#Heart (Hashtag #6)

by Cambria Hebert

  “I understand you loved your son, Mr. Bettinger. No one is here to dispute that. But I know you have to be aware your son wasn’t always the nicest guy. He did things. A lot of things that were unsavory.”

  “If this about the alleged rape—”

  “It’s not alleged!” I snapped. How dare he try and make it out like I was pretending? It was the single most horrible thing to ever happen to me, and I would not stand here and allow him to make light of it. “Your son drugged me. He used my room key and took me into my own room, into my own bed, and he raped me.” I dragged in a breath. “He said horrible things to me that night, things I wish I could forget. I have to live with that. I have to live with his voice taunting me as he violated me.”

  Robert paled and took a step forward. His eyes were angry, and it scared me.

  But I held my ground.

  Romeo noticed him moving, and he stepped forward and dropped a hand on his shoulder. “Stay back,” he warned.

  It wasn’t a friendly warning.

  “I have proof.” I kept going. “Proof that he raped me. I have an entire folder of pictures that make it very clear about what happened to me that night. Your son took pictures because he was proud of what he did. And then he sent them to the school BuzzBoss in hopes that his conquest would get out and humiliate me even more.”

  Robert made a strangled sound. “I don’t believe you.”

  “Believe it,” Missy said. “And those aren’t the only photos he sent the BuzzBoss.”

  “What is a BuzzBoss?” he asked, his voice becoming a little nervous.

  “Think of it as a direct hotline to every single student on the Alpha U campus. Kind of like a chain email but way faster and more accessible.”

  “I can’t believe the dean would allow such a thing.”

  “He doesn’t,” Missy said. “BuzzBoss got taken down. But that’s the thing about the web. Alpha U doesn’t own it all.”

  “And how do you know what this BuzzBoss has on my son?”

  Missy stood. “Because you’re looking at him.” As if to prove a point, she pulled out her phone, did a few things, and then slid it back into her pocket.

  Seconds later, both Romeo’s and my phone went off. Romeo pulled his out of his back pocket and lit up his screen.

  “Well. Would you look at that?” Romeo scoffed and read the buzz out loud. “Standing in front of the biggest story of the year. #BuzzBoss knows all. Stay tuned.”

  He held the phone out so Robert could see the notification. I dug out my phone, pulled it up, and did the same.

  The challenge left his eyes, and beneath Romeo’s hand, his shoulder sagged.

  “What do you have on him?”

  Missy made a sound and dropped in front of the laptop. Within seconds, she had file after file of photos pulled up.

  “Here he is the beginning of last year, hazing one of the dropouts from the Omega fraternity.”

  She turned the screen around to show a picture of Zach holding down a young-looking student and pouring what looked like vodka in his mouth. You can tell by the picture the kid was already drunk and was choking on the liquid being forced on him. He also had a black eye and a bloody nose.

  “Here he is shoplifting from a local business, something I have pictures from twenty different days of him doing. I would imagine he’d stolen quite a lot in twenty plus trips.” Missy clocked through several images in which he was clearly stealing.

  “Here he is vandalizing one of the professor’s cars a few semesters ago. I heard that spray paint had been impossible to get off and the teacher had to pay to have his car entirely repainted.”

  Another picture.

  “Here he is assaulting a girl from a campus sorority.”

  That image was particularly difficult to look at, but I couldn’t not look. She was tied to a bed, hands and feet. She was completely naked, and Zach was, umm… doing things to her with a beer bottle.

  I must have made a sound because Romeo was suddenly beside me, gently turning my face away from the screen. “Change it,” he roughly ordered.

  Another click brought up another. And another. And another.

  Each picture seemed to get worse than the last. I was horrified that I wasn’t the first and only woman he assaulted. In fact, some of them he was so horrible to, it made me feel guilty for being in so much pain about what he did to me.

