Buck was thriving.
Absolutely thriving.
Eddie had finally gotten a taste of his own medicine. Buck had deflated his tires, gotten him fired (okay, maybe that part wasn't technically his fault), and then Eddie had made a complete fool of himself in front of millions of people.
And now Buck was sitting alone in his apartment, lounging on the couch in his underwear, scrolling through Instagram, feeling smug as hell.
Tommy had already left for his shift that morning after an… active night. Buck's mouth curled at the memory.
Yeah. He was winning.
But there was one thing bothering him.
Madison Welment.
Buck's eyes narrowed as he scrolled through the account. The username — madisonwelmentXO — was following exactly 28 people, had 13 posts, and was sitting at 476 followers.
And Buck was one of them.
The pictures were all very… curated. Soft golden light, perfect angles, long blonde hair falling over delicate shoulders. Madison looked like a supermodel. No — better than a supermodel. Flawless.
But something felt… off.
Buck scrolled down and studied the photos.
"Wait a second," Buck muttered, his eyes narrowing.
His thumb hovered over one of the posts. It was a picture of Madison sitting on a beach in a white bikini. The caption read:
"Sand between my toes, heart full of love ."
"That's Karlie Kloss," Buck whispered.
His head snapped up. He squinted at the other photos — beach photos, selfies, designer clothes, a suspiciously professional red carpet shot — and suddenly it hit him.
They were all photos of Karlie Kloss.
"What the fuck?"
Buck's mouth dropped open. He sat up, running a hand through his hair.
"Okay. What the hell is going on?"
His mind started spiraling. Someone was catfishing him. Someone who knew enough about him to slide into his DMs and get him to flirt back.
"Oh my god," Buck whispered.
His heart started thudding painfully in his chest. He needed backup.
He opened his phone and immediately pulled up the group FaceTime. He selected Veronica, Ginny, JJ, Mindy, and Amy and hit call.
The screen flicked to life.
"FaceTime Unavailable."
"FaceTime Unavailable."
"FaceTime Unavailable."
"FaceTime Unavailable."
"Are you kidding me?"
Veronica. Unavailable.
Ginny. Unavailable.
JJ. Unavailable.
Amy. Unavailable.
Finally, Mindy's name popped up.
Mindy Chen has joined the call.
Mindy's face appeared on the screen, her perfectly tousled brown hair falling over her shoulders as she held her phone up in what looked like her walk-in closet.
"Hey, babe," Mindy said brightly. "What's going on?"
Buck sighed. "Everyone else is unavailable."
Mindy's lips curled. "They're busy."
"Doing what?"
"Well," Mindy said, inspecting her nails, "Veronica is dealing with Hiram drama. Apparently, he tried to buy back the casino from Cheryl, so now Veronica's trying to outbid him."
Buck's eyebrows lifted. "Oh."
"Oh," Mindy continued, "and Ginny and JJ are trying to smooth things over between Veronica and John B."
Buck frowned. "Why are they fighting?"
Mindy's mouth twitched. "Because John B. threw a Twinkie at Veronica's car."
Buck's mouth opened. "He what?"
"And then Veronica threw a glass of wine at him," Mindy added. "So it's a little tense right now."
Buck's mouth curled. "That tracks."
"Oh, and Chanel Oberlin?" Mindy's mouth curled. "Veronica cut her off."
Buck's eyes widened. "Holy shit."
"Veronica said Chanel was being fake," Mindy said casually. "She kept calling Ginny 'Plebella' at brunch, so…"
Buck sighed. "Brutal."
Mindy smiled. "Anyway, what's going on?"
Buck rubbed a hand over his face. "Okay, so you remember how I told you about the whole fire hose and tire situation with Eddie?"
"Oh, obviously," Mindy said, eyes glinting.
"Well," Buck said, leaning forward, "I think Eddie's trying to get back at me."
Mindy's eyebrows lifted. "How?"
Buck flipped the camera toward his phone. "Look at this account."
Mindy squinted. "Madison Welment?"
"Yes."
Mindy studied the photos. "Wait…"
Buck smiled darkly. "Exactly."
"Those are pictures of Karlie Kloss," Mindy said.
"Yep."
"Oh my god," Mindy whispered. "Someone's catfishing you."
"I know!" Buck said.
Mindy's mouth curled. "Do you think it's Eddie?"
"I don't know," Buck said, but his chest was tightening because — oh god — he kind of did know.
Mindy's smile sharpened. "I'm obsessed with this."
"Yeah, but what do I do?" Buck asked.
Mindy's eyes glinted. "Report it to the police."
Buck's mouth fell open. "The police?"
"Yes," Mindy said casually. "Athena owes you a favor."
Buck's mouth curled. "Oh my god."
"Do it," Mindy grinned.
Buck smiled darkly. "You're dangerous."
"I know," Mindy said. "And you love it."
"Bye, Mindy," Buck said, ending the call.
Buck leaned back on the couch, his heart pounding.
And then he pulled up his phone.
He scrolled to Athena's name and hit call.
"Grant."
"Athena," Buck said sweetly.
Athena sighed. "What did you do?"
"Why would you assume I did something?"
"Because it's you," Athena said flatly.
"Well," Buck said, smiling faintly, "this time I didn't do anything."
Athena sighed. "Alright. What's going on?"
"I'm being catfished."
Athena's tone sharpened. "Excuse me?"
"Someone created a fake Instagram account," Buck said. "With pictures of Karlie Kloss. And they followed me. And then I might have flirted back."
"Buck," Athena said sharply.
"Not the point!" Buck said quickly. "I just need to know who's behind it."
Athena's voice softened. "You think you know?"
Buck's mouth twisted. "I have… suspicions."
Athena sighed. "Do you have the account name?"
"Yes," Buck said. "Madison Welment."
Athena hummed thoughtfully. "Alright. Send me the screenshots."
Buck's mouth curled. "You're the best."
"I know," Athena said. "I'll look into it."
"You think you can figure out who's behind it?"
Athena's voice darkened. "I always find out."
Buck smiled faintly. "Good."
"Oh," Athena said. "And Buck?"
"Yeah?"
"If this is Eddie…" Athena's voice sharpened. "You realize he's gonna lose his mind when he finds out you involved me?"
Buck's mouth curled. "Oh, I'm counting on it."
Athena's laughter echoed through the line. "You are so messy."
"Yeah," Buck said, smiling. "I know."
Buck ended the call and sat back on the couch. He scrolled back to Madison's account.
His mouth curled dangerously.
"Oh, Eddie," Buck whispered. "You're so screwed."