Two-Faced

by Melissa Pearl

  “Stay off those energy drinks, son. I’m giving you vitamins, and you shouldn’t be gulping back bottles of flavored water after a game, either. You should stick with plain H2O. You need to flush out your system after a game.”

  “What do you mean by flush out?” I’d asked.

  The doctor had shot me a quick look, pushing his glasses up his twitching nose. “All the toxins that build up in his body during a game, they’re released through sweat, but water is the best cleanser. That’s why I’m always telling the boys to drink God’s ale.” He’d chuckled.

  I hadn’t even been able to form a smile.

  “All right, all the paperwork’s done, Mr. Penway. You are now free to go.” The nurse bustled into the room, handing over an envelope. Connor took it with a kind smile, making the nurse blush a little.

  Doctor Rickman appeared at the doorway again, his hand on the on-duty registrar’s shoulder. “You can be assured, I will take very good care of him. Let me contact his folks for you. I’ll take over his care from here.”

  My eyes narrowed as I watched the exchange. The young doctor seemed more than happy to pass on the care of an outgoing patient. He was overworked enough as it was.

  Doctor Rickman stood at the door and held out his arm. “Come on, son. I’ll drop you back home for some rest.”

  “I can take him.” I stood tall.

  “Don’t worry about it, man.” Connor looked at me. “You’ve already done so much. I’m cool with Doc.”

  “Okay.” I nodded, making my reluctance obvious. Pulling the keys from my pocket, I edged toward the exit. “Give me a call later then, let me know how you’re doing.”

  “Will do, man. Thanks again for everything.”

  I raised my hand and shuffled out the door, my gut surging with doubts.

  I didn’t trust that doctor. I couldn’t even say why. I hated that Connor was being played.

  Caffeine overdose from two energy drinks?

  I didn’t buy it. There was something wrong about the whole thing.

  Maybe I could convince Connor to quit and go back to playing for his old college in Washington.

  I sighed. I’d never be able to pull that off. It was a great opportunity for him. Well it was supposed to be...if it didn’t get him killed.

  I hopped in my jeep and headed for campus. I wanted to find Caity, but decided I couldn’t disrupt her day. She was busy enough. I’d save up my apology for the evening. I wanted to get my wording right, as well. I had some pretty hefty groveling to do. Caity was forgiving by nature, but she deserved the best.

  I needed her to know that I was in on this thing and the exact reasons why.

  With a heavy sigh, I parked the jeep and headed for my room. I opened my door, planning to throw myself onto the mattress and grab some decent shut-eye.

  To my surprise, Scott was sitting at his desk. I couldn’t remember his Friday schedule. Maybe he didn’t have lectures at this time of day.

  “Hey, man.” I dumped my bag at the foot of my bed.

  “Where’ve you been? I didn’t hear you come in last night or leave this morning.” Scott glanced at me. “Whoa, you look like crap.”

  I chuckled and shook my head. “I have been up all night.”

  “Why?”

  “My stepbrother needed a hand. He got himself into a situation at a post-game party last night.” The bed creaked as I slumped onto it. “I had to take him to the hospital.”

  Scott swivelled around to face me. “Is he okay?”

  “Yeah.” I leaned my head back against the wall. “Dehydration and a caffeine overdose.”

  “Caffeine?”

  “Too many energy drinks or something,” I muttered.

  “That’s weird.”

  My head popped up and I looked across at my roommate. “I know, right?”

  He pursed his lips to the side then let out a huff. “Did he know what he was drinking?”

  My eyes narrowed. “I don’t think so. Why do you ask that?”

  Scott scrubbed a hand over his face. “Someone drugged Piper and got her into some trouble. She didn’t know and she doesn’t really remember anything.”

  I frowned. “So how does she know she got into trouble?”

  Scott’s face bunched in agony. “They took photos of her, man.”

  “Photos?” My blood ran cold. “What was she doing in them?”

  His jaw clenched, his pale skin mottling red as he pressed his lips together. He opened his mouth to speak, but then changed his mind, shaking his head and waving a hand at me.

  It sent my imagination on overdrive for a moment and I couldn’t shake the sick dread in my stomach. “Is she gonna be okay?”

  “Yeah.” Scott cleared his throat. “We’re gonna fix this. They can’t get away with it. I won’t let it happen.”

  “So, what’s your plan?”

  “Well, Caity overheard them talking about this cabin and she’s convinced that—“

  “Wait. What? Caity? What are you talking about?” I sat up and bore him with a glare.

  He stared back at me, obviously confused. “You don’t know this?”

  I shook my head and sighed.

  Scott pursed his lips and shuffled his seat. “She’s got the coordinates to this cabin in the woods. I thought she was going to tell you about it. She’s pretty sure she’ll find some evidence there that can blow this whole thing wide open.”

  “What woods? Where did she get this info?”

  “From that scum, Cameron.”

  I closed my eyes. “I want to kill that prick.”

  “Get in line.”

  A sniffed out a humorless laugh. “She’s gonna get herself in trouble, isn’t she?”

  “She said she wasn’t going up there until tonight. She said she was going to tell you about it. Is something going on with you two?”