  I ended up burying my face in Romeo’s chest as Missy went through more than a dozen photos, going over them in graphic detail. I was going to have to add an extra therapy session to my schedule for this. This whole time I’d been so ashamed, so adamant that no one know what happened to me. I was embarrassed and didn’t want people to look at me as a victim.

  Was that how all these girls felt, too?

  Were they ashamed, afraid, and alone?

  Maybe if I had said something, it would have helped another one of his victims.

  I started to tremble, and Romeo swore lightly under his breath. “I think he gets the point,” he said over my head to Missy.

  I heard the snap of her computer lid, and I took another moment to compose myself.

  “Rest assured, I have more of the same. All of those are backed up on a hard drive that only I know the location of,” Missy intoned. I heard the rustling of the bag she’d brought along, and I looked up.

  “About Braeden…” She began, clutching the bag. “I know for a fact that Zach had intent to kill him. He told me.”

  “He didn’t,” Robert said, his voice small and shaky.

  “He was obsessed with me before he died. He thought we were going to be together.” She dumped out the contents of the bag on the table. “These are gifts he sent to me. Each has a handwritten note.” She picked up one small card and took it across the room, handing it to Robert. “Recognize the handwriting?”

  He stared down at the card. My heart broke for him when he started to cry.

  Missy snatched the card away as if she were afraid he might try to destroy it. “He stole this dress from the place where Ivy works. The night he kidnapped Ivy, he left it on my door with a note. He wanted me to wear it to celebrate the next night after he killed B and Ivy. The note makes his intentions quite clear.”

  Romeo sucked in a breath, and I pulled back to look at Missy gratefully.

  But she wasn’t done.

  “You can check the log at the hospital he was in upstate. He had a visitor before he was released. It was me. I signed in under the false name Blair Brien. I’m sure if the staff were called to testify, they could identify me as that woman.”

  “My son.” Robert’s voice broke.

  “Your son was very sick,” Romeo said gently, kindly. Like he was talking down a man from a ledge. “You already told me that. I believe you. We all believe you. Maybe the things he did were symptoms of that illness. Right now, it isn’t public knowledge the kind of things he did. Yes, the accident details and how he kidnapped Ivy are public record, but I think you and I can both agree that’s nothing compared to things Missy has on him.”

  Robert was utterly defeated in a way I’d never seen before. He practically slinked over to the leather club chair and sank into the cushions. “You would release all that information? Use it to completely ruin my son’s name.”

  “And your reputation,” Romeo intoned.

  “My wife would never agree to come back, then. Never.” His voice was empty.

  I’d feel bad if I wasn’t doing this for Braeden.

  “Oh, I would use it.” Missy’s voice was almost chilling and dark with promise. “The BuzzBoss doesn’t hold back. It’s cost me a lot.” She looked at me but then back at Robert. “But it would cost you way more.”

  “What do you want?” he sobbed.

  My stomach turned. I felt dizzy. What we were doing was disgusting. We were basically blackmailing this man.

  But what choice did I have?

  It was him or me.

  Just like the night Braeden made a choice.

  Him or Z
ach.

  “Walk away from your vendetta against Braeden.” Romeo cut in, cold and calculating. It was clear he was the son of a lawyer, because he knew exactly when to move in for the kill. “Drop your entire case, don’t file charges, and stay the hell away from my entire family.”

  “And once I do, what’s to stop you from releasing all that information anyway as revenge?”

  “I give you my word,” Romeo said. “I think you know my word means something.”

  “What about her?” Robert looked to Missy.

  “She’ll delete everything,” Romeo answered.

  Missy’s eyes widened, and I thought she was going to protest.

  “And if anything she showed you tonight ends up on the BuzzFeed, you can sue her for defamation of character and I’ll testify against her.”

  She gasped. “You wouldn’t.”

  “Fuck yes, I will,” he rumbled.

  “Do we have a deal?” I said, anxious to get the hell out of there. I just wanted it done.

