Jaded (Jaded 1)

Corrigan glanced at the screens and remarked, "Too bad you didn't put any videos in the rooms. We'd get some great porn right now."

My insides cringed, but I teased, "Already resorting to porn, Corrigan? She just left."

Bryce suddenly shot up from the couch and strode towards the computer keyboard that manually controlled the video output.

"What are you doing?" I asked and moved behind him.

"The guys were…just before I got punched the tech guy was telling me that it was weird because there was already a feed going on in the house. I didn't think about until…"

"They didn't say anything," Corrigan spoke up. "I told them just to fix the video where you told them and not worry about it."

"Yeah, but," Bryce frowned. His fingers went to work on the keyboard.

I asked, "What are you doing?"

"Are you a geek?" Corrigan asked.

Bryce rolled his eyes. "Luca has a thing for this stuff. Playing one on one with him—he tends to ramble about this stuff. I've picked up some of it after shooting hoops with my brother for years."

I arched an eyebrow. "That's a nice skill to suddenly come in handy right now."

"Shut up," Bryce snapped.

I grinned.

"Seriously." Corrigan shifted closer. "What are you doing?"

"The other feed is bothering me. It could've been the other alarm system. They didn't remove it. I told them just to use the old wires, because they were already there, but…what if…"

He hit a last button and my eyes filled in horror.

Bryce finished, numbly, "What if…an alarm system wasn't installed the last time…"

My insides hurled as I saw images of myself on the computer screens. In the shower. On the couch. In bed, sleeping…and…my eyes fixed on the bottom screen where Bryce pistoned into me. We were both grasping the bed in desperation and instead of the remembered passion from that night, disgust rolled over me in waves.

"That's the night…"I swallowed, but forced myself to finish, "That's the night…"

Bryce finished my thought, "…of the candlelight vigil."

Chapter 27

I shot to the bathroom and emptied my stomach that had been filled with nothing. I stayed there, even after a tentative knock sounded at the door. Someone shuffled in, saw my ashen features through their drunken glaze and shuffled back out.

I held onto the toilet and rested my forehead against my arm.

I don't know how long I stayed there, but it was long enough for Bryce to have regained control over himself. Or—that's what I assumed when he entered the bathroom, silently locked the door, and curled around me. He rested his arms on both sides of me and dipped his forehead against my back.

Neither of us said a word, but the images flashed through me. I saw every single time where I had thought my home was private, where I was alone. And everytime my stomach rolled from the violation.

"Did…," my voice cracked. "Did you guys stop the feeds?"

Bryce heaved a deep breath and said, "No."

It took me another moment before I was able to formulate a rational response, but I asked, "Why not?"

"Because…" I wasn't the only one fighting for composure. Bryce trembled, just barely, but he managed out, "Corrigan called Hoodum. He's got a technical guy that might be able to follow this feed to wherever it's going."

My throat dried.

"Are you saying…this stuff could get leaked to Hoodum?" I asked.

"No. Hoodum won't do anything with it. Corrigan will make sure and Hoodum's already agreed. The guy's supposed to just follow it back to where it's transferring somewhere and that's it. He's supposed to find the address and hand it over."

"How can we be sure? Not a lot of trust going on with me."

"Because…we don't know, but we both know that Corrigan will kill Hoodum if this is leaked."

I rested my forehead on my arm and Bryce scooted closer behind me. His arms tightened and he rested his head in the crook of my shoulder. I felt him breath my neck when he murmured, "He's gonna fry. You know that."

I sighed, but it didn't help.

"He's already seen…" So much. Too much. "Can…" A worse thought came to mind. "…was there sound?"

"No," Bryce whispered in my ear.

So he didn't hear everything, not everything…

"God," I choked out again.

Bryce took a deep breath, "If…"

"Don't!" I said sharply and shoved him off. I stood up, suddenly fed up with feeling the victim. "I want to know who this guy is and I'm going to kill him before the police get here."

Bryce stood, slowly, and watched me tentatively. Cautious. He reminded me, "They are parked outside."

"I know." We'd just have to get around it.

I led the way back into the small room and saw Corrigan bent over the computer keyboard with another guy speedily punching the buttons. Both of them glanced up, caught our gaze, froze for a moment, and then returned to their work. I stood in front of the screens and watched. I wanted each image branded into me. I wanted to see what he'd done to me when I was going to do what I needed to do, to him.

Bryce kept his eyes on me, but he circled beside Corrigan.

Both glanced every now and then to me, but they always shifted back to the tech's heart-pounding race to trail the feed before any more damage was done.

I glanced around and spotted the remote. Lifting it up, I changed the channels. More and more images replaced the ones already there of me. They were all of me, at different times. I was just dressing in one. Another—I was putting make-up on. A third, I was just sitting on the couch, staring at nothing. And then…Bryce and I were in the shower. I was straddling Bryce. Bryce was on top of me, behind me. Sometimes we were wrapped around each other, talking, laughing, or arguing. One screen was of us fighting. No words were heard, but it was evident. It started, we fought, and then it replayed immediately so just our fight was being watched.

And still…I changed the channels again.

This time, one screen was Bryce and myself again, but Bryce reached inside my nightstand and froze. I looked puzzled and the shot repeated to the beginning where we were kissing, starting to undress, and Bryce would always reach for the condom, but freeze as his hand found the gun instead. The screen image never let the gun be shown.

And then…I must've made a sound because Bryce and Corrigan both looked over, saw my eyes riveted, and trailed to a camera that had been placed in the garage. I was pressed against the wall by Denton. The camera saw everything. Denton's jeans sagged, the thrusting, how I gasped against the quick onslaught, and then how Denton helped me finish. Just as the door closed behind him when he left, the image repeated again for us to watch the entire thing over and over again.

Bryce clenched his jaw, but turned back and snapped at the tech. to finish working.

I met Corrigan's gaze and saw sympathy in that moment. Any other time, any other person, I would've lashed at them. I didn't need anyone's sympathy, but it was Corrigan. The sympathy was replaced with a hardening and I knew Corrigan wanted to beat this guy just as much as myself and Bryce.

I left suddenly, ignored the sudden calls from Bryce and Corrigan and swept into my room.

I hurried to my nightstand, reached inside, and heaved a breath of relief as my fingers found the cold metal of the Colt.45.

Instead of leaving it, I tucked it into my pants and left again.

This time, I moved through the house and headed towards the garage.

A few of the guys tried to stop me, but I ignored them like I'd ignored Bryce and Corrigan. As I cleared the garage, Yerling, Mena, and a few other straightened abruptly at my sudden appearance.

Mena remained quiet, but Yerling smiled, smug, and threw the first taunt. "Come to beg, Sheldon?"

"Come to die, Yerling?" I threw back.

The frown was there, slightly, but it was replaced with malicious amusement and then…just wariness.

I tilted my head and moc

ked, cruelly, "This isn't the Yerling that promised me it'd be you and me one of these nights." I moved closer and pressed, taunting, "What happened to that brave little boy? Did he get beat up one too many times? Does he no longer have some balls? Or maybe you do, maybe you're the one who's doing all of this?" I wanted that. I wanted him right in front of me. I wanted a target, finally.

"You might want to watch it," Yerling flashed a growl, but shook his head and moved a step back.