by Jennifer Ann
“No, I’m out,” I declare firmly. “I gave the ring away. And I’m telling everyone that you’re alive.”
The homicidal rage in my brother’s expression has my skin crawling. “You might want to think twice about that, Phoebe.”
“I think I love Jace and I’m not letting him pursue this insane theory that you’re dead any longer. I won’t let him go down for your lies. Unlike you, he is a good man and gives a shit about someone other than himself.”
“And you truly think you’re in love with him?” Briefly closing his eyes, he shakes his head back and forth. “Oh Phoebe, my dense little sister. Haven’t you learned anything from watching Ellen’s train wreck of a life all these years? Does Ace even know who you really are? What business do you think someone who spent her entire life lying to people has with a good man?”
My fingernails dig into the sides of my thighs. He’s right. Originally I thought Jace and I were good for each other because we were both hiding secrets, but his intentions were noble. Still, I refuse to let Logan get to me the way Ellen does.
Lifting my chin, I tell him, “He knows enough, and he still wants to be with me.”
“But you haven’t told him that I’m alive? How do you think he’s going to take that news?”
“That’s for me to worry about,” I snap. “I figured I’d at least give you a heads up so you can prepare yourself before it all goes down. Jace deserted the Corp too, and they’re saying he’ll likely serve a few months. Maybe you’ll get lucky and they won’t go any harder on you if you turn yourself in.”
“I have a fucking family now,” he says, roughly grabbing my arm. “We’re having a baby. I’m not going to just turn myself in and abandon Brooke.”
“Congratulations,” I say dryly. “If you turn yourself in now, I’m sure you’ll be out in time to teach your child to be a devious bastard like yourself.”
His fingers dig deeper into my arm. “If Ellen knows where to find me—”
“Then you’ll be in the same position as I am. I don’t need her in jail to break away. I’m leaving Chesterville, if Jace will still have me, and I don’t plan on ever looking back. If she turns me in, I’ll tell them everything I did for her. I’m tired, Logan, and I’m not going to take her shit any more. It’s time for you to man-up and do the same.”
“You can’t do this!”
“I can and I will!” I reply, finally freeing my arm from his bruising grip. “What are you going to do to stop me? How far will you take this? Are you willing to kill your sister?”
I’m drawn to the hitch in his sneer like a moth to a Vegas billboard. The son of a bitch would actually consider it, and not a single soul knows I drove to Illinois. His new wife may be the only person who knows where Logan snuck off to in the middle of the night, and though I’ve never met her, I’m going to take a wild guess and say that she would do whatever it takes to keep the father of her child out of prison.
“Forget I said anything,” I mumble, beginning to shuffle backwards. “Have a good life, Logan. Good luck with the whole parenting thing. You’re going to need it.”
“This isn’t how it’s going to end,” he warns in a dark tone.
When he starts for me, his expression tight and determined, I’m on the verge of passing out.
19
Jace
I’ve told myself a thousand times since being re-admitted to the hospital that Phoebe isn’t the bad person everyone’s trying to make her out to be, but the facts are hard to ignore.
She had the ring and she fled.
Something still doesn’t add up. Why did she tell me that she thought Ellen had the ring? Did Ellen plant it there to set her up? But Phoebe obviously knew it was there because she told Nolan that she wanted me to have it. And she had my bag filled with thousands of dollars, but left it behind. So what am I missing?
Before Decker arrived, she wanted to tell me something. Could it have been something to do with the ring?
The alternative, that she never told me the truth about anything, is too hard to swallow.
But why would she willingly admit to being a con if she planned to screw me over from the beginning? It’s hard as hell to admit to myself that I could’ve been played. I fell for her too hard, and apparently too fast. Yet the kind of draw we felt to each other doesn’t seem like anything she could’ve been pretending.
Then again, maybe she’s just that good.
There’s a soft knock at the door before Kory peeks inside my room. “Care if I come in?”
