’d seen.
He offered me 5k to light a sparkler and stick it in my pu**y, one of the comments begins. Went by the name of MaxxiPads.
I scroll through the rest of the comments in horror. Many of the women are cam girls like me. They all state to proceed with extreme caution. Women who accepted donations from the username or some variation of it have gone into his debt and disappeared off the radar.
Those who didn’t accept his offers weren’t seen again, either.
A lose/lose situation.
Many of the comments state that the police have failed to take them seriously. One of the sub threads on the main conversation comes from a person who has been helping police track the man behind the username with no luck.
My heart thrums in a staccato rhythm and the roaring in my ears blots out every other noise .
He is deadly!
Once he’s got a victim in mind, he does not let go .
Anyone who is thinking about starting up an online account, watch out for weirdos! Vet who comes into your private chats. Be careful and stay cautious.
A little too late for that now.
Too many comments for this to be a fluke. And the police…I’m not surprised none of them are taking it seriously.
The threats seem to come from the areas surrounding Baltimore, I see on closer inspection.
Too many women have disappeared over the last two years for it to be a coincidence. Too many others have apparently been taken by whoever this faceless dude is.
He’s not going to stop, is he?
I gnaw on the inside of my cheek and hurriedly exit out of the browser.
He’s not going to stop…and how am I going to find a way out of this alive?