Chapter 56
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
dani
I held my breath as Leo stared at me, searching for any tells.
I had no idea how good he was at reading people, but I did know how well I lied.
He wouldn’t see the truth unless I allowed it.
My mind raced as I went through all the murders, all the people who could potentially be connected.
His partner would have to be close to the crimes—close to me.
Especially when they knew I’d killed Monty and Lucas.
Whoever it was, they’d been stalking me.
If I got this wrong, Kole was dead.
And I’d be wishing for death if they took me.
My heart was racing painfully, my breath locked in my chest as I silently went through every little thing that could point to who it was.
I gritted my teeth when he pulled my hair, forcing me to walk across the living room until we were a few feet away from his masked partners. The light in here was still too dim to reveal their features, and I glared at them.
“Go ahead,” Leo murmured, his voice a mix of curiosity and anger. “Name them. But if you get it wrong, I’ll kill the man you foolishly fell in love with—while you watch.”
My heart stuttered, ice chilling my veins. He released my hair, my mind clearing a fraction now that he wasn’t touching me. My wrists were cut up and aching, but I shoved that all away as I focused.
“I got to this town, thinking it was my fresh start,” I said, my voice trembling slightly. “At first, I believed I was imagining things. Getting chased in the woods…seeing masked people outside my window. I tried to explain it all away.”
“Get on with it,” Leo growled. “We need to leave.”
I ignored him, closing my eyes. The tiny pieces I’d missed were finally falling into place. When I spoke again, my voice was clear. Confident.
“All three of you have been fucking with my head for months. The messages. Hearing you in the bar saying the same words from the night you attacked me. Natalie’s wounds matching mine.
It prevented me from viewing the evidence with fresh eyes—because I only saw my own past.” I snapped my eyes open, staring at the two people hiding behind the masks.
“It’s the reason I didn’t figure it out months ago. ”
“You’re stalling,” Leo snarled, grabbing my arm. “Time’s up.”
I planted my feet, holding firm when he tried yanking me away. “Take off the mask and face me…Miles.”
Leo went still, the room filling with a tense silence. My heart echoed in my ears as I kept my glare on his mask.
Leo snickered. “That’s a good guess.”
“Please,” I spat out. “You and I both know I’m right. He played his part perfectly, and my mind was so fucked over everything, I couldn’t see it.”
“There’s no email,” Leo stated, his voice wavering slightly. “You’re lying.”
“Call my bluff,” I shot back without looking at him, keeping my eyes on who I just accused.
“You were there the night I was chased. Kept me close as a friend. I will say, you getting stabbed took you off my list—until I learned there were two of you. After I found out what this town was, I was convinced it was a local. Because they were already criminals. I should know better than most not to judge someone by their history. If I’d looked at the interns more closely, maybe I would have figured it out sooner. ”
I swung my gaze to the other one. “But you’re not an intern, are you, Hallie?
” No one answered, so I just kept going.
“You two kept your distance until Miles got hurt, then you realized it was harder to keep up with everything when he was injured. You’re the one who pulled my attention to the window at the café that day—the first time I saw my monster in this town.
Because you knew he’d be there. Another way to fuck with my head.
You’re the one I went down the stairs with, the night you two broke into my house, and now I understand why it was so easy since you weigh as much as I do.
It was why you had a gun the night you killed Natalie.
You knew you didn’t stand a fucking chance against me if you only had a knife. ”
Kole cursed under his breath, but I didn’t chance looking at him. I let out a callous laugh. “I made sure to put that all in the email. But please, kill us both if you think I’m lying.”
Leo’s chuckle had a chill ripping down my spine. He circled me, studying me with his predatory gaze. I twisted my sore wrists uselessly as he stopped in front of me. It took all my self-control to remain still when he ran his knuckles down my face.
“So smart,” he praised in a dangerously soft voice. “It’s too bad your hate for me will never fade. I could have shaped you into the perfect killer.” He raised his voice. “Take the masks off.”
I peered around him, seeing them both pulling the cloths off.
My pulse thrashed when I met Miles’ gaze first. His eyes were burning with anger, the scowl on his lips a stark contrast from the boyish grin he’d perfected.
He clenched the mask in his fist, tearing his stare from me to look at Hallie.
Her hair was a mess from being under a mask, and she fussed with it, not meeting my eyes.
“What now?” Miles snapped. “If she’s telling the truth, none of this will work. I didn’t spend months here to get sent to prison.”
Leo dropped his hand from my face, turning to look at them. “Calm down, son. We’ll fix it.”
“Son?” I choked out, my eyes widening with shock.
“I guess you didn’t figure everything out, did you?
” Leo grabbed my arm, ignoring my protests and dragging me toward Miles.
“I taught my son everything before I got caught up in an armed burglary years ago. I was never connected to any of my murders and became a candidate for this program. I was in prison, waiting for an opening in town. My son is an expert in technology and weaseled his way into the internship.”
I fought against his hold, letting out a yell when he shoved me into Miles’ arms. His fingers dug into my hips, keeping me tight against him. I tilted my head back, meeting his gaze. I searched his face, not seeing any resemblance to my monster. I never would have guessed they were related.
