41
THEA
I impatiently sit in the waiting area of the studio. Cassie’s with her last client of the day. It’s her first day back since visiting her family for Thanksgiving and I have so much to catch her up on. Well, I can’t exactly tell her everything. My secret trysts with Adrian will never see the light of day and Cole’s continued assaults are also a topic I refuse to discuss. But there’s plenty more to tell her.
The biggest thing I’ll reveal is that the guys killed Rob and Matt. Considering the recent talks of me murdering Cole, that might not be all that surprising to her. I’m not sure how I’ll explain how I know about the duffle bag or pill bottle. I could be overthinking it. The knowledge alone might be enough to keep her from digging.
I also want to catch her up on what happened two days ago on Thanksgiving with Wes and his mom.
Sneaking away mid argument didn’t spare me the details later on. Sutton filled me in the next day. Damian and Wes went back and forth for ten minutes until Damian finally backed down. The fighting may have been over, but the tension was still thick when I came back to the table.
Wes’ poor mom tried to lighten the mood a few times, however, it didn’t help. I made sure to give her a hug as she was leaving so that she didn’t feel completely unwelcome.
“Have a good evening! I’ll be in touch,” Cassie tells her client as she walks the pregnant woman to the door and sees her off. She turns to me. “Let me grab my bag and we can head out.” Cass winks at me, a secretive gesture that likely won’t be picked up on the cameras.
I wait for her to emerge from the hallway that leads to her part of the studio. She motions for me to follow her through the front doors. Locking them, she finally says, “I’m sure we have a lot to talk about. We can sit in my car.”
A grin spreads over my face. She knows me better than anyone. I didn’t have to tell her anything, she knew that we needed to talk.
We get into her Lexus. She cranks the heat, then turns to me with an expectant look on her face.
First, I fill her in on Wes. I want to ease her in before I get to the heavy shit. “Remember when those guys attacked me a few months ago and I told you they ran off before the guys got there?”
“They didn’t run off, did they?” I’m so fucking thankful that I don’t need to spell everything out for her. I shake my head, although it’s not needed. “Okay,” she says, nodding slowly. “Why are you telling me this?”
I take a deep breath in. “I’m telling you because we have a problem. A big one. Cole told me that he has the duffle bag with evidence of that crime. He also planted a bottle of Wesley’s meds on one of the guys. We can’t do anything about Cole until those loose ends are wrapped up.”
Cassie doesn’t argue with me. She sits deep in thought for a few minutes before finally speaking. “Alright. We need to get that duffle bag and the pill bottle. Then we can take care of him.”
“Just like that?” I question, surprised by her nonchalant response.
She reaches out and takes my hand, squeezing firmly. “Just like that.” As quickly as she took my hand, she releases it and is on her phone.
I lean over and see a blue dot blinking on her screen. “Cole?” She nods.
“He isn’t home right now. Do you still have that key?” I dig through my satchel and find the key I threw into the bottom of it. “Good. We’re going now. His place is our best bet. He probably wants to keep something like that close.”
This wasn’t how I expected my night to go, but she’s right. We need to do this now. I pull my seatbelt across my chest as Cassie backs out. “Hold on!” I hold up my satchel. “This can’t come with us.” I hop out of her car and run to mine.
Before tossing it in, I text the guys.
Me: Grabbing a bite to eat with Cass. Be home after that.
I swap my phone for the burner and close the trunk with all of Damian’s tracking devices inside.
“Here, keep an eye on this while I drive.” Cass tosses me the phone. The little blue dot remains still. “And sync these up to your burner.” She digs around her console, pulling out a pair of wireless earbuds. “I’ll be in your ear like I was at the gas station. We should’ve used these last time. I’m not taking any chances of you almost getting caught again.”
I do as I’m told, mostly because I’m too damn nervous to do anything else. The memory of hiding in Cole’s closet makes my veins turn icy. That won’t happen again , I tell myself. It doesn’t matter how true that statement might be, I don’t fully believe it.
Staring off into the distance, I zone out, letting the blur of trees try to silence my persistent fears.
I close the front door of Cole’s apartment behind me. It doesn’t matter that I know he isn’t here, my body still tenses, as if he might walk out of his room at any moment. Of course, he doesn’t.
Looking around, I’m not sure where to start. There isn’t much furniture in the living or dining room. But there are cabinets in the kitchen, so I head there first. Quickly, I use the flashlight on my phone to look into the deepest corners of the nearly empty cabinets. Nothing.
“Anything yet?” I hear Cassie ask in my ear.
“No,” I reply in a hushed tone.
Next, I head to Cole’s room. I pull open each of the drawers of the dresser, despite knowing that a duffle bag probably wouldn’t fit. Still, nothing. I check under his bed, then in his closet. Stepping up on my tiptoes, I look up at the shelf above his hung up clothes. No duffle bag.
Finally, I head into his bathroom and look in the cabinets under the sink. All I find are some towels and bath products.
