“Did the photos actually show them…” He glanced at me. “Having sex?”
“No, they were pretty tame actually, just him kissing her neck and feeling her up a bit. But still.”
“So he was blackmailed then?”
“Yeah, I guess. But why didn’t he just get rid of the photos?” She shook her head. “I kind of freaked out when I saw them and kept my mouth shut. Peyton had taken off in October without so much as a goodbye. I know Tori was really surprised and hurt by it. They’d become friends, you know. I didn’t want to get in trouble and I didn’t want my aunt getting fired. Tori was a really nice person too and if this had gotten out, she would have been devastated.” She pushed at the photo again. “I didn’t have the heart to tell her I knew why her friend had disappeared so fast, because I’m guessing that bitch had a wad of Mr. Derwin’s cash in her back pocket when she skipped town.”
I closed my eyes, breathing through my nose. Hearing Dani being called a bitch made my skin crawl. I wanted to stand up and defend her, but how could I?
She’d slept with an old man?
I wanted to puke.
Uncle Alex ignored my no doubt pale expression and continued with the questioning. “Did you ever see her with a tall, blond guy?”
“No.” The waitress shook her head. “Peyton was pretty private. She always came to Tori’s place for tutoring and she never talked about her home life. I remember hearing Tori ask her about her dad once and she got really edgy. I couldn’t help wondering if she came from an abusive home or something.” The waitress looked sad. “I don’t know. Whatever the reasons, the girl had secrets. She was either being used or putting on a really good show.”
I swallowed, wondering if it was a combination of both. “What school did she attend?”
“Same as Tori, it’s a private school. Sorry, I can’t remember the name of it right now.”
My nod was numb and lifeless, my voice devoid of emotion as I thanked the waitress. Alex took one look at me and then asked for his sandwich to go. With a confused frown, the waitress took it away, bringing back a box a few minutes later.
“So where to next?” Alex shut the car door behind him and looked at me.
“Nowhere. I don’t want to do this anymore.” I looked at the picture of Dani in my hand and screwed it into a tiny ball, throwing it over my shoulder into the backseat.
“Hey, I know this hurts. But it’s better that you find out all this stuff before jumping into a relationship with her, right? This is why I don’t date.”
I flashed him a glare, then grabbed the steering wheel, gripping it until my knuckles turned white.
“I’m falling for her and I’ve just found out all this shit I don’t want to know!” I slammed my fist on the dashboard. “None of those stories seem like her. She just doesn’t come across like that at all.”
“I guess she’s a good actress.”
I shook my head. “Damn good.” My voice was hard and bitter.
“What I want to know is why. I mean, she can obviously play a con, but what got her started in it?” Alex gazed at me, his expression thoughtful. “If I were you, I’d go home and write up everything you know. Map it all out, try to figure out some sort of timeline.”
He paused, his lips pushing to the side.
“Then what?” I snapped.
“Well, then you need to decide just how much you like this girl. If she’s worth it, then maybe you should call her on it.” His blues eyes hit me with full force. “Maybe once you find out her reasons, you won’t be so mad with her anymore.” His smile was sad. “Or you’ll be so mad it’ll be easy to walk away.”
I nodded, knowing he was right. I breathed out a long sigh and leaned my head back. It was pounding with questions, aching with the revelations I’d uncovered. I could no longer disprove that Dani was just Dani. She was a con artist; it’d be stupid to deny it.
But why’d she come after me? Was I her next target? Was she planning to win me over then swindle me for money? That’s obviously how she operated, made people fall for her then ripped out their hearts.
But I wasn’t the rich one. Elliot and Liesl were the ones in our group with money. Was I just her way in?
As the questions continued to mount I found my emotions going from sadness to outright rage. I wouldn’t let her use my friends this way. She wasn’t getting a penny from any of us!
As I started the engine I found myself almost looking forward to confronting her and getting it all out in the open. It would feel good being able to vent my frustration. I didn’t care how sad and beautiful her eyes were. I would switch off every protective instinct I had and go after her. It’s what she deserved.
She was a callous, money-hungry leech and there was no way in hell she was going to hurt me or my friends.
The flash of anger blew away my sadness and it was a small respite, but not enough to stop my heart from aching. Dani would never be mine and it didn’t seem to matter that logically it was a huge relief. Finding out that the sweet Dani I’d fallen for was nothing more than a liar, ripped me apart, just like I knew it would.
Chapter 23