“I got out of my house on a Friday night. That’s all I ever wanted.”
“And why are you showing me this?”
“Because that’s your boyfriend on camera, making her swallow that drink, leaving her completely vulnerable. Giving Robbie a blow-by-blow instruction on how to incapacitate her whenever he wanted.”
“Yeah. Well, maybe Zach didn’t realise he was hanging out with rapists.” I waggle the phone. “Does it look like he was happy with the outcome?”
“He hung about with drunk teenage boys, and he should’ve known better.”
“And what? You think I’m next? You think he’s got a nice supply of sedatives to knock me out so I can pick up where she left off?”
“I think the penalty for rape is a custodial sentence, not a fucking death penalty.”
My emotions bubble over, propelling my voice into a shout. “Then why didn’t you stop me?”
“I’m not talking about you. Don’t you get it? I don’t care about you. What I care about is Zach doing whatever he wants and getting away with it. I care about him killing my friend for doing the same thing he did himself, multiple times, with the same girl.” He lifts the phone out of my hands, rocking it in my face. “There are four other videos on here. All Zach. All doing the same or worse than Robbie.”
“With her consent.”
“Not with her consent.” He throws the phone into my lap, his lips twisting with disgust. “She’s unconscious. Didn’t they teach you that at your group home?”
“You know what I mean.”
Caylon’s eyes narrow as he lines up another spear to toss at me. “Stefan ordered him to get rid of the gun. Said he didn’t want it tying back to us, no matter how safe Zach thought it was.”
The change in direction knocks me sideways for a second, then I feel the stirrings of relief. Not that I expected Zach to hand it to the police, not now. Still, it’s nicer to have the certainty—
“But he didn’t. He’s still got it hidden away. That’s the first time he’s ever disobeyed a direct order.” Caylon’s voice softens as he adds, “You’re not safe with him. Not if he’s holding onto a threat past the point he needs it.”
“Or he held onto the weapon so he could return it to me, just as he promised.”
He shakes his head but says nothing. He doesn’t need to. That’s a stretch even for me.
We sit in silence for a moment, then he shivers. “Zach’s the one who pulled the trigger. If you ever need me to say it, I will.”
“Why? You hate me.”
The casual shrug isn’t exactly convincing. “I don’t hate you. You frustrate me.”
“You think I got your friend killed.”
“I think Zach got my friend killed. And yours. He’s the one who uploaded it.”
I take a moment to understand he means the original video. The revelation makes sense. No man, even a foolish teenage one, would willingly upload themselves committing such a serious crime. Not when sexual violation can earn you twenty. “Why? Why would he do that to Tessa?”
Caylon’s laugh is genuine. “He didn’t do anything to Tessa. She didn’t enter his thinking for one second. He wanted Robbie gone. It never crossed his mind that he wouldn’t be able to take it back if it was the wrong decision.” He wipes tears away from his eyes. “You should’ve seen his face when he realised taking down the video didn’t mean it was gone.”
But I can’t imagine his face. All I see is Tessa when she realised the same.
Caylon clears his throat, readying another attack. “He threatened that kid. The one your sister is in trouble for.”
My stomach turns ice cold. How does he even know about Sierra, let alone the rest? “N-No. He doesn’t know him.Idon’t even know who he is. How c-could…?”
“I cloned your phone. The one you gave to her. We worked out who Steven was from a few details, and he invited the kid to a park and scared the shit out of him.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
