Trigger (Circle of Justice #1)

by L. P. Dover

  “Where are you?”

  “On my way back.”

  The line grew silent. “Did you . . . do it?”

  If she only knew how close I was to pulling the trigger. “No, but you’re leaving tomorrow.”

  “What?” She gasped. “Why?”

  “The guy’s truly fucked up in the head. He’s going to blow any day now, and I don’t want you anywhere near him.”

  “You can’t make me leave. I need to stay with you.”

  She was afraid I’d lose myself again. I could see it on her face every time something bad happened. “I’ll be fine, Emma. I can’t do my job if I’m constantly worried about you. It’s for the best.”

  “I’m not leaving,” she huffed.

  “You are,” I said, releasing a heavy sigh. “You have no choice.”

  By the time I got back to Glenn’s house, I wasn’t surprised to see Emma by the door, standing defiantly with her arms crossed. She stormed out and shouted, “You’re not making me leave, Preston Hale.”

  How was I going to make her understand? I walked up the stairs and stopped in front of her. “Bryce is coming to take you back to Charlotte,” I informed her.

  Her mouth fell open. “You can’t be serious. How could you do this to me?”

  Taking her arm, I pulled her inside and shut the door. “Because I need you in my life. Which means, I want you far away from here until that psychotic fuck has been dispatched. You didn’t see what I saw tonight. Cramer lost his shit, and it’s only a matter of time before he comes after you.”

  She threw her arms in the air. “He’s not going to, if I’m gone. You’ll be back at square one.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t need him to break any further. I’ve already got the proof I need. And I can’t do my job effectively while worrying about you. I might make a mistake.”

  “I can take care of myself,” she backfired. “Please, Preston. Don’t make me go. I don’t want to leave you.”

  Turning on my heel, I went into the kitchen and she followed, only I kept my back to her. “You’re going to leave tomorrow, even if Bryce has to take you, kicking and screaming.”

  Grabbing my arm, she tried to turn me around, but her strength was no match for mine. I knew she was strong, but she wouldn’t be able to fight off a man like Nathan for long. I turned around and faced her.

  “You need to trust me in this. He had a psychotic breakdown, Emma. That might not scare you, but it’s not something to play around with. You don’t know the kind of shit I’ve seen. I’ve seen horrors that no one would ever think possible. And you are the only thing in my life that gives me hope.” Tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, she leaned into my touch. “I can’t lose you, angel. It’d be the end of me.” I kissed her and closed my eyes, fighting back my own tears. “I love you so fucking much. I wish you knew.”

  Collapsing in my arms, she held me tight, crying softly against my chest. “I love you too. That’s why I don’t want to leave you.”

  I kissed the top of her head. “You’ll see me again soon, I promise. Besides, we still have tomorrow.”

  Emma

  Before going downstairs the next morning, I packed my clothes and called my parents to let them know I was coming home. My mother promised to make spaghetti, since she hadn’t seen me in weeks. I couldn’t wait to see them. Knowing Preston was about to lose his father made me appreciate having my parents even more. I didn’t want to take for granted the time I had with those I loved.

  When I found Preston in the kitchen, he’d already cooked breakfast. “Smells good,” I said, watching the muscles in his back ripple every time he moved.

  He glanced at me over his shoulder and smiled. “Sit down and I’ll make you a plate.” The plate he set down in front of me was filled with eggs, bacon, and grits. My stomach growled and I ate every bite of it before he even sat down to join me. He looked at my empty plate and laughed. “Hungry much?”

  I wiped my mouth off with a napkin. “Hey, I went to bed hungry last night. Then you went ahead and banged me six ways from Sunday. I needed the nourishment.”

  He chuckled and I loved the sound. “I can make you more.”

  “Nah.” I gave a wave of my hand. “I’m good. Thanks though.”

  “What do you want to do today?” he asked. “Bryce should be here around four.”

  I looked out the window and smiled; the weather was beautiful. “We could go for a walk and hang out. I don’t mind being lazy today. I know you won’t be able to relax once I’m gone.” Not until he could convict Nathan of murdering his family.

