Free Razor: A Bad Boy Stepbrother Romance by Lauren Landish

you need to watch out. Maddy’s got it out for you pretty bad. That bitch is crazy so I don’t even know what she’d do if she did find you.”
    “I will.” I placed my finger over the hang-up button. “I’ll contact you later—”
    “Wait!” Shadow said sharply.
    “Yes?”
    “Where’s the video? Word from Anonymous is that you’ve been dodging them.”
    I glanced up, seeing Carly cleaning up and she couldn’t have looked sexier doing it. “I’ve got it on me.”
    “You’re going to bring it in aren’t you? You should’ve done that already.”
    I held my breath, thinking. I’d pretty much made up my mind that I wasn’t giving up the video when I decided to involve Carly, yet once I crossed that line, there was no going back.
    “No,” I said finally.
    “Huh?” He sounded genuinely shocked.
    “I’ve decided to release it myself,” I explained. “If I need help, you’ll hear from me. We’ll talk later.”
    “Stop!” Shadow exclaimed before I could hang up. “You can’t do that.”
    “Why not?”
    “Don’t play stupid — you know very well why. Anonymous wants to use that video for something else before they release it.”
    “You mean blackmail,” I said sardonically.
    “Exactly. But you should’ve already known this. It may not have been said before you were put on this task, but you should know better . . .”
    “The only thing that should matter is the video being released and exposing the coverup,” I growled. “Not making terrorist-like demands.”
    “In a perfect world, I’d agree with you. But the world is far from perfect and things are never so cut and dry.”
    “In this case, it is. Bradley murdered an innocent woman. I have the video and I’m going to see to it that everyone knows what he did.”
    I glanced back at Carly — she was almost done cleaning up, wiping down dishes in the sink. I felt torn in my decision. On one hand, I wanted to help her. On the other, I’d given my word I would surrender the video once I got it.
    Shadow took a while to respond, but when he did, he warned, “You’re making a very big mistake, Razor.”
    “I know what I’m doing,” I said confidently. “I just need you to do your part. Can I still count on you to help me?”
    There was silence, then he finally spoke up. “You can,” he said finally.
    I breathed an inward sigh of relief.
    “I’ll help when it comes to Maddy,” he continued, “But as for Anonymous . . .” his voice trailed off ominously.
    His meaning was clear — I was on my own when it came to my formidable hacker brethren.
    I hung up the phone and glanced back at Carly. She was seated at the kitchen table, scribbling furiously on a piece of paper.
    Whatever happened now, one thing was for sure — I had to make sure nothing happened to her.
    Pausing mid pen-stroke, she looked up at me, and caught me staring. She flashed me a pretty smile, unaware of the deep pile of shit that I just dragged her into.
    I gave her my most charming grin that belied the sticky predicament we were now in.
    “Sorry, Carly,” I whispered as she went back to writing even faster than before, “but shit’s about to get real.”

Chapter 8
Mason
    “ W hat’s going on ?” Carly asked, glancing over at me with concern as I drove her Ford Focus down the highway toward James University.
    I kept my eyes on the road. “What do you mean?”
    “That call you made — you found out something, didn’t you? Something bad.” She was staring at me intently, accusation in her eyes.
    “Nothing that I didn’t already know,” I lied.
    Carly scowled at me with suspicion. “Don’t insult me, Mason. I’m not stupid. I know you. You’re trying to act all cool and collected, but something’s wrong.”
    I swallowed. “Just that some detectives interviewed dad.”
    Even over the hum of the motor, I heard the sharp intake of her breath. “And?”
    “And nothing. My source didn’t know what came of it. He definitely doesn’t know anything