For some stupid fucking reason, seeing Phoebe’s best friend puts me at ease. Maybe knowing someone as good as him could’ve been conned all this time too makes me feel like less of a sucker.
Nodding, I reach for the button to raise my head and every inch of my body screams in discomfort. Taking another beating from those rednecks was hard to swallow, but a sadistic part of me would go through it again as punishment for letting myself believe Phoebe all this time.
“The last deputy from Warren County just left, so your friends were getting ready to head back to the hotel,” Kory says. “Sounds like Decker won’t be getting out anytime soon. They found several stolen vehicles in his shed along with your bike, and the gun he had on him wasn’t registered. They’re pretty stoked that they finally found a valid reason to question Sheriff Mortensen’s position.”
I bite back a smile when remembering how satisfying it felt to watch them slap handcuffs on Phoebe’s ex. “It’s a good thing you called them. At least I know they have the fucker behind bars this time.”
Kory stands by my bed with his hands shoved into his pockets. “Wherever she went, she had her reasons. I don’t think it had anything to do with you. She’ll be back.”
I remain silent, wanting to believe him despite the undying spark of doubt in the back of my mind. Even grinding my teeth together sends sparks of pain ricocheting through me.
“You can’t imagine how surprised I was to hear she was running cons with Ellen,” he continues. “That’s nothing like the Phoebe I’ve hung out with for the past decade. She must’ve been a fucking pro at hiding that part of her life. My wife will even tell you Phoebe’s a sweetheart even though it always weirded her out how close we’ve always been without having a romantic relationship. She’d never intentionally hurt anyone she cares about. At the end of the day, she’s a good person.”
“Then why do you think she had the ring?”
Both his shoulders lift. “I don’t know. Self-preservation, maybe? I’m not a total idiot. I always knew Ellen had a weird hold on her. I just never dreamed it was something to that extreme. Maybe Phoebs was planning to run and saw that ring as her way out.”
All at once I remember something she said to me the first morning we were together when I asked about why she broke up with Decker. There’s more to the story that I don’t want to get into with you. At least not right now. All you need to know is that he thinks I took something of his, and that he’s dangerous.
How long did she know Decker had the ring before she stole it? It’d be easier to believe she was with him solely because of the ring and not because she was attracted to him.
“What about Ellen?” I ask. “Do you think she’ll still try to turn Phoebe in for the cons with all this other shit going on?”
“Who knows? I’m not even going to pretend I know what goes on in that psychotic woman’s mind.”
It slays me to think Ellen could still do something to Phoebe, but I guess she isn’t my problem anymore. If she wanted to be with me, she would’ve stuck around. She could’ve at the very least told me where she was going instead of leaving me to assume her disappearance had something to do with Decker. The way that asshole smiled when he told me Phoebe had split was the biggest fucking blow to my ego.
“I’m headed back to California as soon as I’m medically cleared for travel,” I tell Kory. “If Phoebe returns after I’m gone, tell her…”
Closing my eyes, I lean back against the raised ma
ttress. What message could I possibly leave behind? That I understand? That I still care about her? That she should come find me? The truth is, I’m disappointed in how things played out.
Unsure of the best answer, I settle on, “Fuck, I don’t know. Tell her whatever you want.”
“You both have some shit to sort through.” He pauses to blow out a long breath. “The first time I dated my wife in high school, I was head-over-heels in love with her, but she said I wasn’t mature enough for a serious relationship. She told me that if we were truly meant to be together, we’d end up on the same path again one day. She left for college and I stuck around. We ran into each other two years later in a bar when taking in a local band. By that time we were both dating other people, but neither of us could deny how much we still wanted to be together. We broke up with the other two the next day and have been together ever since. If it’s the same way with you and Phoebs, hopefully it won’t take you two as long to figure things out.”
Staring back at him, I nod thoughtfully. “I appreciate what you’re trying to say, man. I just don’t know how this can be the real thing when I don’t even know how much I can trust her.”
