Cody gritted his teeth. By then, the bartender had come around the bar. “You!” he barked, pointing at William. “Out!” Then he turned to Cody. “You okay?” he asked.
William let go of Cody, his eyes full of venom.
Cody smoothed his t-shirt. “Yeah,” he said.
“Why don’t we go outside,” Cassidy said, trying to recover from her shock. “We can talk out there.”
“I have nothing more to say to this asshole,” William said. “I want that video taken down. Now.”
Cody gave him a scoffing look. “Are you kidding me? No fucking way.”
William jumped at him again, but Cody met him halfway and they went at each other, wrestling, grimacing, their sneakers bracing against the floor as one tried to overtake the other.
“Stop!” Cassidy yelled.
The bartender stepped between them, pulling Cody off William. “I said, ‘out!’” he growled, pulling Cody off William. “Both of ya!”
“Just tell me why you decided that was a good idea,” William said, breathing hard, his fists clenched.
Cody’s jaw flexed. “I did it for Izzy,” he replied.
A look of disgust took over William’s face. “Go fuck yourself, you know that?” he spat, then turned and walked out of the bar.
Cody pulled a bill from his wallet and handed it to the bartender, an apology in his eyes. The bartender snatched it, and Cody shuffled toward the exit. Cassidy watched the pinball players follow him with their silent eyes.
Cassidy realized that all of the other patrons were staring at them. She hurried after Cody.
Outside, the air tasted of dust and metal. Neon lights from a neighboring convenience store and the streetlights created a glow that gave the parking lot a menacing, grimy feel.
“Wait,” she said, chasing Cody. “Cody, stop!” she yelled.
He paused, his shoulders tight, as if prepared to fight. She caught up to him at the trunk of a compact car, the backseat littered with take-out containers and several empty water bottles.
“What did you mean, you did it for Izzy?”
He leaned against the trunk. He crossed his arms and looked at the night. “He’s always controlling her life. If he doesn’t like what she’s doing, he cuts her off.”
“Is this about her dad?” Cassidy asked.
“It’s always about her dad,” Cody replied with a sigh.
“So you thought you’d blackmail him?” Cassidy asked, incredulous.
Cody shrugged. “I thought he’d go for it. I mean, he’s got the money.”
“Let me guess,” she said, unable to keep the scorn from her voice. “He didn’t.”
Cody’s lips arched downward in a kind of disinterested pout.
Cassidy filled her lungs with a slow breath. “Then Izzy found out.”
“It should have worked,” Cody said, running a hand through his hair. “I mean, yeah, I thought maybe she’d give me a cut, but that wasn’t really why I did it, Dr. Kincaid. I just . . . I wanted her to be free of all that.” He gazed off into the night. “She told me about some of the things he’s done.” He gulped a breath then let it out in a loud puff. “When she switched majors to earth science, he stopped paying for her apartment.” Cody’s eyes flicked up. “She came home one day and all her stuff was in the street. Can you believe that?” He looked at Cassidy, his eyes hard. “After she agreed to keep communications as a minor, he started paying again.” He shook his head. “It was like that all the time. She’s always broke, and I bet it’s because he’s yanking her chain all the time.”
“Okay,” Cassidy said, steering her thoughts back to the task at hand. “Was Izzy texting you about this at the rest area?”
He nodded, his head slung low.
She couldn’t help but ask him about this. “Why wouldn’t she just talk to you?”
Cody shrugged. “We don’t really talk.”
“Were you dating?” Cassidy asked.
A look of confusion crossed Cody’s face. “No.” Then, he gave her a sideways look. “You’re not blaming me, are you? Because Izzy was all in that night. After William took her from behind, I showed it to her and she went fucking wild.”
Cassidy blinked away her shock. She forced the images Cody had just presented from her mind. “What did she text to you at the rest area?”
“She was pissed about her dad finding out. She threatened to claim that she didn’t know about being filmed.” His eyes flashed with heat. “That’s when I got pissed. This whole ‘Me Too’ thing sucks for us guys. I mean, don’t get me wrong, guys shouldn’t harass chicks at work.”
Cassidy’s nostrils flared.
“Or anywhere, whatever,” Cody added. “But it can go the other way. Dudes don’t wanna hook up with girls anymore because they’re afraid they’ll be accused of rape and all that.” He puffed out another breath. “If Izzy claimed that I had taped her without her knowing, I’d be fucked.” He shook his head hard. “A guy had that happen to him in New York. He got labeled a sex offender and spent three years in jail.”
Cassidy was so furious with this reasoning that she had a hard time staying calm. Was this type of thinking common to this generation? If so, Cassidy felt only gloom for the future.
“I found proof that she’d consented,” Cody continued. “It was in one of the earlier clips.” He shuffled his feet. He glanced at her. “C’mon, it wasn’t like you’re trying to make it seem, Dr. Kincaid,” he said, opening his arms, as if he might try to hug her. “She agreed to make the video, and she was fucking fantastic. Lots of people are gonna get off on it, and despite what you think, she was into that. Plus, it’ll make us money, and she was definitely into that.”
Cassidy felt like she was talking to a foreign species. “But sharing it with her dad is what started this whole thing,” she said, almost to herself. “That’s what got her so upset. She knew that her dad was going to cut her off again, she may have even thought he was going to cut her
