Jaden Page 5

  Bryce’s eyes narrowed to slits, but both were quiet.

  They were thinking it over. Finally, after another moment of silence, Bryce glanced to Corrigan and their gazes locked for a few seconds. Then he started, “Sheldon, I don’t think letting you near explosives is a good idea.”

  “Yeah.” Corrigan laughed abruptly. “Imagine if the police caught you. Talk about making yourself look even guiltier.”

  I scowled. “Not me. You two would have to do it or one of you would have to sneak out to do it.”

  “Wait.” Bryce held up a hand.

  Corrigan looked ready to argue, but he silenced and leaned back in his chair again.

  Bryce added, “What are you talking about, exactly?”

  “My dad won’t leave, not unless the police order him. The only other way he’d leave is if he’s forced, like if we’re under attack.”

  “Meaning?”

  “’Meaning.’” I held my hands out. It wasn’t that hard to figure out. Was it? “Get some big ass fireworks and set them off next to the house. It’ll be awesome. They’ll think we’re under attack, and off we go, being carted right back to the city.” I loved the plan. It would work. I knew it. I was getting buzzed just thinking about it. Gazing at the other two, still silent, and showing no reactions, I asked, “What do you think?” They looked at each other for the fourth time. “Come on, you guys. It’s a good plan.” I was pleading here. Almost. “No one gets hurt. There’s nothing illegal about it. Just . . . make sure to get the biggest fireworks that go kaboom. That’s it.” I waited another second, then added, “It’ll work.”

  It’d be awesome. I knew it.

  The corner of Bryce’s mouth curved up into a half-grin. He said to Corrigan, “You or me?”

  Corrigan’s eyes got big. “Me. Definitely me.”

  “What are you guys talking about?” I looked between them.

  “Who’s getting the fireworks?”

  Corrigan placed his elbows onto the table and nodded, one firm movement. “Me. I’ll get ’em. I’ll make it be awesome.”

  I wanted to purr like a cat being petted. I was loving this. “Good. Then we get back into the city and figure out who killed Grace.” I had my own explosive plan for when we figured out who that was. “This is going to be amazing.”

  Corrigan was excited. I could tell, but Bryce still seemed hesitant. He shot Corrigan a warning look. “Just don’t get something that’ll actually leave a crater-sized hole in the ground.”

  Corrigan nodded. “Got it. No crater-forming fireworks. I can do that.”

  Bryce said further, “And don’t set fire to anything.”

  “No fire-starting fireworks. Got that, too.”

  “I suppose we can’t test it out?” Corrigan and I shared a look. What was he talking about?

  I snorted. “Right. He can go to a gun range and set one off . . .” I trailed off. “You could do that.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” Corrigan was all business now. I saw the anticipation and excitement building. He grinned. “It’s been a long time since we caused havoc. It feels good.”

  “Good?” I shook my head. “It feels right.” We were both grinning at each other.

  Bryce groaned. He said, “Why do I have a feeling this isn’t going to go how it’s planned?”

  I frowned at him. “Hush it, Superstar. Let us deviants do what we do best.”

  Corrigan added, his grin now stretched from ear to ear, “Causing chaos and kicking a little ass.” He gestured to me and back to him. “That’s what we do best.”

  I nodded. This would work. I knew it.

  *

  The plan started without a hitch.

  Corrigan feigned he needed to go to town the next day at lunch. He said a professor was arguing his online courses so he needed to go in to deal with it.

  Neil hadn’t been happy. He said, “Do you realize the trouble it took to get you here? There are people who are going to be following you. They know you’re close to my daughter, and a lot of people want to kill her.”

  I grimaced. “Don’t sugarcoat it or anything.”

  Neil turned on me with a scowl.

  That was how I must’ve looked whenever I glared. He looked scary and ominous. I made a mental note to try not to scowl so much. I’d have to figure out something else, maybe a half-glare?

  He snapped at me, “Why? Isn’t that how you are with everyone else? And no, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. People want to kill you, Sheldon. They hate you. When are you going to start figuring this out?”

