Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
I parked at the back of the bar in a small gravel parking lot, a little string of lights hanging around the building and on poles around the lot to see my way. I could hear music coming from the open door where a bouncer sat, beats mingling with the laughter and loud voices of people inside.
I wore jeans and a simple gray T-shirt underneath my coat, not even bothering to put on makeup. Because this wasn’t a date. This was just two schoolmates catching up. Not even friends. I hated wasting my time with this. And worse, the anxiety was turning into a dread I couldn’t shake.
Me and Emery’s conversation kept playing in my head. And I felt an awful sick feeling knowing now someone in my father’s company had done something unspeakable to his sister. What they had been doing to them was bad enough, but knowing she died from her escape attempt…it tore at me.
I should be at the warehouse not this fucking place. I should be getting into that safe.
I should have gone sooner, but the stress of trying to get Emery on his meds was hard enough. And there was also that small part of me that was afraid to know. That didn’t want it to be true. Maybe there would be nothing in there and I would only have my assumptions to go by. But I couldn’t let it sit any longer.
I went to the door and showed the bouncer my ID. Inside, most of the crowd gathered by the bar, but there were a few hanging out in the back by a set of pool tables. Booths sat to one wall nearby, and I saw Ethan talking with a hot redhead, who was clearly a waitress. As she left to get his order, he looked around, saw me, and gave me that wicked grin before nodding toward me.
I weaved through the crowd, then took a seat opposite him, noticing he still wore his work clothes, clearly not bothering to go home and shower first. Thankfully, I saw that as a sign he didn’t see this as a date either. At least I sure hoped not.
“What are you drinking?” he asked.
I glanced over at the bar. One drink. “Vodka soda.”
He laughed. “Not a beer gal, huh?”
“Not a bar gal either.”
“Man, you haven't changed much since high school, I’m surprised.”
“Why’s that?”
“You know why. A killer fucked up what little family you had left. You don’t usually come out of that the same.”
“And how would you know that?” I asked.
“You know where I work. You think all those patients are just psycho murderers like your guy? Not a chance. One girl got raped so violently and so many times it broke her. She burned her house, along with a few others, thinking the rapist was hiding somewhere inside. Another watched his grandma and her little dog get beat to a pulp in a house robbery. His mind snapped and he thinks he’s the dog looking for granny. You might know about this if you looked into the other patients.” He leaned forward to glare at me. “But you only got your sights on one.”
I crossed my arms as I leaned back in the seat. “Why do you care so much?”
He threw up his hands. “What he did to you…”
“So what?”
The waitress returned with Ethan’s beer and grabbed my order before disappearing.
“Eve, come on,” Ethan said. “Tell me the truth…are you really there to help him? Or are you planning your revenge?”
I put my hand on the table. “I’m not trying to kill him. Funny, I hadn’t even thought of that even in the beginning. The only thing I was going to do…”
“What?” he said.
“I was just going to tell him who I was and what he did to me. That’s it.”
He took a swig of his beer and set it down. “Really, that’s it?”
“Yeah…but now I don’t think I can bring myself to do it.”
“Why?”
Like hell I was going to tell Ethan about my family's company, about what I discovered and the guilt it had brought me. Instead, I said, “He is really sick. I didn’t know until I met him. I thought he might be faking but I know he isn’t. And he might have a chance to be better. I guess I just feel sorry for him now that I know that.”
Ethan blew out a breath and shook his head. “He doesn’t deserve your help. But it makes sense. You are a strange girl like that, always were.”
He slid his hand over to cover mine. “Maybe you have changed a little. I still like what I see though. At least you're not dead or inside St. Agnes. I wondered if I would see you there in one of the rooms unlike you are now.”
I slid my hand away from his just as the waitress set my drink down.
“Hey, what’s with the pouty face?” He smiled. “Listen, I’ll be honest though, you're playing a really dangerous game. They are going to find out. He’s going to find out. And what do you think he’ll do when he does?”
“So don’t make this hard for me then,” I said.
He sighed. “Like you made it hard for me in high school?”
“Me?” I snapped. “You and your posse bullied me , remember?”
“It was just a joke, Eve.”
I shook my head and laughed. “Yeah, right. Listen, if you say anything, it will be you who ruins it for Emery, not me. He won’t recover or talk to anyone without me. You want to put him in jail?”
Ethan took another sip as if he were thinking about it.
Suddenly, my phone vibrated, flashing a text from Jamie.
“Maybe you should just tell him,” Ethan said.
I glanced at him, expecting him to be joking, but he wasn’t.
“Maybe he won’t react badly to the news, right?” he said. “I mean, we're only assuming he’ll want to murder you, but we don’t know for sure, right? We don’t even know why he went after your family.”
I knew. And because of that, I knew what Emery’s reaction would be. “No,” I said softly.
“What was that?” he said.
“No.”
“Come on, Eve. I’ll be right there with you. Let’s just end it now. You don’t have to be scared of him. It’s not like he can get to you.”
I couldn’t speak. This was a mistake.
“Remember I could get in a lot of trouble for knowing what I do,” he said when I didn’t respond. “You expect me to put my job on the line just so you don’t hurt that guy’s feelings? They’ll expect me to say something because I’m security, and need to protect the patients. No matter your motives, they will think you’re trying to hurt him physically, not just mentally. It doesn’t matter what you or I say. You are a security risk.”
