Chapter 38
CHAPTER
THIRTY-EIGHT
DILLON
I was out of the car before the wheels stopped and left the door open as I charged across the lot to the front of Jamie’s dorm building. I barged through people and ran for the elevator, but the doors shut just as I reached it. I punched the buttons, but none were coming down. “Fuck!” I shouted in frustration, pulling on my hair. I ripped off my stupid bow tie and threw it on the floor, crushing it under my foot.
“Stairs!” B yelled from behind me. I turned and sprinted to them, my heartbeat thundering in my ears as the steps blurred beneath my feet. I was singularly focused on my destination and my need to get him back before his piece of shit dad did something incomprehensible that Jamie couldn’t come back from. I needed my little crow to live. He was my air, my reason for living. I’d be an empty husk without him. There was no life without Jamie in it. I’d chain him to me if that’s what it took to keep him safe.
Adrenaline surged through my veins, and I vibrated with the overload to my system as I swung around another landing and pushed up the next flight of stairs. My legs burned, the muscles straining under the pressure. A stitch pierced my side, the stabbing pain increasing as I gasped for air, but I didn’t slow down. I couldn’t. Even if my body failed me, I’d drag myself up on my hands and knees. I’d keep going until my fingers were bloody stumps, worn down to the bone.
The door at the top of the stairwell flew open as I barged through it, making the crowd of people behind it jump. I stood frozen for a split second as I took in the sheer volume of bodies wedged into the tight corridor. I shoved men and women out of the way, ignoring their shouts of protest. I didn’t give a shit; they were in my way and they needed to get the fuck out of it.
A fat balding dude stood in front of Jamie’s door with legs spread and arms crossed over his chest. He shoved me as I tried to get past. “Can’t go in there, kid.”
A guttural growl tore free from me, and I spat in his face. “That’s my fucking boyfriend they’re discussing. Either you let me pass, old man, or you’ll end up on the floor.” I stepped into his personal space, backed him up until he hit the door, and gripped the front of his jacket, pulling his face to mine so our noses were almost touching.
“I wouldn’t do that, kid. I’m?—”
“I don’t give a fuck if you’re the next fucking messiah. You’re. In. My. Fucking. Way.” I punctuated each word with a sharp yank, making his head wobble like a rag doll. “Move, or I’ll make you.” I released him with a shove, and his head smacked into the door with a thud. A low groan slipped past his lips as he rubbed the back of his head.
“You little punk?—”
I snorted. “Fucking try me.” I raised my fists, adjusted my stance so my weight was on my back foot, and turned my hips so I could put my whole body into my punch.
In the next breath, the door opened and porky fell backward, landing on his ass with a shout. “What the hell is going on here?” A well-built older guy wearing a navy-blue jacket with wavy salt and pepper hair and a trimmed beard eyed me. His gaze roamed over me and ping-ponged between my raised fists. “Not the most intelligent person, Dillon.” His condescending tone made my skin itch, and my lips pulled back in a sneer.
“Fuck you! Daire, I assume?” The pompous dickwad grinned at me, and it drove me insane. My boy was missing, and this tool was impersonating the Joker.
“Maybe not as stupid as I thought. Get in here and talk me through what you know.”
“Hang on, I’m coming. Get out of the damn way, ma’am. I’m with…” Buchanan’s voice faded away as I cocked my head and looked more closely at Daire. His amber eyes swirled with anger and frustration. The tight set of his lips and the deepening crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes were the only indications that this situation was affecting him.
“Not without him.” I chucked my thumb over my shoulder to where B was fighting to get past a female officer without shoving her into the wall.
“Constantine, let him through. He’s one of the friends.” The grimace on his face made it look like the words had cost him, but if he had any brain cells in his head, he’d know we were some of his strongest leads.
“Well,” I pointed to the doorway he was blocking. “What are you waiting for?” He muttered under his breath and moved out of the way so we could enter.
“Thanks,” B said as we stepped into the room. He walked straight over to where Mal and Ava were curled up on Jamie’s bed and wrapped his arms around them. Their crying faces buried into his neck as he offered them a comfort I wasn’t capable of giving. I was filled with rage, everything tinged red.
I turned my gaze onto Daire. “What do you know? Have you found him?”
“Not yet, but we found two people with gunshot wounds.” He tapped on his phone before flashing it in front of my eyes. “Can you identify them?”
“Where were they found?”
“Outside the back of the exhibition center. The female had a GSW to her stomach, and the male had one to the shoulder. They’re being transported to the hospital with a police escort. We can’t interview them until they’re out of surgery, so we won’t know if they were involved until then.”
I held out my hand for Daire’s phone. If I could identify them, maybe I would be able to offer something useful. “Oh you stupid little bitch.” I pointed to the screen. “This is Elise Estrada. Her father is a senator.” I flicked to the next person. “This fucker is Chad Prescott.”
