Chapter 43
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
kole
I leaned against the desk, scrubbing a hand down my face before looking back at Dani.
If looks could kill, I’d be six feet under by now.
She was sitting in the office chair with her hands still tied behind her back with my belt.
Though, I had a feeling she’d wriggle out of that soon.
Hopefully by then, she’ll be calm enough to have a rational conversation and not try to stab me.
Neither of us had spoken a word since I carried her back in here.
Into the room no one else was ever supposed to fucking find out about.
It was the reason I never had a roommate.
The raging storm in her eyes only grew when she met my stare.
I’d take the hatred she was spitting at me over the tears she had earlier.
The look of betrayal when I found her fucking tore me apart.
“What now?” she gritted out, finally breaking the silence.
“I’m still trying to figure that out.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
I cursed under my breath. “Fuck, Dani. I’m not the killer. But you finding out about this? It’s not good.”
Her features only hardened. No fear or terror. If her arms weren’t trapped behind her back, she’d be going for the knives again. She was a survivor. Someone who would never give up. Something I loved about her, even when her rage was aimed at me.
“Go ahead,” she snapped, jerking a nod toward the ski masks. “Try to explain this.”
I bit my tongue, my pulse thudding unevenly. “Those are all the masks sold in this town.”
“So?”
“So, I’m trying to figure out which mask the killer bought.”
She scoffed. “Please.”
“And the knives?” I glanced at the blades on the desk. “Same exact kind that were stolen from the butcher shop.”
She pursed her lips, disbelief sprawled on her face. I sighed, pacing the small room. This just got a lot more complicated.
“When did Natalie tell you about Winterlake?” I asked. She didn’t utter a word just like I expected. “Let’s do this a different way. A question for a question. You give me an answer, and I’ll give you one.”
“I don’t believe a word you say anymore,” she tossed back bitterly.
“You won’t have to believe my words.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Stop talking in riddles.”
“Answer my question, and I’ll show you.”
She let the tense silence drag for more than a minute before she spoke up. “The night she died, she gave me her computer password. Told me to look at her files.” She paused, scowling at me. “And she warned me not to trust anyone here.”
Realization dawned on me. “The night I took you to the police station.” I shook my head. “I should have realized it when I saw you at Natalie’s computer. That’s when your attitude completely changed.”
“I answered. My turn,” she clipped out. My eyes drifted to her bound arms as she shifted slightly. “What is this room?”
After some hesitation, I reached for the laptop. Her burning stare remained on me as I typed in my password. As the screen loaded, I set it back on the desk where she could see. I clicked on a file, needing to type in another password.
“I stopped you from running to Susan because she can’t know about this,” I said quietly as I got to the page I wanted. When I moved out of the way, a gasp escaped Dani when she saw the screen. I continued to scroll slowly, letting her see the faces on the screen.
When Harry’s picture appeared, I stopped, giving her a chance to read his charges. He had a life sentence for a multitude of drug trafficking and selling. While he seemed like an old country man, he used his land for illegal activities, and it finally caught up with him.
“How do you have all this?” she asked, her eyes glued to the laptop.
“Because the town therapist isn’t the only one making sure this experiment stays on track.”
Her lips parted in shock. I crossed my arms, trying not to think how royally fucked we’d both be if the team found out.
“What is this?” she muttered. “You’re telling me that you aren’t an inmate?”
“I am.”
My words shot her walls right back up. My heartrate escalated when I realized I was going to spill it all. I’d played this double life for five years and had been completely content. Until I met Dani.
“Capital murder. Who did you kill?” Her question was barely above a whisper as if she almost didn’t want to know the answer.
“I didn’t get arrested for capital murder. But for the job, I needed to play the part.”
“Job?” Her eyebrows furrowed. “You’re working here, like Natalie and Susan?”
“Natalie thought I was just another inmate, just like Susan does. She’s a therapist. But the people here? They don’t trust. They needed someone the locals would see as their own.”
“What are you, a cop?”
I chuckled. “Far from it.”