“I know, you told me this already,” I mumbled. There was no convincing him.
He watched me for a long moment as he drank the rest of his beer. Then he set the empty bottle down. “What really happened that night? Tell me.”
I hesitated. What did it matter? But if he wanted to know so bad, then… “It was my sixteenth birthday. Just a family dinner,” I said. “I was supposed to go out with friends later because Dad wanted it to be just us. To him, it was special. My uncle and cousin were out on the front porch, while I was in the dining room. I heard someone scream. My brother went to investigate. I saw my cousin run in, his face bloody. He looked so scared he couldn’t talk, couldn’t get the words out.”
She was so scared she could hardly speak.
Emery’s words made my stomach flip and my mouth dry. Why did his words make me feel so…wrong?
I couldn’t finish. My patience was now worn thin. I looked at my phone and replied to Jamie.
Call me.
I grabbed my glass and took a long swig before setting it down. “I’m sorry I can’t.”
“Hey…” He tried to reach for me again, but I didn’t let him. I saw the irritation in his eyes. “It’s fine. I get it. Listen, maybe we can work something out. If you really want to keep this a secret so bad, maybe we can—”
My phone went off and I took it, not even bothering to look at the number. “Yeah?”
“You okay?” Jamie asked, sounding concerned.
“Hey, is everything okay?” I said, pretending to look concerned.
Jamie was silent. But almost immediately he picked up what I was doing. “No, it’s not.”
“Why? What happened?”
“Say something about Lena in an accident.”
“Lena was in an accident? When?”
“Say how.”
“How?”
“A car accident,” he said.
“She got into a car accident? Oh no, is she okay? No? How bad? Okay, I’ll be right there.” I hung up the phone. When your bestie is a crime nut like yourself, you learn to pick up on when they need out of a situation. I feigned urgency. “I’ve got to go. A friend just got hit by a car.”
His eyes darkened like he picked up on my little trick but he only smiled. “Alright. Another time then.”
I put money on the table for my drink, then rose. I opened my mouth to tell him bye, but he followed me. “I’ll see you to your car.”
“No, that’s okay.”
“There’s a lot of creeps around here. It’s no problem for me.”
I let it go, let him follow me out. I heard his footsteps crunching behind me as we walked the gravel path back to my car.
“Too bad we have to call it so soon,” he said when I got to the driver's side. I went to open the door and he put out his hand on top of the glass to stop me. He got close, but I couldn’t step back. He leaned in, and I put my hand out to stop him.
“Come on, Evee,” he said. “Give me another chance, huh?”
“I have to go.”
“Just wait a second.”
“My friend needs me.” I tried to open the door, but his hand was still in the way. “Move, Ethan.”
“Man, I really thought seeing your dad and brother get whacked would have humbled you a little.”
I stilled. “Excuse me?”
“You’re still stuck up. Still think you’re better. You had that spoiled princess act in high school. Maybe that’s why we messed with you, to put you down a peg. Get you to relax. See the world didn’t revolve around you.”
“That’s not…I-I don’t think that,” I stammered.
“Oh, really? You were too good to talk to my buddies in homeroom.”
“I was just shy.”
He laughed. “Yeah, right. You were an uptight bitch for no reason.”
I shoved him away and got in the car. “I didn’t talk to you or your friends because I thought you were losers.”
“Yeah, sure, alright, sweetheart.” He laughed. “Hey, drive safe. See you at work.”
I slammed the door in his face and started the car. He yelled something as I peeled out of the lot and drove off.
So much for convincing him to keep his stupid mouth shut.
I sped down the dark road, the engine roaring in my ears.
Fucking… asshole .
I screeched to a halt at a stoplight and smacked my hands against the wheel, screaming. The red light blinked on and off as I sat there, my head against the wheel.
I was too wired now to go back to my hotel. And with not seeing Emery until Monday, it was going to be a long-ass weekend.
If I even got to see Emery again. If Ethan didn’t rat on me first.
I lifted my head off the wheel and gasped as I caught someone standing in the middle of the road in front of my car. A big someone. Then in another flash of the red light, they were gone.
It almost looked like…
I glanced at the clock on my dash. It was only seven-thirty. I reached over and opened the glove box. I rifled through it until I found the set of keys to the warehouse.
If I left now, I could get there by nine-thirty.
My phone went off and I took the call, knowing right away who it was. “Hey, Jamie.”
“So who was the creep? And don’t think I’m not mad you didn’t mention you were going on a date.”
“It wasn’t a date.”
“Oh. So what was it?”
I put on the gas and slipped past the light. “It was nothing. Just some guy from high school.”
“Ah, that sucks.”
I took a U-turn. “How is Lena, by the way? I texted her but never heard back.”
“She’s okay. She was probably just napping. Don’t take it personal, but she’s getting a lot of attention right now, so can’t remember to text everyone back.”
“I get it.”
“Where are you headed now? Are you coming home for the weekend?”
“I don’t know yet,” I said honestly.
“Call me if you do. Is everything okay?”
“I don’t know that either.”
“You gonna tell me what’s up?”
“I will. Just not right now.”
“Call me back then. Promise?”
“I will.”
I hung up, then set my sights on the dark narrow road, heading south.