Chapter 12
Protecting the Future
Jack
I only had to show one file before Ethan started singing like a canary. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know as much as we’d like. He’s heard rumors. Everything he’s passed on has been to a different person. No one he mentions is useful.
He doesn’t know who he’s helping. Just that someone wants to take us down.
It’s like a puzzle and he doesn’t even hold a whole piece. The person or people behind it are savvy or paranoid. Or both.
“Come on, Ethan.” Caden leans in closer and stares into Ethan’s eyes. “You sounded so confident of yourself to our girl.”
I hit the recording again. His voice comes out of my phone.
“You don’t have to worry about them for long.”
“Man, I don’t know what to tell you.” Ethan looks away and shrugs. “I was fronting, trying to get some. I had two pretty girls on the hook. Wouldn’t you do whatever it took to get them alone?”
I shake my head. Bad move. That’s Caden’s girl he’s talking about.
Caden jerks forward, but doesn’t hit Ethan. Ethan flinches back with his hands raised defensively. Caden chuckles darkly as he settles back in his chair.
“For a tough guy, you sure are a pussy.” Caden glances my way. Anger still lingers in his green eyes.
“Maybe we need to convince you.” I stand and pull out my phone. “Let’s see. Alabama is your first-choice school, right?”
I glance through his hard drive I cloned onto my cloud network. He had a lot of shit on his computer and phone that a college admissions board wouldn’t be happy about.
“Fuck. Look, I’m a cocky bastard, but I don’t have a lot of options for college. They’re offering me a scholarship to play college football. Division I.” Ethan wets his lips.
“You’re fucking with my future. It’s only fair that I fuck with yours.”
Ethan runs his hand through his hair. “I get cash every time I give someone information about you guys. They put a burner phone and payments in my locker. They tell me who to contact via text. I’ll give you the burner phone if you don’t fuck with my future.”
At least he seems sincere. A year ago I would have smiled and told him cool and sent a file anyway. But now that my future seems more solid with Harper in it, I can’t risk it. I won’t, unless I have to. Because someone with nothing to lose is dangerous.
I’m good at what I do, but everything can be traced. I want to go to college not jail.
Nico nods. “I’ll take you to pick it up.”
“We’ll go.” I put my phone in my pocket and nod to Caden. “Make sure everything is good out there, would you?”
Caden squeezes my shoulder as he passes. “Be careful.”
Yeah, we have a guy backed into a corner with no way out. That’s when someone is at their most dangerous. It’s why I won’t let Nico go alone with him.
I tap a few things on my phone. “Just so you know, everyone at school is going to get this video if I’m not back here to stop it.”
When I hold up my phone to face him, I press play.
For some reason Ethan has hours of himself masturbating on his phone.
Maybe he has some spyware or maybe he uploads it to a website for money.
I don’t know and I don’t care. If he keeps fucking around with Harper, I might dig a little deeper, but the surface shit was enough for us tonight.
His eyes widen.
“Fuck.” Nico shakes his head as he looks away. “Do you guys always find guys masturbating?”
I smirk, remembering Grant. “Not typically, but you know as teenagers, there’s a much greater chance.” I turn it off and meet Ethan’s unconcerned eyes. I smirk. “Don’t worry. That one’s for fun.”
I pull up a video of him smoking pot and being a complete dumbass. “This one will go to the admissions board of every college you applied to.”
There’s that fear in his eyes. He doesn’t have a small cock so maybe he doesn’t mind letting everyone at school get an eyeful.
A bunch of people already did at the party.
But college boards may not be as accepting or amused about the pot smoking, especially if he wants to play ball and get a scholarship.
Caden might have the physical threat down, but I love the mental games, almost as much as Eli and Luke. We’re all capable of both, just Caden leans into the physical more. I’m not sure which way Nico leans.
“Whatever.” Ethan’s shoulders sag, defeated. “This is why you got people targeting you. You’re too fucking powerful.”
Laughing, I grab his arm to haul him upright. We haven’t been nearly as involved with the politics in the high school since we’ve claimed Harper. They should realize they could have had it easy with us preoccupied, but they targeted her instead.
“If you guys would have left her alone, maybe you could have shaken up the system.” I chuckle. “But you decided to take us down by going after her? Fuck, you guys are stupid. She’s our distraction, but you guys made her our mission to keep safe by any means possible.”
Nico’s eyes meet mine and I see he understands. If they’d let us get wrapped up in her, they could have changed the power structure. Shifted it right out from under us. But they wanted to see us bleed. Not a peaceful transition.
Shots have been fired and we’re taking notice, but we aren’t backing down now. We have more to lose than we’ve ever had in the past. And we’ll do anything to keep her.