“I get it.” He holds his fist out and grins. “You have my number. Let me know if you ever need anything. I mean it.”
“Thanks,” I say, bumping his fist.
After he leaves, I’m alone with my thoughts and the quiet beeps of machines. No matter how badly I need to sleep or how many painkillers they pump into me, I’m unable to close my eyes without seeing Phoebe’s beautiful face. I can’t stop worrying there’s something more going on and she’s in some kind of danger.
As we’re approaching their rental car the next afternoon, Theo looks at me and shakes his head. “You are one stupid motherfucker. Ever stop to think the doctor had a good reason for trying to talk you into staying longer? You’re moving like a hundred year old man who just had surgery on his junk.”
“I need to move on and get this shit over with as soon as possible so I can go on with my life,” I say as I slip into the backseat.
It feels like there’s a fucking vice on my chest every time I breathe, but my incisions from the surgery weren’t infected, and I was otherwise in the clear. The doc prescribed decent enough painkillers to get by for a few weeks, and stressed that I needed as much bed rest as possible for at least another week. I didn’t have it in me to sit in that room any longer, obsessing over Phoebe’s disappearance and knowing there’s a shitstorm waiting for me in San Diego.
Nolan taps his thumbs on the steering wheel and looks at me in the rear-view mirror. “You still think it’s a good idea to stop by Phoebe’s apartment?”
“My bag is there.”
Remembering how she stole the ring and whatever else shit they found in her closet, I wince. There won’t be any second chances if she took off with my life savings.
The three of us don’t have much to say on the short ride aside from my directions. When we pull into the alley behind Ellen’s house, an old woman is standing in the backyard, staring at the house as though she’s concerned about what’s going on inside. I open the car door to hear shouting coming from the house, and every last hair on my body stands on end.
Though I can’t see into the kitchen, my gut tells me Phoebe’s inside. And she’s in trouble.
“Should I call the cops?” Nolan asks, reaching for his phone.
“Not yet,” I say as I step outside. “But keep your ears open. Call the Warren County Sheriff if shit goes down.”
“I’m coming with,” Theo says as he steps out with me. “I’m still carrying.”
There’s no sense in arguing, especially when I’m not up for another ass whooping. We’re almost to the back door when I hear the roar of a man’s voice. For a heart-stopping moment, I worry they let Decker out, and he came to finish the job. Then I peer through the window and see the back of a blond man’s head. Phoebe stands at his side, her back also to us.
At least she’s alive.
“How do you want to do this?” Theo whispers.
Everything that goes down next not only happens so quickly, but it’s such a shock to the system that I’m in motion before I’ve taken enough time to process it all.
The blond man has a pistol.
It’s aimed at Ellen.
The blond man turns slightly.
Bugsy?
Everything becomes skewed as reality flips on its head.
Holy shit. He’s alive?
I burst into the house, slamming the door against the wall. Phoebe’s family collectively jumps as they spin around. I only look at the friend I was sure had died for a second before scanning Phoebe’s body to make sure she’s uninjured. When our eyes meet, hers flicker with so many varied emotions that I’m unable to look away from them. She seems every bit as relieved to see me as she is terrified by what I’ve walked into.
“Bugsy?” Theo asks, coming in behind me a few seconds later. “What the fuck?”
With wild eyes and an ashen complexion, Logan snatches Phoebe’s arm and pushes the gun up against her temple.
Bile rises in my throat when I mutter, “Fuck.”
“Never thought I’d see you two again.” His lips turn upward with a tense smile. “Wish I could give you boys a better welcoming, but you’ve walked into a sticky situation.”
“Jesus Christ, Bugsy, put the gun down,” I plead, holding my good arm up to show him I’m unarmed. It goes against every instinct to knock him on his ass before he shoots her. What if he’s suffering from PTSD and doesn’t think he has anything to lose? “We’re not going to hurt you, and you’re sure as fuck not going to shoot your sister. What happened to you? What’s going on? Talk to me.”
