Chapter 16
COLT
I’d slept maybe three hours and knew I was going to regret it, but it wasn’t like I had a choice. I tried to sleep. It just wouldn’t come. I had played out all the different scenarios that might happen at the protest today.
I knew, logically, that a peaceful community protest on a Friday morning in a small beach town was not a situation that required me to lie awake running worst-case scenarios. But I didn’t get to where I was by putting my head in the sand and pretending nothing bad could happen.
It wasn’t that anything could happen, though. It was thinking about Summer in the center of it. I didn’t want her dragged off to jail or put on some list. She didn’t deserve to have her good reputation and her future ruined by a single mistake.
Cody was already on the back terrace when I came downstairs, coffee in hand and staring out at the water. I poured my coffee and pushed through the back door. I sat down without saying a word.
The beach was mostly empty. Everyone was probably in town gearing up for the protests.
“You look terrible,” Cody said finally.
“Thank you.”
He nodded and took a long drink from his mug. “You know she’s going.”
“I know.”
“Nothing you can do about it.”
“I tried, but she’s loyal to this town, not me.”
“You want my honest read?”
“When have I ever been able to stop you from giving it?”
“Fair.” He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “This town doesn’t hate you personally.”
“Pretty close to it,” I said.
“It’s the change,” he said. “They fear change.”
“For good reason?” I asked. “Should they be worried?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Helpful.”
“Ready?” Cody asked.
He was in jeans and a T-shirt he picked up in town with Surfside Cove written across the front of it. He grabbed the matching baseball cap off the table and pulled it on low. I grabbed the one that matched and put it on. We were blending. Or attempting to.
“Let’s do this,” I said. “Remember, don’t provoke. We’re just there to put our finger on the pulse of the community.”
“Shit, I don’t even need to go down there to figure out what they’re thinking,” he said. “They hate us.”
“Keep your head down,” I said.
The crowd was much bigger than I expected and more people kept showing up. Media had just arrived on scene. There were bodies packed along both sides of Front Street and spilling back toward the beach. There were plenty of signs bobbing above the heads of the people holding them.
All said the same thing—get out. Or something similar to it. It was very clear they did not want us in town. I kept my head on a swivel. I hadn’t seen Summer yet, but I had no doubt she’d be around.
“She’s fine,” Cody said, without looking up from his phone.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You’re looking for Summer.” He scrolled with his thumb. “Which is fine. Understandable, even. Very sweet. What a good little boyfriend.”
He was goading me. He had been all morning. I ignored him and scanned the crowd again. A group of older locals stood near the hardware store with their signs resting on their shoulders, talking among themselves. A woman was handing out water bottles from a rolling cooler.
A group of teen surfers wearing board shorts flirted with a gaggle of young ladies.
So far, everything was very peaceful. It was more like a community gathering than a protest. There were families with their kids wearing T-shirts that had been painted.
More warnings about ruining their hometown.
People who’d lived their whole lives in the town.
They all felt connected and very strong about their conviction to keep their town small.
The sun was relentless. It bounced off the pavement and cooked the back of my neck. I pulled my shirt away from my sweaty back.
“They’re calling Judd the Capitalist Crusader,” Cody said.
“Who is?”
“Everyone.” He turned his phone toward me. An Instagram post with hundreds of likes and comments. “Check out this one.” It was a Facebook post with an AI photo of Judd with a red cape. “It’s trending. Locally, at least.”
“Great,” I muttered.
We pushed through the last cluster of people and I finally had a clear sightline to the front of the building. The front was where the rabblerousers were hanging out. A couple of older women were handing out flyers. I took one just to see what was being said.
“Shit,” Cody said as we read the bullet points.
“They really don’t like us,” I said.
“When you read this, we sound like villains in a Scooby Doo movie.”
“Dad’s going to be pissed. Our name is getting dragged through the mud.”
“Maybe we pull out,” he said softly.
I looked around. “Not yet. There’s still a chance we can convince them. Show them it’s not all bad. They’re talking about the cost of housing doubling. But for those that own homes, their profits double.”
He gave me a look. “You really think that’s going to convince them it’s a good thing? Hey, we’re destroying your home but good news, some rich prick is going to come along and tear down your family home. The place where you watched your children grow up.”
“Whose side are you on?”
He laughed. “Honestly, I’m not even sure.”
We continued on our way toward the area where someone had a megaphone. I stopped walking abruptly. Cody walked into the back of me.
