Since Kyle had mentioned him by name during his tirade, police had brought Landon in for questioning in connection to the shooting. The coverage was a little vague on the details, but a few reputable sources had reported that it had been Landon who had tracked down the Derringers, not Kyle. Apparently, he’d offered them a pretty hefty sum of money to appear on his web series, as well as promising them rights to a non-existent book he never intended to write.
According to those same reports, he’d also been the one to convince Kyle that the web series was the most expedient and lucrative way to get the story to the masses. It had taken a while for Cameron to put the pieces together.
Eventually, he’d realized that was what Kyle had meant the day he’d burst into his office and started raving about how things had “changed.” While he had still been willingto accept a payout in exchange for his silence, the timeline had been moved up with the introduction of Landon’s new plan.
As a nice, juicy cherry on top, the celebrity gossip blog, Sinematic, hadn’t been updated since the shooting, probably due in large part to publish pushback. It seemed people had a problem with Landon’s involvement, however indirectly, in Asher and Cameron being threatened at gunpoint.
Even better, all traces of the web series had been deleted from the blog, including a scheduled episode that had never aired. Of course, the internet was forever, and if someone really wanted to see those interviews, they’d be able to find them. All Cameron cared about was the fact that Landon Dwyer wouldn’t be profiting from them.
Karma really was a bitch.
“I’m going to do it.”
Cameron lowered his phone to his lap and looked up with a frown. Either he’d missed a crucial part of the conversation while he’d been lost in thought, or he was going to need a lot more information before he could participate.
“Do what exactly?”
“I’m going to self-publish the last Marshall Kane book,” Asher elaborated.
By sheer force of will, Cameron managed to keep a neutral expression. He didn’t want to influence Asher oneway or the other, which was why he’d been carefully mute on the topic. On one hand, he wanted Asher to be happy, and the book had caused him so much stress lately. On the other hand, he couldn’t deny that he desperately wanted a new addition in his favorite series, and self-publishing the manuscript meant he’d get it that much sooner.
“Okay,” he answered slowly. “That’s good, right?”
Asher bobbed his head, but he didn’t really appear to be paying attention. “It’s the final book of the series.” He gave Cameron a sympathetic smile. “Sorry, sweetheart, but this really will be the last one. I’m done with Atrea Press, but it doesn’t make sense to sign a single book with a new publisher, either.”
“That makes sense.” Cameron still felt like he was missing something. The excitement in Asher’s amber eyes couldn’t just be because he’d decided to publish the book himself.
“At a discount.”
Cameron blinked.
“With royalties going to Reach Out.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Maybe he’d misheard. “Did you just say that you’re going to sell the book at a discount and donateallof the royalties?”
Asher beamed back at him. “Yep. That’s what I said.”
It was a wildly generous proposition, and it was sure to generate goodwill from both readers and the LBGTQ community, but that was a lot of damn money.
“Can I ask what brought this on?”
“I want to finish the book for me, but also for all the readers who have been waiting for it. For the readers who stuck by me through all of this.” Asher moved his hand around in a big, all-encompassing way. “That’s why I want to offer it at half of what the publisher would have charged.”
Cameron was with him so far. “And donating the royalties?”
Asher shrugged. “It’s not like I need the money, but Reach Out can do a lot of good with it. If there had been a place like that when I was fourteen, maybe I wouldn’t have ended up on the streets.”
Or involved with Mitchell Faraday.
Cameron nodded, his throat becoming uncomfortably tight as he battled back a wave of emotion. This wasn’t some marketing ploy. It wasn’t a scheme to generate more sales on his other books. It was completely pure, utterly selfless, and it just made Cameron love him even more.
“I—” He coughed to clear the roughness in his voice. “I think it’s a great idea.”
“Good, because I’m going to need your help setting it all up.”
“Of course.” He did have one more question, though. “What about the new project?”
Asher had been pretty secretive about the new book he’d started writing, saying only that it was somethingcompletely different from his mystery series. It could literally be anything, and the curiosity had been eating away at him for months.
