Why was I sent it and not Reed?
Then earlier today, I received another text from the same number.
I wipe my eyes and swallow down my hiccups as I open it and read it for the millionth time.
Unknown: Make sure Walker re-elects George Yates as NYPD Commissioner. Or this video gets released for the world to watch.
Maybe I was stupid to reply, but I did.
Me: Who is this? Why are you doing this?
Unknown: Make sure he chooses George Yates. We know you can convince him.
I’ve never felt so hopeless in my life. I’m numb. So numb that even silence seems to have a sound. One that rings and rings in my ears as I try to shut it out. Whoever it is has targeted me. Reed would never be blackmailed. Never. He’s stronger than me. He would never let anyone have that power over him.
“People will try and use your past against you, Harls.”
They must know that. They haven’t chosen him. They’ve chosen me. We’ve been in the press, attending events together. We’ve looked like the couple in love. The couple who only have eyes for each other.
In the beginning, it was an act.
But it stopped being pretend for me a long time ago.
Anyone who has seen us together will think if they can’t get what they want from Reed, then they should try me. That, if I love him, then I will do anything to protect him. Like he has done for me.
And they’re right.
I will do anything for him.
I know he’ll question me if I show anything more than a mild interest in who he’s electing as commissioner. He knows I don’t have the knowledge of the New York political circuit to understand what I’m suggesting. He would see right through me.
But that’s not why I can’t do it.
Reed wanted to run for mayor to improve residents’ lives. To bring positive changes. Whatever reason these people want George Yates to be re-selected can only be sinister. I can’t do that to Reed. I can’t do anything that will darken his dreams. Anything that could stand in the way of what he has fought for all this time. What he has worked so hard for.
I can’t let anyone use his past against him. He told me it was something he could never accept.
“Don’t look at me any differently, Harls. I couldn’t stand it.”
“It makes me physically sick… people… they can never leave their past behind them because others won’t let them. That can destroy you more than the event itself.”
“I would sacrifice myself for you if it meant no one would ever try and hurt you, especially by using your past against you.”
Whoever this is obviously thinks I can persuade Reed because of our romantic relationship. But if that were to end…
I draw in a shaky breath as I slide my phone back into my purse and pull out some mints, crunching a couple down quickly, and then throwing two more into my mouth.
If that were to end… ifwewere to end… then they wouldn’t have that leverage anymore. I’m probably being stupidly naïve. They will try something else. They might still release the video, anyway.
But it could buy me time.
Buy me time to try to figure out who’s behind this.
I’m going behind Reed’s back. But I’ve asked Griffin for help. Reed told me he saved him when he was at his lowest. Griffin knows everything. Him and Riley. And maybe Stuart. I don’t know. Maybe not Stuart, but he’s his campaign manager. Would he know everything about Reed? Isn’t that their job? To pre-empt horrendous situations like this?
Griffin told me not to worry. That we would get them. That they wouldn’t get away with it. And I wish I had his optimism. He’s livid someone is doing this. But I’ve worked with him enough years to know the lengths he will go to when he’s determined. He will help. It will work. It has to.
He said we should tell Reed. And the police. He insisted. Griffin might be my boss during working hours, but this isn’t his call to make. If the police investigate, then it means handing over the video to them. More people will see it. They will all see what Reed went through.