Dirty Girls

by Lily White

  Stepping up to him, I whispered in his ear. “Did he do something to you?”

  Tristan shook his head, answering me just as quietly. “No, but he’s been watching you all night. Makes me a little scared that you might end up the next body.”

  “He’s just staring at my ass,” I admitted.

  “Yeah, if you say so.”

  Tristan walked off with a heavy chip on his shoulder and I exhaled an exhausted breath wondering what else could possibly go wrong.

  I got my answer when a bell rang over the door ten minutes later, my head spinning left from where I was standing at the register to watch Jonah walk in.

  Crap.

  This was the last thing I needed, that point driven home when Soren’s lips split into a malicious grin and he stood from his seat more than happy to greet the diner’s newest guest.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Jonah

  After spending an hour at the Medical Examiner’s office, I made the decision to interview Olivia as planned.

  There was a moment where I had second-guessed whether it would be a good idea, my thoughts not completely gathered and intact following the discovery of another brutal murder that was far worse than we understood.

  All the details weren’t immediately clear at the crime scene, not until the ME had time to lay the body on a slab, the large, bright lights above giving us a better view of the torture Maia Forbes had suffered.

  Unlike Teagan, there was unbridled rage obvious in the mode of death. Several bones were broken in her wrists and ankles and, from a cursory examination alone, it was apparent that the violence also took on a sexual nature.

  I was interested in what details Calvin would observe when he prepared the body for burial. I knew it would be a few days before I could pick that strange brain of his to see if there was something the rest of us had missed.

  I didn’t want to see Olive while my mind was disturbed by the horrendous truth of what we discovered, but at the same time I couldn’t let too much time pass without asking her about her brother’s sudden arrival.

  His timeline of being out of touch happened to follow the same timeline of Maia’s abduction and murder.

  It lined up almost too perfectly.

  Still, I wasn’t excited to see Olive. Not while thinking it could be her corpse lying on the examiner’s table next.

  Remembering how she’d affected me earlier that day wasn’t helping matters. And I quickly tucked those thoughts away because there was no possibility of anything going further than it had.

  The diner parking lot was empty except for a few cars, the rain finally letting up as I pulled into a space near the entrance and surveyed the interior of the building through the large picture windows.

  Soren Callahan sat at the counter while Tristan and Olive busied themselves with work. The opportunity I’d been granted to speak with him again was fortunate.

  I wanted to observe his behavior around Nolan’s sister, wanted to pick his brain about what he thought of Maia’s death without him understanding what I was doing.

  Unlike Simon, I didn’t pin this crime to Soren. But I couldn’t help my curiosity as to what he would say about his friend.

  In a mood for the fight Soren would put up, I got of the SUV and crossed the parking lot, tugging my cuffs into place before walking into the diner.

  Why was I not surprised Soren was the first to acknowledge me?

  “You know, Jonah, if you’re not careful, I’m going to start thinking you’re stalking me.”

  I flashed him my professional grin, the same one I use for all the asshats who think I’m the type to easily back down. “It’s funny you should say that.”

  It was like tossing cheese to a starving mouse for how easily he took the bait.

  “Why’s that?”

  “Because I am.”

  Behind him, Olive shifted her weight between one foot and the other while worrying her lip between her teeth. I didn’t blame her for the hesitation and concern. Only a few hours ago, the same obstacle currently standing in my way had made it abundantly clear he did not approve of her choice to speak with me.

  But that wasn’t his decision to make, and I wasn’t the type to be intimidated or forced to back away.

  Still, I wouldn’t turn down an opportunity.

  My eyes locked with Soren’s, professional smile firmly in place. “How well do you know Maia Forbes?”

  Next of kin for Maia had been contacted over an hour before, which allowed me to start the process of questioning people regarding her death.

  Trusting Simon to identify the body, her parents were understandably upset, their heartache and anger serving only to complicate the already tenuous relationship between the pretentious parents of Winter Ridge and the police department whose job it was to protect their children.

  Soren didn’t budge a muscle in response to my off topic question, but that didn’t mean it didn’t catch him off guard.

  “Maia? Why are you asking about her?”

  “Because she’s dead, and I’d like to know how that happened.”

  Ah. Finally he reacted, even if it was a subtle widening of the eyes. But as quickly as the change in expression had happened, it reverted again, as if the life of another woman meant nothing to a man like him.

  “I won’t be able to help you with that because I have no idea. She likes to drink a lot and do drugs. Maybe she popped one too many pills.”

  It was an amusing statement given that he’d once been the person dealing them.

  Olive moved away from the counter, far enough that I could see the bruising on her wrists. Knowing how she was tied up at Soren’s party, I wasn’t surprised at the marks, but the injury to her leg was new.

  My focus returned to Soren, questions swirling around my thoughts.

  “Pills don’t cause the damage that was inflicted on Maia’s body....”

  And they certainly don’t take the time to brutalize or display the body.

