Page 36 of Durango

She turns her attention back to the computer but then looks up. “Unless…Is anyone underage?”

“We don’t know,” I say. “We haven’t watched it all.”

“I can’t help you, sorry.” She turns back to her computer again, essentially dismissing us.

Samantha balls her fists. She’s getting ready to launch into this woman. I grab her arm and haul her out of there before she can.

“Can you believe that? This whole thing is evidence,” Samantha yells as she waves the USB drive in the air.

“I have an idea how we can make this work.”

She turns her attention to me. “How?”

“You recognized two of the women. We need to contact them directly to see if they will come forward.”

Samantha leans against the building. “That might work, especially since one’s story is going viral right now.” She opens her phone, and her eyes widen. “Oh, no.”

I step up beside her and read what she’s seeing. The influencer responded to the allegations by stating it’s all untrue and likely some AI video the guy made to get clicks.

“So much for her coming forward,” Samantha says.

“You said you recognized another woman, too.”

She nods. “I did. But they’re friends, so she might react the same.”

“Well, we have to try, right? Unless you want to watch more of those videos. Because I don’t.”

Samantha scrunches her face. “You’re right. I’ll contact her.”

I lean against the building as my friend types away on her phone. Of course, Tyler is going to get away with this. He’s charming and has people falling at his feet. I used to be one.

“While we wait, let’s go somewhere expensive to eat,” she says. “My treat.”

I grab my purse and meet her at the door. “No, I’ll pay for my own.”

Samantha opens the door and then turns to me. “It’s my idea and my treat. Besides, if I don’t try to spend the money my parents give me, they might cut me off.”

Did I mention Samantha comes from a rich family? I mean, they are seriously loaded.

“Why not invest the money? That way, you spent it on something,” I suggest.

As we walk to the car, she turns and walks backward. “That’s actually what I do with most of it.”

I have no idea how much she is worth, but considering she’s in her thirties and has been receiving monthly trust fund payments since she turned eighteen, I’m guessing it’s a lot.

Once we are in the car, she checks her phone again. After she makes a few calls, she manages to find us a place for brunch.

“Huh, they didn’t require a reservation,” she says.

I laugh. “You do realize things are a lot more casual out here than in New York?”

She shrugs. “Yeah, I guess I didn’t think it through.”

Despite the fact that no reservation was needed, brunch was wonderful. And I’m thankful Samantha seemed to know what I needed. A moment to slow down and not think about Tyler.

But as soon as we get back into the car, she checks her phone and grins. “The other influencer already responded and said shemight be willing to talk to the police but needs to see the video first.”

“That’s great!”

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