Page 154 of Dirty Damage

Drew.

I park the car and pull out my phone, hands shaking as I type.

Did I just see you driving around town? What the hell are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be in Vegas?

The sea’s magic feels very far away now, replaced by a familiar, creeping dread.

Whatever peace Oleg and I found on that yacht, I have a feeling it’s about to be shattered.

44

SUTTON

DREW:If you wanna know what’s going on in my life, babe, then I’m gonna need a kiss first. Meet me at our townhouse in an hour.

I fling my phone onto the passenger seat like it’s a live grenade that might detonate at any second.

Bile rises in my throat, hot and acidic.

The burner phone was a mistake. Everything about letting Drew slither back into my life was a mistake.

But here we are—him thinking he can snap his fingers and make me heel like the good little pet I used to be.

I dig my nails into my forearms, angry red welts appearing as I try to remind myself where I am, that I’m safe. It’s an old habit after years of foster care, bouncing around to different houses, different beds.

The tic always comes back when I’m scared.

And right now, I’m terrified.

Because Drew isn’t just in Florida anymore. He’s circling Pavlov Industries like a vulture sizing up carrion.

Another text lights up my screen.

DREW:Come on, babe. Don’t be shy. This place is your home, too, remember? I bought it for both of us.

“Fuck you,” I whisper.

That house was never a home. Even when Drew was out, I didn’t have any freedom, courtesy of the cameras he installed both inside and out of the townhouse to track my every move.

It was a prison.

Then it hits me.

My hands shake as I pull up the security app on my phone. Drew never changed his passwords. Ever. He said his “shit was locked up too tight to get hacked.”

So does that mean…?

Username: BigDickDrew

God, I wish I was making this shit up.

I type in the old password, holding my breath.

No way he kept it the same. No fucking way is he really that stu?—

The feed loads.

Six different camera angles pop up on my screen. Three inside, three outside.

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