Read Online Werebeasties by Lizzie Lynn Lee - Free Book Online Page B

there. It was a place where she could have some genuine ‘me time’.
    The cold water gradually turned hot. Sam pulled her wet hair over her back and inhaled a deep breath between the cascading splatters. She slowly calmed. Her rage was under control. She could think without being overwhelmed by the urge to bury a knife in Jared’s back, though that jackass totally deserved it.
    What should I do?
    She could tell them about the blackmail. Besides, Calvin was a lawyer. He would know what to do. Would they believe her? Or would they think this whole thing was nothing but Jared’s and her machinations? Rich people like them must have to deal with con artists who wanted to scam them for their money. If she went to them with this problem, Sam was afraid they would become suspicious and think she wanted to extort them.
    If she didn’t come up with the money, Jared would go to her mother and upload the tape to the internet. She wouldn’t put it past him. He would do it. She knew Jared too well. If he didn’t get what he wanted, he’d throw tantrums and do something horrible just to make his point. Her ex was a spoilt child. His mother and his grandmother were ‘he’s a sweet a boy and he can do nothing wrong’ types. The two women disapproved of her relationship with Jared and had been quite furious when she’d married him. Jared had been a sweet man at the beginning, but his mother and grandmother kept whispering poison to him that eventually turned him into a lazy jackass who turned her life into a living nightmare.
    If she did nothing, she’d become a laughing stock for the whole town. Jared would brag about what he’d done in the local bar and before noon time, everybody would know what she was doing. Her friends. Cousins. Neighbours. How was she supposed to live like that? She couldn’t pack her bag and move. She didn’t want to sell the house. She had to live in that town.
    Her father had been a reverend and everybody in town kind of looked up to them. Her   mother’s health hadn’t been good since her father had passed away.
    Sam swallowed hard. Her nerves wound tight. There was only one thing to do. She must recover that tape from Jared. She could deny everything if Jared tattled to her mother, but graphic evidence like a sex tape would destroy everything.
    She turned the shower off. Shaking, she shed her clothes and shoes. Her mind spun. She must find out where Jared was staying in Colorado and ransack his place for the tape. If he didn’t have it here, then she could go back to Indiana to Jared’s apartment.
    Sam towelled and changed into dry clothes. She went looking for her purse and fumbled with the address book. Jared had a best friend, his cousin, who he partied and hung out with almost every day. Mike would know where Jared was going.
    She took her cell phone and dialled Mike’s number. A sleepy voice answered her on the third ring.
    “Yo.”
    “Sam here. Mike, do you know where Jared is?”
    Mike sounded surprised. “Hey, Sammy. What’s shakin’?”
    “Do you know where Jared is? My lawyer needs him to sign some papers.”
    “What papers?”
    “The settlement papers. If he wants his money, he has to sign it fast,” Sam lied. Jared and Mike were close. If Jared was about to be blessed with a boatload of cash, Mike would like to know. The two were crackheads and barely had a brain to split between them.
    “Oh.” Mike sounded excited. “He went to Colorado, man. Couple days ago.”
    “What for?” Sam played along.
    “I dunno. He didn’t say.”
    “Do you know where he’s staying?”
    A pause. “I think he said something about Willwood or something. I ain’t sure. He just got some dough from his grandma and he said he wanted to splurge. Why don’t you call his cell?”
    Dough from his grandma, my ass. “I did. But he didn’t answer.”
    “Tough luck, man. Were the papers important?”
    “Duh. I wouldn’t call you if it wasn’t important.”
    “Is it about the