“Oh, yeah. Darcy’s wanted a piece of my dick for a while now.”
“Good to know.”
I took a step and Noah stayed with me. “Jealous?”
“Of what?”
“What I just said.”
“No. You want to sleep with Darcy? Have at it.”
“Why? Is she that bad?”
“How would I know?” I asked.
Noah studied me.
Is his trying to catch me?
This entire thing was getting exhausting.
“Meeting tonight, Winter,” Noah said.
“Meeting? What does that mean?”
“We need to talk,” he said.
“Us?”
“All of us,” he said. “We’ll be on the beach. Well after dark. Be alone.”
“You know, that sounds kind of scary. Threatening even.”
“Do we have a reason to threaten you?” Noah asked.
I turned my head and saw Easton and Xavier staring at Noah and I.
“No,” I said. “I just don’t get what you three want with me.”
Noah touched my back. He ran his hand up and down.
“You’ve been through a lot, Winter. Can’t we just be nice?”
I looked up at Noah. “Since when are you nice?”
“Good point,” he said. “See you tonight.”
He kissed my cheek and backed away.
“Noah… what is this?”
That was the most vulnerable I sounded in front of him.
He didn’t respond.
He just kept walking backward, staring at me.
Chills devoured my body and I made my move for the doors.
I needed a breath of fresh air.
Whatever this all was… it felt like I was breaking them down one day and then the next they were back to normal.
Meaning this was never going to end.
Someone was following me.
The guys were picking fights with the wrong people.
Talon wanted more money.
Gia was a good friend but a little unstable.
And there was one way to stop it all.
Just tell the truth.
As I drove to the police station, I played the entire scene out in my head. How it would go. Who would say what. Then the idea of what would happen next. At the end of the day, the truth would be known. There was no need to drag anyone else into the situation. I would not mention a thing about Talon. It was already sad enough he was a Troc.
Not to mention once Talon got word that I had talked to the police, he would disappear for good. Trocs wanted nothing to do with the cops. They didn’t have the resources us Bumps had to get out of things.
Sadly, I had a moment as I drove where I thought about my mother.
That I was letting her down.
That she was going to end up disappointed in me for doing this.
That in itself was twisted and sick. And I guess it proved somewhere inside my heart that I did want my mother’s approval and love.
Then again, who doesn’t want the love of their parents?
It’s why I accepted the love Dad gave me. Which was a giant house, endless gifts, endless money, and fake affection through material items.
My mind and my heart hurt.
I stopped at a stop sign, looked left to right, and then drove forward.
Before I could cross the intersection, another vehicle appeared.
Right behind me.
Following me.
Getting really close to me.
My hands gripped tight to the wheel and I forgot everything I had been thinking about.
It’s the same vehicle… right? It’s the person who was outside my house… right?
Then I realized I needed to mention that when I talked to the police.
My story was going to be very crazy.
Someone messed with my SUV to make me crash, wanting me to die. I woke up with no memory but regained it a little while later. From there I decided to fake not having my memory so I could get back at the guys who did this to me. And now it seemed like someone - or people - were following me.
Is it really that crazy?
Simply put - yes.
I took a deep breath and casually looked in the mirror.
The SUV was still there, behind me.
Very close to me.
Almost threatening.
I should have been more scared but my comfort was that I was on my way to the police station.
I figured as soon as I got near the police station, the vehicle would back off.
But I was wrong.
I was very wrong.
The second I turned to go into the police station parking lot, the vehicle behind me did the same thing.
That’s when my heart danced up into my throat.
I slowly found a parking spot.
The SUV behind me did the same.
The vehicle parked three spots down.
Before I could open my door, someone got out of the other SUV and hurried up the steps to the station.
It was a man.
He was in slacks and a button-down shirt that wasn’t tucked in.
He ripped his sunglasses off his face just before opening the door and going inside.
I sat in Tank Two for a minute, thinking.
Maybe it was all just a big misunderstanding.
I was nervous. Paranoid.
Maybe nobody was actually following me.
But I still had reason to be at the police station.
I slowly climbed out of Tank Two and walked to the door.
I reached for the handle and the door exploded open.
I had no choice but to step back.
As I did, I forgot all about the steps behind me.
“Whoa, you’re going to fall there,” a voice said.
I looked up and saw the man who had been driving the SUV as he reached for me.
He gently touched my arm and moved almost around me to keep me from falling.
I gasped.
“Are you okay?” the man asked.
I looked at him.
Everything about his look and feel was shady.
He smiled.
But it was a fake smile.
I inched my way from him.
I nodded. “Thank you.”
“Sure thing,” he said.
He hurried down the steps and to his SUV.
He got inside, started it, and drove off like everything was fine.