  He sighed. “You’re right. I’ll be working twenty-four-seven.”

  “What if Nathan doesn’t do anything?” I inquired. “Are you going to keep after him?” His gaze found mine and I could see right through him. He was going to get rid of Nathan, no matter what evidence he found, or didn’t find. He started to answer, but I held up my hand. “Stop. Don’t say anything. It might be best I don’t know.”

  “Agreed,” he grunted. Finishing up his food, Preston reached for my empty plate. “Heard anything from him this morning?”

  I glanced down at my phone. “Not yet. And it’s Saturday—he doesn’t have school. Maybe I freaked him out too much last night?”

  He scoffed. “Doubt it. He’ll call. And when he does, you need to end it. If he gets mad, I’ll be right here.”

  “That’s what you want, isn’t it? You want me to piss him off to the point he does something stupid.”

  “I told you,” he said, placing the dishes in the sink, “he’s going to blow. And when he does, you’ll be gone and I’ll be ready.”

  “Will you call me every now and then to let me know you’re okay?”

  Closing the distance, he wrapped his arms around my waist, lifting me up onto the counter. I held him tight as he kissed me. “Yes, I promise. You’re not the only one who’s going to suffer in this.”

  I deepened the kiss and closed my eyes, relishing in his touch. His stubble tickled my neck as he kissed his way down the column of my throat. My whole body was sore from the night before, especially at my core. It didn’t matter though. I needed him.

  “Make love to me,” I moaned, nipping his ear.

  Without warning, he picked me up and carried me out of the kitchen. But we didn’t get far before my phone rang. Preston froze, his gaze darkening with each ring. “Think it’s him?” he asked, setting me down.

  My heart raced. “Don’t know.” I hurried over to the kitchen table and grabbed my phone. “It’s Nathan.”

  Preston’s fists clenched and he huffed. “Might as well get it over with. It needs to end.”

  Swallowing hard, I accepted the call, hoping like hell my voice didn’t crack. “Hello?”

  “Emma, it’s Nathan.”

  I licked my dry lips. “Hey, are you okay? You left in such a hurry last night.”

  Nathan sighed. “I know. I’m sorry about that. Is there any way I can make it up to you?”

  “Unfortunately, I don’t see how. I’m getting ready to go home.”

  A small silence passed before he replied. “But I thought you had a couple more days?” The sound of his voice gave me chills. He was angry.

  “I’m so sorry. Something came up at work and my boss asked me to come back early. It was nice meeting you though. Maybe I’ll run into you again next time I’m in town?”

  He scoffed. “Really. That’s it? You don’t have time to see me before you go? I thought we had a connection.”

  “We did,” I lied, “but I’ve never had any luck with long-distance relationships, and I’m not sure when I’ll be back in Charleston. I can call you the next time I’m in the area, but it’s probably best we end it for now.”

  “Is this because of what happened last night? I said I was sorry. I didn’t mean to come on too strong.”

  I looked up at Preston and he waved me on to finish it. “Oh, no, that has nothing to do with it. It’s okay, Nathan. Really. I’m not upset w
ith you. I just don’t think we’re going to work out this time around. Maybe later. I’m so sorry. I wish you all the best. Goodbye.” I hung up the phone before he could say anything else.

  Preston took my phone and shut it off. Hopefully, there wouldn’t be a bunch of messages and texts when I turned it back on. It was like high school all over again, only this boyfriend might be a serial killer.

  “You did good, angel. It’s over.”

  My chest ached. “Doesn’t feel like it.”

  Putting his arm around me, he led me to the back door and we walked outside. “Let’s go for a walk. Maybe we can hop in the pool when it warms up.”

  “Make sure to bring your tracker with. I don’t want that guy sneaking up on us.”

  “Got it covered.” He showed me the app on his phone.

  “Okay then. Let’s do it.”

