Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
The next big bomb drops when police discover Evan’s body in the basement of an abandoned house, lying in a pool of his own blood.
I freak out when I read the story, afraid of the DNA I left behind. The guys assure me that Frank covered it up, though, and I don’t ask how.
Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.
The police determine that Evan died in a drug deal gone wrong. The prime suspect is a six-foot-tall male with brown hair that matches Roger’s description. When the media asks Evan’s father why he didn’t report his son missing, all he says is ‘no comment’.
Several weeks pass, and with no new leads, the case goes cold. But deep down in my gut, I know that the Evan thing is far from over. Roger is just biding his time, and we keep our guard up.
Mid-May arrives, and our days settle into a pattern.
I’m almost at the end of my work shift, and the day has dragged on, so I’m looking forward to leaving.
The guys have less than a month left of school, so tonight, we plan to discuss our plans for after graduation.
“Excuse me,” Carrie says from behind me.
“Shouldn’t you be in school?” I rearrange a few cans on the shelf, then turn to glare at her.
“I skipped.” She tips her nose in the air. “Is this how you treat a paying customer? I need a box from the top shelf.”
I set down my last can. “Fine, I’ll grab the ladder.”
“How dare you say that to me?” She gasps. “What have I ever done to you?”
Bewildered, I turn back to see tears pouring down Carrie’s cheeks. What is she up to?
“All I wanted was some cereal.” Her voice rises in volume with each word. “You didn’t have to be so mean!”
Like a fool, I stare at her with my mouth open.
“What is going on here?” Mr. Silva, the owner, comes around the corner.
Carrie turns to the owner, and her wailing cuts off, but tears show on her cheeks. “Mr. Silva, I wanted a box of cereal, and this person told me to get it myself because she doesn’t help rich people like me.” She puts a hand on her chest and gasps. “Then she called me names I can’t repeat. I want her fired.”
I snap out of my fog. “Mr. Silva, I did no such thing. I was on my way to grab the ladder. She’s making it up.”
Screwing up her face, she pours on the tears. “Who will you believe, Mr. Silva? A paying customer or her?” She points a finger at me.
Damn her. I’m about to defend myself again when he says, “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing, missy.”
My mouth pops open in surprise, but Carrie’s too busy fake crying to notice Mr. Silva glaring at her.
When she realizes he’s not talking to me, she glances around the store before dropping the act. “Daddy is looking for a new project. I should tell him to buy this rundown store.”
She strides away.
Mr. Silva watches Carrie’s retreating figure. “Shelby, please follow me to my office.”
“Sure.” I bite my cheek to hide how I feel inside.
That bitch just got me fired. How did she know I was working here?
We enter Mr. Silva’s office, and he motions to one of the chairs. “Have a seat.”
He takes a chair on the other side of his desk.
“You’re a hard worker, Shelby. I hate doing this, but I must let you go. Her dad can’t buy my store, but he can buy the building and jack the rent up so high I can’t afford it. I can’t lose the store.” He drops his head into his hands.
I roll my eyes. “She’s lying. She’s hated me since I moved to town.”
“I figured. My kids went to the same elementary and middle school as her. Before they started high school, I transferred them to a different district to get them away from her.” Regret fills his face. “I’m sorry, but I don’t have a choice. Her father’s influence in the community could impact my business. Come by tomorrow, and I’ll have your final check ready.”
“Right.” I stand and take off my store apron, dropping it on his desk. “Thanks.”
As I walk outside, I glance around, hoping to find Carrie hanging around gloating, so I can smash her face in. But she’s long gone.
I hop on my bike before I text Dom, telling him what happened and that I need to go for a ride to calm down.
An hour later, I pull into our driveway and shoot off a text to let Dom know I made it home safely.
When I walk into the kitchen to grab a Dr. Pepper, I notice an envelope on the counter addressed to me. I’ve been waiting for the GED materials, and I carry the envelope outside since it’s a beautiful spring day.
