Chapter Four #3
Dom nodded and stared at the photograph again.
Lucinda had taken the image right after they’d won the Super Bowl game for their age group.
Dom and Kerry, the two football captains, hoisted the trophy between them, their grins stretching from ear to ear.
Those innocent boys didn’t have a care in the world.
All their youthful dreams had come true on the gridiron, and they couldn’t imagine the cruel twists ahead of them.
“We thought we’d go pro.” And one of them nearly had.
Dom had entered their junior year as one of the top-rated high school quarterback prospects in the country.
All the top colleges had been vying for his attention, but Dom hadn’t let the attention go to his head.
His singular focus had been winning games because the rest would fall into place.
He hadn’t partied or even dated. The one time he’d made an exception to partying after a game had resulted in the end of his dream.
A vehicle went left of center, and Dom swerved to miss it.
The other car clipped his bumper and spun him out on rain-slick roads.
Dom’s car went off the side of the road and traveled down a steep embankment.
A tree limb smashed through the windshield and impaled Dom’s shoulder, pinning him to the seat until a rescue crew could extricate him from the vehicle.
The car that caused the accident hadn’t stopped, so Dom’s wasn’t found until his missed curfew triggered a search party.
He’d sat in the car for hours and lost a lot of blood.
He’d had multiple surgeries on his shoulder to improve its function, but his throwing arm was never the same.
His football career ended, and so had his dream of playing professional ball.
If Dom was resentful, he’d never let on.
But the way he kept staring at the photo made it clear the hurt was still there.
Dom turned suddenly and dropped into a seat in front of Kerry’s desk.
He set the bottle of water down and removed his laptop from his messenger bag.
Dom opened the computer and started typing.
“I won’t say the information I’ve uncovered so far will guarantee Bozeman will drop the lawsuit, but it’s enough to make him reconsider.
I’m emailing the file to you now, and you’ll want to forward this to your attorney.
” Dom pushed a button on his keyboard and grinned evilly.
“I still have more avenues I can explore if they think it’s necessary. ”
Kerry’s spirits lifted as his desktop pinged with an inbox alert. “What’s in the file?”
Dom’s grin grew impossibly more wicked. “I started with a search of his financials because it tells you a lot about a person.”
“But how’d you do that? I only gave you his name?”
“It’s my business to find the things people don’t want you to know,” Dom replied.
“Don’t worry. I get my information legally.
Once I have his name and address, it’s easy to find the other information I need to run a credit check.
” He let out a whistle. “Bozeman is a bozo with his finances. His negative equity is in the mid-six figures. I’m talking maxed-out credit cards, overextended lines of credit, a mortgage teetering on foreclosure, and a car that got repossessed just this morning.
” Dom nodded toward Kerry’s computer. “I’ve included photographs of him literally chasing the tow truck in his bathrobe.
” Dom grimaced and fidgeted in his chair.
“Dude needs to learn to cinch his belt tighter. Anyone in his neighborhood who was awake at six this morning got to see Bozeman’s cock and balls bouncing as he sprinted down the middle of the street. ”
Kerry had been reaching for his mouse to open his email, but he recoiled. “Dude! I don’t want to see naked pictures of Keith Bozeman.”
Dom chuckled at his distress. “The mad dash down the road was enough to question Bozeman’s claims of diminished physical activity.
” The downright devilish gleam in Dom’s green eyes did nothing to erase the ick factor.
Kerry was a big fan of cock and balls, but not those belonging to the man suing him.
He had standards and wasn’t that hard up, for fuck’s sake.
“And those weren’t the first nude shots I took of Mr. Can No Longer Please His Partner. ”
Kerry had called Dom after he and Steven thoroughly reviewed the lawsuit paperwork. His friend had sounded amused at the time, but Kerry’s spiraling mind hadn’t let him linger on the reaction and ask questions. This time, Kerry scooted his chair back from his desk.
Dom cackled, leaned back in his chair, and regaled Kerry with everything that he’d witnessed during his stakeout.
“His frolicking began in the hot tub and ended up on the patio table. And I got crystal clear pictures since the moon was full.” Dom paused for effect with a cheeky grin.
“And I mean both the one in the sky and the white ass pounding away at the girlfriend who’d supposedly broken up with him when he couldn’t get an erection after the accident. ”
“Yeah, I figured out what you meant.” The rest of Dom’s statement registered, and Kerry sat up straighter. “Wait. How do you know the woman he was with was the same girlfriend who supposedly dumped him?”
Dom snorted. “Any amateur sleuth with a Facebook account could’ve figured that out. There are thousands of photos of them together going back nearly five years. I captured screenshots before they could delete the evidence of what they’d been up to since the accident.”
“Which was?”
“Ski trips, mountain hikes, and skydiving, to name a few,” Dom replied.
“These two are very active.” He wiggled his brows suggestively.
Kerry didn’t want his thoughts to go there, but Dom’s mouth was moving before Kerry could stop him.
“She has an OnlyFans account for their more intimate moments on the trips. Bozeman has a thing for water. Bet he gets aroused just firing up the dishwasher.”
“Gross,” Kerry said.
“I’m not out to harm the woman’s reputation, so I applied a filter in the photographs on the videos.
No one will see her private bits, but you’ll definitely get a gist of what’s going on.
” Dom snickered and shook his head. “I also documented her loading the trunk of her car with her belongings from Bozeman’s house this morning.
If anyone inspected the house, it’s doubtful they’d see any sign of her existence.
My photographs and the recent lease agreement I located should take care of proving they had not broken up, as Bozo claimed. ”
Kerry’s hope soared. “You’ve got proof that his biggest claims are bullshit. That should force Bozeman to drop the suit and accept the settlement my insurance company offered him. I can’t believe he thinks he can get away with this.”
Dom didn’t react to his remark with equal enthusiasm, which tempered Kerry’s excitement.
“Desperate men do stupid things. Bozeman probably thinks you’ll be quick with a settlement offer to make it all go away.
Most civil cases never reach a courtroom.
I don’t know what will happen when your attorney reveals what you know.
Stay alert and watch what you do and say.
Bozeman might have someone keeping an eye on you too, which is how they knew where to serve your papers. ”
“I rarely go to the Thirsty Cowboy anymore,” Kerry said. “Last night was a fluke.” Kerry’s gaze landed on the flyer Sven had given him. Or someone with outdated information tipped Bozeman off about Kerry. He leaned forward and tapped the piece of paper. “About this…”
Dom snatched the ad off the desk and tucked it into his messenger bag with his laptop before getting to his feet. “I’ll see what I can find out.” He nodded toward Kerry’s computer. “Let me know what your lawyer says on Monday.”
Kerry stood up, rounded the desk, and hugged his friend. “Thanks, brother. I owe you.”
Dom saluted him with two fingers and headed for the door. He stopped with his hand on the knob and looked over his shoulder. “Hey, Ker. Stop living in emotional purgatory and take a chance on the cute guy that makes you all growly.”
Kerry’s heart skipped a beat. “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
Dom sighed, shook his head, and left Kerry to his own thoughts, which unsurprisingly turned toward the hazel-eyed hottie who’d enthralled him from the jump.