“Can I help you with something?”
I turned my head and saw a man dressed all in black looking at me.
Black messy hair, a scruffy face, tired eyes.
He looked aggravated that I was there.
“Are you a cop?” I managed to ask.
“Detective,” he said. He flashed me his badge. “Is something wrong?”
This is it… time to end all of this right now.
“I know who you are.”
“What?” I asked.
“You can call me Pete,” he said. “I don’t like the formality of being called Detective. I don’t need the fancy title and prestige. I care about one thing. The truth. Finding it. Exposing it. Making sure bad people pay and good people feel safe. You don’t look like you feel safe. I can understand that.”
“Uh… the man that was just here. Do you know him?”
“I didn’t see anyone,” Pete said. “I wasn’t paying attention.” He slipped his hands into his pockets. “What can I do for you, Winter?”
“Winter,” I whispered. “You really do know me…”
“I know a little of everyone around here,” Pete said. “It’s how it goes. Right?”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“You were in that accident,” Pete said. “Terrible accident. Heard about it. Saw the pictures. Well, I’ve been looking into it.”
“You have?” I asked.
“Come on, let’s go sit down and talk somewhere private,” he said.
Pete opened the do
or for me and I walked into the police station. He made a few quick moves through some doors and hallways. Then he opened the door to a room that had no windows and just a table and two chairs.
“Water?” Pete offered. “Coffee? I might have some of that fancy flavored bubbly water that everyone seems to drink.”
“No, thank you,” I said.
“Okay,” he said. “Sit here for a minute. I want to go get something.”
Pete left the room before I could acknowledge what he said.
He returned with a folder in his hand.
He tossed it to the table and walked around the table, turning the folder to face him.
As he flipped the folder open, he stared at me.
“What brings you here?”
“I… I don’t know,” I said.
Winter, no…
“You don’t know?”
“Well, I mean, the accident… I’ve been thinking. You know, trying to think about everything…”
“I heard you lost your memory,” Pete said. “I can’t even imagine that. How bits and pieces come and go, right?”
“Something like that,” I said. “When I woke up from the accident, it was scary. Not being able to remember anyone. My father was at my side and I had no idea who he was.”
Pete nodded. “That’s tragic. I’m sorry you’re living through that.”
“But I-”
“You’re wondering why in the world is a detective talking about my accident,” Pete said. “It’s an accident, right? Things happen. People crash their vehicles every day.”
“Yeah…”
“This one felt different, Winter,” Pete said. “I wanted my eyes on this one. Just to be safe. You know?”
“Do you think it wasn’t an accident?” I asked.
“Do you?” Pete asked.
His eyes were beady. Locked to mine. He was a smart man. That’s why he was a detective. He knew all the games and all the tricks.
He made me nervous. Which didn’t make much sense.
This was the man who could help me.
This was the place where I could confess everything and get help.
I opened my mouth a little but hesitated some more.
“I looked at it and tried to make sense of it,” Pete said. “You just went off the road. You didn’t swerve. You didn’t hit the brakes. I went over to the spot where it happened and visualized it myself. You just… went off the road. Of course, your generation is known to be glued to your cellphones. So I thought about that. Then I remembered everyone around here is loaded with cash.” He smiled. “Everything just hooks up to your vehicles, right? There’s no need to look at your phones. Even still, it’s a possibility.”
I nodded. “Yeah… I guess…”
Pete pushed at the folder. “I’ve thought of other things here, Winter. Maybe you did it to yourself. A guy breaks your heart and you want to end things. Meaning, your life.”
“I would never-”
“Or maybe someone did it on purpose,” Pete said. “Someone wanted to hurt you. Someone wanted to kill you. What do you think?”
He slowly walked around the desk.
“I…”
Pete snapped his fingers and touched his jaw.
He clicked his tongue. “That’s right. You don’t remember anything.”
Pete moved around the table and leaned against it. He folded his arms.
He stared at me.
“Right?”
“That’s why I’m here,” I said. “I wanted to see what was being said. Or found. Or…”
“The truth,” Pete said. “That’s what I want. But here’s the thing, Winter. I’ve gone through it all. I’ve looked at it from a lot of angles. Now I can start digging into personal lives. Knocking on doors. Following people. You know, everything I’m allowed to do with my badge. Understand?”
My blood began to run cold.
Follow?
“I understand,” I said.
“My conclusion is simple. It was your fault, Winter.”
“My fault?”
“Completely your fault.” Pete pushed from the table and stared down at me. “Right?”
“How do you figure?”
Winter, run. Turn and run. This guy…
“The evidence,” Pete said. “You were doing something wrong that night. And for me, I have to judge it. Is it worth me digging into? Do I really want to know? How far can I take this? And at the end of the day, you’re the one without your memory of it all.”