  I couldn’t contain my groan. Staring up at the ceiling, I let out a string of curses. “What were her exact words?”

  “Um...” He looked to the ceiling. “You and Piper get on with your day. I’m gonna check out where this cabin is online and then we can all head up there tonight.” Scott glanced at me. “She said to meet her outside Rieber Vista at six.”

  My eyes narrowed. “She’s lying.”

  Scott bit the inside of his cheek. “That’s what Pip thought too, which is why she insisted on a meeting point tonight. Caity gave in saying we’d meet at six.”

  “Of course she’s gonna say that to you guys, but she’s gonna go on her own because she doesn’t want anyone getting in trouble.”

  Scott’s eyes rounded. “Well she can’t do that. It’s way too dangerous.”

  “I know that,” I snapped.

  “So...” Scott stood from his chair.

  “So, it looks like I’m driving to some cabin in the woods.” I ran my fingers through my hair.

  “Let me come, too.” He reached for his wallet and phone.

  “No, man.” I shook my head. “I need to spend some time with her anyway. We’ve got some stuff to sort out.”

  Scott gave me a sympathetic look. I grimaced and walked to the closet, grabbing my hiking pack and a few essentials.

  The day could not get any worse—first Connor and then Caity?

  Was it my destiny in life…to spend it rescuing those around me?

  I was expecting the question to leave a bitter taste in my mouth, but it didn’t. In fact, the thought actually made my chest loosen. Caity called me Hercules when we first got together. I was the guy she could run to. I was the one who would show up and save the day. Lately I’d been totally failing her, but that was about to stop.

  Zipping up my pack, I pulled the keys from my pocket and grabbed the bottle of water off my desk. With a quick farewell, I headed out the door.

  I’d become Caity’s Hercules again. And this time, I wouldn’t let my twisted past screw it up.

  24

  Caitlyn

  The zipper jammed on my bag as I tried to close it.

&
nbsp; “Ah! Crap! You stupid thing!”

  My fingers shook as I wrestled with it. My entire body hadn’t stopped jittering as I half-walked/half-ran away from Piper and Scott. I could tell by the look on Piper’s face that she only just bought my lie about meeting them at six. If Scott hadn’t been holding her hand so tightly, she probably would have chased after me, but I couldn’t let them do that.

  I was heading off into a potentially dangerous situation.

  Potentially?

  I was so going to die.

  But I had to go. I had to find out what was in that cabin.

  Piper had a class, but it would be over in about twenty minutes. I had to hurry.

  It took me longer to search the coordinates than I thought it would. The cabin was buried in the depths of the San Bernardino National Forest. The satellite images barely showed me anything. I saw one narrow service road that could lead to the cabin, but I wasn’t really sure. I just had to trust the coordinates and the GPS on my phone. Man, I hoped it was accurate.

  I finally won over the zipper and slapped my hand on top of the bag. I had a full water bottle, my waterproof jacket, the little first-aid kit Mom insisted I keep on hand, and a few snack bars. The battery on my phone was fully charged and I hoped I could get a strong enough signal once I was in the forest.

  Lifting the bag onto my shoulder, I scanned my room one last time, double-checking that I wasn’t missing anything else.

  Grabbing the keys off my desk, my eyes brushed over Detective Sullivan’s business card.

  Should I call him? Was it better that I went up to the cabin with the police in tow?

  What if my predictions were totally wrong? What if there was nothing at the location?

  I didn’t want to waste their time; I could get in trouble for doing that.

  No, it was better that I went alone. If I found something, I’d call the police immediately.

  I was about to reach for the card and put it in my pocket when my phone started singing. I struggled with the zipper on my bag again and yanked the phone free.

  “Eric,” I read the name on my phone aloud. It continued to ring in my hand, my thumb hovering over the screen.

  I wanted to answer it, to hear his voice...but then I didn’t. What if he was still angry? I had enough on my plate. I’d just call him when I got back.

  Dropping the phone back into the front pouch of my backpack, I had a little wrestling match with the zipper again and finally headed out the door.

  I skipped down the stairs. My car keys jingled as I played with them, wondering how long it would take me to get up there. I needed to stop for gas, too.

  Glancing at my watch, I tried to calculate how long I’d be gone. If I got lucky with traffic and my hike, I might make it back by six and I could tell Piper and Scott what I’d found. I wondered what Eric was up to. Maybe I could text him and tell him I was busy, but if he really needed to talk, we could chat that night.

  Did I want to do that?

  I grimaced, flinging open the glass door at the bottom of my building and hating my indecisive nature.

  Stepping out into the bright sunlight, I pulled my shades down and headed for my Mini, but my jumpy gait came to an abrupt halt as I glanced up and spotted Eric’s jeep. The roof was off and he sat behind the wheel, his sneakered foot resting by the wing mirror. He had his shades on and was looking so sexy my disloyal body began to tingle. He frowned at his phone and dropped it onto the passenger seat before glancing my way.

  He went still. I didn’t know what he was thinking. His wrap-around shades were hiding everything, but if he was anything like me, his heart was going a hundred miles a minute.

