Page 56 of Conquered Obstacles

“I don’t think—I don’t know—I don’t know if I could,” Emily choked out.

I nodded but met Grace’s gaze. “I want you to get names of recent graduates from yearbooks or however you can. Mary and Kary can find these women and talk to them. We need to build a case and they’re already in college—”

“And won’t have their recommendations or spots to lose,” she gasped, getting where my head was. “Yeah, I thought we should go to the twins, but they would go to you anyways, so it just seemed smarter to—” She swallowed loudly. “We both have meetings with him at the end of the week before spring break.”

Shit. That meant we had a clock.

“I will not let this monster touch you. I swear it. Trust me now, loves.” I was glad when they nodded and all seemed relieved.

I got on the phone with Kary and told them what was going on, and she admitted she knew something was going on with the high school workers after spending time with them Saturday but wasn’t sure what. So she was glad they told me and we could help.

She promised to go get what we needed and would come right over. She said to call Justine to start digging into their rights as students and what they can legally ask for.

Even better.

“Oh, and remind them that one school counselor’s recommendation doesn’t mean shit compared to the people we know. Colton went to Harvard for grad school. Didn’t Jamie go there undergrad? We know a ton of Ivy League everyone now.”

Right, we did, and the girls were thrilled to hear that.

Good.

I let Justina know, and she promised she was all over it. All she asked for was any sort of handbook that the students received or any code of conduct. Emily said it was on the school’s website, and they had to sign something that they read it the first day of school. They were in charge of gathering it all as student council, so she was familiar with it.

Perfect.

That left me with a predator to find and make prey.

Sounded like fun.

15

All of my plans and ploys went out the window when the man approached me before I could even start to lay the trap. I was glad my phone was already recording in my pocket.

“You’re Arabella Baker, right?” Mr. Fuller asked as he jogged from his vehicle towards the sports bar he hung out at regularly. There was a sports game playing that night, and I learned he met up with the same group normally.

I slowed in my pace and did a double take, instantly deciding to change tactics when I saw the glee in his eyes. I knew that look well.

And it wasn’t a good one.

“You have the wrong person.”

“No, no, I don’t,” he chuckled darkly. “You’re Arabella Baker.”

“How on Earth could you possibly know that with such certainty?” I demanded as I turned to face him. “We’ve not met.”

He smirked at me. “You run a business. You see people all of—”

“And you’re not memorable, but I don’t allow men into my bakery, so enough with the games.” It was hard not to smirk when I saw the rage in his eyes.

“Your picture was all over,” he drawled. “The woman who was allegedly brutalized and tells such a story that—”

“That’s funny, because most people say I’m the owner of the super popular Karma Bakery,” I said with the same tone of disdain as I used some power on him to loosen his tongue. “I find only pigs and predators bring that up upon meeting me. Is that your thing? You like women you see as already being prey?”

Yes. It was all over his face.

“According to you they didn’t do anything wrong,” he said instead. “Who would believe a woman like you?”

“Like me? A victim?” I smirked at him. “Oh, this act might work on your normal prey, but this didn’t happen in this country, and the men who brutalized me were already found guilty and punished. You don’t matter enough to get the details. Those with authority and power already did.” I snickered at him and turned to leave.

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