by Angel Lawson
“I can explain,” I say, glancing down at the SugarBabies profile. My photo is tucked in the corner of the screen. Red lipstick, black wig, ample cleavage.
“No need. It’s fake. We know. You were playing a well-intentioned, dangerous game looking for your friend.”
“I was, but not anymore, and turns out I wasn’t even talking to an adult. It was Alice all along.”
Agent Cole and Luke Fenway exchange a look.
“Well, maybe,” she says. “Alice was definitely a participant. She seemed to know exactly how to get into your accounts. What kind of gifts and details would motivate you. She was the active side of the partnership.”
“I don’t understand. How do you know all of this?”
“Because we’ve been watching you and Alice for months—monitoring the IP addresses using the SugarBabies accounts. There is enough online evidence—emails, texts, private messages—to support the fact that Alice was harassing you and that she was doing it under the influence of an older man.”
I freeze, breath caught. “You can prove this?”
She nods. “We do believe that she is in love with you, and that this man convinced her that the way to get you to love her in return was to emulate Rose Waller. There were direct communications that encouraged her to play 'games' with you; leaving little notes and gifts. Using your former friendship as a way to get into your house and in your head. He pushed that you’d eventually come around.”
I glance at McMichael, who just looks grim.
“I don’t know what to say.” I run my hands down my legs anxiously. “Can you tell me who put her up to it?”
“The men are good at covering their tracks. There’s an entire network of perverts out there victimizing young girls, but yes, we think we’re getting close enough to evidence to finally take them down.”
Surprise flutters in my chest. “Seriously?”
She nods. “Yes, but Rose and Alice weren’t the only underage girls being pulled into this world. And it’s not limited to Thistle Cove. Not by a long shot."
I think of Cliffside, the East Point Suites, the man at The Dollhouse, and how desperately he wanted Rose.
“No,” I say, “I imagine not.”
“The FBI wants your help, Kenley,” Chief McMichael says. “You don’t have to do it. In fact, I don’t think you should.”
“Help with what?”
Agent Cole runs her finger over the tablet screen, pulling up a page filled with photographs. She turns it my direction and I see them; Baxter. Waller. Chandler. A dozen other smug, handsome men that I don’t recognize. “Taking them down.”
I miss first period but catch up with the boys in the hall before second.
“Is everything okay?” Finn asks at my locker. A group of juniors walk by, eyes darting between me and Ezra, whispering and giggling. Guess word got around about the trip.
“Yeah, just dealing with the fallout from the trip. How did it go, anyway?”
“I spent the rest of the trip in my dad’s room on lockdown,” Ezra says, leaning against the wall.
“The party was lame—and mandatory,” Ozzy says. “The chaperones were taking no chances; checking drinks, watching everyone go in and out. I think everyone was just ready for it to be over.”
“I guess the senior retreat is cursed.” Finn smiles, but there’s something in his tone that makes me think he believes it. He may be right. Some traditions in Thistle Cove deserve to die.
“Gotta go,” I say as the bell rings. I glance down the hall and see Coach Chandler’s office door closed. The knot in my stomach since I walked into the conference room tightens.
“Will you help us?” Agent Cole asked.
The pressure built around me, like the air sucking out of the room. I think about the last few days, how upset my parents are, how I’ve disappointed them.
“I can’t. This whole thing is too much. It’s overtaking my life. I’m about to pick a college, graduate, and leave this toxic town behind.”
I try not to remember the look of annoyance on her face. Luke Fenway? He actually seemed surprised. I was serious. I just want to put the past six months behind me and move on.
It’s in the cafeteria that I notice the first ripple of something off. People had been whispering all day, but this was different. Everyone had out their phones, smiles replaced with shock.
“Hey,” I say sliding into the seat next to Finn. “Why does the name Luke Fenway sound familiar?”
“That’s the douche I told you about at the ring ceremony,” Ezra says. “The one that got kicked out of Sparrowood for assault.”
That information hits me like a ton of bricks. That’s who Agent Cole has working as an associate?
Thank god I said no. Who wants to work with a dirt bag like that?
“Why?”
“Uh, I don’t know. The name was just rattling around in my head. I couldn’t place it.”
The strange energy continues to roll through the room and just as Ozzy pulls out his phone, Juliette runs through the cafeteria, stopping at the table.
“Kenley, there you are.” She’s actually breathing heavy.
“Juliette? What’s going on?”
Her face is paler than normal. “It’s Alice.”
I roll my eyes. “What about her?”
“She hurt herself.”
“Dude, what are you talking about?” Ozzy asks. Finn’s arm wraps around my shoulder. Everything, all the voices, the noises in the room—they sound so far away. “What do you mean hurt herself.”
“Like she tried to kill herself.” Her voice lowers. “I don’t know how, specifically.”
“Who did you hear that from?”
Her eyes flick to mine. Her dad? Would he tell her?
“You said tried,” Finn says. “Is she okay?”
I don’t wait for an answer.
I stand, the cafeteria chair scraping across the hard floor. I walk back across the room, out the door and into the hallway.
I don’t know if it’s fate, an accident, or the worst luck ever, but the instant I step in the hall I see Jason Chandler. Stress lines tug at his eyes.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing. Alice was a sick girl—you know that. You saw what she tried to do to you.” He shakes his head. “The gifts. Breaking in. The obsession. I’m sorry you had to put up with all that. I didn’t know.”
God, this man. This pathetic, disturbing, creepy-as-fuck man.
“Oh, you knew. You orchestrated this whole thing.” I lower my voice. “Did you strangle her, too?” Something clicks in my head. “Don’t tell me, she hung herself.”
A perfect way to hide the bruises.
“We should get you to the nurse. You don’t seem well.” He reaches out and tries to touch me.
I jerk back, heart thudding. “I’ll fucking castrate you.”
I turn away from him, from the condescending, manipulative look on his face, and step into the girls' bathroom. My heart races, my stomach recoils. God, Alice, what did you do? What did he do?
Something has to stop. It has to change. These assholes can’t get away with this anymore.
My fingers shake as I pull out the card I’d tucked away in my back pocket. I stare down at the name, number, and what it means if I actually make the call.
My phone vibrates.
Finn: Where are you?
Ozzy: Are you okay?
Ezra: Babe…
The guys, they’re not going to like it, but I think of the bruises on Alice’s neck. Just like the ones on Jacqueline’s.
That’s what gives me the courage to dial the number. I hold my breath until Agent Cole answers.
“I’ll do it.”
“Who is this?” she asks. “Kenley?”
“I’ll do it,” I say, looking at myself in the mirror—or wanting to. I want to be able to look myself in the eye, and if I don’t help the FBI, there’s no way I’ll ever be able to again. “I’ll help you take those bastards down.”
Afterword
Book four in the Thistle Cove series, Truths We Seek, is available on Amazon for preorder. While you wait, check out The Allendale Four, a complete, contemporary romance by Angel Lawson.
Dear Readers!
Thank you for sharing this journey with me. I love writing this series. It scratches all my itches, contemporary, YA, and a dash of mystery-murder! This one was even more fun because I looped in a little bit of Sparrowood and I can’t wait to explore where that goes! Special thanks to Jennifer & Lisa for being amazing beta-readers! To VCedits & AngstyG designs! The readers at Angel’s Antics are what keep me going! Don’t forget to join!
Until next time!
Angel
