Page 162 of Too Far

I hum at the callout, giddy at the way Thomas’s eyes practically bug out of his head when he hears K’s pet name for me.

Turning back to Kylian, I tip my chin. “Do you still have Cap’s original speech saved?”

He’s already pulling out his phone. “Yes.”

“Could you send it to his former PR rep so she can see it?”

With a scoff, Misty whips out her phone and scrolls.

It only takes a few seconds for what she’s reading to register. She sucks in a sharp breath and darts a glance at Decker before continuing on.

While she works her way through it, I turn back to Thomas. With my hands planted on my hips, I push down the wisps of trepidation fluttering through me and stand tall. I lift my chin and survey the man who has treated Decker so poorly his entire life, who’s done things so vile I cannot comprehend them.

“In the original version of today’s announcement, Decker planned to inform the press that he’d been doping for yearsat the advice of his father. At theinsistenceof his father.”

Thomas surges forward, but I don’t flinch. I trust the boys won’t let him touch me. “You little—”

“Careful, Thomas,” Locke calls out. “You’re being recorded.”

“Oh. Did we forget to mention that? We’re all miked.” I reveal, my hand skimming over the small, clear microphone Kylian affixed to my bra when we arrived. We almost didn’t make it to the stage in time because we were messing with the high-tech audio recording devices.

Decker doesn’t know about this part of the plan, but Kylian thought it best to collect any evidence we could get against Thomas in case things didn’t go as smoothly as we hoped.

I scan Decker’s face, searching for any sign that he feels betrayed by our decision.

His eyes are filled with nothing but warmth and affection when they settle on me.

I don’t let myself get too lost in his stare. I still have a final threat to disclose.

Turning back to Thomas, I get as close as I dare. “Every comment. Every threat you just made, every potential admission you shared,” I whisper. “We’re ready and willing to release it all.”

“Including that not-so-subtle slip-up about the boat incident and mom’s accident,” Decker growls.

Turning to Kendrick, I tilt my head and purse my lips. “What sort of evidence is required to reopen a case like that, K?”

“Honestly? His admission might be enough. I’d have to ask my Pops to be sure—”

“Okay.Okay,” Thomas relents. He lifts a shoulder and tries to pull out of the boys’ hold, but when they don’t release him, he hangs his head and lets out a pained sound.

Though from the looks of things, he understands what we’re demanding of him, I need to make myself very, very clear.

“Go away, Thomas. Go far away. Forever.”

He slumps, but Kendrick and Decker don’t release him. They won’t, I’m sure, until we know we’re in the clear.

“Oh, and Misty?” I ask.

Vitriol leaches from her as she eyes me.

“Kylian has one more email you may want to see.”

Her phone pings, and she’s quick to open it. Her eyes grow wider as she scans the screenshots of the blackmail website.

“The site isn’t actually live,” Kylian assures her. “Nor will you be able to find it online. It’ll remain offline, unseen by the world, as long as you disappear.”

“Don’t contact us. Don’t look at her,” he growls. “And don’t even utter the name Decker Crusade for the rest of your life. Unless you want people to see this. Unless you want to go to court and spend years defending yourself against the charges these pictures would require.”

Misty raises her hand to her mouth as if she’s going to be sick, then stashes her phone, bows her head, and scurries away.