Page 72 of Falling Embers

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Jones grumbled something under his breath and tossed his cards down onto the table.

“Why don’t you play with McNally? He’s horrible at cards. It’ll make you feel better.”

“I heard that,” McNally called from one of the couches by the TV.

“I meant for you to,” I hollered back.

Jones picked up the deck and shuffled. “What do you say to a little poker, McNally? We could make this afternoon interesting.”

McNally groaned. “Cindy’s gonna kill me.”

His wife would likely make him sleep on the couch if he lost two hundred bucks the way he had last time. I shook my head and started for the bunk rooms. “I’m going to grab a nap.”

I hadn’t slept nearly as well since that night with Calder. It was as if my body had gotten used to Calder’s presence and resented that he was no longer there. A flicker of annoyance surged in me at that knowledge. I’d slept alone for a long time. I mostly loved it. I could sprawl across the bed and take all the pillows. But nothing compared to the warmth and comfort of Calder’s body wrapped around mine.

I pulled open the door to the small room and stepped inside. There were two twin beds and a little nightstand in between. There were only two women on the crew, so this was our own little room. I set my phone down on the nightstand and toed off my boots.

As I lay back on the bed, I stared up at the ceiling. Jones’ words about everyone knowing what was going on with Calder and me played in my head. If that was the case, we needed to tell my brother. Everyone else could wait, but I didn’t want to hurt Hayes by hiding this from him.

My phone buzzed on the table next to me. I reached out without looking and grabbed it. There was a notification for a new email. It wasn’t from an address I recognized. I silently prayed for normal fan mail. A little girl telling me she’d gotten her first mountain bike. A backpacker wanting to know the best, hidden spots around Wolf Gap.

I scanned the email. There were only four words and a link.

Look what I found…

I knew the last thing I should do was click on a link from someone I didn’t know, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself. An internet browser window popped up, and I froze. The shock melted into nausea, the urge to empty my stomach so strong that I reached for the small trashcan.

My lungs seized as my stomach roiled. It was a porn site. Photo after photo of naked women in all sorts of provocative poses, but on each and every one, my face replaced the woman’s.

A text popped up on my screen.

Toby:What the hell is going on with the feed on the channel? You’re being tagged in all these insane pictures.

I exited out of my texts and the internet browser, moving to theVoyeurapp. There was a tab for my uploaded content, and then there was a tab where people could tag me. It was usually of people showing me them mastering tricks I’d done. Sometimes, drawings kids did. But there was none of that now.

The entire feed was those naked photos. My eyes burned with the urge to cry. Some of the photoshop jobs were horrible. Anyone would be able to tell they were fake. But others were so realistic, they had me doing a double take.

My breaths came quicker and quicker, my ribs tightening around my lungs. A soft knock sounded on the door, but I couldn’t get the words out to answer. It opened slowly, just a fraction, and then the whole way.

Calder moved into the room, shutting the door behind him. “Hey—” His greeting cut off when he saw my face. “What’s wrong?”

I still didn’t have words. I simply held out my phone.

Calder took it, and his eyes flared as he scanned the screen. “What the hell?”

“It’s on my channel and some porn site. They’re everywhere. Too many to count.”

He sat next to me, pulling me against him. “We’ll figure it out. Can you revoke the ability to tag you in things? Or will we not be able to find the photos again?”

My hand shook as I took the phone. “No, I can hide the tag tab from the public, but I’ll still be able to see it.” My thumb moved across the screen, changing my settings. At least, there was that. But how many people had seen? How many were already thinking that they now knew every inch of my body? “I feel sick.”

Calder held me tighter against him, pressing his lips to my temple. “I want to kill whoever’s doing this. I need to send this information to my friend Mase. He’s having people look into your case.”

I pulled back. “You told someone what was happening?”

“I had to.” He gripped the back of my neck, squeezing gently. “I needed to dosomething.”

I swallowed back the frustration and annoyance. I understood. I truly did. Calder wanted to keep everyone he cared about safe. This was flipping every single one of his triggers. He’d given me space to do what I needed and tried to meet me there in the ways he could. “I get it. You should’ve told me, but I get it.”


Tags: Catherine Cowles Tattered & Torn Romance