Page 101 of Places I've Never Been

Mattie froze.

It was a shot of her and Adam under the waterfall at Lanmou Bay. It had been taken at night, from a high angle. The edges were grainy, but because the waterfall was surrounded by safety lights, the central image was more than clear enough to make out their faces and the fact that they were naked.

Her breath caught in her chest, and everything went a bit fuzzy.

She stared at the image. She could still feel Adam’s hands on her back and the water cascading over her shoulders. The shadows played with her breasts, while her naked back glowed in the moonlight.

Adam was mostly in shadow, but the curve of his face was quite visible, as were the lean muscles along his thigh. They looked like two people deeply in love. It was a magical moment, perfectly captured.

Some detached part of her told her it would make a fantastic album cover.

She gripped the phone so tight it creaked in protest.

“Mattie? Are you still there?”

“Yes,” she breathed.

If the photo was onLA POP, it would be everywhere.

Viral.

She was naked on computer screens and cell phones all over the world, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Everyone on the island had to have seen this photo by now. That was why Abayomi had groveled all the way to the office. He hadn’t been talking about the group shot. He’d been talking about this. They’d all seen. They all knew.

She had to get out of here. She tried to stand up, but her legs wouldn’t support her, so she hugged them instead.

“I’m so sorry, Mattie. I’m so sorry. I can’t believe that asshole did this.”

“So he…he had more photos…after all,” Mattie stammered.

She was having an out-of-body experience. This was a bad dream. It had to be. Wasn’t that what people always did in nightmares? Stand naked in front of crowd? Any second now she’d wake up. Adam would be lying beside her, and they’d laugh about how silly she was.

Piper cleared her throat. “That’s not the only reason I woke you up.”

“Sweet Jesus. What else could there possibly be?”

Maybe the Big One had finally hit California, and Los Angeles had slid into the ocean. Maybe a meteor was about to crash on Syer Island. Maybe a sinkhole would open up and swallow her right here, right now.

“I don’t know how to…hell. I’m just going to straight-up tell you. Adam’s manager, Lucas Austerberry, hired The Sniper to take shots of you, so they could leak them for publicity.”

She blinked, not sure she heard right. “Adam’s manager…how do you know?”

“A girl I know over at the studio. She’s dating a guy whose sister works as his receptionist. Donnelly was placed at Syer Island just two days before you arrived, and he knows Austerberry from way back. They’ve worked together before.”

“Is she…are you…sure?” Mattie curled in her knees and hugged them.

“I’m sure. She had details, including how much he was paid because she processed the payment.”

“But…why?” Mattie closed her eyes and tried to pretend she was somewhere else.

“Publicity. Austerberry’s known for being a pit bull. Once he sinks his teeth into an act, he doesn’t stop until he makes them a worldwide phenomenon, and he’s been with Delusions of Glory since he found them at a high school dance. He probably set up that handshake shot at the studio, too. Makes perfect sense, since they have a new album about to drop.”

“Does…does Adam know?” Why did it hurt so much to say that out loud?

“I…” Piper blew out a breath. “I honestly don’t know, sweetie. Donnelly was on staff, so he probably had access to schedules, right? Who else knew you were going to Lanmou Bay?”

It was hard to focus her thoughts. “The picnic was last minute. It was supposed to be Cooper, not…Adam asked me right before we left. The guys probably all knew. Abayomi too. He drove us. I’m not sure…I don’t know. I don’t know who else. You think…Adam?” She sucked in a breath, but it didn’t help. Her thoughts refused to form the rest of the sentence. She pictured that night at the beach. The swim. The massage. “Oh…Jesus…”

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