  Jumping up from his seat, he swung out of the jeep and loped toward me, his hands gliding into the pockets of his cargo shorts.

  “Ignoring my calls, huh?” he greeted softly.

  I edged toward him, trying to figure out how I wanted the conversation to go. Part of me wanted to brush right past him. But I couldn’t.

  It was Eric, and in spite of his Mr. Grumpy impersonation lately, I still loved him.

  “What are you doing here, Eric?”

  “I’m coming with you.”

  I scratched the side of my nose and adjusted my shades. “You don’t even know where I’m going.”

  “True, but the coordinates on your phone should help me with that.”

  My heart skittered.

  “Scott told you,” I whispered.

  Eric nodded. “He was worried about you, and rightfully so. What’s up with all the lying lately? Why didn’t you just tell them the truth? Why didn’t you call me?”

  I sighed, hating the confrontation. I didn’t care that we were talking in nice, sweet tones. He was still challenging me on my behavior and it irked me.

  “I didn’t call you because I knew you’d try to talk me out of going.” I huffed. “Scott offered to come with me and then Piper wanted in. She’s in enough trouble as it is. I don’t want her involved. I’m doing this to try and get her out of trouble, not put her into more. And I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

  “But it’s okay for you to get hurt?”

  “I...” Throwing my hands in the air, I felt my eyes burn with tears. I was grateful for my shades. I didn’t want Eric to see the effect he always had on me. I wanted to be mad as hell with him. I should have been after the way he treated me the day before, but the longer he stood there, the more I wanted to step into his embrace...the more I wanted him to insist on joining me.

  I was so weak and pathetic!

  “Look, Caity, you’re not going alone.”

  “I know you don’t want to be involved with this, so don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine.” My voice trembled as I said the word fine and I didn’t want him to see me cry, so I took a step forward, planning on walking right by him with my chin held high.

  I could pull a Piper if I wanted to.

  I sniffed and lifted my chin in the air, but Eric quickly pulled his hands from his pockets and got in my way. I stepped to the other side, but he did a quick sidestep and was in front of me once more. I tried one last time and that was when he caught me.

  Wrapping his arms around my wooden frame, he cupped the back of my head and bent down to whisper in my ear, “I’m coming with you.”

  “Why?” I mumbled into his shoulder.

  He swallowed and kissed the side of my head. “Because I’ve spent the last few days letting you down and that has to stop.”

  I pulled away from him, gazing up at his face. He gently lifted my shades so he could look into my glassy eyes. His forehead crinkled with a frown.

  “I’m sorry,” he mouthed.

  A small smile tugged at my lips, but it didn’t last long as he raised his own shades. His eyes were serious as he ran his finger down my jawline then squeezed my shoulder.

  “I was on my way to see you last night, but I got a call from Connor.”

  “Yeah, you never showed up and I didn’t see your text until this morning. Is everything okay?” I touched Eric’s chest, worried by the look on his face.

  “He spent the night in the hospital.”

  My lips parted with a gasp. “Oh crap, I so should have texted you back. Is he all right?”

  “Shhhh, hey, it’s okay.” He ran his hand down my back. “He’s gonna be fine. He was discharged this morning.”

  “What was wrong with him?”

  “Caffeine overdose.”

  “Caffeine?” My nose wrinkled.

  “Too many energy drinks or something.”

  I frowned. How many energy drinks did the guy have? It would have had to have been a hell of a lot to OD on caffeine.

  That didn’t sit right. I shook my head, my face bunching in confusion.

  “I know. That’s what I thought, too.” Eric read my mind and gently squeezed the back of my neck.

  “Didn’t the doctors question it?”

  “They seemed a little confused, but they were pretty busy last night and then Connor’s t
eam doctor turned up this morning, told Connor off for drinking too many Gatorades and then helped sign him out. He’s taking over his care.”

  “Huh.” I nibbled the edge of my lip.

  “I don’t know if I trust him.”

  “Who? Connor?”

  “No, the doctor. Have you read him?”

  “I don’t even know who he is.” I shrugged.

  Eric licked his bottom lip. “Maybe Connor has been drinking a lot of the stuff. I mean, I know he plays hard and wants that boost of energy, but—“

  “I don’t think that’s it, Eric. I told you, I don’t think he knows he’s being drugged. What if something else is being put into his energy drinks?”

  A muscle in Eric’s neck pinged tight as he slid his shades back over his eyes. “We have to stop this, Caity.”

  “Let’s go then.” I held out my hand and he took it, a smile pushing the right side of his mouth up. I squeezed his hand and let him lead me to his jeep.

  As he started up the engine, I told him where we were heading and couldn’t help being grateful for the fact that he won the battle. I didn’t want to go on my own and even though we had a few unresolved issues floating between us, I was glad he was with me.

  25

  Eric

  The sky was so blue and the sun so brilliant, I could almost fool myself into thinking I was taking my girl out for a leisurely hike in the woods. But my thrumming heartbeat and sweaty forehead remained a constant reality check. There was nothing leisurely about the trip. In fact, it could get us into serious trouble.

  I was guessing we were heading for private property and would be trespassing. I wondered what the charges were for that.