  “What choice do I have?” Robert replied miserably.

  “There’s always a choice,” I said. “You just have to choose the one you can live with.”

  Robert seemed to consider my words.

  “Let your son rest in peace,” Romeo said softly.

  “I’ll drop the case. The charges will never see the light of day. Your friend is free.”

  I sucked in a breath, afraid to believe.

  Romeo stepped forward and held out his hand. “Do I have your word?”

  Robert looked between Romeo and his hand, then slowly placed his inside. “You have my word.”

  When he was done, he moved past me to stand in front of Missy. “I’d like your word as well.”

  Her word doesn’t mean a thing, I thought. But I wasn’t about to tell him that, not after getting what I wanted.

  “Fine,” she said and shook his hand.

  Missy started packing up her stuff.

  Robert turned to Romeo. “I’ll call your father and let him know. Then I’ll call my contacts and shut it all down.”

  “Do it today,” Romeo ordered. “If Braeden gets so much as a speeding ticket on Monday, I’ll start posting that shit myself.”

  “I’ll sue you.” Robert threatened.

  “You’ll have to prove it was me first.”

  “So arrogant,” Robert muttered.

  “I could say the same thing about you.” He smiled, but it wasn’t a gesture that reached his eyes.

  “Now that you’ve gotten what you wanted, kindly get out.” There was nothing kind about the way he said it.

  “With pleasure,” I said and started ahead. A wave of dizziness slammed into me, and I swayed on my feet.

  “Whoa,” Romeo rushed forward and picked me up. “The baby?” he worried.

  “Baby!” Missy gasped.

  I shut my eyes and winced.

  “Ivy.” Romeo worried and gave me a little shake.

  I opened my eyes. “I’m fine. With all the excitement, I didn’t eat. And I barely got my juice.”

  He chuckled. “Damn orange juice.”

  “Don’t tell B. He’ll only worry. He’s been through enough.”

  Romeo’s eyes narrowed.

  “Please?”

  “Fine, but we’re going to get you food right now.”

  Robert walked to where we stood and looked at me with searching eyes. “You’re expecting?”

  “Yes.” I lifted my chin and replied.

  He nodded. “I understand why you fought so hard,” he said. “If you’ll fight that hard for the father of your child, then you’ll fight even harder for the child himself.”

  “Yes. I will. Don’t forget that.” My absolute confidence in that statement made a ghostlike smile appear on Robert’s face.

  “It’s for the best, then. I hope you do a better job with your child than I ever did with mine.”

  “We’re going,” Romeo said to Missy over his shoulder.

  The three of us walked out of the house while Robert held the door. Well, I didn’t walk. Romeo carried me because he refused to put me down.

  He was as bad as Braeden.

  When the door to the house latched behind us, Romeo continued on down the stairs.

  “Wait!” Missy called after him.

  He stopped and turned.

  She came rushing down the stairs. “You’re pregnant?” she asked. “With Braeden’s baby?”

  I squeezed Romeo’s arm because I knew he was about to say something sarcastic and mean. I didn’t like Missy, but she did just totally help keep B out of jail.

  “Yes, I am.”

  So many emotions passed behind her eyes. One I just couldn’t ignore any longer.

  “You love him, don’t you?” I asked.

  She smiled sadly. “It doesn’t matter because he loves you.”

  “I truly am sorry.”

  “So am I,” she said.

  Romeo didn’t seem to care we were having a moment. He made a rude sound and jolted me gently. “Give her your keys, princess.”

  “My keys!”

  “You’re coming with me,” he said.

  “My car—”

  “Missy can drive your car back to our place.”

  Was he on drugs? Or maybe I was a lot dizzier than I thought. I was hearing things.

  “You’ll meet us there, right, Missy?”

  “Are you serious right now?” I asked, trying to get down from his arms. I was driving myself home.

  “Serious as a heart attack. Stop trying to get down. It ain’t happening.”

  “You’re stupid!”

