Chapter 17 #2
“Oh, I think it might have everything to do with this. I think you cared about Kayla, and she suckered you into cheating. She was good at that. Manipulating people. And when you got caught, she and Preston let you take the fall. You lost your scholarship and the opportunity to go to college. Then, adding insult to injury, Kayla starts dating your friend, Seth. Your good friend.” Tate took a stab in the dark.
“That’s why you weren’t at the bonfire, isn’t it?
You couldn’t stand to see the two of them together.
Is that when you started to see Kayla for who she really was?
Was that when you started to understand what she’d done to you? ”
Caleb didn’t answer. A muscle in his jaw worked.
“Then Seth died. And once again, Preston and Kayla walked away scot-free. They built careers, became rich and successful. Meanwhile, you were left here, in this one-horse town. Left to scrape out a life for yourself.” Tate let the silence stretch.
“It must’ve burned to see them together again at the s’mores event.
Laughing and joking, as if nothing had changed. ”
Tate locked eyes with Caleb and stepped closer, nearly nudging Annie out of the way. “Maybe you wanted revenge for what they did to you. To Seth. No one could blame you for that.”
“Get out of my face.” He bit out the words. From the glint in his eyes, Caleb was one second from punching Tate. He had a temper, but he knew how to keep a handle on it when he wanted to.
“Enough, Tate.”
Annie wedged herself between them, pushing Tate back. He made a show of letting her, and then leaned against the pool table, crossing his arms.
She faced Caleb. “If you want to share your side of things, then tell me. I’ll make sure you don’t get railroaded for something you didn’t do.
” She glared over her shoulder at Tate for good measure before focusing back on her old friend.
“Kayla was my friend too, and I loved her, but she could be manipulative. Convincing you to cheat on the exam was horrible. I wouldn’t blame you for being mad at her. ”
Caleb glared at the floor, and for a moment, Tate thought he wouldn’t answer.
But then he sucked in a breath and shook his head.
“I never blamed her for what happened. Preston played her, just like he plays everyone.” He stepped back and shoved a hand through his shaggy hair.
It stuck up in spikes. “He had photos of her. Embarrassing ones. He threatened to put them online if she didn’t convince me to help him. Kayla did what she had to. So did I.”
Annie’s expression softened. “You protected her.”
Caleb nodded. “I made Preston delete the pictures in front of her before the exam. After we got caught cheating, Kayla apologized. She felt terrible.”
Not terrible enough to go to the principal or the scholarship committee and explain what happened. But Tate kept that to himself. Instead, he said, “And yet, after all that, she went back to him. Again and again. Used Seth to make him jealous.”
“Kayla loved him. She deserved better, but she never believed it.” He lifted his gaze to meet Tate’s. “I wouldn’t have hurt Kayla. I cared about her. Preston on the other hand…yeah, if he was on fire I wouldn’t walk one step to grab a hose to put him out. I’m glad he’s scared.”
Tate believed him. He decided it was time to show his cards. “Preston and Kayla had a toxic relationship, but I don’t believe he killed her. This is about Seth, Caleb. Whoever is behind this wants revenge. It’s either someone in our group, or it’s someone in Seth’s family.”
Caleb’s eyes widened. Something had clicked.
“Who loved Seth enough to kill for him?” Tate demanded.
“I’m not helping you pin this on someone else.” Caleb turned and started for the door.
Annie beat him to the door, blocking his path. “Are you really going to let Kayla’s killer walk free? If you know something, Caleb, now is the time to share it. Before someone else dies.”
He wrestled with it, and then sighed. “Seth’s brother, Marcus, was special ops. Serious stuff. That’s why he didn’t visit often, but he and Seth would talk as much as possible. Seth adored his older brother. Looked up to him, and from the stories Seth shared, Marcus was fiercely protective.”
Now they were getting somewhere. A special ops-trained soldier would explain the skill Tate’s attacker used in the cabin.
Additionally, Marcus could be hiding on the property.
In an unused cabin—so far they only had Dwayne’s word that he’d cleared them, and right now, Tate didn’t know if the property manager was trustworthy.
There was even the old barn. The structure didn’t have heat, but a soldier like Marcus had the conditioning and the know-how to survive in extreme weather.
“Do you know where Marcus lives?” Annie pressed. “Or how to contact him?”
“No. The last time I saw him was about five years ago. He popped up out of nowhere and asked me a bunch of questions about Kayla, Preston, and Seth. About the bonfire and what happened. I explained that it wasn’t anyone’s fault, and he seemed to accept that. I haven’t heard from him since.”
“Do you know if he spoke to anyone else in the group?”
Caleb hesitated. “Talk to Evan.”
Tate stiffened.
Annie stood stunned. Caleb darted for the exit.
The click of the door closing behind him was shockingly loud in the silence.
Annie recovered and shook her head. “There’s no way Evan is involved in this. None. He can’t be.”
“Evan and Seth were close. Best friends. Maybe he wants revenge for what happened.” His mind whirled. “At the bonfire, Evan helped break up the fight. He took an elbow to the eye, and it started bleeding. He couldn’t go after Seth.”
“So he decides to start killing people two decades later?”
“Anger can fester for a long time. Brooke planned the reunion. Evan would’ve known every detail, could’ve ensured everyone on the target list was here.
” Tate continued to tick off the connections.
“Brooke specifically asked me to come. She said Evan wanted to see me, but since I’ve been here, he’s been strangely cold.
He knows Marcus, and Evan was alone when the attack at the cabin happened. It took a while for him to return,”
“Because he got a message from Dwayne.”
“Which he could have easily spoofed to himself.”
“No.” Annie sliced a hand through the air. This time her anger was genuine. “These are my friends you’re talking about. Evan and Brooke have been nothing but kind. They’ve never given me a reason to doubt them.”
Tate hesitated. He kept his voice gentle, knowing he was touching a wound he’d helped create: that Annie couldn’t trust the people around her. “Evan never mentioned Marcus. In the infirmary, after we were attacked, he didn’t tell us about Seth’s older brother.”
“Neither did I. That doesn’t prove anything.”
“Yes, but you didn’t know he was a special ops soldier. Evan does, according to Caleb. And if he’s in contact with Marcus…”
The color drained from her face. Tate crossed the room and gathered her into his arms. He hated the idea of Evan being a part of this almost as much as Annie did, but he couldn’t—wouldn’t—lie to her. Not even to protect her.
She shuddered against him. “Evan’s still angry. About what happened to Seth. He told me so.” She lifted her face. Her eyes were bright with distress, and a tear dropped from her lashes. “But I can’t believe he would do this. Not Evan.”
“Then don’t.” Tate gently swiped the tear off her cheek. “Your ability to believe in the goodness of others is a strength, Annie. Not a weakness.”
A faint smile touched her lips. His gaze involuntarily dropped to them before lifting back to her eyes. The moment stretched. Neither of them moved. Tate searched her face, trying to work out what she was thinking. Or feeling. He longed to kiss her, but he didn’t want to push.
His hand was still on her face, cupping her cheek. Tate brushed his thumb against her silky skin, and Annie’s breath hitched. She leaned closer, and then hesitated. “Things are a mess…” She was tripping over her words, as she always did when she was in her head. “I don’t know…what this means….”
“I know.” He accepted it. This might be all he ever got.
For now, it was enough.
Tate kissed her.