“He set things up to make it look like she did it to herself. While she was passed out, he took her phone and texted a fake conversation between the two of them. He made it look like she was upset about their breakup to the point where she was going to harm herself. He left a bottle of the sleeping pills next to the bottle of vodka and left her.”
“Did she . . .?” I didn’t want to say the words.
“No, she didn’t die. He had researched the most he could give her, but it was close to a fatal dose. He left her, called her parents who were away from their home at the moment, and said that she was sending some strange texts and he was worried about her. He went back over to her house, “found” her passed out, and called and took her to the hospital.”
“He thought he would be the hero.”
“Exactly.”
“How did anyone find this out though? Didn’t the hospital take his word for it?”
“Well, she woke up and remembered most of it. She even told her friend that Chris was coming over to talk. She knew that Chris had brought the alcohol over and remembered feeling really sleepy. Her parents went to the police.”
“Did he confess?”
“No. He talked to the police and stood by his story. Her parents were going to press charges, but they were told that they wouldn’t win the case.”
“Why not?”
“People didn’t expect him to do something like that. She was a bit of a party girl, so it wouldn’t be a big stretch for her to have booze around. It was just her word against his, and since she was so intoxicated, her story seemed crazy. Also, it didn’t hurt that his dad is an attorney.”
“That’s messed up. Did he get away with it?”
“Yeah.” Jack grimaced. “Her parents didn’t have the money to go to trial, so they had no choice but to drop it.”
“So that’s it? He nearly killed a girl and no one even cared?”
“Well, it definitely hurt his reputation in the town. Since he was never charged with anything, we couldn’t mention that he did it. But I really believe the girl’s story over his. He had bragged about how obsessed she was with him after the fact.”
“Do you think he’s dangerous?” I asked, thinking about Alice.
“Are you asking me if I think Alice is in danger?”
I nodded once.
He gritted his teeth. “I don’t know. I don’t think he learned anything from it. He’s not the type of guy who feels much remorse. Not genuinely, anyway.”
“I have to tell her,” I said, shutting down the computer.
“Be careful, man,” Jack said. “I wouldn’t want any of this coming back to him. His dad threatened to sue a lot of people for slander or something after it all went down.”
“She needs to know. I’m going to go find her.”
I got up and went back to my room. I called her, but she didn’t answer. She was probably in class.
I know you’re upset with me, but I really need to talk to you. Call me when you have the chance.
I waited a few minutes, just staring at my phone. I hoped that she wasn’t too mad at me.
There was still no response by the time I left for football practice. I sent her one more text.
I’m really sorry. I have something that I really need to tell you. Please respond. It’s really important.
I stowed my phone in my locker, checking it one last time before I went onto the field. No response.
I was getting really worried about Alice. I knew that she was working on the research a lot and that she’d be spending tons of time with Chris in close quarters. I wasn’t even concerned about our relationship anymore. I just needed to know that she was safe.
Practice didn’t go well. I kept messing up plays and couldn’t run the ball more than half a yard.
“Shawn,” Coach yelled over to me. “Do you want to play tomorrow or not? Is there something you’d rather be doing?”
“No,” I lied.
“I need you to get fired up. Get motivated and get out there.”
He smacked me on my shoulder pads and I ran back out to the field.
I looked across the line of scrimmage to the defensive line. Instead of seeing the faces of my teammates and friends, I saw Chris’s stupid grin. I wanted him to hurt. I wanted him to suffer for all the pain he caused the women he mistreated. The second I heard the whistle, I grabbed the ball from the quarterback and ran. I threw my body into the defenders, putting all of my weight and energy onto them. My pads crashed against theirs, and I forced a teammate off his feet and ran.
“That’s what I want to see, Shawn!” Coach said. “We’re going eighty percent today, so don’t hurt yourself.”
I felt a little better, but I still needed to talk to Alice. I hoped that she would listen to me.
After practice, I showered off, prepared to go over to Alice’s dorm room and break down the door if necessary. If she wasn’t there, then my next move would be to go to Chris’s place and beat the shit out of him.
My heart stopped for a second when I checked my phone.
Let’s talk on Sunday night. I need some time to cool off before I see you again. I’m going to stay in my dorm all weekend studying, so I don’t need any distractions. We’ll talk soon, but for now, I just need a little bit of space. I’ll be turning off my phone, so don’t bother calling. Give me a little time to work things out.
I switched off my phone too. I wanted to respect her wishes, and showing up at her dorm when she was still upset wasn’t the best choice. I supposed it could wait a few more days.
Alice
After I responded to Shawn’s texts, I clicked off my phone. I really wasn’t in the mood to talk to him, not after what he said to me at the lake house. If he didn’t want me anymore, then I would find someone who did.
While I wasn’t exactly sure what Shawn wanted from me, I wasn’t interested. If I had answered my phone, I would have given him a piece of my mind. I was hurt and angry that he could speak to me like that. After a few days, I would be calm enough to accept his apology with grace and then politely tell him to fuck off.