  Halfway through our walk on the beach, Preston’s phone alerted us. It wasn’t a text or a call . . . it was letting him know that Nathan was on the move. He pulled out his phone, expression guarded.

  My stomach clenched and I felt sick. What if he was coming for me? I wasn’t ready to deal with this shit. “Where’s he going?” I asked.

  His brows furrowed as he looked at the screen. “Northwest. He’s on the highway, headed toward Columbia.”

  “Really? I wonder where he’s going?” If he was headed to Columbia, he could easily keep going until he got to Charlotte. Dread settled into the pit of my stomach. “Oh my God. What if he’s going to Charlotte?”

  Preston’s jaw clenched. “If that motherfucker’s headed there, then you’re gonna stay here with me. We’ll keep a watch on him and change our plans accordingly.”

  “Do you think you should follow him? I don’t want him hurting anyone.”

  By the look on his face, he was worried about that too. “No, not at this point.” He slid the phone back into his pocket. “I’m not leaving you to chase him. I have plenty of time for that when you’re gone. Although, I do want to stop by my house later on to look around. I’m beginning to think it’s time to pack up some of their belongings.”

  That was a huge step for him. In the multiple times we’d been to his house, he had never even attempted to go into his parents’ room. I couldn’t imagine how hard it was going to be. Taking his hand, I squeezed it tight. “I’ll help you.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t want us spending our last day doing that.”

  “It’s okay. I can at least help you get started.”

  Lifting our clasped hands, he gently kissed mine. “What would I do without you?”

  “Hopefully, miss me,” I laughed. “I did see some boxes in Glenn’s garage. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if we used them to pack up the stuff. Might as well get started. Besides, maybe we’ll run across something we missed.”

  Emma

  For the past couple of hours, Preston and I worked on Cameron’s room, packing up her belongings. We were going to need more boxes than we had. “What are you going to do with all of her stuff?” I asked.

  He carefully packed away the last of Cameron’s trophies. “Put most of it in storage. Her clothes I can donate. Not unless you want to keep some of them?”

  I remembered the Green Day shirt and how it was special to both him and Cameron. “I’d like to keep her favorites, if you don’t mind. You wouldn’t want to get rid of those.”

  He glanced at me over his shoulder, his gaze full of sadness. “You’re right.”

  An hour later, her room was almost packed up, as far as clothes went, but I still had one of her dressers to go through. Other than that, all she had was furniture . . . and the two most important things.

  Her diary sat on the bed, along with Skittles and Nathan’s ring. “What are you going to do with her diary and the ring?”

  With a heavy sigh, Preston taped up the box of trophies. “We need to keep them safe and as far away from Cramer as we can, until everything’s over. We’ll need it all for evidence.” He walked over and picked them up, handing them to me. “I need you to take these with you.”

  I held them to my chest. “You sure? Skittles is supposed to be yours to keep safe.”

  A sad smile spread across his face. “Cameron won’t mind. If it wasn’t for you, we never would’ve had this lead.”

  “I’ll guard them with my life.” My stomach chose that moment to growl, causing his smile to widen.

  “Hungry?”

  I snorted. “It’s been hours since we ate breakfast. Of course I’m hungry.”

  Brows furrowed, he pulled out his phone. The last time we’d checked on Nathan’s whereabouts, he was in Columbia. We had no clue if he was going to head back down or go north toward Charlotte. It was a waiting game.

  “Why don’t we take a break and grab some lunch at the house? I can make us some sandwiches,” he offered.

  “Or you could always make them and bring ‘em back here? I just have one more dresser to pack up. Once I’m done with it, this room will be finished and we’ll have plenty of time to do other things before I leave. Plus, we need more boxes,” I added.

  He bit his lip and pulled me in close. “Sure you’ll be okay?”

  I rolled my eyes. “I’ll be fine.” My stomach growled again and I clutched it. “Hopefully.”

  Chuckling, he kissed me quick and disappeared down the stairs. “I’m locking the door behind me,” he shouted from below.

  “Okay,” I hollered back.

