“The letter has to be for me.” Shane speaks.
We all turn to face him. “What makes you think that?” Cole asks him.
He squares his shoulders and takes a deep breath. “Because … I know some secrets. Some that would totally change how this night is going to go. And that letter was threatening me to keep my mouth shut.”
I frown. “I don’t understand, Shane.”
“We all have secrets,” Cole grunts. “Why you specifically?”
“I know something that you guys don’t. And if I told on the person who I’m guessing sent me that letter, I would also be implicating myself.” His eyes go to Cole, and I stiffen at the challenge in his eyes.
What the fuck does he know? And why hasn’t he told us?
Cole takes a step forward, closing the distance between them. “Just what in the fuck do you know, Shane?”
And with that, he informs us of something he should have told us a long time ago. With each word, the room grows smaller. Colder. I watch Cole’s body tighten, his fists clench, and his breathing picks up. I cuss, Bennett kicks the table. Shane was right. Tonight is going to go differently than we had planned, but I have no problem adjusting it accordingly.
BECKY
I sit at my father’s kitchen table eating a piece of pie. He’s out of town for the week so I have the house to myself. It’s actually nice to be alone. I’ve always had to share. My school. My space. My car. My father made me take Demi everywhere. I was so fucking happy once she turned sixteen and could drive herself to school. I should have told my mom to let her stay here while I moved to Texas by myself.
Finishing off the pie, I place the plate in the sink and make my way upstairs. The thunder shakes the walls, and I hear the rain pick up. Typical Collins. This place is such a downer.
I enter my room and fall onto my bed. I close my eyes and let out a sigh. But they snap open when I hear a noise. “Hello?” I call out, looking outside my room but see nothing.
I remove my shirt. Tossing it onto the bed, I undo my jeans and push them down my legs. Standing in a black bra and matching thong, I enter my bathroom to take a bath. I need to relax. My entire body has been tight for days. I’ve been in a bad mood. Nothing has been going right, and I don’t like that.
I hear another sound and walk back into my bedroom. “Hello?” I ask again. Silence follows. My clock on my nightstand shows it’s a little after midnight. The thunder rattles the walls again and lightning flashes, lighting up my room. I shrug it off, knowing it must be a tree branch hitting my window or something.
My phone rings on my bed, and I look down to seeDekewritten across the screen. My heart begins to race with excitement.
“Hey?” I try to say calmly, but my high pitch gives me away. I turn, placing my back to the door and bounce toward the windows. The falling rain making visibility nonexistent. “What are you…?”
“Do you miss me, Becky?” he asks in greeting.
A cold chill runs up my spine at his tone. There was nothing affectionate about it. Just cold. Detached. “Of course, … I …”
“What if I said I wanted to see you?”
I swallow, and the hairs on my neck rise. “Deke.” I give a nervous laugh. “What do you mean? I, uh, I’d love to see you, but you’re too far away.” Thank God. He sounds like a serial killer calling his next victim. He’s probably drunk and playing some sick game with me.
“What if I told you I’m here?”
I whip around to face my bedroom door, my chest rising and falling quickly. “In Collins?” My voice shakes.
He gives a dark chuckle, and my stomach drops as I watch a man dressed in black jeans and a black hoodie move to stand in the doorway of my bedroom. His blue eyes look me up and down, taking in my half-naked body, but he shows no sign of interest. When they reach mine, I hear him whisper in my ear. “Your bedroom.”
I drop the phone and run into my en suite bathroom. I slam the door shut and lock it. He begins to pound on it from the outside. “Stop,” I cry as I press my hands up against it, knowing he’s fucking with me. If he wanted in, that lock wouldn’t stop him. “Deke, please …”
The banging stops, and I flip on the light before taking a step back from the door. Tears sting my eyes and my body shakes. What the fuck is he doing here? In Collins? My bedroom?
Other than my heavy breathing, silence now fills the room. I still hold my hands out in front of me as I take another step back and bump into a hard surface. I gasp, spinning around only to come face-to-face with Cole Reynolds.
They tricked me.
The phone call was to distract me, allowing Cole into my bathroom. Where Deke knew I’d run. He had been covering the door, there was no other escape option for me. His emotionless blue eyes stare down at me. Cole has this way of making you feel cold deep down in your bones. Like death coming to collect your soul. He’s come to drag me to hell. To make me pay for my sins. My breath hitches and my heart hammers in my chest. “Cole …”
He grips my hair and shoves my face into my bathroom mirror. Pain explodes behind my eyes. The impact takes my breath away. He yanks me back and shoves me away from him so hard that I slide across the countertop, knocking off my beauty supplies in the process. I hit the tile floor on my side as my shaking hands come up to shield my bloody and busted face. I sob into them, and it just intensifies the pounding in my face.
