Broken Shadows

by Kathleen Brooks

  “You need to come out with a statement right now and tell the world these are fake,” Karri said sternly.

  “I will. I’ll have my publicist send out my response immediately. Please tell Skye I’m so sorry. She’s too nice a person to have this happen to.”

  “I’ll tell her. Thank you.” Karri hung up the phone and held open her arms. Skye collapsed into them and let the tears flow as both of their phones blew up. She didn’t even answer when Mason texted to see if there was anything he could do to help.

  “The poor girl,” Tinsley said to Trent as if he had any idea what his cousin was talking about.

  The morning air was invigorating and Trent was inspired. He was hard at work in his shop when Tinsley had walked in a couple of minutes ago carrying two coffees. Ryker lived in an enormous house on the river. Ridge lived in a neighborhood across the street from Ryker. Gavin and Harper were down the street from them, but in town. Wade was just a couple of blocks from downtown while Trent and Tinsley lived out in the country. Being the creative types they were, they found the quiet and beauty of nature inspiring.

  “What poor girl?” Trent asked, taking the coffee and thanking Tinsley.

  “Skye Jessamine. Someone just leaked all these fully nude pictures of her. They’re everywhere. I can’t imagine how violated she must feel right now.”

  Trent broke the pencil he held in his left hand. The one he marked the wood with before he cut it. He didn’t like being used by Skye, but she didn’t deserve this. He picked up his phone almost expecting a text from her.

  “You’re not going to look, are you?” Tinsley gasped.

  “Of course not. I wouldn’t violate a woman like that. I was just wondering if she’d texted.”

  Tinsley looked at him sympathetically. “Maybe now is the time to let her know you’re here for her. Well, I’m off to paint now that I’ve ruined your morning.”

  “You didn’t ruin it. It’s Skye’s morning that is ruined.”

  “Text her!” Tinsley called out over her shoulder as she left his shop.

  Trent picked up his phone, then put it back down. She wouldn’t want to hear from a one-night stand. Not with everything she was going through right now. He’d text her in a couple of days. Trent went back to work and ignored the little voice in his head that was calling him a coward.

  Skye sat curled up on the couch in her living room as Karri hovered around her. Her entire team had immediately descended on the house before the sun was even up. She’d heard them when she’d been on the phone with her parents and then she’d conferenced Karri’s parents in when they’d called. They all were worried about her and told her to come to either house or they’d fly out and rally around her.

  At first, her parents had been taken aback by Skye’s closeness to Karri, her family, and the entire Onondaga Nation that blossomed quickly during their freshman year at Syracuse. That had dissipated after meeting the Hills at parents’ weekend that fall. Karri’s family would live-text the girls’ lacrosse games to her parents and basically wrapped the entire Jessamine family in love.

  The truth was, Skye wanted to go home more than anything, but she’d told them she’d let them know after her meeting. So now she sat as everyone around her talked. Lenny was on the phone pushing back the bodyguard appointments until tomorrow. Jim was on the phone with the studio. Her lawyer, Bernie, was threatening to sue every outlet that was publishing the pictures. Rebecca Collins, her publicist, was spinning the hell out of the story.

  Skye sat there for hours nursing hot tea and listening as her world collapsed and noticing that not a single person in the room, with the exception of Karri, had even asked how she was. That was until the deep sexy voice asking if she was okay drew her attention.

  Skye looked up and almost cried with relief when Mason sat down next to her and pulled her into a tight hug. “I am so sorry. This double standard is such bullshit. If it were me naked, I’d be praised.”

  “Thanks, Mason. You’re the only one besides Karri who understands. It’s real nice of you to come over.”

  Her friend smiled down at her and reached over to the bag on the table. “I got your favorites. Has Trent called to check on you?”