“Thank you. Do they have anything against Jamie or anyone he might know?”
Buchanan’s snort cut though the shitty small talk. “Elise is obsessed with Dillon and is pissed that he turned her down. Chad is a spoiled little shit. He’ll do anything for cash, and he hates Dillon.” shit is always up for making cheap cash and he hates Dillon.”
“Why does he hate you?”
I slipped my hands into my pockets to hide how badly they were shaking and rocked on the balls of my feet. “Jealousy. He wanted to be varsity captain, and I got it. Not much more to the prick, honestly.”
“Okay, thanks.” He stepped away and made a quick phone call, speaking too low for me to make out what he was saying. With him distracted, I made my way over to Jamie’s bed and collapsed on it. I pulled his pillow to my face and inhaled deeply. I missed him so fucking much. My raw eyes burned, but it didn’t stop a fresh wave of tears from spilling down my cheeks. I felt weak and useless, and I hated it. I was supposed to protect him.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I yanked it out, pulling out the photos and note along with it.
“Daire!” I barked. His head shot up, his sharp eyes pinned on me as I waved them at him.
“What are they?” he inquired as he covered the mic on his phone and strode toward me. “Shit! Chief, I’ve gotta go. I’ll update you in an hour.”
“We found these backstage after a redheaded woman told me Jamie wanted me.” Acid filled my mouth as I looked at the images again. I felt violated. They were only grainy photos taken from a distance, but they made what had been an amazing night feel dirty.
Daire sat next to me on the bed and expelled a breath. He pulled out a notepad and pen. I tried to smother my snort but failed, and he smirked right back at me as he clicked his pen. “I need all the details as concisely as you can. Alright?” I nodded and recounted everything I could remember, even the description of the girl.
“Oh, that’s Kaileigh Waters. She’s in my dance class.” Ava sobbed. “I think I have her phone number, and I can tell you where her off-campus apartment is.”
“Excellent…?”
“Oh, uh, Ava, sir.” Her red-rimmed eyes looked like fresh blood. She licked her lips and nodded as Constantine walked over and crouched down in front of her. They talked in hushed tones while Daire went over the photos and the note.
Daire sighed. With his elbows braced on his knees his head hung low between his shoulders, defeat radiated off him. “These don’t make sense,” he said as he spread the Polaroids out on the floor by his feet.
“What do you mean?”
“These don’t feel like the first ones. They’re too violent and threatening.”
A memory surged forward in my mind, propelling me onto my feet and into Jamie’s closet. I searched around, moving clothes, boots, and boxes. “I know it’s in here somewhere. Come on, Jamie. Come on.” I kicked a large cardboard box and the side split, revealing another box inside. “Fuck! Yes!” I crawled on my hands and knees and ripped the bigger box open and pulled out a wooden box with a mother-of-pearl inlay. It was one Selene had given him years ago.
“What have you got there, kid?” Daire sounded worn down, like hope was slipping away from him.
“Um, when Jamie and I were younger, we’d write each other little notes. He always kept his, said he was like a dragon and they were his treasure. So I thought maybe… if he’s had other photos like you’ve hinted at, they might be in here.”
“That’s great kid, thanks.” The shrill ring of his phone needled, making it feel like my eardrums were bleeding. I scrubbed my damp hands on my pants, my eyes tracking Daire as his body tensed. I slipped off the bed as shadowed his footsteps so I was close enough to hear what he was saying. “Left… Bean There? I want two teams combing that whole…”
“Buchanan!” I grabbed his shoulder and shook him. “Let’s go. I think I know where he is.” A wicked grin carved across his face.
“Let’s go.” He extracted himself from Mal and Ava and trailed behind me as we slipped from the room without anyone noticing us. We turned in the opposite direction of the crowd and headed to the fire escape. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”
“I’m sure you can work it out,” I said as we raced down the stairs, glancing up periodically to make sure no one was following us. “If the car’s been abandoned by Bean There, where would he go that’s far enough removed from everything?”
“Shit. Jerry’s storage shed?” I snapped my fingers, just catching B’s grin as we stepped out into the dark night. Silence enveloped us, broken only by our labored breaths and the calming pitter-patter of raindrops splattering on the ground around us.
We broke into a run, weaving through the trees, using them for cover in case any of Daire’s men spotted us. We made it to the sports fields without encountering anyone. It seemed way too easy, but I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Sweat poured down my face, intermingling with the rain drops. I’d lost my jacket at some point, but I didn’t care as I unbuttoned and rolled up my sleeves. I cracked my neck, rolled my shoulders, and flexed my fingers.
“What’s the plan, Dillon?”
I looked at B and realized I couldn’t put him in the position of getting injured. I didn’t care about myself. If I went down trying to save Jamie, it was well worth it. But I wouldn’t risk anyone else.