  I shrugged. “People have hated me since high school. It’s because of my sweet disposition. I’m so damn cheery.”

  “You’re joking?” His scowl kicked up another notch. He was becoming even more intimidating. He asked again, “You’re joking?”

  “What else can I do? Welcome to my life, Daddy Dearest. I’ve been stalked long before this. I killed a guy. He tried to kill Corrigan. I’ve been shoved into a glass table. This. Is. My. Life. I should’ve been expecting this, to be honest.”

  He started laughing, shaking his head. “My daughter.” He shoved a hand at me, pointing. “So beloved. Yeah, right. You’ve had this fuck-you attitude since you were born.”

  I felt a burning at the corners of my eyes. I flinched, refusing to let anything he said get to me.

  He continued, “Your mother and I tried to be there for you. We did. In the beginning. Then you started sneaking out, skipping school, doing only God knows what. Drinking. Did you ever do drugs? I’d be surprised if you hadn’t. You were having sex—I don’t even want to know when.” He turned to Bryce. “I know it was you. You were the main guy with her, and I don’t want to think about all the others that must’ve been between her legs—”

  Bryce punched him. It happened so fast.

  Neil was spilling those hateful words, each one of them was a blow to me, and I was struggling to keep my composure and then BAM!—he was down. Bryce stood above him. His hand still in a fist, and he was shaking, staring down. A vein bulged out from the side of his neck.

  My dad looked bewildered. He cradled a hand to the side of his face and looked up. “Bryce?” It was like his best friend had stabbed him in the back.

  I started laughing. This whole thing was hilarious.

  Everyone looked at me. Beth had paled when my dad started talking, and she yelped when Bryce hit him, but now she moaned and moved farther into the background. That’s when I knew she was made of weak sauce. She wasn’t going to hack it, whatever was going to happen with all of this.

  “You’re laughing?” My dad pushed himself back up until he was standing.

  Bryce moved back, now just a few inches in front of me. A set expression filtered over his face. Cold. Stony face. He was showing his alliance to me. Corrigan had a similar expression, and he moved to the other side of me. All three of us were in line now. As I registered their show of loyalty, their strength surged through me, mixing with mine, and I was comforted again with just having them there. That’s what I needed to be able to take the fight back to whoever was trying to destroy my life.

  “Sheldon?”

  I shook my head, sending a scathing glance at Beth. She swallowed nervously before looking away. Then I said, quietly, “Do you have any idea what’s going to happen?” I was talking to both of them, Beth and Neil.

  My dad frowned. He was still cradling the side of his face and cast a wary glance to Bryce. “Yes, Sheldon. I am very aware of what’s going to happen. You might go to prison. That’s what. And you’re laughing.”

  I shook my head. “No, Dad.”

  He quieted instantly.

  I couldn’t remember the last time I called him that term. My nostrils flared. It’d be the last time, too. I wanted his attention, and I got it. “No, Neil. This isn’t going to end with me going to prison. You’re a fool if you think that. No. This is going to end bloody. I’ll never get to that part because whoever framed me wants to torture me. Hell, they already have been. My car�
�s brakes were cut. They still don’t know who did that, then Grace’s death. It’s all connected. I’ve already endured one stalker. He killed two of my friends, but this is worse. This person, whoever it is, wants to hurt me. They’re taunting me, making me go on the defensive. No.” I clipped my head to the side. “This person wants me to die, slowly and painfully.”

  “How do you know this?”

  A hollow sensation filled my chest. It was burying deeper and deeper, making a void as it went. I jerked a shoulder up. “Because it’s what I would’ve done. If I wanted to mess with someone and really mess with their mind, I’d frame them, too.” It was genius, in a way.

  Neil scoffed, “Don’t tell me you’re impressed with them?”

  “No, no.” But I was, in a sick way. “It just confirms I have to find out who’s doing this to me.” I glanced at Corrigan. He still needed permission to leave. “Do whatever you need to do to make sure Corrigan can get leave and come back safely. Please.”

  Neil sighed. He sounded defeated. “Sheldon, I don’t—”

  “Let him, Neil.” I was putting my foot down. “This is my life, my future. He’s my best friend. Let him go and do what he needs. It’s the least you can do.”