  Skye looked into the bag and pulled out all her favorite chocolates and junk foods. “You’re so sweet. Thank you.” Everyone thought Mason was Hollywood’s tough guy, but he really was just a good friend. They spent hours talking in each other’s trailers. And while he came off as arrogant in the press, he was far from it. The press liked to link them together, but the truth was that Skye was the only one in Hollywood who didn’t want him. She wanted Trent, and Mason knew and supported that. He’d never asked her for a date and their relationship had always been platonic.

  “No,” Skye said sadly. “I haven’t heard from Trent since he left. After this and that article that made it seem like you and I are together . . . I’m afraid it’s time to give him up for good.”

  “He doesn’t deserve you. I’m always here if you need me. Well, except for right this moment,” he laughed. “I have a meeting.”

  He leaned over and kissed her cheek before walking out like the action hero he was. Skye sat in the silence for she didn’t know how long until a scream jolted her from her mind.

  “Dammit!” Rebecca yelled, drawing a momentary silence before her team rushed to finish up their calls.

  “What is it?” Skye asked as Karri perched herself on the couch above her and placed her hand on her shoulder to calm her.

  “There’ve been more leaked photos and this time they’re really of you. They’re not fakes,” Rebecca told her.

  “Where are they?” Bernie asked as all their phones pinged.

  “I sent them to you.”

  Skye clicked the gossip site link and felt exposed. It was her. She knew because the birthmark on her ass was on full display.

  “Is this all of them?” Jim asked.

  Rebecca shook her head. “The site says they have full frontal but they wanted to make sure it was really her before they ran with them.”

  “I’m on it,” Bernie said as he yelled at his secretary through the phone to patch him through to the owner of the gossip site.

  Jim looked to Rebecca for guidance but then his phone rang. “It’s Tony Ketron.”

  Rebecca took a deep breath. “Okay, we can spin this. We can tell the public they’re test shots for Tony’s new film and Skye’s not some drug-induced, out-of-control actress like the press is reporting.”

  “No!” Skye almost threw her tea at Rebecca. “Don’t you dare! I will not take that part. Is no one concerned that someone doctored photos of me and then someone obviously had a view into my bedroom to take these photos?”

  “It doesn’t matter what actually happened,” Rebecca said gently. “The narrative is already out there. Now we just have to make it work for us.”

  “No. I refuse to allow you to attach my name to Tony’s for any reason. These meetings are over. Everyone out!”

  Skye leaned over to Karri and whispered her instructions. “Okay, ladies and gentlemen. Right this way,” Karri said as she picked up all her personal items. “Skye needs some time to think. Let’s give it to her.”

  “You’re leaving too?” Jim asked Karri with surprise.

  Karri nodded. “She said she needed space. So, we’ll give it to her. Let’s move everything to text, okay?”

  Skye watched as Karri ushered everyone out the front door and waited. Ten minutes later, Karri was knocking on the back patio door. “What’s your plan?” Karri asked, plopping back down on the couch.

  “I want to contact the FBI. This has to be illegal,” Skye told her. She wasn’t going to take this sitting down. She was going to fight it.

  “Let’s do it.”

  Skye Jessamine drew a deep breath and took the first step toward taking control of her life.

  4

  Skye kept it together as she gave her testimony. The FBI agent nodded as he took notes, all the while his phone r
ecorded the entire conversation.

  “Could your phone have been hacked?”

  “Agent Shaw, I know you’re the head of the L.A. office and have dealt with people much more famous than me, but I’m not your typical gossip rag celebrity. There are no hidden sex tapes, there are no indecent texts, and no nude photos on my phone or anyone else’s.”

  “Tell him about the film role,” Karri hedged and Skye launched into the fight she had with her team regarding Tony’s upcoming movie.

  Agent Shaw had been appointed to clean up the L.A. office after he helped bust a major case some years ago when some agents had been killed or hurt. That’s what he’d told her when he said he was really a guy from a small town in Idaho who could understand her mindset as a small town woman. Skye had liked him and trusted him when he told her he’d be the only one looking into this to avoid any leaks. If he needed help, he’d ask her first. Skye appreciated feeling as if she had some control over her life once again.