“When we know for certain that he’s there, I want you to run to Bean There and tell them where we are. Don’t let them shoot me.” I swallowed down the thought that I might already be a dead man walking. My last few breaths tasted like ash in my mouth. Mr. Abernathy hated me on principle, and nothing and no one could dissuade him from something once he’d made his mind up. But I knew I could use his rage against him, force him to make mistakes as I backed him into a corner he couldn’t get out of.
“Dillon…”
“No, Taylor. I need you to do this for me, okay?” I wrapped my arms around the guy I’d come to realize was my best friend and bit back a fresh wave of tears. I blinked them away before looking into his watery eyes, the muted light from the parking lot glittering in them. “Please?”
“You got it, Cap.”
We crouched down low as we ran behind the tennis courts and across the field to where Jerry’s shed stood at the edge of the woods. A rasping guttural cry filtered through the cracked open window. I spun on my feet and grabbed his arm. “Be safe. Look over your shoulder until you hear from me again. We dont know if this fucker is on his own or not.” B nodded and squeezed my shoulder before helping me through the rotting window frame. “Good. Now go!”
Jamie’s muted cries grew louder the farther into the space I went. My breath caught when I saw him. I had to blink to make sure it was real. Jamie’s wrists were bound with thick rope that was suspended across the wooden beam pulling them up. The strained tension in his arms was apparent. His toes skimmed the cement floor, swinging in a pool of dark liquid. His torn shirt lay in tattered pieces on the couch behind him, and cuts and bruises bloomed across his skin. But it was the blood trickling down his sliced torso that locked my feet in place. The metallic scent of copper, sweat, and urine permeated the air.
Please be okay. Look at me, little crow. I’ll spend every second of every day worshiping you, if you just lift your head and look at me. Please, Jamie. Breathe. Our story doesn’t end here.
“Jamie, please.” I crouched down behind a shelf filled with old paint cans, moving them a little so I could see. Jamie froze, his muscles clenched in fear, his mouth twisted in a grimace. Out of nowhere, something lanced across his skin. The sound of it slicing through his flesh was now etched into my memories. Jamie’s cries were the worst thing I’d ever heard.
“You fucking little faggot. Just as bad as your whore mother.” Mr. Abernathy stepped out of the shadows. “Disgusting,” he spat and raised his arm for another strike. I retched silently, bile pouring from between my lips. I spat it out and wiped the back of my hand across my face.
I glanced around, looking for something I could use as a weapon. If I could get close enough to that vile excuse for a human, I’d use every ounce of my rage to take him out. Something metallic crashed on the floor, the sound shattering the silence. I crawled toward a tool box and pulled out a hammer and a couple of wrenches. These would have to do.
Jamie screamed as a low thud echoed in the enclosed space. I swear I heard something crack. My heart was beating its way out of my chest, my breathing nothing but shallow pants. But I felt a wave of calmness wash over me as I prepared to strike.
Metal dragged across the cement floor like an old horror film. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end as a metal baseball bat glinted in the moonlight coming through the far window. Mr. Abernathy looked like a bloated pile of shit. He was drenched in sweat, and the scent of his body odor grew stronger by the second.
“I don’t know how you two managed to evade me for so long.” His guttural laugh was unnatural. “But now your time is up. Any last words?” He lifted Jamie’s head with the tip of the bat.
“Fuck you, old man. I love him. I fucking love him, and even if you kill me now, I’ll love him until I’m nothing but a memory.”
“You make me sick. You piece of filth. You dirty little faggot.” He raised the bat above his head as I charged at him with a roar. The sound of metal hitting bone rang out just as I let the hammer fly into the back of his skull. The sickening crunch made my stomach churn, but it was the splatter of blood over my face that made me jump back and expel the contents of my stomach.
“Shit. Jamie? Little crow?” I clambered over the lump of lard at my feet and cupped Jamie’s face, brushing my thumbs over his cheeks. Tears streamed down my cheeks, and I whimpered. “Jamie? Baby? Please look at me.”
Nothing. He was stone cold and immobile. My hands flittered over his body, down his sides, over his chest. Trembling fingers searched for a pulse, but I couldn’t find one as he hung limply by his arms.
“Jamie?” I cried and wrapped my hands around his hips, lifting him to remove the pressure on his arms. The scent of urine grew stronger, but I didn’t care. I just needed him back. “Jamie?!” Hot wetness engulfed my fingers. “Oh fuck. Oh fuck.”
I clung to him and cried from all the time we’d lost over the last five years. For all the time I took from us over the last few months, and all the time the grunting sack of shit has taken from our future.
“I’ll fucking kill you if you’ve taken him from me,” I roared until my voice was nothing but a rasp. “I’ll fucking kill you!”