  His jaw clenched. I knew he didn’t want to, but then he looked away, and I also knew we had won. This was a small battle, one of so many to come, but a relieved sensation covered that void in my chest. It wouldn’t last, but it was small and fleeting.

  I grinned at Corrigan, who nodded at me.

  Our plan was a go.

  Corrigan left that afternoon.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Corrigan was gone all day, and Neil and Beth had retired to bed after supper that night or dinner as Beth called it. She liked to sound more sophisticated than the rest of us. Because I could be sophisticated, too, I took a bunch of her wine outside. Bryce joined me on the patio with two large glasses, and without a word being spoken between the two of us, I filled them both to the top. Leaning back, we clicked our glasses together and sipped, still not talking.

  I enjoyed this.

  Having him here. Drinking wine with him. Feeling the old comfortable silence between us. It was like this with Corrigan too, but when they were together, even though they both were playing nice, an underlying tension was always there.

  “What’s wrong?”

  I glanced at him. “Huh?” God, he was beautiful in the moonlight. I’d forgotten how much at times.

  “You sighed.”

  “I did?”

  He nodded, sipping his wine and narrowing his eyes briefly at me. “Are you worried about Corrigan or whoever’s framing you?”

  Both. “Corrigan. Duh.” I grinned and lifted one shoulder in a shrug.

  He continued to watch me, then the corner of his mouth curved up into a slight grin. “Liar.” He sounded sad.

  I started to shrug, but no. I couldn’t even lie to myself. Instead, I reached for the wine glass again and drank the rest of the contents. “I don’t want to talk about the other stuff, not right now.”

  He dipped his head forward. “You’re going to have to, you know?”

  “I know.” My hand tightened around the stem of the glass. “Let’s get back to the city and go from there.”

  “I talked to Denton today.”

  “Yeah?”

  He took another sip of his wine. “Yeah, whenever Corrigan gets back and does his thing, Denton’s ready to go. We can stay with him.”

  “At his house?” My mouth was suddenly dry. The idea of staying at my old neighbor’s house, so close to my old home had my stomach churning. “Bryce,” I stopped. My hand went to the table, and my fingers curled around, holding onto it tightly. Marcus had been in that house. He stabbed Corrigan there; I closed my eyes as I remembered that night. Bryce turned the video off, and I raised my gun. I’d been ready. “Bryce, god.”

  “Hey.” He leaned forward. One of his hands rested over mine. “Look at me.”

  I did, but it didn’t help. Seeing the mirrored anguish and haunted expression in his eyes had my stomach churning at a faster rate.

  He said, his hand tightening over mine, “It’s time we faced it and faced him. I know. Sheldon, I know.” The haunted look doubled, overtaking everything in his gaze. “Trust me. I remember that night too, but it happened and we did it together.”

  I shook my head, pulling my hand away. “No, you didn’t. You—”

  “You provoked him, but I told you, too. I turned the video off.”

  “You didn’t pull the trigger,” I whispered, letting my other hand fall from the table and to my lap. My hands wrapped around each other. “I did. I killed him. You didn’t.”

  “That’s bullshit. I’m a part of it. You weren’t going to do it. You only did because I told you. I gave you permission to do it.”

  I shook my head. I was going to anyway. I went down there for that purpose, but saying those words aloud felt like I was confessing to the real murder I committed. I hadn’t killed Grace, but I had murdered someone else. “No, Bryce. All you did was turn off the monitor. That’s all. You weren’t in that room with us.” It would’ve been different if he had been. I knew that with certainty. Bryce would’ve tackled him, maybe punched him so he was unconscious. Marcus wouldn’t have been dead now, but I couldn’t do any of that. I had one weapon. It was the only way I could’ve fought back, and I chose to use it in a lethal way.

  Marcus’ death was on my hands, not his.

  “Fuck that. His blood is on my hands, too.”