  The sun shone through the window and I opened it, letting the salty sea air blow freely through the room. It was two o’clock and the beach was vacant. It was nice not seeing the sand covered with tourists. I wasn’t a local, but I hated crowded beaches.

  It didn’t take long to pack up the last dresser full of clothes. Taking a break, I grabbed Cameron’s diary and sat down on her bed. There were so many entries, it’d take me hours to look through them all, but there had to be more to the story.

  I searched through some of the other entries and my stomach folded into knots. They were together a lot.

  November 15th

  I’m trying to keep my composure, but some days it’s hard. I should’ve gone to my dad and told him what was going on in the first place. He would’ve known what to do. There are some powerful people in his circle of friends. It’s too late though.

  I had to give in again today. He went down on me and told me he wasn’t going to stop until I came. I could see it in his eyes, he would’ve kept me there for hours if he had to. I had no choice but to fake it. I took two showers tonight and I still feel dirty.

  After that entry, they had their meetings in that secret room at the school about two times a week. I had no clue what kind of room it was, but apparently, no one ever used it.

  December 28th

  The necklace Adam got me is GONE! I left it on my dresser and it’s fucking gone. There’s no one at home to take it. My parents are away for a weekend at the Biltmore House and my brother’s in Colorado with his friend’s family. I don’t know what to do. How could it have gone missing? Adam’s going to be heartbroken when I tell him.

  It wouldn’t surprise me if Nathan didn’t break in and steal it. With her family gone at the time, she was vulnerable. I wondered if he still had it. With evidence like that, they would have an easier time convicting him. I wanted to call Preston and tell him, but I’d left my phone at Glenn’s house.

  February 14th

  I used to love Valentine’s Day, but not anymore. Nathan sent me flowers and so did Adam. The card on Nathan’s said they were from a secret admirer. My parents thought it was cute. If they only knew the whole story.

  Mine and Nathan’s secret spot at school has just been claimed by the principal for another office. I’m sure you can imagine my relief. Now there’s nowhere for us to go. Nathan’s pissed. I want to turn him in so bad. There’s no telling how many students he’s tried to blackmail into having sex with him.

  And there it was. She’d finally mentioned his name. Granted, it di
dn’t have his last name, but at this point, it was clear who he was. Heart racing, I couldn’t wait to tell Preston. Only I knew he wouldn’t wait for the police. The kind of punishment Nathan deserved could never be delivered by the cops.

  July 23rd

  I’m counting down the days until I leave for college. I wish I was there now, away from my life here . . . away from Nathan. He’s changed over the summer, gotten a little more aggressive in his attempts to be with me. My birth control pills went missing the other day. I’m starting to think I know who’s been in my house, taking my things. When I went for a night walk on the beach, he was there waiting for me.

  It wasn’t like all the other times. He pulled me forcefully into the sand, his hands rough and desperate. I knew then to never wear a dress again. I had made it easy for him. I told him not to, that I wasn’t on the pill anymore, but he still came inside me. It was then I realized his plan. He wants me pregnant.

  “Holy shit,” I whispered, clutching my stomach. It all made me sick. I heard Preston come back in and I couldn’t wait to tell him what I’d found. “Hey, you will not believe what I just read.” Jumping off the bed, I hurried to the door, only to stop dead in my tracks. Standing at the top of the stairs wasn’t Preston. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  Eyes wide, Nathan stared at me, his chest rising and falling with rapid breaths. “I didn’t think it was possible,” he murmured. Stepping forward, he was clearly not in his right mind by the look in his eyes.

  I was too stunned to do anything, so I moved back. Did he really think I was Cameron? “How did you get in here?” I asked. That’s when I looked down, seeing a key in his hand. He’d sealed his fate with this move. All I had to do was keep him occupied until Preston got there. It didn’t help that I was scared to death. I wanted to run, but I had to stay calm.

  His attention focused on the boxes and his eyes darkened when he looked up at me. “You weren’t going to leave without seeing me first, were you?”