Chapter 21
WILDER
I’ve been driving around for almost an hour trying to find her. I don’t have my phone, and I know if I go home to get it from my dad, he’ll force me to stay and talk. I can’t give him the answers he wants, and worse, I know I’ve disappointed him. But he won’t understand. He doesn’t get me or the things that I like. Every part of me wanted to tell him about the cash I made from the video that went viral, but I knew in the end he still wouldn’t take it seriously, so I kept it to myself.
This is my fifth time driving by her house and her vehicle isn’t in the open garage, but Troy’s truck is parked outside it.
It doesn’t make any sense. Where would she have gone? With any luck, she’s hiding somewhere. I just wish I knew where so I could be with her. Maybe she’s trying to call me now—but my dad has my phone.
My knuckles tap out a nervous rhythm on the steering wheel as I circle through town one more time.
I drive down every street, scanning parking lots and sidewalks for any sign of her vehicle. Panic rises in my chest as I pull into the school parking lot and see nothing but empty spaces.
My forehead breaks out in a sweat as I come to terms with what I have to do. The one thing I haven’t tried—I have to talk to Troy. But I can’t do it alone. I need backup because there is no saying how this might go down.
Knowing Rome is at Big John’s having pizza with, probably the entire graduating class, I make a sharp turn into the parking lot. I don’t want to go in and talk to anyone. People will ask questions I don’t have any intention of answering.
Instead, I stand outside and catch my brother's attention. He sees me almost instantly. I think it’s a twin thing. Rome comes jogging out of the restaurant, genuine concern on his face.
“Bro, you’ve gotta tell me what’s going on.”
A few minutes later, after explaining the situation, I’ve got my brother in the passenger seat of my car and we’re headed to the Jenkinses’ house for answers.
Rome tells me that our dad is pissed, and I’m not surprised by that. He also tells me he’s got my phone and he’s contemplating what to do with the video I showed him. But he assured Rome he’s not making any decisions until he speaks to me.
This is all a fucking mess and I have no idea how to clean it up.
We pull into their driveway and I’m hopeful to see her car in the garage, but all that hope diminishes when I see she’s still not here. It’s possible she ditched her car somewhere and Troy made her get in his truck.
I guess we’re about to find out.
“You ready for this?” Rome asks, gripping the passenger door handle.
“Ready or not,” I tell him as I swing open my door and get out.
We opt to leave the car running, just in case we need to make a run for it. My brother and I aren’t pussies by any means, but we’re not total idiots either. Mr. Jenkins is dangerous and we have no idea how he’s going to react to our unexpected arrival at his house.
An eerie feeling washes over me as we approach the front door. Wind whistles in the background, almost in warning.
“We’ll just pretend we’re here to apologize,” I whisper to Rome as we go up the concrete steps. “Then ask if we can apologize to her, too. Once we see she’s safe, we can go.”
I don’t tell him I have no plans of leaving here without Cat. He would turn around and tell me to come up with a new plan. But it’s been too long since I’ve had my eyes on her, and I won’t risk Troy hurting her ever again. I have proof and we will find a way to get her out of here. Tonight.
“Let’s hope it’s that easy.” Rome raises his balled fist to the door, but on the first knock, the door creaks open.
We exchange confused glances.
“That’s weird,” I tell him quietly as I lean close to the door to try and get a look inside.
Troy is the most meticulous man about his house. It is under lock and key like no one I have ever seen before. The cameras, the two deadbolts—one that requires a key from the inside and outside. Yet, his door just opened for us.
I panic a little thinking this is a trick. Is he trying to get us to come into his house so he can shoot us and say we were breaking in?
Rome, being the straightforward guy he is, pushes the door open farther and pops his head in the house. “Hello?”
“Dude.” I punch his shoulder. “Could you be a little more obvious?”
He lifts a shoulder. “Do we want to talk to them or not?”
He’s got a good point. At some point we have to make our presence known. I’m just afraid of what will happen when we do.
“Anyone here?” Rome hollers as he steps farther into the house. “Mayor Jenkins? Mrs. Jenkins?” Rome raises his brows. “Maybe they’re both in her car.”
I quickly go back down the steps to look at the camera, immediately seeing that the green light isn’t on. Every time I’ve come to this door, Troy has watched me through that camera. He should have gotten a notification that we were here and the only way he wouldn’t check is if he was otherwise occupied. I go back up the steps and put one foot in the door while Rome has fully emerged himself in the house.
“Something’s not right,” I tell him with a hushed tone.
Hanging back by the door, I let Rome inspect, but when he steps around the wall, and into the living room, I watch as his eyes go wide, his hand flying to his mouth.
My heart jumps into my throat and my first thought is Cat, so I go to Rome’s side to see what he’s found.
And that’s when I see it.
