Reed looks physically nauseated. And my stomach twists in response.
“If you’re thinking of asking me not to write this article, then don’t. Just like you won’t compromise your business judgment for anyone, not even someone you love, I won’t compromise my journalistic integrity. This is going to be a huge story. I can feel it. So, please, don’t ask me to choose between my love and loyalty to you, and your loyalty to Isabel, versus my convictions and ambition and moral code.”
Reed’s face softens. He smiles and takes my hand. “So feisty. I love it.” He sighs. “Sweetheart, I wasn’t thinking, even for a second, of asking you not to write this article. If Howard has done any of this stuff, then I want him taken down, every bit as much as you do.”
I exhale with relief. “Really?”
“Of course.”
“I thought, maybe, since he’s Isabel’s fiancé, and you obviously still care about her, you wouldn’t want her hit by any sort of scandal.”
“I’d rather she’s embarrassed by a scandal than married to a monster.” He touches my cheek. “And let me be clear about something else, my love. I still care about Isabel. I’m still her friend, whether she believes that or not. But at every turn, at every fork in the road, I’ll always, always choose you, and us, and our love, over Isabel or anyone else. Every fucking time. That’s what I was trying to tell you by sending you that surveillance video. I had the idea to send it to you days ago. But I only did it when I was finally ready to trust you, completely, with the information. Besides trying to vindicate myself, I was telling you I pick you—I pick us—over protecting Isabel’s secret.”
I hug him. “I love you.”
“I love you. I choose you, Georgie. Above anything and everyone else.”
I kiss his cheek. “I choose you too.”
“Write this article about Devlin, baby. Take him down. I’ll be with you, cheering you on, every step of the way.”
I take a deep breath to quell the surge of adrenaline I’m feeling. “I’m so excited. I really think this article is going to be huge. Plus, I think writing it will give me some much-needed closure about Gates, you know? I need that so much.”
Anguish flickers across Reed’s chiseled face. He lets out a long, controlled breath. “There’s something I need to tell you, love. Something about Gates.”
My stomach drops into my toes. “About Gates?”
He touches my chin. “Come on. We’ll talk about it over dinner. Amalia left food in the fridge for the weekend. Let’s eat and have a really nice bottle of wine—and I’ll tell you everything.”
Chapter 18
Reed
“Have you ever heard the term ‘white-hat hacker’?” I ask.
Georgina and I are dressed in soft clothes now, sitting at my kitchen table with one of Amalia’s meals and a bottle of red. And I’m nervous. Yes, I know Henn is completely trustworthy. Even more so than a priest or lawyer. But Georgie doesn’t know that. What if she finds out I told Henn about Gates, out of pure necessity, and decides, once and for all, she can’t trust me to keep a promise? If me telling Henn about Gates is the straw that breaks Georgina’s back, and she leaves me again—for good, this time—after I’ve said those three little words to her—words I’ve never said to another woman—then I’m positive I won’t survive it.
Georgina says, “White-hat hackers are the ones who help companies find vulnerabilities in their online systems, so the bad guys can’t hack them.”
My heart is thundering. “That’s right. Well, Henn is one of the best white-hat hackers in the world. Sometimes, he does favors for good friends, including me. In fact, if he believes in the cause enough, he’ll even don a grey—or maybe even black—hat, on occasion.”
Georgie lights up. “Oooh! You think maybe Henn would hack into Howard’s computer for me?”
Damn. I probably shouldn’t have led with that. “Uh... No. I mean, maybe. But Howard wasn’t the reason I mentioned Henn.” I take a deep breath. “Georgie, I had Henn gather some information for me about Gates. So I could find something to destroy him with.”
Georgina’s nostrils flare. But she says nothing.
“When you told me what Gates did, I wanted to kill him. Literally. I still do. But since murder is apparently hard to get away with, according to Leonard, and I very much enjoy my freedom—I decided to destroy Gates in a more indirect way. I figured he’d have a stash of child porn, or maybe Henn would find proof he’d embezzled from the school or something. I didn’t know what Henn would find. All I knew, in my bones, was a guy like Gates couldn’t be living a squeaky-clean life.”
Georgina blinks slowly... and exhales.
“I’m sorry I breached your confidence by telling Henn your secret.”
“What, exactly, did you tell him?”
“The gist of what you’d told me. Gates was your teacher in high school, someone you trusted, and he tried to rape you, but you got away. I also told him you’ve been deeply traumatized by the incident.”
“He’s the only person you’ve told about this?”
“Yes. And I told him not to tell anyone, not even Hannah. And I know he hasn’t. Please, don’t be angry. Please, Georgina, don’t leave me.”
Her features soften with pity. “Oh, Reed.” She gets up and slides into my lap. “I’m not going to leave you. This is DMV-serious, remember?” She touches my cheek. “I like that you felt so protective of me, you roped Henn into helping you.” She smiles. “It turns me on that you did that, if I’m being honest.”
I’m so relieved, I can only exhale loudly.
Georgina chuckles. “You poor thing. You really thought I’d leave you for telling Henn?”
“Georgina, when it comes to you, I never know what you’re going to do. And I know we’re only just beginning to rebuild trust. I don’t want there to be any reason for you to doubt me, ever.”
She presses her forehead against mine. “Don’t cheat on me. Don’t lie to me. Don’t you dare smack me. But anything else, we’ll work it out. I’m not going anywhere, ever.”
Again, I breathe a sigh of relief. “Don’t cheat on me. Don’t lie to me. Feel free to smack me, any time. Especially in bed. But, please, for the love of all things holy, do not put a scratch on my Bugatti.”
“Deal.” She kisses my cheek and returns to her chair. “So, did Henn find something useful?”
“He did. And what he found led him to hacking the principal of your high school and another guy—a renowned criminal defense attorney named Steven Price. AKA the father of the Price Brothers: Brody, Brendan, and Benjamin.”
“I remember Brody. He was a year behind me. The star quarterback. I don’t remember his brothers, though.”
“You wouldn’t. Brendan was two years behind Brody, and Benjamin a year behind him, so you were long gone by the time the two younger Price brothers got their starting quarterback gigs.”
“What does the father of the Price brothers have to do with Gates?”