I sip my drink and put it down on the table. I open the envelope and pull out a bunch of pictures. My whole body grows cold when I realize they’re pictures of me in the basement.
I don’t remember Roger ever taking photos of me. He must have had a video camera hidden somewhere.
I flip through the stack. Photos of me hanging from the chain attached to the ceiling, sitting naked on the floor, and lying on the floor cover each one. The next one I flip to is of Evan, naked and on top of me.
My hand shakes, and the photos flutter to the ground.
Needing to distance myself from them, I jump up, knocking the chair over in my rush. As I move to take a step, my feet tangle in the chair. I fall and land on the cement next to a photo of Evan and me on the ground. The one next to it shows Evan smirking at the camera, looking directly at me.
With a scream, I scramble backward and wrap my arms around my knees, rocking back and forth.
“Shelby?” Cam calls from inside the house, but I can’t move.
He barrels outside and falls to his knees. “Shelby, gorgeous, are you all right?”
When he goes to touch me, I lash out, my palm connecting with skin. “Don’t touch me! Leave me alone!”
Unfazed, Cam kneels in front of me but doesn’t touch me again. “Shelby, you’re safe. It’s all right. I’m here.”
Amid my panic, his voice throws my mind back into the basement in a waking nightmare. Cam is in front of me, but my vision blurs with an image of him dying in the basement.
“I have to get you out, Cam. I’ll convince Roger to let you go.”
Cam frowns, but I don’t understand why. Does he think I can’t do it?
“I will get you out.”
Cam sits with me, helplessly clenching his fists as I suffer through my nightmare.
Nick walks out the back door and stops in his tracks. “What happened?”
“She’s having a panic attack. These pictures were near her.” Cam picks up a photo and hands it to Nick. “I arrived a few minutes ago and found her like this. Her mind is back in the basement. She keeps saying she ‘needs to get me out’ and will make Roger let me go.”
Sadness enters his voice. “She won’t let me touch her.”
Nick picks up another of the pictures. “Are these from the basement?”
“Yeah,” Cam says.
Squatting, Nick blocks my view of Cam and clears his throat.
My head snaps toward the sound.
“Shelby? It’s Nick,” he says in a soft voice. “I need you to listen to my voice, okay? Can you do that?”
“I can’t move. He chained me in here.” I blink, then relax when I don’t see Cam anymore. “I helped Cam escape. But I can’t get out. I can’t get out.” I rock back and forth. “He’s going to hurt me again.” My chin wobbles.
“Shelby,” Nick says, his voice firm but gentle, the tone catching my attention. “You’re not in the basement, Shelby. You’re home with me.”
Forehead scrunching with confusion, my rocking slows. “Nick? You weren’t in the basement with me. Cam was, but I got him out.”
“You’re right. I wasn’t. I found you after you escaped.” At his mention of my escape, my breathing increases again as my eyes find the photos scattered around me. “Shelby, you’re safe. It’s been over six months since you’ve been home. Do you remember going to Hawaii?”
Hawaii.
Images filter through the horror. Cam standing at the door to the Knights’ vacation home, healthy but sad. Cam holding my hand in bed after one of my nightmares. The guys, Nick, Cin, Paige, and Sam at the house, sitting with me around a bonfire. Laughing while we play Cards Against Humanity. Luke, down on one knee, a ring box in his hand.
I glance at the ring on my finger, and the tears slow as a small smile breaks free, more images replacing the basement.
At the airport here, kissing Luke, Mav, then Cam. Crying into Dom’s arms as he apologizes and tells me he loves me.
With the last image, I take a stuttering breath and meet Nick’s eyes.
Sighing, Nick drops onto his butt in front of me. “You’re back. Can you tell us what happened?”
He shifts to the side, and Cam sits behind him, a red mark marring his face.
When I realize what it is, I gasp.
“Don’t worry about this little love tap, beautiful. It was my fault. I knew better than to try and grab you,” he states in a no-nonsense voice as he knee-walks his way closer until he’s next to Nick and right in front of me.
