Page 50 of Celebrity

I woketo the sound of my phone buzzing.

Who could be calling me today? It was the Fourth, for crying out loud. A national holiday.

“Sami, answer the damn phone.” Dev rolled over and covered his head with a pillow. “It’s probably Jaci trying to fuck with us for leaving her with the family last night.”

I picked up my phone. Shit, it was Tracy. That meant we had a situation. The Joneses threw one of the best Independence Day parties in Seattle. Unless it was a crisis, nothing would pull Tracy away from her family.

I slid out of bed, glanced at Dev, who was fast asleep again and looking sexy as hell, and then answered as I walked out of the room.

“What’s wrong?”

“Good morning to you too. How do you know I’m calling because of a problem?”

“Tracy, it’s—” I peeked at the clock on the wall, “—five thirty in the morning in Seattle. You’d only call this early if we were about to face a major problem.”

“You’re right. I found out Senators Sanders and Decker were spotted together in Key West this morning.”

“That can’t be a coincidence. Fuck. How the hell do they know I’m running? Who leaked this?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. You have never hidden your hatred for Decker Senior, but him helping a liberal incumbent makes no sense when his party is teetering to maintain control of the Senate.”

“For the record, I don’t hate him. I just want him to fall off a cliff or something.”

“Same difference. The man you are about to challenge was seen with the man you consider your enemy and who happens to be your best friend’s opponent. It only means they have something on you.”

Dread crept in.

I sat on the couch and rested my elbows on my knees.

“This is bad.”

“It’s safe to say your secret is out. Sanders is an ass on a good day, but you’re a viable threat. He’s going to go for the jugular. Is there anything he can use against you? We have to prepare for damage control before anything is made public.”

I had to get it out in one go, and I could handle Tracy’s reaction.

“Decker hired a reporter, Spencer Miller, to break into my house and take nude pictures of me. He ended up taking the pictures but also tried to corner me. I kicked him in the balls and broke his nose, giving me enough time to press the panic button in the bathroom and get away. The police arrested him, but I realized a little too late that he’d uploaded the images to a cloud server, giving Decker direct access to them.”

“Hold on. When did this happen and why didn’t you tell me?”

I pressed my fingers to my forehead. “It was something I wanted to keep quiet. I felt ashamed.”

“Why? You did nothing wrong.”

I blew out a deep breath. “Tracy, I’m the image of a ball-busting attorney. I’ve represented a shock jock, celebrities, and politicians. If word got out, Sanders would twist the facts so I ended up looking like a whore who asked for it. This could have ramifications for my family and Dev’s family, including their careers.”

“What you’re saying is that you care less about how it affected you as a woman violated than other people. Isn’t your platform one of fighting against the establishment and accepted practices in politics? You went toe to toe with those who tried to shred my reputation. Don’t you deserve the same kind of defense? Fight for yourself.”

I waited a moment before I responded.

Oh God, I was doing that exact thing I’d tried to keep Jacinta from doing. It was so much easier when I viewed it from the outside and pretended what happened to me wasn’t as bad.

It didn’t matter what industry, there were countless victims of those who used their power and status to ruin others as a way to get what they wanted.

A chill shook my body as did a new sense of determination and worry.

I couldn’t let Miller’s actions victimize me anymore, and without a doubt, I wasn’t going to let someone else fight my battles for me, especially not Richard. He would spin it to his benefit, not mine.

“I’m going to fight him, Tracy. I’m going to make Sanders wish he never joined forces with Decker.”

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