Crimson blood is pooled around a body on the floor. So much blood that I nearly slip in it as I round the corner, but Rome’s arm stops me from going any closer. My heart constricts, my breaths come in short gasps, and I choke on a cry of pure and utter relief that it’s Troy and not Cat lying there. Dead.
“Jesus Christ,” I gasp as I grip the sides of my head. “This can’t be happening.”
“What do you mean this can’t be happening?” Rome asks, an unnerving casualness to his tone. “This is the best-case scenario. The wicked beast is dead. Mrs. Jenkins is free, and Dad’s the new mayor.”
My head jerks back as I glare at him. “Are you fucking kidding me right now? He’s dead, and someone did this to him.” I gesture to the very real crime scene right in front of us. He has a gun in his hand, but I can’t tell where he bled out from. He’s face down, his head turned to the side, enough for me to see who it is, but that’s all I can really see.
“Do you think…”
He doesn’t have to finish that sentence because I know what he’s asking. “No way in hell. She’s too good to do this.”
At least, I think she is. Then again, Troy has been beating on her for God knows how long. A person can only take so much before they snap. The more I think about it, the more sense it makes. “We have to help her.”
Rome chuckles sarcastically as he eyeballs the corpse on the floor. “Doesn’t look like she needs help anymore. He’s certainly not touching her again.”
“That’s not what I mean.” I punch him in the arm. Leave it to Rome to never take anything seriously. “If she did this, her fingerprints are probably on that gun.”
Rome shrugs. “Unless she’s smart and wore gloves.”
“We can’t risk it.” I nod toward the weapon. “We need to get rid of it.”
“I’m not touching that thing,” Rome scoffs. “You do it.”
Dammit. My eyes search the room frantically, looking for something I can pick it up with. They land on a round doily beneath a vase of fake flowers. I walk toward it, but just as I go to pick up the vase, a shadow in the doorway catches my eye. When I look, I see that it’s Cat.
“What are you doing here?” she whispers so low I can barely hear her. “He’s going to kill you if he finds you here!” Is she for real right now? Curling her fingers, she calls me over. “Come on. We can get out of here before he sees either of us.”
Rome pops out from around the corner, his eyes dancing from me to her. “Yeah, I don’t think we have to worry about that.”
Cat grimaces as she points to Rome. “What’s he doing here? What’s going on?” Wide panicked eyes meet mine. Is she having a bout of amnesia or something?
She begins walking farther into the house, but I put my hand on her arm, stopping her. “Are you saying you have no idea what’s going on?”
“You’re really starting to freak me out, Wilder. I sent you, like, five messages saying where I was. Where have you been?”
I’m really freaked the fuck out right now. A man we all just had a public yelling match with is lying dead in the room next to us and I have no idea who did it.
I can’t tell if she’s being serious, or if this is an act. I would hope she knows by now that she can trust me, but maybe it’s Rome she’s not sure about. Of course she wouldn’t want to confess to killing her husband, but why come back to the scene of the crime once the job is done.
I’m lost in my thoughts when Cat makes it past me, and when I look at her, I see her standing beside Rome, pale as a ghost. Both hands fly to her mouth and she gasps audibly.
Her legs wobble and she staggers to the left, putting a hand on the wall to steady herself. I come up quickly behind her, grabbing her by the waist. “Are you okay?” I ask her, immediately regretting the question. Of course she’s not okay. She either just killed her husband, or she just found out someone else did. Either way, we have to get the hell out of here.
“We gotta go,” I tell Rome. “Grab something and get the gun and I’ll help her out of here.”
Cat is in a state of shock as I lead her to the door. “Looks like we’re running away sooner than planned, Kitty Cat.” Her mouth stays agape, eyes wide and not blinking as I lead her toward the door.
The fresh air hits us, right along with the reality of this situation. I don’t know what we’re going to do, but I need to come up with a plan really fucking soon.
“Go,” Rome instructs me as he comes to the door with his phone pressed to his ear. “Get her out of here. Elodie’s on her way. She’s gonna park next door and I’ll ride home with her. She thinks she knows a way to cover this up and erase evidence of us being here. You need to get your car out of the driveway right fucking now.”
“You sure?” I ask him, unsure if I feel safe leaving him here alone.
“Yes!” he says urgently. “Go!”
I give Rome one last look and say, “Thank you.”
He nods, then closes the door with us outside. Hopefully Cat can wait a few minutes before she has a solid freak out.
What if someone comes and Rome gets blamed while I’m looking out for her? So many people witnessed my family's argument with Troy tonight. We’ll probably be prime suspects.
My thoughts immediately go to my dad. What if it wasn’t Cat? What if it was him?
There are so many people who would probably love to put a bullet in that guy. It could be anyone.
Doesn’t matter. Cat is safe now and until this is all settled, we’re going somewhere I can ensure she remains safe.
I get her in my car, then I drive away, and I don’t stop.