Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
It was Friday and the disappearance of Gabe and Amber was being reported repeatedly on the local news more and more as each day passed. Because Cassy had said the twins' party was the last place Amber and Gabe had been seen, a good chunk of students who’d attended the party had been interviewed by the police, and all had said they hadn’t seen them there.
According to the rumor mill, Cassy had quickly changed her story after everyone else’s had made her look like a liar and now it was being reported that Gabe and Amber had been last seen leaving Cassy’s house, which was also the sheriff’s house, and the news was going crazy over it.
Currently, I was pulling up to Desert Stone. I had just gotten done at the doctor, who’d removed my stitches, and I wasn’t in the mood to be home alone. I didn’t know why, but I felt on edge. I couldn’t relax at home. Every little noise made me jump. I’d had a session with Dr. Bolton yesterday and she believed I was still dealing with being attacked on Halloween and by the sheriff.
As I walked into the gym, I smiled. Isabelle was behind the front desk.
“Hey, you,” she greeted me, returning my smile. “What are you doing here?”
I rounded the desk, heading for the hall. “I’ve come to hang out with you all.”
“Oh,” she said and gave me a sly look. “I can put you to work.”
I laughed. “Sounds good. I’m going to go bug the guys for a bit first.”
“Okay. See you in a bit,” she said.
Both Knox’s and Keelan’s offices were empty. I went into Knox’s and took a seat behind his big desk. Pulling out my phone, which had a new number now, I clicked on the camera app and took a selfie of me smiling with as much of Knox’s office as I could get in the background. I sent it to the guys in our group chat and captioned it, Boss lady . I got quick replies from all four of them.
Knox
Are you in my office?
Me
Maybe ??
Keelan
Adorable.
Colt
Beautiful.
Creed
A sexy boss lady.
I was grinning down at my phone, getting ready to send another text, when there was a knock. I looked up and there was a gorgeous brunette woman, who had to be in her early thirties, standing just outside Knox’s office. I knew who she was the moment I saw her navy Desert Stone polo and dress slacks.
“Um, hello,” she said as she walked inside.
“You must be Katrina,” I said and reached across the desk.
She took my hand with a frown.
“I’m Shiloh.”
There was zero recognition on her face. “Hi, Shiloh. Should you be back here?” she asked.
“You have no idea who I am, do you?”
“I’m sorry, no,” Katrina said.
“She’s my girlfriend,” Knox said as he walked in.
I went to stand from his chair as he came behind his desk. He put his hand on my shoulder, gently pushing me to sit back down.
“Oh, I apologize,” Katrina said to both of us. “I didn’t know who she was or if she was supposed to be in here.”
“She is. You might see her around quite a bit,” Knox said.
“Okay,” Katrina said. “I better get back to work. It was nice meeting you, Shiloh.”
“It was nice meeting you,” I said to her before she left. My stare lingered on the door after she walked out. “She was nice and professional.”
“She was,” he agreed with a hint of a question in his voice.
“And she clearly doesn’t find you attractive, and for that, she passes with flying colors.”
“I didn’t know you were the jealous type,” he said, sounding surprised.
I swiveled the chair to the side to face him. “It’s a shock to me, too.”
He smiled down at me in a way that was open and adoring.
“What about you?” I asked. “Are you the jealous type?” We hadn’t had a chance to talk about what had gone down with him, me, and Keelan on Halloween or how it had made him feel.
His beautiful smile dropped, and an intensity and seriousness took over his whole face. I knew he knew what I was asking. “I am the jealous type.”
Everything in me sank.
“But not with my brothers,” he added.
I couldn’t have stopped the happiness I felt from showing even if I’d tried and I got to my feet. I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my cheek against his chest.
He put one arm around me and began to stroke my hair with the other, then froze. “How was the doctor?”
“Good. I no longer look like Frankenstein’s monster.”
His body shook as he laughed silently. “Did you need something from me?”
It took me a second to understand he was asking why I was here. I shook my head. “Can I hang out here until you guys get off of work?”
“Is everything all right?”
“I’m scared to be home alone,” I admitted. “I’m so unsettled I feel like I’m being watched and like someone is going to pop out around every corner. Every noise I hear makes me think someone is in the house. And it’s not just mine. I feel like that at your house, too. Dr. Bolton says that it’s because of the attacks, but I don’t think of Cassy or the sheriff when I’m feeling all this. I think it’s Mr. X. It’s like my mind defaults to him or something.”
He put his hands on my shoulders and stepped back to look down at me. “I think Dr. Bolton is right. You’ve been through a lot recently and that’s going to take a toll on you.” He leaned down and kissed my head. “You can stay, but you might be bored.”
“I figured I’d help Isabelle at the front desk, if that’s okay?”
He nodded and I headed for the door.
“Can I ask you for something?” he said before I left.
I glanced back at him. “Of course.”
He hadn’t moved from where I’d left him, and he had his hands stuffed in his pockets. “Will you spend the night with me tonight?”
I wished I looked confident when I replied and didn’t assume that by saying spend the night, he had meant something more than sleep. Blushing, I answered, “Yes.”
I followed the guys home from Desert Stone in my 4Runner and we all pulled up to our houses at the same time. “I’m going to change really quick and then I’ll be over,” I announced as we all climbed out of our cars. I was out of clean pajamas at their house. Doing a load of laundry was on my list to do before bed tonight.
Colt and Creed headed for me instead of walking toward their house. “We’ll come with you,” Colt said, and I had the impression that Knox had told his brothers I was having a difficult time being alone.
We walked up the steps to my porch together and they waited as I unlocked the door.
“What are we eating for dinner?” Creed asked.
“I have a chicken recipe I want to try,” I answered as I opened up the door. The smell of pennies filled my nose the moment I stepped inside. When I saw why, I froze.
“Why isn’t the alarm beeping?” I barely heard Creed say over the pounding of my heart in my ears.
There was someone sitting on my couch.
Not “someone.”
Jacob.
He was sitting smack-dab in the middle of my purple Joker couch. That Joker couch was now covered in his blood. His wrists were slit. Yet he was sitting upright, like he was a doll someone had placed there. There was a knife in his limp, bloody hand and a note pinned to the front of his shirt. Scribbled in Sharpie, the note read, I should not touch what is not mine. I’m sorry.
I didn’t know I was screaming until a hand covered my eyes and I was being dragged away.