“There was never one written up,” I say. “I already looked to see if there was anything tied to her while I waited in your car and there’s not a single thing.”
His jaw drops. “You have to be fucking kidding me.”
“They didn’t believe you and they didn’t even care enough to write it down.”
“But… fuck. And there’s nothing on Zach. His record is spotless.” Jesse’s breathing quickens before he looks up at me. “Please, Liam, please let me take the fall for this. She saved my life. Without her… would I have become a monster like Zach?” He runs a shaky hand through his hair. He’s beginning to panic, beginning to spiral. But I want to know more about this Whitaker.
My interest has been piqued and my desire to kill is hungry, and if Jesse shares this story with others, it’ll become of public interest. Others will be looking for this man who uses broken teenagers to hunt victims for him.
But if I don’t share what I’ve found with the department, how long before someone else realizes Jesse and Lacey were involved?
“Everything is ruined. I don’t want them to know… fuck. I just… Matthew’s going to be… Will you take care of Nefertiti, please? I don’t know anyone else who will take good care of my tarantula.” Jesse shakes his head and looks away. “I’ve fucked up. Why is it when I’m finally happy that everything has to go to hell? I should have turned my back on Lacey, but how could I? She did so much for me. She got me back in school. She was there for me; she forced me to go to college. She made me who I am. How could I turn away from her?” He sets his head on the table and closes his eyes.
Why is he being so dramatic? And if he starts crying, I’m leaving.
I grab Jesse by the hair and pull his head up.
He stares at me, questioning why I’ve done this, and I stare back, questioning the very same thing. If Whitaker is still alive and just so happens to wind up dead… won’t Jesse realize that there’s only one person he told this story to?
There’s a knock on the diner door and I look over to see Gabriel standing outside, so I release Jesse’s hair.
“Hold, please.”
“Are we going to the station now?” he asks.
“Eat your pie and sit tight.”
“You ate my pie.”
“Open the fridge and find another piece,” I say before hurrying outside to where Gabriel is standing in the cold. It’s made his nose red, and I find that I want to kiss it.
“Do I even want to know what’s going on?” Gabriel asks.
“I need to consult with you before I do something you may frown on.”
Gabriel’s expression turns grave. “I’m listening.”
So I tell him everything I’d figured out and everything Jesse has told me. Instead of looking elated like I feel over the whole thing, he seems quite upset.
“First off, why didn’t you tell me?”
“I just did!”
Gabriel pulls out his phone and opens the text which he flashes me. “‘Boy are you going to laugh when you hear who turned Zach into the headless horseman.’”
“Exactly,” I say, having found it peak humor. The look on Gabriel’s face tells me that it was not and I should work on my humor.
I decide that maybe I should just kiss his cold fingers to make up for it. Then I slide his hands under my coat to warm them up and question why he’s not wearing gloves, but before I can ask, he says, “So why did you bring him here and not the station? Or tell Michaels… you’re planning on letting him go, aren’t you?”
“But did you hear about Whitaker?”
Gabriel sets his forehead on my shoulder and sighs. His fingers that are warming up under my coat tighten on me. “It’s only a matter of time before someone else finds out Jesse was involved and it’s discovered that we fucking knew.”
“I was going to help disrupt the evidence so he doesn’t get caught. And then I was going to blackmail him into being my slave for all eternity so I can find this Whitaker man and?—”
“Liam… how fucking far can we go? Every time something like this happens, we move closer and closer to someone finding out. I can’t lose you. Jesse is a phenomenal friend, and I really care about him, but helping him could increase the chances of losing you. And I can’t lose you.”
I trail my fingers through his hair, pushing it back before smiling at him. “I will do whatever you want.”