Lori had told me to hang out with Shawn and Chris to see if I could choose one over the other, and it worked. Clearly, Shawn couldn’t handle a little competition. When Chris saw me with another guy, he treated me with respect and asked me to work on an amazing opportunity with him. When Shawn saw me with another guy, he freaked out. I didn’t need that kind of drama in my life.
I slept well that night, knowing that whatever conflict I had between the two guys was over. Sure, I definitely wasn’t over Shawn, but I knew that with time, he would become a distant memory.
On Saturday, instead of going to the football game, I sold my ticket and went to the office to do some work for Chris. He said that he was running behind because the other assistants weren’t doing their share and that he really needed me. He told me to go to the office at eight o’clock, so I woke up a little early to pick up some coffee.
The sun was just coming up as I walked through campus to the café. I smiled to myself as I watched girls stumble home in last night’s heels and tight dresses. I nearly got a secondhand hangover just from watching them. One of those girls probably stayed with Shawn last night, and that was okay. The sooner he moved on from me, the sooner I could do the same.
I juggled two vanilla soy lattes and my notes all the way up the steps of the psychology building. I didn’t want to admit it, but I was a little excited to work alongside Chris all day. He was such a kind person that being around him instantly improved my mood. I could never explain why, but I always wanted to be the cause of his happiness.
The office was dark when I entered, so I placed his coffee at his desk and got to work. He left me a long list of things I needed to get done. I had just entered the office and I was already overwhelmed.
I couldn’t let him down, though, so I started entering data into a spreadsheet at lightning speed. He would be so pleased with me when he came in and noticed that I’d alr
eady finished so many things on the list.
I was so focused on my work that I didn’t realize until I had crossed of the fourth item on the never-ending list that it was eleven and I hadn’t even received so much as a text message from Chris. I checked my email again to make sure that I hadn’t made a mistake and shown up way too early.
Nope. He specifically told me to be there at eight. There was no mention of him being there at that time, so maybe I just imagined that he’d be there too. Sure, it was a little annoying, but I’m sure he had a good reason for why he wouldn’t be working with me. If I had a long list of things to do, I’m sure his was twice as long.
Finally, he strolled into the office a few minutes before one o’clock.
“What’s this?” he asked, picking up the cold cup of coffee on his desk.
“I picked it up on my way in today.”
“It’s cold,” he said, setting it on an empty desk.
“Sorry. I didn’t know what time you’d be here.”
“Yeah, I was up pretty late last night,” he said. “I have so much to do for this project.”
“Are any of the others coming in today?”
“I don’t think so. They all have football tickets, so they’ll probably be in tomorrow afternoon.”
“That sucks that they won’t come in to help you today,” I said, hoping that he’d realize that he could always rely on me to be there for him.
“I told them that it was fine if they took the day off. I said you could cover for them.”
There was no thank you from him, just the assumption that I’d do whatever he told me to.
“Let’s go get a bite to eat,” he suggested. “My treat.”
“Okay,” I said, my spirits brightening. It was a nice gesture.
He took me to a small diner on the edge of campus. It was still early, but there were lots of football fans buzzing around with excitement for the night’s game. I was starting to get into college football, so I was a little disappointed that I’d be stuck inside while everyone else was having fun.
I knew that Chris was paying for our lunch with the research budget, so I ordered a bowl of soup with a glass of water to drink. Chris ordered a chicken fried steak with an extra side of fries. He was surprisingly quiet as we ate. He must have had a lot on his mind with the study deadline looming.
I started to talk about football, but he wasn’t really interested in that. He immediately changed the subject to some group project he was working on in one of his classes. I’m sure it was interesting, but since I hadn’t taken the class, it didn’t really mean much to me.
When he went to the bathroom, I looked up the radio station that would be broadcasting the game. As pissed off as I was a Shawn, I still wanted the team to win.
On his way back to the table, I saw Chris talking to one of the waitresses. They were smiling and laughing, so I assumed that they were friends. He pulled out his phone and typed something into it before she turned away and went back to bus a table.
“Who was that?” I asked, since I didn’t recognize her from any of the parties he had taken me to the previous year.
“Huh?” he asked, stuffing his mouth full of fries.
“Who was that girl you were talking to? Is she in one of your classes?” I was trying to make my voice sound curious and not accusatory.
“Oh, I don’t know,” he said quickly. “Did I tell you how awesome you are for coming in early to work? You’ve been so great and I really appreciate it.”
I blushed. “It’s no big deal.”
“I’m so glad I can count on you. I hope you know that I’m going to repay the favor sometime in the future. If you ever need help in any of your classes, just let me know.”
“Thanks.” I smiled at him.
His approval meant the world to me. Just hearing him thank me made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.
“Well, shall we get back to work?” he asked, waving the waitress over for the check.
“Sounds good,” I said.
When the bill arrived, he took a quick look at it and placed cash on the table. He immediately crumpled up the receipt and stuffed it in his pocket, but not before I saw the phone number scrawled on the back.
