Page 51 of Catch Me (Townsend Legacy #4)

I vy

A Few Months Later …

“I’m on my way out of class now,” I tell Andreas through the phone.

“You should’ve let me come get you,” he gripes.

“Do you remember what happened the last time you dropped by campus to surprise me?”

In the past few months, since the premiere of Late Nights , Andreas’ star power has shot up. He was already a big deal, but that’s magnified tenfold. Especially since he was nominated for an Oscar for his role in the movie.

None of the blowback I feared would happen due to that video of Andreas and Dennis James or making our relationship public has come back to haunt his career.

To beef up support, he’s been out doing interview after interview all over the country. I never realized how much campaigning nominees have to do.

While I’ve accompanied him on a handful of trips, they’ve only been for short stints since I’m working full-time again while also finishing up my fashion design degree part-time.

“My security can handle them.”

“But you just got in from a five-hour flight and you’re back on the road tomorrow night. You need to rest as much as possible. I’ll see you soon,” I remind him.

“Not soon enough,” he complains, sounding like a kid that’s just been told he has to wait until after dinner to get his cookie.

“Love you.”

“Love you, too,” he returns before we disconnect the call.

I already know Spencer is waiting for me at the nearest school parking lot. But I need to run into the dean’s office to drop off a form. I text Spencer that it’ll be a few minutes so he doesn’t worry, and then I head toward the building that’s farther away from the parking lot.

It’s dark, but the campus is pretty well lit. I make it to the building and slip my form into one of the mail slots to have it delivered to the right office tomorrow morning.

But as I leave the building and round the corner to a small alleyway between the design building and the School of Business, the hairs on the back of my neck stand.

There aren’t many people around, given that most evening classes let out a while ago. I stayed a little later to do some research in the campus library.

All of sudden, there’s a voice behind me.

“You thought I would forget what you did to me, bitch?”

I jump back, frightened from the sheer hatred in Dennis James’ voice.

“You fucking humiliated me!” He raises his arm, and in his hand is a gun, pointed right at me.

In the months since the premiere a lot more information about Dennis James has come out publicly. He’s responsible for more than just some cyberbullying, which is why he’s at risk of going to jail.

It also came out that Rebecca, my former boss, was a fan of his YouTube channel and knew what he’d done to me and other women.

When she believed I’d tried to show her up at work, she’d reached out to Dennis and formed a friendship with him in order to bring him to the premiere in an attempt to humiliate me.

Not long after the premiere she ended up losing her job and I was rehired at InTuition Studios .

All of that history of the past few months flashes before my eyes and I don’t even think. I just react by flinging the bag in my hand, knocking the gun away from me.

With my other hand I lunge forward, aiming for his neck with the stun gun I always keep in my hand when walking around campus at night.

It’s a direct hit, and his body instantly begins convulsing.

The gun drops from Dennis’ hand, and he goes to his knees. But I don’t let up until he’s on the ground shaking like a leaf.

Only when I determine he’s no longer a threat to me, do I pull the stun gun away. He jerks and trembles, his tongue hanging out of his mouth as he drools onto the concrete.

“Podcast that, bitch,” I curse. I have half a mind to kick the hell out of him.

Instead, I kick the gun away from him so he can’t get to it.

“Ivy?”

I look up to find Spencer staring at me with wide eyes. But the shock quickly turns to anger as he sees the man on the ground. I don’t even need to tell him what just happened. He takes in the scene in front of him, the gun on the ground and the stun gun in my hand.

“Shit!” He pulls out his phone before he goes over to flip Dennis onto his stomach.

“Are you hurt?” he asks.

I shake my head. “No.”

“Good. He would be a dead motherfucker if he did hurt you.” Spencer pauses, then snorts. “He’s already a dead motherfucker.”

“I don’t think I killed him,” I say. “He’s still breathing.”

“Not for long,” Spencer mumbles.