She scuffles again, going for an elbow to Grady’s side but he dodges. “Call this buffoon off of me, Dad.”
“Natasha, we should go back to my hotel and discuss what is on your mind,” Marco suggests cautiously.
Her flinch is almost imperceptible, but it speaks volumes. “She’s not welcome at the Brasher.”
“You did that, you bitch.”
Evin’s rage notches up and he grumbles, “Get her the hell out of my building.”
She slings her gaze to him, and my protective instincts lock into place.
“I didn’t do it. But you’ll find that most hotels in the area feel the same.”
“You don’t have the power to ban me from an entire town, especially with the Governor as my dad.”
I roll my eyes. “If you’re playing the elitist card, you may want to ditch the junkie appearance. It’s not exactly attractive on you. Accept the fact you’ve lost whatever game you’re playing.”
“You don’t get to destroy everything I’ve worked for!” she screams at me, lunging unsuccessful out of Grady’s clutch.
“Destroy everything you’ve worked for? Look what you did to me! I actually had a life and future that didn’t include laying on my back to get ahead.” The tactless insult flies past my lips before I can stop it.
She glowers, her eyes searing into me. “You may have landed the perpetual playboy of this city with your whole virgin innocence act, but you’re nothing but a washed-up circus performer.”
Blistery hot fury electrifies in the space from all three men.
“Get her whacked ass out of here,” Evin barely grates out, raw and unfiltered loathing in his voice.
“Either you make this right, Caitlyn, or I’ll obliterate your pathetic hippie ass. You won’t even be able to buy flowers for that nasty color-wheeled head—”
“Enough!” Marco’s forceful demand is met with silence. His eyes meet mine and I immediately feel his guilt, sorrow, and sense of obligation. He’s torn between a daughter he neglected and a daughter he enabled.
I reach over and squeeze his hand, trying to relay my understanding. He clutches tight, his gaze sending an unspoken apology.
“Something’s wrong. She’s not well. You need to take care of her,” I speak low, not wanting to set her off more.
“Pure heart of gold,” he whispers, a single second of full gratitude before his posture changes. “Grady?”
“There’s a car in the back waiting,” he answers, a black blur whizzing across the room.
Evin catches the object mid-air.
Red BMW a block away, rental plates from Georgia. You need to check it out.” Grady’s arm closes around Tasha’s chest and she loses it, squirming, kicking, thrashing her head. “Let go of me!”
Marco drops my hand, walks past them without a word or glance her way. Grady drags her behind, and her screams don’t die until the downstairs door slams.
“What just happ—eughedd?” My question is muffled by Evin’s sweater as I find myself engulfed in his arms.
“She called Isaac this morning looking for money. He knew she was high, drunk, doped—whatever, she was jacked up.”
“She needed money? She blew through one hundred thousand dollars in a month?”
“If she’s on drugs, that’s not hard.”
“What did Isaac do?”
“He knows what’s happening so he agreed to meet her in Atlanta. When he showed, she was coming down and got paranoid. She jumped in the car and headed this way. He’s been following but lost her at the city limits and called me.”
“That’s who called?”
“He was one of many. Darby got word she tried to check into the Brasher and was denied. Tony Sanchez also got a call looking for a place for her to stay. He unloaded on her, and she went unhinged when he mentioned pressing charges.”
“You knew she was headed here.”
“I did. Grady got a call from someone, too. He spotted her coming.”
He’s wrapped so tight, my lungs burn. “I can’t breathe.” His hold loosens, giving me room to face him. Worry and fear are fixed on his features.
“Evin, she’s gone.”
“Never felt that kind of fear, knowing she was hyped on God knows what and coming for you.”
“She’s deranged and possibly sick.”
“She’s an unpredictable live-wire.”
I frame his face, tipping up to kiss him softly. Some of the tension eases and he squeezes my waist. “What do we do now?”
“Marco’s got her. Now we wait.”
“Now we wait.”
Chapter 37
Evin
“Sweetie, we’ll get answers.”
“Believe us, we’re digging into this,” Marco assures.
A glass of amber liquid fills my line of sight, and I snatch it, swallowing most in one swig. Dad offers the same to Marco, Isaac, and Grady.
The computer in Grady’s lap taunts me like a ticking time bomb. “How long before we know exactly what is on that thing?”
“It depends on what is stored and how long Tasha has been collecting information. I’ll review every file personally,” Grady answers confidently.
“Let’s be clear. She didn’t collect, she stole. From the files we’ve seen so far, she invaded everyone’s privacy.”
No one disagrees.
After the scene at the studio, Poppy drove Tasha’s rental back here. Mom and Dad were waiting. In a moment of weakness, I gave Isaac my address and invited him. I relayed the confrontation and we scoured the rental. Poppy collected all the receipts she could find to help create a timeline. Isaac and I took a shot at cracking into the laptop with no luck.
It wasn’t until Marco and Grady arrived that Grady got in. What he found is disturbing. Somehow, Tasha accessed Poppy’s phone, including personal videos and pictures. She also has files on Marco, Karen, and me.
One glance and Grady confirmed this kind of privacy invasion requires high-tech skills.
“The simple explanation is someone hacked into our cloud accounts, right?”
“That’s one way to do it, but that takes a certain expertise.”
“What’s another way to get access to this information?”
Grady raises his eyes to Marco, who seems to be holding on by a thread. “Fuck,” he hisses, downing half his drink.
“She could have hired someone that got close enough to extract the information using devices.”
“Meaning someone followed us?”
“All of you. It could have been as simple as someone sitting next to you in a coffee shop. With the right equipment and open Wi-Fi networks, they could easily do this. Regardless of how it happened, she paid generously.”
Rage surges in my veins. Out of nowhere, I realize. “Tony.”
“Tony?” Poppy scrunches her nose. “What does he have to do with this?”
“She got into his email and replaced my quarterly report with a fake. Someone would have had to have access to his original to make it look legit.”
Understanding settles over her and she nods. “A super hacker could probably also review your incoming texts. Which would explain how she knew about Rina.”