Spike by Jennifer Ryder Page B

keeping secrets, but I’m a bad liar. No, wait; I’ve already lied to Aidan about Tara. The problem is, that people can read me like a book. I can’t hide the way I feel, especially from Aidan.
    I sit at the desk for another hour before finally plucking up the courage to charge my phone and go to bed. Not that I think I’ll be able to sleep . I slip into the crisp white sheets beside Aidan, who is dead to the world. I couldn’t be more relieved. If he saw my face right now, he would know something was up.
    I silence myself as my tears fall, using the sheets to mop them up. I want to tell Aidan, ask him what I should do. But I don’t think I can. Would it be worth the risk?
     
    ****
     
    I slept through my alarm, which is not like me at all. I didn’t even hear Aidan leave this morning. It took forever to fall asleep, and now, with my head pounding and my eyes stinging, I want to fall into a coma. No one can blackmail me if I’m in a coma right?
    Danuta will blast me if I’m late. She hates tardiness. I shower and dress in five minutes flat, and slam the front door behind me as I rush out of the house. When I open my car door, my phone rings. It burns a hole in my handbag with each loud shrill. I fumble around and answer it without looking at the display.
    “Hello?”
    “Hey baby, you finally made it out of bed, huh?”
    I breathe out with relief at hearing the sweet tones of Aidan’s voice. “Hey, yeah, I’m just on my way to work now.”
    “You must have had a fair bit of stuff to get through. I didn’t even hear you come to bed.”
    “Yeah, the next week or so is gonna be pretty intense.” I lie through my teeth. Well, partially. I have study, but it won’t be nearly as busy as I just made out.
    “Don’t overdo it. I missed my snuggles. ”
    “Yeah, me too. I’d better go, otherwise I’ll be late.”
    “Sure.”
    “Aidan … I love you.” We rarely say it over the phone unless he is away, but today I can’t help it. Last night when I was trying to sleep, a million thoughts of someone watching him flashed through my mind. If the photos were devastating enough, having anything happen to Aidan would be my worst nightmare.
    “Love you too, baby. See ya tonight.”
    I get in my car, and my phone rings almost straight away. Aidan probably forgot to tell me something.
    “Did you forget something?” I ask, wishing he’d hurry up so I can get to work. No response. “Hello?” I hold the phone out in front of me. I answered a private number. I hold it back to my ear “Hello?”
    “You got the email, Miss Lawson?” an electronically-altered voice asks.
    Bile rises up my throat, burning a path along the way. The voice is just how those creepy electronic voices sound in the movies. But this is no movie. This is real. I swallow, praying I don’t vomit on myself. I need to hold it together.
    “Yes,” I choke out.
    “If you’re smart about this, you’ll do exactly as I say. You will not breathe a word to anyone, or these photos are going viral.”
    “W-what do you want?” I ask.
    “Five thousand dollars in cash by the end of the week. I’ll call you to set up a pick-up point. And when I say tell no one … that includes your pretty boyfriend. We know where he works, and it’d be unfortunate for him to fall victim to a nasty workplace accident.”
    I hang my head and stare at the number five scrawled on the paper. “Who is this?” I ask, summoning what little courage I can find. I blink a tear onto the rim of my glasses and it blurs my line of sight.
    “Just get the money. No one gets hurt. Make sure you answer your phone.”
    The line goes dead before I get a chance to say anything else, but what else would I say, given the chance? Why me? Someone has naked pictures of me, now there’s a demand for money, and above everything, people will get hurt if I don’t do as I’m asked.
    A vision of Aidan collapsed in a bloodied heap, creates a burning ache deep in the pit of my stomach. The