  “Not my problem.” Crossing his arms over his chest, he widened his stance.

  I mirrored his posture for no other reason than to knock him off balance. “Then whose problem would it be?”

  Soren’s lip twisted at the corners, the expression challenging me to show my hand or get the hell out of his way. I’d do neither.

  After glancing over his shoulder at Olive, he slowly returned his attention to me.

  “Not sure. Maybe you should figure out who’s been missing for the past few days and put the pieces together.”

  An audible gasp sounded behind him, Olive’s expression panicked as she stared at the back of his head.

  “I can assure you, Agent Vaughan, I’m not the one with the violent temper.”

  The black eye and bruising on his face said differently.

  Soren’s implication caused Olive to rush forward, but as she went to scoot around his body, he stepped left, blocking her from me. The move may have worked to stop a small woman in her tracks, but it wouldn’t prevent me from doing my job.

  “Miss Reid, I came here tonight for the conversation we’d agreed to have, but now find myself curious about the bruises on your wrist and leg.”

  I stepped forward. Soren didn’t give ground by moving away. He would remain between Olive and me for as long as he possibly could.

  “Olive’s fine,” he assured me. “The problem has been handled.”

  Now I understood why his face resembled that of an idiot who went up against a professional boxer and lost.

  “Then she won’t mind telling me who attacked her.”

  “Actually,” a meek voice said from behind a stubborn wall of masculine pride that blocked my path, “I do mind. Well, not really. I tripped and fell. I’m just clumsy.”

  At her words, Tristan tossed up his hands and stormed off into the back area. It was an interesting reaction and one I would discuss with him later while Soren wasn’t watching.

  Her answer caught me off guard. “Are you saying you won’t talk to me
tonight?”

  “That’s exactly what she’s saying.”

  My gaze met Soren’s. “Why don’t you let her answer?”

  Silence and then, “It’s what I’m saying, Mr. Vaughan.” Almost apologetically, she added, “We’ll have to reschedule for another time.”

  These kids did a fantastic job of acting suspicious. But given that one was Nolan’s best friend and the other was his sister, perhaps they had good reason to be obstinate.

  Stepping up to me, Soren was careful not to encroach too heavily in my space, but he wasn’t too concerned about making an idle threat.

  “I think it’s time for you to leave. And the next time you want to talk to Olive, you can do so after going through the proper channels. But this crap where you’re stalking women on school grounds and at their jobs is going to end.”

  I almost laughed, choosing to incline my head instead as if he’d somehow won this round. It was better to let him think he had the upper hand.

  “Have a good night.”

  He didn’t say anything in response, just watched as I turned to leave the diner.

  Perfectly fine with Soren’s incorrect belief that he ruled over the residents of Winter Ridge, I walked calmly through the parking lot, got in my SUV, and drove away with every intention of gathering what evidence I needed to solve this case...even if that meant dragging Soren Callahan down in the process.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Olive

  Three weeks passed after the day Maia’s body was found. And in those three weeks I was treated like the best little captive in the Cascade Mountains, my new unwanted guardian ensuring he was constantly up my ass, driving me to school and back, to work and back, and basically making my life a living hell.

  Also, in those three weeks, Nolan hadn’t bothered to show his face around the house again.

  Worried that the fight he had with Soren was the cause, I made demands that the boys go out and find him, but they all laughed off his absence while promising I had nothing to worry about.

  He was with Camilla, they swore, tapping a new luxury snatch (Grady’s words, not mine) and would return as soon as he grew bored enough not to give much of a damn about her.

  Charming, I know. But I tried not to think about how my brother was just as disgusting as his friends because he had always been decent to me. At least, until recently.

  I wanted to talk to him about what happened and find out why he was in such a bad mood, but I guess I’d have to wait until the luxury snatch was no longer a new and shiny toy.

  Of course, I was also concerned about our financial situation because I wasn’t sure Nolan was working. The boys, again, told me not to worry. It didn’t make me feel any better, but they promised that the household bills would be paid, and there wasn’t much I could do about it if they were lying.

  For the most part, I couldn’t complain. It wasn’t like they were mooching off me by constantly being around. There was always tons of food in the refrigerator. The one thing the boys could do as often as they smoked pot and drank was eat.

  How they stayed fit was anybody’s guess.

  Unfortunately their presence meant it was a constant party at my place even though it had never officially been called that. Not until tonight, at least, when something official was the latest gossip around town.

  Sadly, the ongoings of Soren and the Gang were more worthy of mention than Maia’s death, the shock of her unfortunate end old news within a week and a day.

  The poor girl hadn’t been buried yet due to some issue with her family, yet everyone had already forgotten she’d ever existed at all.

  I couldn’t say I was overly upset about it, especially with the hell she put other people through, but you would think one or two people would want to attend her funeral.

  Nope. Instead, the older seniors were weaving through the halls of Winter Ridge Prep bursting with excitement about the throw down at my house tonight, not one of them bothered by the fact that a killer was still running loose. Which only served to prove that teenagers weren’t the brightest.

