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was some sort of merchandise ready to be bought.
    Kenny’s
suggestion was absurd.
    It didn’t
look like Brooke was posing for fun.
    I balled my
hands into fists again and took a few deep breaths, even though I could barely
contain the need to slam my hand right through the wall. For a few moments, I
couldn’t say a word, too shocked by the discovery.
    “At least
it’s not porn,” Kenny mumbled after a long moment, in what seemed a poor
attempt at making me feel better.
    I shook my
head and grimaced. “No, it’s worse than that.”
    Kenny
chuckled nervously. “Well, if Sylvie did this kind of thing, I’d ask her to
move in with me. This shit is hot. I’d be proud of her. Come on, we’re talking
about pin-up girls in lingerie.”
    “Well, hot
shit or not, I want these taken down and deleted for good. Can you do that?” I
asked through clenched teeth.
    “Should be
easy enough, but chances are he has some kind of secure server somewhere where
he keeps backup copies. It could take me two days to track it down for you and
erase the backup stuff. But if I do it, I’ll have to erase them all, and it
wouldn’t be without leaving a trace.”
    “Just do
it,” I said, hopeful until I noticed Kenny’s expression. “What?”
    “There’s
just one problem.” Kenny swiveled his chair around and faced me. “He might have
sold them. If he’s a professional photographer, which I think he is, because
he’s the owner of the building and he seems to have quite the followership,
then there’s the possibility that he’s already sold at least a few. Maybe he’s
given away the rights.”
    I raised my
brows, not seeing where the heck he was heading. “So?”
    “It would
take me days, if not weeks or months, to track down all the digital copies and
delete them, with no guarantee that they might not still end up online
somewhere. From the look of it, he might have even sold them straight to
print.”
    “How do you
know?” I asked.
    “Let’s just
say I’ve attended this sort of event and ordered the originals.” He laughed.
“Just not from him. And it wasn’t really a transaction in the seller’s favor.”
    I frowned,
having no idea what the heck he was talking about. But for once, I had no
interest in figuring out Kenny’s riddles. “So you’re saying it’s impossible to
get them all and destroy them.”
    Kenny
nodded. “If they’re on the web, I’d say it’s impossible. And if you’re lucky
and they’re not online, you’d still have to find out who bought copies and what
they did with them.”
    I sighed
and began to pace the room. Kenny swiveled around in his chair, his back facing
the pictures on the screen. “It’s a nice one though. She has great legs. She
looks hot. The damage is minimal, if you ask me. It’s not really a big deal.”
    Without
thinking, I switched off the screen.
    I couldn’t
bear it. Couldn’t bear that she was so readily on display.
    Looking so
sexy, so different, so confident.
    It was as
though she was a new woman—one I didn’t know. And I didn’t like that. I
didn’t like that someone might have touched her, jerking off to her pictures,
doing God knows what else. Demanding that she undress. Maybe inviting her back
to his home.
    His bed.
    “She did
nothing wrong, Jett,” Kenny said warily.
    “I know
that. But fuck…” I swallowed hard against the waves of anger rushing through me
like hot lava.
    “What are
you going to do?” Kenny asked after a moment.
    “I’m buying
the rights to all of them, so I’ll be the sole owner, obviously,” I said dryly.
    “All of
them?”
    I shot him
a sideways glance. “Yes, of course. All of Brooke’s photos. Before they end up
online. The last thing I want is her half-naked pictures belonging to someone.
I can’t bear the thought of someone jerking off to her pictures.”
    Kenny shook
his head slowly. “How do you think you’ll accomplish that?”
    “I’m
calling this Grayson guy, you know, talk man to man. Settle it with