She moved in the chair, clearly frustrated that my belt was still holding. “Tell me.”
I tsked. “Answer for an answer, Dani. I’ve given you at least four. It’s my turn.”
“Ask me,” she retorted. “What do you want to know?”
I bit back my grin, letting the tension roll off me for a moment. She might hate me right now, but she wanted the truth more than anything. It was the only reason she was playing this game with me.
“Are Tristin and Leon the first people you’ve killed?”
She didn’t move a muscle, her eyes boring into mine. While I’d believed her story when she told me about that night on the bridge, I couldn’t stop feeling like I was missing a part. How she acted tonight—it made me believe there was so much more.
“One truth,” I murmured softly. “Give me that, and I’ll tell you everything.”
“And access,” she added, her gaze darting to the laptop. “I want to look at everything you have.”
“Done.”
A muscle in her jaw flexed. “No. They weren’t the first.”
Even though I was expecting that was the truth, I didn’t think she would admit it.
She was watching me intently, and all I did was nod.
Of course, I wanted to know more, but she wouldn’t give it to me.
I was shocked she answered my question honestly.
It only reminded me how I still barely knew her.
Something I wanted to change—even after what she just told me.
“When I was a teen, I fell in with the wrong crowd.” I held up my hand when she opened her mouth.
“You wanted to know everything. This is where it started.” She frowned, pressing her lips together as I began speaking again.
“I was always home after school for my sister, but on nights when our mom wasn’t home, or if I was at school, I was doing shit that was going to get me in trouble.
Sarah was the only fucking reason I didn’t follow in our mother’s footsteps.
If I didn’t have to keep her safe, I would’ve stopped caring about life long ago. ”
I closed my eyes, sucking in a deep breath. I hadn’t thought about my past in years.
“The school therapist decided to take a special interest in me. It wasn’t hard to know I came from a horrible home life, and he wanted to help.
” I let out a small laugh. “I hated him at first. I didn’t trust him for anything.
But even after I graduated, he kept tabs on me.
He’s the one who bailed me out the first time I got caught stealing a car. ”
“So you have been to jail?”
“I’ve been to prison. Not for capital murder. My plea was involuntary manslaughter.”
“Who?”
“You’re getting ahead. Let me finish,” I said tightly.
It took me a moment to realize why I was so tense.
This was the first time I’d ever talked about this part of my past. Even my sister didn’t know half of this.
“I got arrested a number of times for petty shit. I spent my late teens and early twenties in and out of county. Each time I got out, Sean—my old school therapist—tried to get me on the right track. And he finally did. I moved away from it all once Sarah was in college. Got a steady job and began healing from my fucked-up childhood.”
“What changed?” she asked, the anger in her eyes dimming as she listened.
“I went home. Our mom claimed she was clean and wanted to spend the holidays with us. Sarah wanted to go.” My stomach twisted painfully as that night filled my head again.
“We got there, and I could instantly tell she wasn’t sober.
And she had a guy living with her. I was ready to leave, but mom begged us to stay for dinner.
Sarah wanted to stay, so I didn’t argue.
Until the asshole went into a random rage when he spilled his drink.
I don’t even know what he was on, but when he hit my mom, he didn’t stop.
“Sarah was sitting beside her, and she intervened before I could get up. The bastard put his hands around my sister’s throat. The next thing I remember was her screams for me to stop. I beat him bloody until the cops showed up and pulled me off.”
Dani stared at me, her eyes gleaming with sympathy “He died?”
“He was dead long before they ripped me off him. I was charged with murder.”
“You were protecting your sister. They had to take that into account.”
“His own family couldn’t recognize him after what I did. I went far beyond defending Sarah.” I flexed my fingers, remembering how cut up and fucked my knuckles were that night. “Sean stepped in like he always did and got me a plea deal. Seven years. Pretty light for my criminal history.”
“So how did you end up here?”
“I was doing my time when Sean came to visit. He’s close friends with the person who wanted to conduct this experiment. They’d spent over a year setting it up and needed an inside person. Sean recommended me.”
