XXVIII
Tori
T he last time I met Preston, it was at Syn’s birthday party. He’s the same age as my brother, but he looks like he’s in his late twenties—I remember how he seemed so out of place at a college party. Aside from not being unattractive despite his mature face, he’s tall. It was also obvious that he worked out.
Despite my efforts to get free, he’s using all his strength to keep me pinned beneath him. The most I can manage is to turn my face, but my cheek is still pressed against the metal.
“Preston, I know you’re upset, and I don’t blame you for wanting revenge for your friend, but if you just hear me out before—”
“I don’t want to hear you out. I don’t care.” His breath is hot in my ear.
Preston shifts his weight, and the pressure against me eases a fraction.
Using all my strength, I shove backwards. The move is enough to give me just enough room to stomp my heel down as hard as I can onto Preston’s foot. As he stumbles backwards, crying out in pain, I turn and elbow him, throwing my weight into his side.
Without looking back, I run, scrambling across the loose stone.
Only I don’t get far before I realize my fatal error.
I’m back at the dock.
Nearly losing my balance as I come to a stop, I turn, ready to climb over the metal beams.
A bang rings out, the crack echoing across the water.
A gun shot.
At the same moment I recognize what it is, I stumble backwards, only just stopping myself from collapsing to the ground.
Nothing hurts.
I don’t think I’ve been shot…
“The next one won’t miss.” Preston moves out of the shadows with his gun aimed at me.
In an automatic motion, I raise my hands. “Please. If you need me to deliver a message, I can do that.”
The soles of Preston’s shoes barely make any noise as he walks out onto the concrete dock, stopping just in front of me. “Your dead body is the message, you dumb bitch. I told Cole if he didn’t keep his mouth shut, I would wipe his family out, one by one—starting with you.”
My mind feels like it’s stuffed full of fog. Each thought I need to process fighting to be seen, because suddenly, nothing makes sense. All I can think about is the gun aimed at me. “Cole didn’t tell me anything. I just didn’t think he was capable of murder.”
Preston snorts. “You know enough to cause trouble for everyone.”
Quickly, I shake my head. “I won’t tell anyone.”
“I’m glad we can agree on that.” He uses his gun to point past me. “Now, be a good girl, and go jump in the river.”
When Cole and I were kids, we had swimming lessons. I grasped the basics, but I spent most of my time beside the pool lying on a sun lounger. If I ever went in the water, it was just to cool off.
If it was summer, and I was in a swimsuit—or anything besides a ballgown—maybe, I’d be able to keep my head above water long enough to either get to shallower water, or a section of the riverbank where I could climb out. But from where I stand, all I can see is a cliff of an embankment stretching out into the darkness.
But what’s more concerning to me is the temperature of the water. Right now, in the little light there is, the concrete dock we’re standing on is sparkling from a layer of frost. I can see my breath in the air. For the last several days, the temperature has been below freezing, and the river behind me might not be frozen over, but that doesn’t mean the water’s warm.
“Please, Preston,” I whimper, trying to buy some time. I know there’s something I’m missing—something that can be explained and allow me to reason with him. Something that will stop him from needing revenge…
Preston said he wanted to send a message, but he didn’t say it was for revenge.
He said something about keeping his mouth shut.
The video of JP and the other guy. Syn seemed pretty sure that being gay would stop him from becoming president. Did Preston want to protect his best friend’s memory and stop that secret from being released into the world?
“This is about protecting JP’s legacy, right?” I ask him. “We can do that. We can keep the secret.”
“I know. That’s why we’re here. I’m using your cold, dead body to send a message.” Preston takes another step towards me.
Instinctively, I take a step backwards, matching him. But something is still bugging me about his word choice. “If you need him to keep his mouth shut, you must know what really happened. You were there, weren’t you?”
Preston narrows his eyes. “I told you, I don’t want to talk. If you’re not going to jump by yourself, I’ll give you a fucking push.”
“What if I want you to talk?”
With my eyes locked on the man pointing a gun at me, I’ve not paid any attention to what’s happening behind him.
Neither has Preston.
Taking advantage of the surprise, I run, but Preston grabs me as I try to get past him. He jerks me to him as he whirls around, and then I feel the cold metal of the gun as he presses it against the side of my head. He tightens his arm around my waist, locking me in front of him.
Syn’s attention is fixed on Preston, but mine is on Syn’s hands. Preston has put me between him and the gun Syn’s pointing at us.
Where the hell did Syn get a gun from?
“Take it easy,” Syn says, lightly. “Shooting her will be a pain to clean up, and I didn’t come with any supplies.” He puts the safety back on and then, with slow and obvious movements, lowers the weapon and tucks it into the waistband of his pants.
“What are you doing here?” Preston demands, making no effort to lower his own weapon.
“Making sure the job gets done,” Syn responds in a bored tone. “You sent an amateur last time, and I wanted to make sure there were no mistakes. I didn’t realize you were taking care of things personally.”
“You’re the reason she’s still alive.”
“I had no idea what your plans were. My orders were to make her leave, and I was attempting to do that. Had I known you were going to send in Salaway, I would have made sure to stay away, with a very strong alibi.” Syn takes a couple of steps towards us and then stops.
“Then why was it taking you so long?”
Syn’s eyes narrow as he looks at me. “You think I wanted to just let her leave? Her brother killed mine. I didn’t want to just let her go without destroying her first.”
There’s not much distance between us, but with the little light there is, Syn’s eyes look black and almost demon-like.
The same hatred that seemed to burn from them as he looked at me when we first met is back.
From the moment I saw Preston at the bottom of the steps back at the museum, there hasn’t been a single moment when I’ve not been scared.
But the way Syn is looking at me has somehow increased that fear far beyond anything I have words for.
“If you want to shoot her, go ahead. Dead’s dead,” Syn continues. “But personally, I’d rather make her suffer. You’re here because I assume you’re going for the suicide angle? Throwing herself into the Hudson? I think you should do that. I’ll even push her myself.” He gives me a smile that makes my breath catch.
This can’t be real.
If he wanted me dead, he could have killed me before now.
It feels like something had changed in Syn over the last week. Was that all an act?
Is this the act?
I can’t tell anymore.
“Why are you here?” Preston asks again. “Where are your two parasitic friends?”
Syn tilts his head as he switches his attention back to Preston. “You mean Royal and Gemini?”
“Why aren’t they attached to your hip?”
“Royal caught feelings.” He sneers like it’s the same thing as catching an infectious disease. “And you’ve met Gemini. He’s as unpredictable as he is unhinged. We’d probably have to tie him down to stop him from getting one last fuck in. This whore would love that, and I sure as hell don’t want any of her last moments to be enjoyable.”
I close my eyes, fighting back my tears. “Please, Syn. Cole didn’t kill JP. You have to believe me.”
Preston clamps his hand over my mouth as he pushes the gun harder against my head. “I swear to god, I will shoot you if you don’t shut up.”
“For fuck’s sake,” Syn snaps. “Just tell her what happened.”
“What?”
“You know what happened. Tell her how her piece of shit brother killed mine.” Syn takes another step forward, his eyes trying to burn holes in me. “Tell her that her brother is a monster and should be the one here.”
“I can’t,” Preston tells him.
“Stop protecting her. I want her to suffer,” Syn yells at him.
“I’m not protecting her,” Preston shouts back at him. “I’m protecting JP.”
Syn goes still, breathing heavily, like he’s just had a workout. “Protecting me from what? What happened, Preston?”
Preston doesn’t take his hand away from my mouth, but the pressure from the gun eases a little. “Reynolds killed JP. He killed him because JP fucked his girlfriend.”