“What about Chad?” Ash asks. “Where does he fit in.”
“Chad ran errands for his father a couple times a week after school. I watched him hand over envelopes, laugh and joke with these guys.” He grips the edge of the table, and his eyes turn black in anger. “I ambushed one of the assholes one time. I needed to see what was in the envelopes.” He squeezes his eyes shut for a moment. “It was pictures and details of kids. Boys and girls. Some as young as four and five.”
Bile climbs up my throat. Bree and I share a look, both thinking the same thing. How was this happening in our locale without our father being aware of it? It makes no sense. He must have known and lied about it.
“What did you do with that knowledge?” Ash asks.
Ares cracks his knuckles. “I buried that motherfucker alive, and then I sent the information anonymously to the cops with a note.”
Silence pervades for a few tense beats.
“Is that why you hate Chad, or is there more?” Ash eventually asks.
Ares glares at her, and I reach forward, grabbing his shirt and pouring venom at him through my eyes. “Knock that shit off right now, or I’ll put you through the wall.”
He shoves me away, glaring at everyone in the room like he’d love to take out a machine gun and pump us all full of bullets. I have seen a lot of scary assholes in my time, but Ares Haynes is full of pent-up aggression he needs to find an outlet for before he detonates and takes casualties with him.
“Ares. I’m not your enemy.” Ash palms one side of his face, forcing his gaze to hers. “I’m just trying to understand this.”
“Chad had to know what he was doing, Ash.” It sounds like he’s trying to convince himself as much as us. I think he hears now how flimsy this evidence is. Unless there is more to divulge. “He was delivering those envelopes for over a year that I watched him. He interacted with those sick perverts like they were best buddies.” Her hand lowers from his face, settling on his arm.
“That’s his personality. Chad is always the showman,” I say. “Always sociable. Football kind of demands it. His dad wanted him to take over the business when he retired, after Chad’s football career was over. He had him working with him on weekends and during holidays since he was fourteen. That doesn’t mean Chad was aware of everything he was doing.”
“Even if he didn’t know,” Ares says, his voice dropping a few octaves, “he was an accomplice. He helped to make it happen.”
“Chad can’t be blamed for something he didn’t know.” Ash speaks softly, rubbing his arm. “And I’m telling you now he didn’t know. Chad wasn’t mixed up in this. He wasn’t involved in what happened to Lilianna. He was a kid too, Ares. A kid who just wanted to please his dad.”
Ares props his elbows on the table and holds his head in his hands.
I reach out and link my fingers in Ash’s. This is hurting her.
“I may have overreacted,” Ares admits, lifting his head a few minutes later. “Desperation can do that to a person. And maybe something else.” His eyes meet mine for a second. He clears his throat, straightening up before he looks at Ash. “In the interests of transparency, I’ll admit I stalked you too.”
Wow. Way to just put it out there.
More silence descends.
“Explain that.” Ash sounds deceptively calm. I wonder if she’s reached that place where nothing shocks her anymore because her brain is already too overloaded.
“I was following Jasper for a long time, and then I followed Chad. I watched you with him, and with Jase, and I…fuck it.” Air expels from his mouth as he drags his hands through his hair.
“What?” Ash asks, remaining remarkably calm.
“I wanted you,” he blurts, looking agitated. “I wanted you, all right? From the first moment I saw you, I felt this pull to you. It was just one more reason to hate Chad.”
“Me too?” I inquire because that was the only reason that made any sense to me and Chad.
He nods. “I fixated on Chad after we got rid of Jasper and projected a lot of my hatred onto him. You were his sidekick. It was easy to hate you too.”
“And you played with me to piss them off,” Ash says, sounding annoyed now.
“Yes. No. Partly.” Ares tugs his hands through his hair again.
“He played with you because he wanted you,” Bree says, draining her beer. “He wanted to ruin Chad’s life because he believed he was somehow involved in Lilianna’s kidnapping. Even if deep down, he knew that probably wasn’t true. Messing around with you killed two birds. He could hurt Chad and get to keep you. Win-win for Ares.” Bree glowers at him.
The waitress stages a timely intervention then, delivering our food to the table. We are all quiet as she distributes plates, a new jug of water, and a bowl of freshly grated parmesan cheese.
“That is seriously messed up.” Ash twirls a forkful of spaghetti.