  “That the best you got, princess?” He was totally amused.

  “I can walk,” I grumped.

  “Last time we let you do that, you ended up here.”

  I wilted. Braeden was probably really upset. Romeo wasn’t the only one who had texted. “Is he mad?”

  “What do you think?” he asked.

  I frowned.

  “You know he won’t stay made at you for very long. He never does.” Then he pinned me with a hard look. “You never should have come here alone.”

  “I wasn’t alone,” I rebuffed.

  We both looked at Missy as if just realizing she was still there. She was watching us with a shuttered look on her face. But even so, I could tell she was hurt. It was like I had the life she wanted.

  The sad thing was it had been her life, too. She was the one who threw it away.

  “We should go,” I said, wiggling down.

  “I’m not letting you out of my sight. Not after you almost face-planted in there. My nephew is starved.”

  “It’s a boy?” Missy’s voice cracked.

  “It’s too early to tell,” I said, elbowing Romeo. “He just likes to say that.”

  I pulled the keys out of my bag and held them out to her. “Do you mind?”

  “Sure,” she said and took them.

  “We’ll be right behind you. I’m gonna swing through the first drive-thru we see,” Romeo told her as he went to the Hellcat and managed to open the passenger door while still carrying me.

  “Okay,” Missy said, her voice sounding a little faraway.

  “You want anything?” Romeo offered. That was awfully nice of him.

  “Um, no thanks.” She seemed surprised he would offer.

  “Cool. See you at the house. Someone will drive you back to the dorms.”

  Missy drove away first because she was parked behind Romeo. When she was gone, he glanced at me. “Think we can trust her with your car?”

  I grimaced. “I hope so.”

  He started up the engine and then leaned on the steering wheel, turning his head to look at me. “That was all you in there.” He motioned toward the house.

  “I had some backup.” I smacked him lightly in the arm.

  “How’d you know she’d help you?”

  I glanced away and out the window. “Because she’s in love with him.”

  “I’m sure going
to her was hard,” he said. “And then what went down in there.”

  I pushed away the unwanted images of the few pictures I looked at. “It was worth it,” I whispered.

  Anything for Braeden.

  “Do me a favor, huh?” Romeo asked and pulled down the driveway.

  “What?”

  “Marry my bro, ‘kay? Not only does he really love you, but I wanna keep you around, too.”

  I smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  He grinned and held his fist in the space between us, and we pounded it out.

  “He’s free.” The relief in his voice matched the relief I felt.

  I melted back against the leather seat and let out a sigh.

  He was free.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Braeden

  I was standing in the driveway when Ivy pulled up.

  Soon as the car rolled to a stop, I rushed over and wrenched open the driver’s side door. “What the hell were you think—”

  I stopped short.

  Missy blinked up at me in surprise.

  “Two seconds, that’s how long you got to explain,” I growled and looked in the backseat for Ivy. The car was empty. Where the hell was my girl?

  I moved back, and Missy turned off the engine and got out.

  “She’s on her way,” she said, her eyes never once leaving me. It’s like they latched on and wouldn’t let go.

  A long time ago, I would have liked that.

  Now it just pissed me off.

  “That’s not good enough,” I intoned.

  The familiar purr of the Hellcat cut into our conversation. I craned my neck as Romeo pulled into the driveway. I peered through the windshield. Ivy waved at me from the passenger seat. He stopped the car right beside me, and I forgot about Missy to open the door.

  Ivy climbed out, and I let out a string of curses. “Do you have any idea how pissed I am at you?” I swore even as I pulled her close and buried my face in her hair.

  “I’m sorry,” she said against my shoulder.

  “You didn’t answer your phone. I was worried sick.”

  “I’m fine. I promise.”

  Romeo got out carrying a Styrofoam cup with a straw sticking out of the lid. He came around the hood and held it out to Ivy. “It’s not empty yet.”

  She groaned, and I looked between them.