For the most part, we worked in silence for the rest of the afternoon. I kept working at my to-do list, partially because I wanted to impress Chris, but also because I didn’t want to spend another Saturday working on this. Every time I looked over at Chris, he was on his phone.
The sun was setting while I was leafing through survey responses. I was not surprised to see that a large number of students had cheated or had been cheated on by their partner. At this university, monogamy was apparently as rare as a good meal in the cafeteria. I couldn’t help but feel a little bitter about the fact that I had to read all these responses while sitting directly across from Chris.
My hopes that working together would rekindle our relationship were fizzling out. Part of me really thought that all this was just a way for Chris to get back into my good graces. He seemed so disinterested in me for the majority of our time together, but then he’d turn around and be incredibly sweet to me. I couldn’t tell what his intentions were at any given moment.
I could hear the cheers from the crowd at the football game and felt a sense of longing. Thousands of students and fans were out there cheering on the team, and I was stuck inside trying to impress my ex-boyfriend. I found a website that had a radio broadcast of the game and turned it on low.
“Johnson’s pass to Aaron Williams is incomplete. The Cats are down by seven points with eleven minutes left in the first half,” the announcer’s voice said.
I looked over at Chris. He didn’t seem to be bothered by the commentary. I turned it down even lower just in case.
Listening to the game made the work much more enjoyable. I still didn’t know exactly what the announcer was saying, but I did understand that we were losing. I wish that I had asked Shawn about the different penalties before our fight.
“Johnson fakes the hand off to Richards and puts it in the hands of Shawn Rider. Rider dodges the first defender, gets a block from Abdullah, and is at the 30, 20, 10, and touchdown! Wildcats even the score after a gritty 35-yard run from the sophomore, Shawn Rider!”
I smiled. I could just imagine the wide grin on Shawn’s face. For a second, I almost forgot that I was mad at him.
“Can you turn that off?” Chris snapped. “I can’t focus with all that noise.”
“Oh,” I said softly. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine, but we have a lot of work to do.”
We worked in silence for the next hour. I wasn’t in the mood to talk to him anyway. In fact, I was a little embarrassed that he’d snapped at me like that. I hated upsetting him like that.
Instead of listening to the radio, I checked the game’s updates on the team’s website. Shawn had scored a second touchdown with minutes to go in the last quarter. Maybe he was doing just fine after all.
Chris shut his laptop and stared at me. For a second, I thought he was going to yell at me for messing something up.
“Do you know what?” he asked.
“What?” I responded nervously.
“I really miss hanging out with you. We should get something to eat sometime.”
“Yeah, lunch was nice,” I said, a little relieved.
“No, I mean we should go out for dinner sometime soon. Would you want to go out with me?”
“Like, on a date?” I asked hesitantly.
He smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, maybe.”
My heart sped up. “Yeah, I would like that.”
“How about tomorrow night?”
I remembered that I told Shawn that I’d talk to him on Sunday night. I didn’t really care though. He could be mad. I wasn’t about to put my love life on hold just to listen to him say things that I didn’t want to hear.
“Great,” I told Chris. “What should I wear?”
“How about that red dress? The one that you
wore to my sister’s wedding. I love the way you look in it. I mean, you look great in everything . . .” He trailed off.
I was speechless. Just when I thought he was over me, he surprised me by asking me out on a date. I couldn’t wait to be the only girl in his life, even if it was just for one night.
“I’ll meet you at Le Chat at six,” he said as he walked to the door. “I’m so glad we’re together again.”
“Me too,” I said to myself as he walked away.
For the most part, Shawn was well on his way to becoming a distant memory of a freshman fling. Why go after the jock who can’t stand a little competition when you’ve got a kind, sensitive scholar who cares about you?
Things might not ever be the same between Chris and me, but I was willing to make it work.
Shawn
For my entire Sunday afternoon, I sat by my phone waiting for Alice to call me. She said that she would be by herself all weekend, but I still worried about Chris getting in contact with her. I knew that she wanted me to give her some space, but I was also getting very eager to tell her everything I learned about her ex-boyfriend.
Honestly, it surprised me that she could date him for the brief time that she had and not figure out that he was up to no good. I could see it instantly. I guess I had been looking for the very worst in him, though, where she had been looking for his best qualities.
I didn’t know what to expect from this conversation. At the very least, I hoped that she believed me and went on her way, never speaking to either of us ever again. I kind of hoped that she’d be pleased that I went this far to keep her safe and want to be with me again. We said some hurtful things to each other, but I think we could make it work.
Mostly, I wanted her to know that she was dealing with a dangerous person and that she should be careful. I would do the same for any girl though. Despite my reputation around school, I’m not a monster.
Around five, I got tired of waiting and tried calling her. No answer. I didn’t want to play this game again. I would give her thirty more minutes and then I’d just go over to her dorm and demand to talk to her. I wouldn’t let her ignore me any longer. She needed to hear what I had to say.
Lethal Seduction: A CIA Romantic Suspense (CIA Agents Book 1) Page 32