  Another negative effect of Maia’s death was that it gave Soren an excuse for why he wouldn’t let me leave the house alone.

  It was complete bullshit, in my opinion, but apparently what I thought didn’t matter much when it came to my newly acquired big brothers.

  Having Quinton around wasn’t too bad, but Grady drove me up one wall and down another with his constant references and jokes about females and their anatomy.

  Ever since running my friends through some sick live action porn, he’d been attempting to convince the others that it should happen with all the pledges.

  Thankfully, Soren wasn’t game for the constant sexual shenanigans and I didn’t have to invest in copious amounts of eye bleach for walking in on constant shows by amateur strippers.

  Which brought me to the next problem I was having: mainly Soren. Mainly that game of Whack-A-Mole that was still popping up in my head. And mostly that he hadn’t attempted to kiss me again since the night he beat up Nolan.

  Not that the lack of kissing was a problem. It was just that I didn’t understand what he’d meant by what he told me and how he could transition so quickly between hot and cold.

  Confusion plagued me each and every day. But I didn’t plan on bringing up the subject for fear that he would make good on his promise that I was claimed and attempt to show me what it meant.

  At the same time, in a small space somewhere deep in my brain, there was the constant desire that he would. And every time that thought popped up, I had no choice but to whack it back down again with my trusty mallet.

  There was one class remaining before school let out. I was wavering between happiness that it was a Friday and I didn’t have work for once, and dreading what would happen tonight at the party.

  The bell rang giving us five minutes to rush to class, but nature called and I made a beeline to the bathroom. Thankfully, the stalls were all empty and I made it into one before my bladder exploded.

  I was finishing up about the same time the door outside opened, female laughter erupting as they made their way to the sink.

  “Can you believe they actually went through with it? At first I thought Grady was lying, but then he sent me that video.”

  More laughter followed and I figured there must be three of them by the different pitches.

  “It’s all over the school. If Kendall or Shea show their faces tonight, they’ll be in for a big surprise when that shit is played on the large screen for everybody to see.”

  Curiosity piqued at the mention of my best friends, I slid my feet farther back with the hope the girls wouldn’t see me and keep talking.

  I’d spoken to Kendall once or twice since the incident at my house, and she’d promised she was feeling fine after the incident. It didn’t mean much because the girl was a damn good liar, but as far as I knew, everything was fine and she planned to attend the party tonight.

  A girl with a deeper voice I didn’t recognize answered her friend.

  “Not like everybody hasn’t seen the video already. A fucking strap on. Can you believe that shit? How can they show their faces after that?”

  “Because they don’t know it was filmed. That’s what Grady told me.”

  More laughter filled the bathroom, the sound of water flowing from the faucets combining with the sound.

  I didn’t know just who these bitches were, but I was determined to find out. And if there really was a plan to torture my best friends more, Quinton and Grady were about to get the biggest ass beating of their life.

  After kicking the handle to flush the toilet, I stepped out of the stall to find three senior pledges that I recognized as having filtered in and out of my house over the past couple of weeks.

  Each one was trying and failing to get Grady or Quinton in bed after learning quickly to give up on Soren. He was in a league of his own to which none of these twats could hope to aspire.

  Smiling sweetly, I leaned ag
ainst the stall frame, eyeing each of them slowly and deliberately. “What’s this about a video?”

  Bobble head Becky as I liked to call the blond with hair wider than her shoulders rolled her eyes at me and nudged, Allison, the gangly brunette.

  “Oh look, Little Olly must have been let out of her restraints again. It’s too bad they didn’t leave her there to rot like Teagan.”

  Was this bitch fucking kidding me? Ignoring her, I smiled brighter. “Video?”

  The three of them smirked in my direction, none willing to explain. Which was fine by me. If they weren’t willing to give me the information I needed, then I wasn’t willing to let them near my house.

  “Don’t bother showing up tonight to see anything on the big screen, ladies. As of right now, you three-“ I waved my fingers at each of their faces. “-are as good as done in Winter Ridge.”

  Bobble head herself stepped forward while the other two looked like they needed a fainting couch for their pathetic case of the social vapors. If they’d had pearls, the string would have snapped from how hard they clutched them.

  “Who are you to tell us where we can and can’t be? It’s not like you carry any weight with Soren’s group. They’re just playing you for the idiot you are if you think they give a damn about what you have to say.”

  At that moment, I wasn’t sure she was wrong. But I was willing to find out.

  “We’ll see.”

  They laughed as I left the restroom, but I didn’t let it bother me. It wasn’t like I could fight them.

  Three against one weren’t the best of odds and I wasn’t in the mood to get into a slapping match with girls who had questionable health records. I knew STDs weren’t typically spread by hand-to-hand combat, but a girl couldn’t be too careful.

  Plus, I had an idea that was much more insidious that an all out brawl. I just had to wait until after my last class to find out if I could get pull it off.