“I think... I think you killed Mom and Dad.”
“Andy! Get the fuck out and do what I said. And start working on that hole.Go!”
Andy swung around and almost fell on his way upstairs.
Trevor looked down at Chris, his eyes blazing. “You really are something.”
“At least I didn’t kill my mother for money.”
“She wasn’t supposed to be in that fucking car. You really think I’d kill her?”
Chris knew he wouldn’t. As sick as Trevor was, his love for his mother had been genuine, although anything but pure.
“My dad knew I owed a shitload of money for a long time, but he never agreed to help. Once the guys I owed money to came to speak with him, he told them to piss off, then told me to find a new place to live. He didn’t care what it might do to Andy or to my mom; he just wanted me out of the way—his biggest disappointment.The one who couldn’t make precious Daniel stay.”
“Stop blaming me for how you fucked up your life. You should’ve left that house much sooner. Did Robert suspect you were planning to kill him?”
“Maybe. The house had become a battlefield for the last year. Kim was the only reason we didn’t kill each other sooner.”
Chris wondered how it must have felt like for Robert to live with the son he suspected was planning his death. He felt no compassion toward the man, but the morbid situation twisted his stomach.
Trevor cleared his throat. “I tell you what—you’ll never get Andy to turn against me, but you did just earn yourself a front-row seat to Jay’s execution. Lucky you.”
27
ANTHONY
It was getting dark.
A car accident had held them back for almost an hour, and every passing minute felt eternal. The police had promised to send someone to the address Ethan had given them, but that had been hours ago, and they hadn’t gotten any update since. Or maybe the cops had tried to call them but failed due to the horrible reception out here in the woods. They hadn’t even seen one house in the last thirty minutes.
“I think we’re getting close,” Ethan said, barely visible in the darkness inside the truck.
“The map gets all jumbled when I try to zoom in,” Anthony said. “Like the house is not on an actual street.”
“The police did ask three times if I was sure about the address. Maybe they lied about sending help. They acted like I was crazy.”
To be fair, Ethanhadbeen so upset when he made that call, Anthony couldn’t blame the police for being skeptical. There were also no active missing person reports for either Chris or Jay.
Anthony’s body was operating on pure adrenaline, but even that was quickly running out. He’d barely slept the previous night, and the mixture of hours on the road with bubbling anxiety was taking its toll.
Just need to hold on a bit longer.
If Chris and Jay weren’t in that house, Anthony was officially out of ideas. The video Chris had “sent” earlier played in the back of his mind on repeat. He couldn’t fathom having that video become his last memory of him.
“Ant, is that...?”
The car that drove past them was a police car.
“Did you see if anyone was in the back seat?” Ethan craned his head back, but the police car was already disappearing in the rearview mirror.
“I think I only saw two people at the front. It might not be connected to the call you’ve made.”
“I think it is, and they’re driving the wrong way!”
“It’s likely just a patrol.” Anthony didn’t fully believe that, not out here, but what else was he supposed to say? He shook his head to sharpen his senses, worried he might crash with how tired he was.
“Whoever thought that building an amusement park out here would be a good idea was an idiot,” Ethan said.