Judd Mathers was standing at the top of the front steps of the headquarters building.
He was wearing a suit that cost more than most people in this crowd made in a month.
And while that was offensive, it was the two dudes flanking him in tactical gear that really painted him as the asshole he was.
The men weren’t your standard security detail.
They had their arms slightly bent at their sides like they were ready to draw their weapons in a second.
The men had earpieces. They were looking at the crowd like they were the Secret Service.
Their presence was not helping matters. They were armed and looked like they were hoping someone would step out of line. It was a powder keg and it wasn’t going to take much for things to pop off.
I stared at them and then I looked at the people around me. A woman in her sixties holding a hand-painted sign with a seagull on it. A man with his granddaughter on his shoulders. A teenager eating a popsicle.
“What the hell is that?” Cody asked. “Where are we? Does he think he’s that special?”
“Yes.”
Cody gestured broadly at the surrounding crowd. “These guys look real violent.”
“It’s meant to intimidate,” I said. “Apparently.”
Cody shook his head. “You know, maybe these people have a point.” He tilted his head. “Going into business with this guy might not be a good look for you. The family.”
I kept my eyes on Judd. He was standing straighter.
Lifting his chin and glaring down at everyone.
It looked like something out of a dystopian movie.
He did not care that he was the villain.
I think he was actually enjoying the role.
He didn’t give a shit that he wasn’t just tarnishing his name.
He was making all of his investors look bad as well.
He was an entitled rich asshole. I knew that.
I’d known it for a while. The difference between Judd and most of the wealthy men I’d done business with over the years was mostly a matter of degrees.
They all had the same instinct that money exempted you from having to understand the people affected by your decisions.
Money solved all the problems. It erased accountability.
I hated that I was thinking along those same lines. I allowed myself to tell these people that us making money would be better for them. I wasn’t thinking about the cost beyond a monetary sense.
“I don’t think this is going to go well,” Cody said. “Those men and this crowd are not the image we want splashed across the media.”
“I know.”
“What are we going to do?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I think we need to drop back. If people figure out who we are, they are going to turn on us.”
I turned, ready to retreat when Judd spotted me. There was no way he was going to let me walk away. He wanted me to share in the misery. Except he didn’t hate what was happening. He was getting off on it. He raised one hand and crooked two fingers at me, the way you’d call a dog.
Fucker.
I internally grimaced. People noticed him gesturing and everyone turned to look my way. The people nearest me were looking at my face, then at Judd. I saw recognition dawn. They knew who I was.
“Traitor,” someone nearby muttered.
I didn’t look to find out who said it. I could retreat into the crowd or face the music.
I started moving toward the steps, doing my best not to make eye contact with anyone. The crowd shifted around me, stepping out of the way like they were afraid to touch me. I didn’t blame them.
I was maybe ten feet from the base of the steps when I ran directly into a wall.
Not a wall. A person. A beautiful blonde in denim shorts and a cut-off shirt that showed a strip of tanned stomach that I had absolutely no business noticing right now.
Nor did I need to be thinking about running my tongue around her belly button.
Summer planted herself in my path with her arms crossed and her chin up. The anger radiating off her was very real.
“Summer.” I said her name.
“Anderson.” She said mine with disgust in her tone.
“I need to get up there.”
“I know you do.”
She didn’t move.
“I’m not going to stand here and argue with you in front of half the town,” I said quietly.
“Nobody’s arguing,” she said. “I’m just standing here. It’s a public street. Just like it’s a public beach… for now.”
“Summer,” I tried again. “Can we talk later?”
“When you get up there, make sure you take a good long look at the crowd.” Her eyes held mine and didn’t let go. “Look at the actual people. The ones holding the signs. Okay?”
“Why?”
“You’re hurting every single one of us,” she said. “And you don’t get to keep your head down and ignore that fact if you choose to go forward with this.”
Shame coiled in my gut. It was wrong. I felt it.
“Go on,” she said. “Your pal might get mad if you don’t jump when he calls. And he looks pissed. I’d hate for his big, bad bodyguards to get angry.”
“I didn’t know he was bringing bodyguards,” I hissed.
“Is that why you told me to stay away?” she asked. “You didn’t want me to witness you getting up there and flaunting your wealth and strength.”
She wasn’t going to give me a chance. “You’re right, Summer. You know me so well. If you’ll excuse me, I don’t want to keep my fans waiting.”
I climbed the steps to join Judd and prepared to face my haters.