A sickeningly pleased smile stretches across his face. “What’s going on isn’t any of your business. I had every intention of laying low for the rest of my life until it was clear I’d never be free of my twisted family.”
“You didn’t just go AWOL, you went ape-shit,” Theo comments, eyes wide. “Bro, think about what the hell you’re doing.”
Quickly glancing Phoebe’s way to ensure she’s staying calm, I shake my head. “I don’t know why you abandoned the Corp, but that shit doesn’t matter right now. What matters is the fact that you’re threatening someone I would lay my life down for. If you hurt her, I guarantee you won’t walk away from this. So I’d suggest you put the fucking gun down before we have ourselves a serious problem.”
With a harsh laugh, Logan’s eyes narrow, the friend I once counted on to have my back nowhere in sight. “You’re delusional if you think my sister is worth dying for. She’s a professional liar, Ace! You can’t trust someone like her! Ask her how long she’s known where I’ve been hiding out!”
My heart thuds so hard that it steals my breath away. What?
“Oh, you have got to be shitting me!” Ellen snarls. “Phoebe, you better tell me he’s the one lying!”
Instead of answering her, Phoebe’s big brown eyes lock with mine. When they start to water, it’s crystal clear her brother is telling the truth. Betrayal slices through me, more painful than any of the injuries from my fight with Decker combined.
“I was planning to tell you,” she whispers as tears stream down her cheeks. “I swear.”
Wiping at my jaw, I look away with a surge of nausea rising in my throat. I let myself become vulnerable when I told her about that day in the desert. And she let me flounder without setting me straight with the truth.
“And you think I’m demented?” Ellen asks no one in particular.
Logan whirls around to face her, snarling. “It was the only way I could possibly escape your fucking talons! Your lies are like a damn disease! I couldn’t fucking take it anymore!”
With his back turned to me, I see an opportunity and take it. I don’t quite make it to Phoebe before Logan’s pistol fires. Ellen falls to the floor and Theo pulls his handgun out to return fire. The shot comes so close to my ear that everything rings, transporting me
back to that day in the desert when I was sure Logan had died.
Temporarily rendered immobile, I watch as Logan raises his gun, ready to shoot my way. Phoebe’s scream fills the small space, sounding as if she’s under water. I swear everything is in slow motion as I start for my old friend, ready to throw him down.
Before I can reach him, his pistol fires again. Phoebe launches herself through the air between us, screaming my name. I catch her on the way down and we fall to the floor in a heap. I cushion her fall with my body as best as I can.
Two more shots are fired.
There’s a loud thud as someone else falls to the floor. It’s not until Theo is wrestling with Logan that I see blood pooling onto Phoebe’s shirt.
The son of a bitch shot her.
“Fuck! No!” I howl, carefully leaning her back against my chest to examine her more closely. The shot entered through her collarbone. She’s still breathing, but her eyes are closed. “Stay with me, Phoebs!”
“Is everyone okay?” Nolan yells from the doorway. “I called nine-one-one when I heard the first gunshot. They said an ambulance would be here in five minutes tops.”
“Ellen’s dead,” Theo reports from somewhere behind us. “Son-of-a-bitch shot both the women before I could bring him down.”
Phoebe becomes limp in my good arm. “Phoebe, open your eyes,” I demand, gently shaking her. “Come on, baby, you’re strong enough to fight past this.”
She coughs a little and winces before her eyes flip back open. “Hey, you,” she says as her lips quirk with a smile.
“Hey, gorgeous,” I answer, leaning down to kiss her forehead. “What in the hell were you thinking, jumping in front of me like that?”
“You’ve been through enough shit because of me. I figured it was my turn to shovel some of that shit for a change. Wasn’t going to let him take away the only good thing that’s ever happened to my crappy existence.”
I have to clear my throat of tears before I can speak. “As soon as you’re feeling better, you’ll be properly punished for that,” I promise.
