Page 73 of Sweet Addiction
“Okay...” I answer as an unfamiliar ache hits me square in the chest.
You blackmailed me.
She didn’t even want to be there last night, and I forced her into it.
Because I’m an asshole.
“Liv.” My tone is her last warning.
“Fine. I was trying to do the whole shit-sandwich thing. You know, give you the good, then the bad, and finish up with the good. But I’m not really good at that. Sit down.” She points at the kitchen table, but I don’t move.
“Spit it out.”
“Fucking fighters,” Olivia bitches as she pulls a tablet from an oversized Goyard purse. Her fingers fly across the screen before she holds it out for me. “The tape’s been leaked.”
“Of course it has,” I fucking bite out through gritted teeth because this is not what I need right now. Not when I’m weeks from what should be the biggest fight of my life. Only problem with that is it no longer feels like the biggest fight. Pretty sure that title goes to what’s happening with Dillan.
That sinks in as I look at the grainy video playing on the screen in my hands.
I study it. Study what I can see, which isn’t a whole hell of a lot.
The same time stamp from the original still sits in the corner of the frame. The bedroom looks like any other room at any other hotel. Nothing gives away where, just when. The woman’s face is hidden by the guy’s body. A body that has my tattoos but doesn’t. I don’t recognize either of them. “Liv?—”
She snaps the blood-red case of the tablet closed and snatches it from my hands. “I know. And I’m working on it, but for now, the damage is done. Now we need to work on controlling the narrative.”
“What fucking narrative? That’s. Not. Me.”
“Good. Remember this feeling. Because this is what we need, Rome. If you’re going to survive this?—”
“Survive it?” Dillan squeaks from the front door I hadn’t realized she’d opened. A baby-blue wool hat covering her beautiful hair, and my white Crucible hoodie covering her body. Her cheeks are pink from the cold and nearly match her sneakers. “Survive what?”
She closes the door behind her, keeping her eyes locked on Liv, and thankfully not noticing the way I clench my fists as I try to keep my shit locked down. Because right now, I’m about ready to snap. Not at her. Not even at Liv. Just snap. This isn’tme, and whoever is trying to fuck me over by saying it is wants something. But what?
They didn’t ask for money, so what are they getting out of this?
When Liv doesn’t answer, Dillan moves next to me and tilts her head up, close enough to touch but not touching. “Rome...”
“The sex tape was leaked,” I admit, so fucking sorry.
“Oh.” Her hand brushes mine, and I lace my fingers with hers, taking what little she’s willing to give. “Okay. Well, what’s the plan? What do we have to do?”
“Today—nothing. I don’t want the two of you to change a thing. Now you let me do what I do, and you trust that I’m the fucking best. Right now, I don’t even want you to make a statement. That’s beneath you. This isn’t you, and I will blast that everywhere. We’re going to come out hitting hard. They can’t prove anything yet.”
“They can’t prove anything at all, Liv. How many times do I have to say it’s not me?” I say, so fucking cold, she should be frozen in place.
“Good. I’m going to set up a press conference for you. Just keep your mouth shut until I need you to open it. Got it?” She tosses the device back in her bag and picks it up, along with the black coat folded over the back of the chair. “You’re going to come out of this smelling as clean as a fucking rose, Rome. Just trust me.”
She eyes the sticky buns in the box for a moment. “You’re in training, so I guess you don’t need these. Unless you want them, Dillan?”
Dillan shakes her head.
“Right. Okay. Well, time to get to work.” She grabs the box, presses a kiss to my cheek, and is gone without another word.
Dillan drops my hand before the door clicks shut behind Olivia and storms into the kitchen, doing a complete one-eighty.
“You okay?” I ask, annoyed when she looks up at me as she opens a bottle of water. “What? Are you pissed?”
“Maybe,” she snaps back, and yeah, whiplash doesn’t cover it.