  “Do you think they’re connected?”

  “I don’t know, but that’s how my people want to spin it. But then there’s these letters I’ve been getting. The last one was put on my gate.”

  “Can I see them?” Agent Shaw asked.

  Skye sighed, “Lenny has them. I’m sure Jim has some copies too.”

  “I’m going to have to talk to them if you want me to fully investigate this.”

  Skye looked to Karri who nodded. “Okay, but only talk to them. I don’t want to tip anyone off that I’m looking into this. They’re going to be mad. They wanted to handle this internally.”

  Shaw stopped the recorder and put his notes away. “Miss Jessamine, with all due respect, you’re the victim here. I only care about your feelings and keeping you safe. Your agent and your manager don’t scare me. Frankly, I would worry if they don’t want my help. I’ll talk to them tomorrow and let you know how it goes. In the meantime, is there somewhere safe you can go?”

  Skye thought about it. Karri was the only one she trusted. “I could go home to Iowa or I could to go Karri’s parents in New York.”

  “Let me have your cell phone number and I’ll keep you up to date personally instead of going through your entire team to get to you.”

  Skye unlocked her phone and handed it to him. “I’d appreciate that. Will you put your info in there?”

  She waited as Agent Shaw entered the information and then paused. “Do you mind if I look at your phone?” Skye sat up and regarded him with concern. Privacy was everything to her and she already felt violated. “I don’t want to look at your photos. I want to look at your apps and your settings. I want to see if any are vulnerable to hacking.”

  Skye exhaled as that sunk in and nodded. “I’d like that.” She waited as Agent Shaw went to work. She didn’t think there was anything on there that would be worrisome, but then she saw his mouth turn down into a frown as his brow creased. “What is it?”

  “Who put this calendar app on here?”

  Skye and Karri both leaned forward. “It was on the phone when I got it.”

  “Did you take it out of the box yourself and set it up?” Agent Shaw asked and a pit of dread opened up in her stomach.

  “Lenny got us both our phones to keep my name out of any records. He handed us both these phones in their boxes, but he’d charged them so they were ready to use. Why?”

  “Because this calendar app doubles as a tracking app.”

  “It’s a shared calendar among the three of us. Is that what you mean?” Karri asked exactly what Skye was thinking.

  “No. It’s a GPS tracking app hidden in a regular app. Parents use them to track their kids without them knowing it.”

  “Get it off!” Skye almost screamed as her heart started to race. Why was Lenny tracking her when he already knew where she was? The thought made her shiver as she thought about what she and Karri had talked about. She had nothing in her life that was just hers. Not even her phone.

  “I’ll screenshot the calendar and then would you check my phone too?” Karri asked Agent Shaw.

  “Of course.” It took him twenty minutes but then they were both handed back their phones with guarantees that they couldn’t be traced.

  “I’m not saying that your manager even put it on them. It could have been where he got them from and he might not have known about the GPS tracking in it. The fact is, we don’t know anything yet. Or maybe he knew, but it was for your safety. I put an encryption app on both phones that will run in the background.” He held up his own phone and showed them the app. “This helps close any loopholes left by any apps. Your email will be safe, your call history, your cloud storage, and your social media. It’s disabled all GPS tracking so even the retailer won’t be able to track it. It will be very difficult for any hacker to get into that now. Tomorrow I’ll come back and look at the angles of the photo taken in your room to try to determine where it was taken. That will be our starting point.”

  Agent Shaw stood, and when he did, Skye stood with him. She held out her hand and thanked him. They walked him to the front door and he paused. “Have you thought about hiring personal security?”

  “I’m meeting with them tomorrow. I was supposed to do it today, but the last thing I wanted was a man around I didn’t know. Karri, do you have the list of candidates?” Skye asked as Karri bent her head and went to work on her phone.

  “Here they are,” she said, showing Agent Shaw her phone. He looked over them with a quick glance.