Silence fell over us as she gazed around the room. For once, she was allowing me to read her emotions, and she was trying to decide whether my story was true. It was, but I understood why she was questioning it.
“What exactly do you do here?” she finally asked.
“I just keep an eye out. My notes are compared to Natalie’s—well, Susan’s notes now.”
“Interesting,” she mumbled. “And smart. There is only so much a therapist can see. But you? People respect you here. You hear all the gossip and problems at the bar.” She blew out a laugh in disbelief. “You’re the one who chooses the people that get a second chance. Who stays and who goes.”
I shook my head. “Not my call. I just tell them what’s happening in town.”
“You’re a snitch,” she stated, meeting my gaze. “If the locals find out…it wouldn’t end well for you. Some might be here for a fresh start. But others? They’ve been in the life so long, they wouldn’t be able to ignore it.”
I arched an eyebrow. “You sure know a lot about how criminals and prison works.”
“It was what I went to school for.” She nodded toward the photos on the wall. “Were you asked to investigate on your own?”
She straightened up when I crossed the room, halting right in front of her. She lifted her chin, her stare turning hard when I leaned down, resting my palms on the armrests of the chair.
“I’m investigating on my own,” I informed her, “because the bastard is coming after you.”
Her eyes widened slightly at my admission. “So many words, Kole. But I still don’t know if I can believe it all.”
“I’ll give you my password. Search the laptop all you want. Look at my notes. My emails to Sean and the team. It’s all there.”
“And you trust me to keep this to myself?”
“Yes, I’m trusting you.” I cocked my head.
“Just like I’m trusting you to not attack me again when I know you slipped out of my belt five minutes ago.
” A spark of amusement hit her eye, making me grin.
She kept my stare, bringing her arms in front of her and rubbing her wrists.
I straightened back up, giving her space to stand. “I have one more thing to show you.”
I walked to the back of the small room, stepping on one specific tile. It popped slightly, and I crouched down. The trap door had a small latch, and I grabbed it, pulling it open.
“If you think I’m following you down there, you’re insane,” she said from behind me.
“It’s a gym. Small, but has everything you need.” I turned to face her. “Use it whenever you want.”
“Just because you bested me doesn’t mean I can’t fight.” Her tone was defensive, and she crossed her arms.
“You told me about your training, but I was right. You’re out of practice. The killer isn’t finished, and I want you to be ready in case he comes after you again. How long since you’ve trained?”
“A few years.”
“A few years,” I repeated, studying her. “That seems to be your answer for everything. Since you’ve had your favorite ice cream. Since you’ve had sex. What happened a few years ago, Dani?”
Her face turned to stone, and I realized I’d pushed my luck too far. Before she could respond, there was a small ringing. She jolted, her head whipping toward the desk to the house phone.
“It’s the same line as the one upstairs,” I told her as I moved to answer it. “Can’t miss calls if I’m in here.”
I answered by hitting the speakerphone button to let her listen. “Yeah?”
“Kole,” Harry’s frantic voice came over the phone. “Why the hell aren’t you at the bar? You need to get over here now. Bring Dani. Fuck this is bad—”
My heart stilled. “What happened.”
“Two bodies were just found. Stabbed like the others. The killer left another message.”
I raised my eyes to meet Dani’s. “Where?”
“Right in front of the café. Hallie is beside herself. She was staying late to stock and found the scene when she left to go home.”
Dani whirled around, rushing out of the room. I hung up on Harry, following her. Even with everything going on, I couldn’t help but notice one thing. She had her back to me as she grabbed her jacket from the barstool. It was a sliver of trust.
I needed to trust her not to spill my secret.
Because she was right earlier. If certain people found out what I was really doing here, they’d take pleasure in making sure I suffered.
I wasn’t a regular local, but I didn’t have protection.
Sean might care for me, but his friends?
The ones running this—they didn’t. To them, I was nothing but a felon working off my debt to society, even if I was helping.