  I looked up, shocked. It was like he read my thoughts, but he hadn’t. His hand was clenched around his glass, and he was looking out into the backyard. His jaw clenched as he whispered again, “We’ve both been running from that. It’s time we stopped.” He swung those piercing eyes my way again. “Being away from you, watching you cling to Corrigan when we were in Spain, I know all of it was because of what we both did. You didn’t want to talk about Marcus, about how we’re both to blame for killing him, but it’s here now. You’re going to be on trial for a different murder. We can’t run anymore.”

  I shook my head. “I’m not.” With those two words, my stomach stopped churning. All the emotions that were racing inside me calmed and settled to the bottom again. He was right. No more running. No more lying.

  We shared a look.

  It was time to deal with everything.

  That was when the first explosion went off.

  “What the—”

  It was a loud boom, and within seconds, the ground shook. Bryce jumped out of his chair, but I grabbed hold of the table. I wasn’t going to fall over, but it was surprising. “Holy shit.”

  Bryce held a hand out to me, not to help me up, just to check on me. “You okay?”

  “Yeah.”

  He headed farther off the patio and was gazing into the forest. “It came from out there.”

  Was it . . . “Corrigan?”

  He turned back to me and shook his head. “Who knows? If it was, he should be running here soon.”

  The second explosion went off then, and this time the table started to slide over the floor. It didn’t go far, just a few inches, but I lurched forward anyway. Stopping it, I stood up from my chair and started for the door. No matter who it was, I wanted to grab our bags.

  “Where are you going?”

  I threw open the door. “I packed bags for us.”

  “No, Sheldon.” Bryce raced for me and grabbed my arm. “Think about it. If this is anything serious, we need to get out of here.”

  “Yes, but—”

  Then all hell broke loose.

  “SHELDON!”

  It was my dad, and turning, I saw him race from the hallway, holding onto Beth’s hand. They were both in robes, but while Neil’s was tied with pajama pants sticking out underneath, Beth was trying to hold hers closed with her free hand. It wasn’t working. She had a silk nightgown on underneath, and she stumbled, crying out. Neil stopped, grabbed her arm, and hoisted her up in one mov
ement. It happened so fast, if I hadn’t been watching, I wouldn’t have caught it. Her slipper fell off, and muttering a quick curse, Neil stooped down and swept it up, shoving it into his robe’s pocket. He was to the door by then.

  As he shoved us outside, a lot of things happened all at once.

  I took in his harried expression, Beth’s pale and trembling features, and then realized I could see my dad and his girlfriend so much clearer because there were bright lights coming from behind us.

  “Sheldon.” Bryce moved close to me, holding my arm.

  They were large flashlights, and there were more than a pair of them. Six flashlights were coming from the left, another four from the right, and I whirled back to my dad and saw there were another two coming from inside the house.

  “What’s going on?” Beth clutched her robe shut, looking all around us.

  Neil tucked her close. “It’s just the security teams. They’re sweeping the grounds.” He skimmed over me. “You look fine.”

  I wasn’t sure if that was a question or accusation. I shrugged, but my insides were still feeling the surprise from those bombs or whatever they’d been. “I’ve been through worse.”

  Bryce caught my gaze and shook his head, one side of his mouth lifting to show his amusement. He knew I was scared shitless, though, I was still holding out hope the explosions had been fireworks-gone-wrong sort of thing, and Corrigan would come running around the corner. I wouldn’t have cared if he had burned half his hair off, just so I knew everyone would be okay.

  A third explosion went off then, and like the others, the ground shook. This one was closer and stronger. Beth cried out again, stumbling to the side. My dad yelled. He threw an arm out, reaching for balance while trying to hold her from falling to the ground. Bryce’s hand squeezed tightly on my arm, and I knew what he was going to do. We both leapt for them. Bryce reached and took hold of my dad while I caught Beth. Grabbing onto her arm, I clambered for a quick hold on her shoulder and somehow yanked her forward so she wasn’t falling.

  She reached for me and clutched onto me, breathing deeply, for a moment. When the last of the tremors were over, she lifted her head. I saw the terror in her eyes, and she seemed scared to even breathe. She bit down on her lip, then turned back for my dad.