“You were the first of your kind,” Miles said, tilting his head. “According to the records, all interns are law abiding citizens…except you. I’m the reason you’re here. Just like I’m the reason my father is here.”
“What the hell does that mean?” I hissed through clenched teeth.
“Everything is done on computers now.” His fingertips dug into my hips as he spoke.
“And I’m an excellent hacker. Once I got into the files about this town, adding my father’s name to the waitlist was simple.
Making me an intern to pay off my college debt?
Even easier. But you? They had you at a maximum security prison.
Then you were thrown in solitary after you killed your roommate. ”
My face paled when he spoke of my time in prison.
The woman I bunked with was a horrible monster.
Not only was she doing life for murder, but she worked with the guards who liked to abuse and harass the other inmates.
Standing by and letting that happen wasn’t in my nature.
Unlike when I was free, hiding the fact that I killed her was impossible.
At that point, I hadn’t cared. Until I was thrown in solitary where I slowly went insane.
“So I added my own notes, acting as a doctor who used to be on this experiment before his untimely death. About letting interns enter who have a criminal record but could be useful.” Miles grinned smugly.
“I made a list of choices with your name on it, along with a few others. But I knew they’d choose you.
You were more skilled than all of them put together. ”
My heart shattered, my breaths coming out ragged.
My fresh start was a ruse—created by the monster I’d been chasing.
A weight slammed onto my chest as my stare remained locked with Miles’s.
For the last twelve years, I turned myself into the predator.
But the entire time, I was still being stalked by the very monsters I was searching for.
Miles dropped his head, his lips brushing my ear as he whispered his next words.
“Once my father got locked up, I made sure to keep you close. I know everything about you, Dani. I can see why my dad was so obsessed. When you got caught, I was worried that was the end of our story. We’re going to have fun once we leave this town. ”
Nausea swirled in my stomach as I attempted to pull away from him. Miles might be worse than his psychotic father. Because he could blend into society. He played the role of a fun-loving guy perfectly.
“Can we go now?” Hallie asked, nerves in her voice. “This is taking much longer than planned.”
“Who is she, your daughter?” Kole sneered. “A whole family of fucked-up assholes.”
“No,” I answered once Miles let me move back a step. “I bet she’s in love with one of them. Miles, I’m guessing.”
“He’s been mine for years,” Hallie snapped, her eyes sparkling with hate as she looked at me. “I got locked up here so I could be here with him. He needed my help to deal with you.”
“Of course you did,” I muttered. “You fit the statistic.”
She scowled. “What does that mean?”
“Women commit less crimes than men,” I explained as if speaking to a child.
I was stalling as much as I could. “And while it hasn’t been studied much, there are trends of women falling into heavy crimes because of the men they are in love with.
Tell me, Hallie. Were you a criminal before you met Miles? ”
“Shut up,” she screeched, aiming her gun at me. “He loves me. I’d do anything for him.”
There was my answer. She was in as deep as Miles and my monster. There would be no swaying her opinion of them. She wouldn’t help me get out of this. Leo frowned, grabbing her wrist, forcing her to lower the gun.
“And the burn scar you have—the ones you blamed Lucas for?” My gaze traveled to Miles. “He did that to you, didn’t he?” No one answered my question, but there was no need. I wanted to know something else more. “Why did you tell me it was Lucas?”
That question had Leo chuckling. “Hallie pretended to date him at my request. I was curious.”
I swallowed thickly. “Curious about what?”
“If you’d kill again,” he said simply. “You were in prison for more than three years. Were you the same person as before? I had Hallie test you, and you passed. You only lasted a few weeks before killing him.”
“Because I thought he was hurting her,” I said, my voice shaking. Did I kill an innocent person? No. He did hurt Hallie, even if he was being lied to. He’d brought me out to the woods to hurt me.
“The cravings came back after that.” Leo’s leering grin had bile creeping back up my throat. “You’re a killer, Danielle. Just like me.”
“I am nothing like you,” I snarled, wincing when Miles squeezed my arm hard enough to bruise.
Leo checked his watch. “It’s time to clean this mess up. Miles, you take her to the station. Delete the email. I’ll take him to our meeting spot.” His eyes darted to Kole before looking back at me. “If you try anything, he dies. Painfully.”
Hallie’s unimportant questions faded out as panic engulfed me. Meeting spot? I didn’t think he’d make me go to the station too. I’d been trying to make it more even by at least one of them leaving after forcing me to give my computer password.
“You going to behave for me?” Miles asked as he pulled me toward the back door, picking up my jacket along the way. “Or will I have to teach you a lesson?”
“Dani,” Kole roared, struggling against the zip ties. Leo threw his fist into his jaw, reopening the cut on Kole’s lip. “Fuck you, you fucking asshole…”
His yells became nonexistent when Miles dragged me outside in the cold, slamming the door behind him. He threw my jacket over my shoulders, hiding my bound arms as he spoke.
“If I find out you’re lying about this email, you’re going to regret it.”