“Fuck,” I mutter. “I don’t think it’s here, Cass.”
Silence. “Are you sure you’ve looked everywhere? Closets, cabinets—”
“Yes,” I interrupt brashly. “Sorry,” I apologize a breath later.
“Under the couch?”
I doubt it’ll be there, but it’s worth a try. I head out of the bathroom toward the living room. But I don’t make it. The squeak of a floorboard in his room stops me. It’s the same one I stepped on last time that almost gave me away as I tried to sneak out of the house. No. It couldn’t be…
Dropping to my knees, my fingers search the floor for something. Anything. My nails claw at the crevices so viciously I think I might start bleeding. I refuse to believe there isn’t something there. There has to be. There has to be. I’m so desperate to find what I’m looking for that I think I might tear up every inch of flooring just to satisfy this urge to be right.
I’m on the verge of tears when the floor gives way and I nearly scream in excitement as I lift it and see the unmistakable polyester fabric of a duffle bag. The opening is too small for me to pull it through.
“I found it. It’s under the floor,” I tell Cassie.
There’s a sigh of relief on the other end. “Take your time. Cole hasn’t moved. There’s no rush, make sure you do this the right way.”
I breathe in and out. Then, I let my fingers search the surrounding area. I immediately find the other loose board and I have enough room to yank the bag through. Now for the hard part, putting the pieces back so that he doesn’t know I was here.
It takes me a few minutes to get the flooring back in place. Once I do, I stand and walk across it, making sure the board squeaks again. It’s a small detail I know he’ll notice. The tightness in my chest loosens when I hear that satisfying sound.
Slinging the bag over my shoulder, I leave Cole’s apartment, finally feeling like I’m at least one step ahead of him. I just pray I can stay ahead.
Glancing in the rearview, I smile when my eyes land on the bag in the back seat. This was the easier of the two things to get. The pill bottle will be much harder, if not impossible. A shiver rolls down my spine at the thought of the state of the bodies I’ll have to dig up. That’s if I can find them.
I hit the edge of town when the sound of a siren makes me jump. Looking in the mirror again, I see a black unmarked police car with flashing red and blue lights. I have no choice but to pull over, even though I haven’t done anything wrong. I’m not going over the speed limit and I’ve used my turn signals. Why am I being pulled over? The door opens and Detective Williams’ familiar face emerges from the car. Fuck.
I want to reach for the bag and throw it on the floor, but I know he’s watching me carefully through the windows, looking for any suspicious behavior. So, I have to play it cool.
Lowering the window, I glance up at him. “Hi detective. What can I possibly help you with today?” It comes out a little more sarcastic than I intend, but I go with it.
Williams leans against the car with one arm as he grins with his brilliant white smile. “Well, Ms. Griffin, I need you to come down to the station.” Fear surges through me. “I have some questions to ask you.”
My mouth’s dry and the cool look on my face is gone. I’m sure he senses my nervousness. How could he not? “Is that really necessary?” I hate the timidness that touches my voice.
His gray-blue eyes jump to the back seat and I’m almost sure that he’s going to ask about the bag. “Yeah, Thea, it’s necessary. Why don’t you follow me? I can trust you to not bolt, right?”
I don’t even trust myself to not bolt. I swallow the lump in my throat, then nod. Running’s not going to do anything for me right now. And I can’t leave the guys to deal with this problem.
Williams smacks the roof of the car before walking back to his. I watch him in the mirror as he whips back in the other direction. I do the same and catch up to him.
The entire time, my heart is racing. He said questioning, but what if it’s more than that? What if he found some way to tie me to Gavin’s disappearance? What if Cole made it look like I was the one who did it?
A hundred scenarios play through my head. I catch my phone lighting up from the corner of my eye and grab it out of the passenger seat. It’s a notification in the group chat. I need to give the guys a reason why I’m not going to be home on time. I’ve already told them I was going to dinner, but I need something that’s going to take a lot longer than that. My mind’s hazy with fear and I can’t think straight.
Me: Heading to the property to work on some ideas with Cass. Might be home late.
It’s flimsy, but I don’t have time for anything else. I toss it back into the seat and grab the burner phone out of the satchel to text Cassie.
Me: The detective pulled me over. He’s making me come to the station for questioning. Don’t freak out unless you haven’t heard from me by tomorrow.
I spend the rest of the drive breathing, willing calmness to take over. I have nothing to worry about because I didn’t do anything to Gavin. Over and over, I tell myself this. It doesn’t really help, mostly because I know it doesn’t matter if I did or didn’t do it. Cole can manipulate nearly anything, especially the truth. He can make it look like I did it—it won’t matter how much I protest. I’ll look guilty—that’s all that matters.
Pulling into a parking space, I throw the burner in the glove compartment and I turn my phone off before looping my satchel over my shoulder. The detective casually waits for me near his car.
“Nothing to worry about, right, Thea? You don’t know anything.” What the hell does he think I know? The better question is, what has he been led to believe? I guess I’m about to find out.