  “They’re the norm for bodyguards to celebrities, but not if you’re high risk. I’ll shoot you an email when I get home with the names of a couple of people I’ve worked with in high profile cases. Most of them are retired U.S. Marshals.”

  Finally. Skye felt some relief. “I’ll hire whoever you recommend. Thank you so much, Agent Shaw, for coming out to my house in the middle of the night. I feel a lot better now.”

  “Good. I’ll touch base with you tomorrow.”

  Karri closed the door and they both visibly relaxed. “I’m going to sleep here again tonight.”

  Skye reached for her friend and squeezed her hand. “Thank you. I’d appreciate it. Why don’t we sleep in the guest rooms tonight? I don’t feel safe in my room after those photos were taken, even though I have shades.”

  Exhaustion was taking over Skye’s body. It felt heavy as she climbed the stairs with Karri right behind her. Instead of turning toward her master bedroom, Skye and Karri walked to the other end of the hall and turned toward the guest suites.

  “You were brave tonight, calling the FBI,” Karri told her when they stopped at the guest rooms.

  “I don’t feel brave, but I feel more in control. And I’m ready to fight for that control tomorrow. I’ll find a lawyer to look over my contract and Agent Shaw will, hopefully, get a lead on how and where the person took the photo of my bedroom.” Skye reached for her best friend and hugged her tightly. “Thank you. Thank you for uprooting your life to come out here with me. Thank you for being the sister of my heart.”

  With a heavy heart and heavy eyelids, Skye crawled into bed fully dressed and passed out.

  * * *

  Skye was dreaming of Trent and never wanted to wake up. He was reaching for her with a smile on his face and Skye was running toward him. Then his hand grabbed her arm hard. Skye gasped, but no air came into her lungs as Trent’s face loomed over hers and morphed into sneering lips and evil in his eyes.

  Skye’s eyes popped open as a hand pressed against her mouth and covered her nose. It didn’t matter that Skye opened her eyes as the blackout shades were drawn and the room was completely dark.

  Skye felt her nostrils flare as she clawed at the hand over her mouth. She felt more than saw a head moving closer to her face. She felt his warm breath heavy on her face. Skye tried to scream as she kicked and clawed with all her strength.

  “Shhhh.”

  Screw that. Skye reached for the bedside table and swept her hand in a blind panic. Her fingers connected with the lam
p and she shoved it, causing it to crash to the ground. A second later her door was kicked open. The man paused to look over his shoulder, but he was too slow. Skye’s college lacrosse stick swung through the air and smashed into his face.

  Karri hollered and raised it swing again as the man stumbled back. Not waiting to see what happened, Skye leapt from the bed and charged. The man was running for the balcony as Karri swung. She knocked the man in the back as Skye reached for him. She grabbed his shoulder, spun him around, and jammed her knee as hard as she could into his cowardly balls.

  The man cried out and bent over as he stumbled backward and into the blackout curtains, which parted where the balcony door was. As she and Karri charged him again, he pedaled backward through the curtains and out the now open balcony door. His butt hit the railing and his arms pinwheeled in the air as he tried to catch his balance. Skye and Karri grabbed for him. He looked at them, seemed to come to a decision and threw himself over the railing with a grunt.

  Skye and Karri rushed to the railing to find the man sunken into the eight-foot tall hedgerow. He groaned, crawled out of the hedge, and limped off into the night.

  “Still got it,” Karri said with a smirk as she spun the lacrosse stick in her hand. “But now we’re getting the hell out of here.”

  Karri and Skye packed as much as they could in two giant suitcases then Skye woke Agent Shaw up to tell him what happened.

  “I can get you into a safe house if you’d like.”

  “No thank you. I know exactly where I want to go. I’m going off the grid. It’s best that way, isn’t it?” Skye asked as Karri wrinkled her brow at her. She hadn’t discussed it with Karri yet, but the fact was there was only one person she trusted right now.

  “Are you going to your parents?” Agent Shaw asked.

  “No. I’m going to South Carolina.”

  Karri’s eyes went wide, but she didn’t comment.