Page 54 of My Bully's Crush: Vol1
But each time I make any progress in that direction, something like this happens.It’s very annoying to have to jump back into the fray so soon when I’d only just caught a break when whoever this person was had gone after the whole Hudson family.The internet had weeks of fodder to play within just a matter of days.
I still don’t know how the little bitch that called me knew so much, but I was growing more and more afraid about how much more she knew.For now, people were trying to figure out if the photo of the security guard and I was real, but I’m sure they’d figure it out soon.I was relieved when the attack changed course, and she went after the Hudsons instead, but how long will that last, and what secrets will she reveal next?
I went to pour myself a glass of wine, and my phone rang.It was Scott’s ringtone, and I got excited.“Did you find him?”
“Yes, he should be home sometime today.”
“Really?Where has he been?Did he go to see her in the hospital?”Although it had been weeks since she left the hospital, it still bothers me no end that he might’ve been at her bedside looking after her.Something about that thought makes me madder than hell and just a little bit scared.
“Stop worrying about that; things are looking up for us; there’s a big deal in the works worth lots of money.We do have a bit of an issue, though, he’s sober and clean, so we’re going to have to come up with some other way to keep him in check.”
“Why?I don’t understand.Why can’t we just go back to doing things the way we’ve always done?”
“I’ll tell you when I get there.But it’s big.”
At least that was something, and he was coming home.I wasn’t as upset as I was before the call, and now what Mary was asking me to do didn’t seem as much of a bother as it did.It was just another smear campaign anyway, something that was bound to get under that troll’s skin.
Whether or not what she wanted me to post under Ryder’s name was true or not wouldn’t matter.One of the things everyone was asking was why Ryder wasn’t saying anything about what was going on between Elena and me online, so this should do the job, as well as make her feel like shit.
I went through my camera roll and found the perfect photo from a couple of years back.Just a bit of manipulation in Photoshop, and I was set to go.I had to think of the perfect caption to go with the doctored image and came up with the ideal one.I’m sure the picture of Ryder and I on a yacht where it looked like we were lazing in the sun together with a caption that read “Spending quality time with my perfect wife” would do the job.
No one but me had to know that the picture wasn’t real or that on that day when I did try to lie next to him, he’d pushed me away and ordered me not to touch him.As long as Elena Gianni and her stupid fans believed what I wanted them to, that would be enough to satisfy me.
I was about to upload to Ryder’s account by signing into it on my phone, something he didn’t know I could do since he had no idea I’d stolen his password, when my phone dinged with an incoming message.I felt almost sick to my stomach when no email address or number showed up again.I almost ignored it, but the sick feeling in my gut told me that that was the wrong move, and I was right.
“If you post anything about her today, it will not end well for you.There are things you do not want the world to know.If you think we’re playing, wait for the call from your dad.”That was the cryptic message that sent an icy finger traveling down my spine before it disappeared.
My phone rang in my hand almost immediately, and I jumped a foot high, spooked out of my mind.The peace and excitement I’d felt after Scott’s call was gone now, and in its place was a sick, growing fear.I saw that it was Dad calling, and that scared me even more.
“Dad?What happened?”My voice and hands shook.
“The bank called in the mortgage.We’re out of extensions; you need to get that money.Where is he?”His words came fast and furious.
“I don’t know.”He rambled on with his threats, but my mind had gone blank.Who is this person that has this kind of power?They have to be using some kind of voice distortion device because I could’ve sworn that it was a young girl who’d called me that first time.
“Dad, I don’t understand.I thought we’d already taken care of that.I already gave you money to take care of it.”
“I used that money for something else.Your mother and I have to eat, you know.I thought you’d be able to get me more before the payment was due.Your mother and I didn’t go through all this trouble so we could end up on the street.”
All my excitement was long gone by the time he hung up.Why was everything unraveling?Why wasn’t anything going the way I’d planned?I did a few more lines of coke to take the edge off, and then I heard Ryder coming in downstairs and felt some of my angst leave me.He’s home; he’s here with me; he’s not with her.No matter what else was going on, at least I’d won for today.Ryder had come back to me; that must mean something.
Chapter 33
*Ryder*
“You can’t!”
“How do you know what I was thinking?”The one named Tyler looked at me with a smirk on his face but didn’t answer.How the hell did he know that I was tempted to go to Elena as soon as we landed?
I’m unsure what to make of these two men that Saunders had sent to the mountains to get me.
They weren’t the most talkative bunch, and I got the feeling that there was a whole lot more going on than what they’d told me so far.They hadn’t shared much, and all Saunders would say is that I would know in due time, but they did say that I was helping them in a big way, whatever that meant.
I’m not sure how, but I get the feeling that it’s huge, and it has something to do with the church and Mary.They were about to use me to get inside.There was an underlying feeling of something dark and sinister about their hushed tones and how they seemed on high alert even when we were thirty thousand feet in the air.
I know military men when I see them, and these two are most definitely part of some special force or some other military faction that no one ever hears about.They were precise in their approach when they told me how things were going to be when we got back to L.A.
I wasn’t allowed to ask questions or have an opinion one way or the other, something I’m not too good at putting up with when sober, but since they’d made it clear that it was for Elena’s benefit, I didn’t put up much of a fight.