He loosens his grip, and my dad gasps for breath. He’s not conscious yet, but his body shudders, trying to rouse.
I rub my sore neck, feeling the cord’s bloody groove. Jamie has a knee planted on my dad’s back, so he can’t rise.
“I don’t care anymore if you kill him, Jamie.” Our eyes meet and hold. “I just don’t want you to get caught.” Licking my lips, I nod for emphasis. “It’s you I don’t want to lose.”
“Right, understood.” His accent comforts me. It’s the voice I’ve come to trust more than anyone else’s. Jamie’s hands tighten the curtain cord once again. “Be a good girl, and close your eyes for me, Sauce. Do it now.”
Licking parched lips, I allow my lids to drop closed. I can’t understand why tears seep out from under them. It’s not because the only parent I had left is dying. About that, I’m not even sorry.
Monsters don’t deserve to live.
52
JAMIE
After pulling Sawyer into a tight embrace, we stand locked together. She’s surprisingly calm as we talk and voices no resistance when I say we’re not going to call the police.
Sawyer walks over to the computer and clicks the mouse to unlock the screen. The screenshot picture filling the monitor is one of me and Ash with Trick’s sons at my aunt’s birthday party. My muscles clench as I curse. Allendale must’ve grabbed it from social media. Which means he’s known exactly who I am for a while.
Her voice is hollow as she says, “You should probably copy this computer, too.”
When I close the screenshot from my aunt’s party, I notice the picture icon next to the screenshot is namedAngel Boy.
I brace myself as I click to open it. A cropped version of the birthday picture comes into view where only Trick’s son Finn is in the frame. The blond hair, blue eyes and features all make him look like a young version of Jude.
Allendale’s been stalking my family for a new target. I wish he wasn’t already dead. I would kill him slowly.
Angel boy.Christ, it makes me feel like puking.
Leaning close, Sawyer whispers. “Who is that little boy?”
“My cousin. Ash’s youngest nephew.”
Sauce steps back, and a hardness enters her eyes as she glances at Allendale’s body. “I’m glad he’s dead.” Looking at the blood on her hands, she shakes her head. “I don’t want to deal with another investigation. I know I’ll have to, but… it’s unfair.”
Putting an arm around her shoulders, I pull her against me and kiss the top of her head. “Wash up in his bathroom. Easier to explain traces of his blood in there. Could’ve cut himself shaving sometime. I’ll clean up the scene here and decide what to do next.”
When she goes into his bedroom, I copy Allendale’s work drive and start to destroy evidence in the fireplace. The trophies I spotted in the basement, I’ll leave for the cops to find.
His body is a problem. Our DNA will be on it. But disposing of a body is tricky business in the age of doorbell cameras. I want Sawyer away from the house as quickly as possible, but to clean the scene carefully, I need time.
I could escort Sawyer home to Foxgrove, establish an alibi and then sneak back here. Or… I could take advantage of being in C Crue and call in an expert. It would mean coming clean about the vendetta, which is dangerous, but it’s the best option for having the murder scene handled properly.
* * *
Sawyerand I keep up appearances as we travel to the train station in a ride share. From our casual conversation about school and the holidays, no one would have a clue that a few hours earlier she witnessed me murder her father.
As soon as we’re seated on the train, I text for reinforcements, asking Ash to pick us up from the Boston train station and letting Trick know, via coded message, I need to speak to him privately as soon as possible.
Trick calls and asks where I am. I tell him. Once he has my arrival time, he ends the call. In person, it’ll be.
At the Boston train station, Ash waits for us wearing blue and green flannel pajama pants under her puffy coat. The pajamas, along with her fuzzy blue hat and wildly mussed hair cause me to cock a brow.
“Cracker look, Ash. Who are you meant to be? Wendy Darling just dropped off by Peter Pan after a trip to Neverland?”
Ash smirks and flips me off with good cheer before giving Sawyer a hug.
I pull Ash in for a hug, too, but I’ve got an ulterior motive. In her ear, I whisper, “Thanks for coming. Listen, I need another favor. If anything should happen to me, you’ll look after Sawyer for me, yeah? I want your word you won’t leave her alone. She belongs to us now.”
