This Is War - Chapter 16 – You Had Sex in Fifth Grade?!
Tanner was waiting for me on the front steps of the BIMG building. He gave me a smile like everything was totally normal. “Are you stalking me, baby?”
“Hey.” My voice squeaked and I had no idea why.
It wasn’t because I loved when he said that.
Or because his face was perfect. Or because he was staring at me like he missed me too.
Or because I’d been dying to see him ever since he broke into my closet.
I cleared my throat. I could keep this professional. “What’d you find?”
“I’ll tell you on the ride over. Shall we?” He gestured to the street. I didn’t see his usual black Phantom limo, but there was a bright red Ferrari.
Where was he planning on taking me? “Trying to impress me with your fancy cars, huh?” I said and crossed my arms. But what I really wanted to do was hug him. I hugged myself tighter to stop myself from hugging him.
“Only a douche would take a Ferrari where we’re headed. We’re over here.” He clicked his key fob and the lights blinked on a futuristic-looking silver SUV.
“What even is that thing?” It looked like what an alien would design if they wanted to blend in on Earth but couldn’t quite get it right.
“You like it? Elon sent it over a few weeks ago for me to test drive.”
“Elon? As in…Elon Musk? As in…the richest man in the world?”
“Second richest,” corrected Tanner.
“Oh. Did Bezos get ahead of him again?”
“No idea. But I know someone richer than both of them.”
“Who?”
He just gave me a knowing smile. Which made me think…
“ You ?”
“Of course. That’s the beauty of compound interest.”
“Right… But that takes time. And you’re like half their age.”
“I started investing early.”
“How early?” An image of little baby Tanner popped into my head. He was sitting in front of three huge monitors trading stocks while wearing nothing but his man bun and some diapers. It was adorable. “Wait, were you the inspiration for the E-Trade baby commercials?”
He laughed and opened the passenger door for me.
“Where are we going?”
“Just get in.”
I shook my head. Madison had really gotten into my head about him being a murderer. And him being so rich was super sus. He claimed it was compound interest. But I was starting to think it was more likely to be human trafficking…
More importantly, though, I couldn’t trust myself to be near him. I was finally piecing my heart back together. I couldn’t risk letting him shatter it again.
“Don’t you trust me?” asked Tanner.
Was he serious right now?
He looked at the car and then back at me. “I promise, I’m just trying to help.”
I slowly exhaled. I needed answers. And if getting in a confined space with Tanner meant I was closer to finding Rosalie…
then I guess I could bear it. A minute later we were speeding off through New York City traffic.
And his stupid blueberry cologne was invading my senses.
I leaned away from him and toward the window, trying my best to avoid his alluring scent.
“So do you want the good news or the bad news?” asked Tanner.
My heart immediately started racing. That meant he had found something…but that I might not like what he had found. “Um, bad news.”
“I couldn’t find the name of the photographer.”
“Really?” Then why had I gotten in the car?
“But I did find some other information. The photo was uploaded to our system three years ago.”
“What month? Rosalie went missing in May.”
“September.”
“Really?! That means she’s alive!” I couldn’t believe it. I wanted to scream and dance and sing.
“Not necessarily. It could have been taken a while before that. Photos can sometimes sit on hard drives for years before they end up on stock photo sites.”
“Oh.” Damn. “So what’s the good news then?”
“Well…when I looked at the photo, I thought that the scenery looked familiar. I couldn’t quite place it, though. But then when I pulled up the metadata, I noticed that the model’s name was listed as Oaklyn Hope.”
“So it’s not her? That’s not possible…it looks just like her. She’s even wearing the bracelets she always wore. Maybe that’s what she changed her name to after she disappeared.”
“I had the same thought. But then I ran the name through the Society database. And bingo…”
Why did he have access to the Society database?
But my question fell away as he handed me his phone.
The screen was open to a profile on his Society app for Oaklyn Hope.
There was a picture of Rosalie that I’d never seen before, a few stats about her height, weight, and birthday, and the date of her last spa visit: May 18, 2020.
Exactly one week before she disappeared.
I had so many questions. How long had she been part of the Society? Why had she never told me? Who had she been dating? But most importantly… “Did you know her?”
Tanner shook his head. “Nope.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. I tried to scroll down to get more info, but the profile ended with the spa visit date. “Can you see her ratings? And who she dated?”