Nick draws my attention again. “Where did these pictures come from, Shelby? Is that what caused you to panic?”
Realization slams into me as I glance at the photos. My gaze draws the guys’ attention to them.
“He videotaped me while I was in the basement.” My voice wavers, and tears pour down my face. “I found these mementos in an envelope when I arrived home today.”
Cam picks up one of the photos, and his face twists with anger.
“Fuck.” He throws the photo face down on the ground. “Shelby, let’s go over to the sectionals.”
When he crouches in front of me, I flinch. Roger and Evan loved to stand over me as an intimidation factor.
He moves his hand out so his elbow rests on his knee and his palm faces up, not moving any closer. “Can I touch you?”
“Yeah, of course.” I place my palm in his.
As he pulls me up with him as he stands, my eyes fix on the scratches on his arm. I don’t remember doing that to him.
“I’m sorry,” I plead.
“You have no reason to be sorry.” Cam hooks his arm around my back and knees and carries me to the couches while Nick picks up the photos. He places them face down on the table. Cam sits with me on his lap and rubs my back.
Not long after, the others show up and sit around us.
“What are these?” Mav bends down and grabs the pictures before we can say anything. He flips through them.
“What the fuck are these?” Dom demands. Anger for me, not at me, radiates from him.
“Roger had a video running while she was down in the basement. He used the footage to make still shots and printed them out, leaving them in an envelope addressed to Shelby,” Nick says.
Dom stops Mav from shuffling the photos. “There are photos of her in Hawaii.”
Dom holds a picture of me on the deck, staring at the ocean.
I didn’t make it far in the stack before my panic attack hit.
“I knew someone was watching me,” I mumble.
“Son of a bitch!” Luke exclaims. “She’s not safe here. He’s taking photos of her here, too.” Luke throws a photo on the table taken from the woods behind this house, showing me in my bedroom.
Luke’s phone goes off. He pulls out his phone and answers. “Hey, Mom. Whoa, slow down…” The color drains from his face. “I’ll be right over.”
My heart rate picks up again. Oh please, don’t let something bad have happened to his family. They have been through so much already.
I climb off Cam’s lap. “What’s wrong?”
“My parents received a photo. I need to go home.” He walks toward his house.
“I’m coming with you.” I follow him.
Please don’t let the Masons have a photo of my time in the basement.
“We’re coming, too,” Mav says.
We run up the street and into Luke’s house. Henry’s trying to comfort Clara, who’s distraught.
“Mom,” Luke says as he walks into the living room.
“Oh, Luke, why would someone do this?” Lifting her head from her husband’s chest, she scans the room, wipes her tears, and switches to hostess mode. “Oh, everyone is here. Can I get anyone something to drink?”
“Clara, we’re fine. What’s going on?” I sit next to her and put my arm around her shoulders.
“I walked out to collect the mail and found this by our door. When I opened it… Well, look for yourselves.” She hands me a photo of a young lady out in the yard.
“Lea.” Luke trembles in his seat on the arm of the couch next to me.
“You don’t know that, Son.” Henry rubs Clara’s back.
Clara nods and wipes her nose with a tissue that Cam passes to her.
Feeling the need to look at the photo for any clue, I flip it over and find a message written on the back. Stay away from her. If you don’t, I’ll send your sister back piece by piece.
“Roger,” I breathe out.
“Nick, I need you to find Lea.” Luke takes the photo from me, then passes it to Nick.
“I’m on it.” Nick leaves and runs back down the street to his house.
“What does that mean, ‘stay away from her’? From whom? Lea?” his mom asks.
“It’s my fault, Clara.” Needing to distance myself, I walk over to the living room window and gaze outside as I give her a brief rundown on Roger.
Behind me, heels click against the wood floor.
“Mom,” Luke says, a note of worry in his voice.
I turn and brace myself for her anger.