My mind went back to racing.
Trying to figure out what would happen right now if I told Pete the truth.
This wasn’t right.
Something was off.
Way off.
“Right,” I said. “I guess I just wanted to remember. That’s why I came here today. I wanted to see if I could see the pictures or talk to someone who was there.”
“I don’t think that will do any good,” Pete said. “Trust me, Winter, as much as I look for the truth, sometimes it hurts.”
“Not remembering hurts,” I said.
“Remembering might hurt more,” Pete said.
I stepped back and reached for the door. “Then I guess I’m done here.”
“Winter,” Pete said. “It was your fault. That’s probably not what you want to hear. You were messing around with your phone. Distracted. It’s the only thing that makes sense. My best guess is you dropped your phone into the back and you were trying to reach for it. You went off the road and then tried to climb into the back because you knew you were going to crash. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s the only thing that makes sense here,” Pete said.
He moved to the door and put his hand flat against it.
He looked down at me again.
I was stuck in the room. No windows.
No escape.
“Yeah,” I said again.
“Anything else you wanted to talk to me about?” Pete asked.
“No,” I said.
“Good. This worked out. Now I don’t have to stop over to your mother’s beach house and bother her. You can just keep to yourself. Feel better. Heal up. And, hey, maybe your memory will come back.”
“Maybe,” I said.
Pete moved away from the door.
I opened it and walked out of there slowly.
I kept that slow and normal pace even as I got into Tank Two.
I drove away and only began to pick up speed when I was far enough away to feel safe.
Then again, was I ever going to feel safe?
Chapter 10
color of revenge
I curled up in my bed at my mother’s beach house and stared across the room for what felt like hours.
This thing was deeper than I thought.
At least it seemed that way.
That detective - Pete - he was creepy as hell.
The guy that went into the police station before me… maybe he was following me. Maybe he was a detective too. And he ran inside to tell Pete that I was there.
Or maybe they weren’t detectives at all.
Maybe they were part of…
Of…
“Of what?” I whispered to myself.
I had no idea.
And why did it matter about the accident? Why was Pete so invested in it?
Unless…
I buried my face into my pillow and screamed.
The only thing that really made sense was that Noah, Easton, and Xavier were behind this too. They somehow were involved with the police or the detectives to keep an eye on me. To make sure I didn’t remember a thing.
It sounded really crazy, but in this town, in BFH, it was all about money and power. Money bought power. Power bought everything else.
Those three families were ridiculously rich and would do anything to make sure their wealth stayed intact. In fact, the families loved their money more than their kids. Which was why Noah, Easton, and Xavier did the things they did. They
were like cliché bullies, writhing in their own insecurities, afraid someone would find out and expose them, so they beat the hell out of anyone who looked at them the wrong way.
I lifted my head and my eyes went wide.
That was the way to do it…
It wasn’t about blowing up cars. Or slashing tires. Or getting someone arrested just to annoy them.
It was about their insecurities.
“Holy shit,” I whispered.
If I could find their deepest fears and expose them…
I would have to get closer to them to do that.
I had them convinced I had no memory.
If they wanted to ensure this their own way, fine. Let people follow me. Let people like Pete intimidate me. Whatever worked. I could stand my ground.
I hated to admit it as I sat there in bed, but I channeled my inner bitch big time.
I was my mother’s daughter again.
So much so that when my bedroom door opened, I sat up straight and looked at Gia as she walked into my room.
“Can’t you fucking knock?” I yelled at her.
She gasped.
And then burst into tears.
“Oh, shit,” I whispered.
I jumped out of bed and ran toward her.
Gia was slumped forward, her hands to her face, weeping.
I threw my arms around her and hugged her without asking what was wrong.
That’s what best friends did.
She cried hard for a little bit and then backed away and sucked in a deep breath.
She put her head back.
“Do you have a tissue? I look like a fucking mess.”
I got her a handful of tissues and she turned around to face the open bedroom door.
“Gia… I’m sorry I snapped…”
“It’s not that,” she said.
“Okay. What’s wrong?”
She shook her head. “Just a bad day.”
I touched her shoulder and pulled at her. “Hey. You can tell me. Anything you want.”
She slowly turned.
“Just a bad day…”
“Stop saying that and tell me what was bad.”
Gia took a deep breath. “I slept like shit. Then I ran like shit. It was my worst run ever.”
“I’m sure your worst run is better than my best one.”
“Winter…”
“Sorry.”
“Just so many little things going wrong. And then I keep thinking about what you’re going through. I want it all to stop. Before someone gets hurt. Or killed.”
Damaged Love (Bay Falls High NEXT Book 2) Page 8