“For security reasons they purge most member data every six months.”
“Damn.” I leaned back and looked out the window, trying to process everything I had just learned.
The sight of the trees whipping by was soothing.
Wait…trees? I blinked and looked around.
We were cruising down the highway, surrounded by thick forest. Oh no!
Had Madison been right about Tanner? Was he really going to drive me into the woods and chop me up into little bits?
I stared at the slight smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
He wasn’t going to chop me into little bits.
Or sell me on the black market. He was more likely going to suck my freaking blood.
Because he was a vampire. It was the only thing that made sense.
Yup, he’s definitely going to murder me. “Where the heck are we?”
Tanner laughed. “That’s the other part of the good news. After I figured out that Rosalie was part of the Society, I was able to place the scenery in that photo. The reason I recognized it was because the photo was taken at the Emerald Oasis - a resort in the Catskills.”
“Resort? With pools and pina coladas and heart-shaped hot tubs?”
“Eh…more like bonfires and zip lining and a big lake.”
“That sounds like my 5 th -grade summer camp.”
Tanner looked shocked. “You had sex in 5 th grade?!”
“What? No! Of course I didn’t have sex in 5 th grade.” I hadn’t even been kissed until college. But Tanner didn’t need to know that. “Who said anything about having sex?”
“You said that this resort reminded you of summer camp in 5 th grade.”
“Right. The bonfire and zip lining and big lake parts.”
“Oh, I get it. I should have mentioned that the Society owns this particular resort. So naturally there’s quite a bit of sex.”
“Why does the Society own a resort in the Catskills?” I thought that only New York Jews in the 50s hung out in the Catskills. Or maybe I had just been binge-watching too much of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel …
“A while ago I saw one was available for purchase. So I put in an offer. Now the Society hosts weekend getaways there.”
“I’m sorry, you purchased it? For the Society? Why didn’t they purchase it themselves?” I knew he was some kind of prestigious member of the Society because he had that weird badge with the Society logo on it. He’d used it to stop me from getting double-teamed by Angel and Diablo.
“Oh.” He laughed. “I meant I found it for them. Of course they bought it since I’m just a normal member of the Society. Just a normal boy on the town.”
What the hell was he talking about? “And why do you have access to their database? And know how often they purge their member data?”
“I know people who know people. And I’ve been a member of the Society for quite some time.”
I bet he had. Whore. I stared at his perfect jawline. Really, how many women had he dated in the Society? And where had he been for three months? And why was he here now, torturing me with his flawless bone structure?
“Do I have something on my face?” he asked.
“What? No. You're perfect." I cleared my throat. “I mean, it’s nothing. So…that’s where we’re headed? The resort?”
“Indeed it is.”
“What good will that do us?”
“Well…the Society servers might not have any info about Rosalie, but that doesn’t mean people don’t remember her.
A lot of the staff at the Emerald Oasis are townies who have worked there for years.
I bet at least one of them remembers her.
And if we’re really lucky, maybe they’ll remember who she used to hang out with. ”
I couldn’t believe it. After all these years, I finally had hope of finding Rosalie. I pinched myself to make sure this was actually happening. Ow. “You’re the best.” I could never repay him for this.
“I know.” He flashed me his cocky smile.
I immediately wanted to take my comment back. He was the worst.
And yet…that smile was the one that I’d fallen for when I first met him.
I wanted to lean over the center console and kiss him with joy.
But I knew better. My heart had only just healed from when he’d shattered it.
It would be careless to let that happen again.
I turned away from him and checked my phone.
There were a bunch of texts from Madison and a few missed calls.
Madison : What’d he say?
Madison : Where is he taking you?
Madison : Why are you leaving the city?
Madison : Ash?
Madison : Ash?!
Madison : Is he taking you into the woods to chop you into little bits?
Madison : ASH! Write back to me this instant or I’m calling the police!
I laughed. “Oops.”
“What?” asked Tanner.
“Hold on.” I dialed Chastity. I figured she’d be calmer than Madison.
“Hey girl!” said Chastity.
But then Madison screamed, “Ash?! Is that you?!”
“Yes, it’s me.”
“Are you okay?” asked Madison. She must have taken the phone from Chastity. “Shit…he’s probably listening. We need some sort of code. Pretend like everything is okay if you’re in trouble.”
“I’m fine.”
“So you’re not fine?”