Instead, I’m shocked when she pulls me into a mom hug. “Oh, you poor girl. Did you go to the police?”
“Yes, they know,” I say. “But they won’t be able to find him.”
“He broke out of jail,” Luke says before his mom can speak. “He’s smart, Mom. Remember when I stopped hanging out with Nick and Shelby? Well, he hypnotized us to stay away from Shelby,” Luke says.
“Hypnotized. Is that why you were so angry?” she asks.
“Yes, I’m sorry. I’m fine now, I promise, and he won’t be able to do it again,” Luke states.
“That seems impossible, Son,” Henry says.
“I thought the same thing, but it’s true.” Dom moves from the wall and heads over to stand behind me.
Clara stares at another picture. “She appears healthy.”
“If it’s her, Mom, I’ll find her and bring her home,” Luke says with determination.
“You can’t search for her right now,” she says.
“Why not?” Luke asks, confused.
“School, Luke. You can’t miss any more days, or you won’t graduate,” his mom barks.
“Mom, it’s Lea. School doesn’t matter,” he argues.
“Yes, it does,” she says. “Lea left a long time ago, so a few more weeks won’t matter.”
“He could kill her, Mom,” Luke pleads with his mom.
“I’ll go,” I say.
Everyone’s heads snap to me, and Dom’s arms tighten around my middle.
“You have work,” Luke says.
I shake my head. “No, Carrie got me fired today.”
At this, Dom steps out from behind me to stand with the rest of the guys.
“How?” Cam asks.
“I’ll tell you later. It’s not important right now.” I look at Clara and Henry. “When Nick finds her, I’ll bring her back.”
“I’ll go, too,” Cam pipes up, then shrugs when everyone looks at him. “What? I don’t have school or work, either. Besides, you think I’ll let Shelby do this alone when Roger is stalking her?”
Luke runs his hand through his hair. “This is ridiculous.”
“We’ll figure it out. Besides, that may work to our advantage. From everything you’ve told me about her, she might be more willing to talk to me than you,” I say. “Let’s find out where she is. All right?”
Luke scrubs a hand down his face. “Fine, yeah. Let’s go see if Nick found her.”
We head back over to the Tate’s house. I tell the guys I’ll grab a drink while they head to Nick’s apartment. I need to gather the pictures of me, which we left stacked on the table.
I open a Dr. Pepper and glance outside the window. The chair is still overturned, but no photos are on the table. I set down my soda and head outside to pick up the envelope from the table.
When I peek inside and find it empty, worry fills me. The last thing I need is for Mom to find them.
“What are you going to do with them?” Mav asks from behind me.
I jump. “God, you should wear a bell. I didn’t hear you.”
“Sorry, queen, I didn’t mean to scare you.” He runs his hands up and down my arms, soothing my nerves.
“I don’t know what to do with them,” I say. “The thought of them disgusts me. But I should keep them for evidence even if Roger won’t let himself be caught. Plus, the thought of someone else seeing them…” I shudder.
“We’ll burn them when we get them back from Nick.” He takes the envelope, walks to the fire pit, and drops it in.
He reaches over and grabs Peter’s lighter fluid, squirting some on the envelope before he strikes a match and drops it. The flames whoosh up, and the envelope’s edges curl before the entire thing burns away.
“Hold me?” My voice shakes.
Mav comes over, wrapping his arms around me from behind, pulling my back flush against him. He leans down and presses a kiss on the top of my head. “I’ll hold you together through anything.”
Mav squeezes me tighter, and borrowing some of his strength, I let the images burn out of my mind.
“You never have to worry about him again,” Mav says. “We’ll find Roger and deal with him, too.”
We stand for a little longer as the flames in the pit die out.
Turning in his arms, I stand on my toes and kiss him. “I love you, Mav.”
“Love you, too, babe.” He takes my hand, leading me back inside and up to where everyone else is.
We spend the rest of the night at Nick’s place, watching a movie while he searches for Lea.