I know.He wants to believe Nate won’t get the sheriff involved, but he’s not sure.One shitstorm at a time.“Which pocket, Nate?
“Right one.”
Will reaches for Nate’s right pocket, but of course the keys are not there. He growls in anger and reaches for his other pocket, where he finds the keys. “Take them and release me,” he says after he fails to uncuff himself.
“I can take the cuffs off, but it won’t make you free. What’s mine is mine.”
He leans down and hisses into Nate’s face, “You’re disgusting. I curse the day Joel ever chose you as a friend.”
“Well, as we both know, he wasn’t altogether in the head.”
“Take the damn keys.”
“Fine. Jesus.”
Once the cuffs are finally off, Will rubs his wrists,wondering what the hell to do now. He wants to get inside, but can he take that risk while Nate still has his gun? Yet he can’t take the gun and commit a crime. Nate already has a reason to arrest him, even though he’s the one who attacked first.
“What’s wrong, baby? Feeling less brave?”
Yes.“It’s over, Nate. You need to understand that.”
“Do I? Maybe I just need to let you calm down a bit. I can tell you’re scared. Maybe I was too pushy, but I can work on that. We’ll start a new page.”
“You’re never going to change.”
“And neither will you. That’s why I know youneedme.”
“God, you sound crazy. What’s wrong with you?”
Nate doesn’t answer, but his breathing grows faster.
Will glances at his door. “I’m going to go inside now, then you’ll get up and drive back home. What happened between us is over. If you feel I took advantage of you… I’m sorry. But it’s done.”
Nate gives a single nod, and Will knows that’s the best that he can hope for at the moment.
He’s terrified as he gets up, still debating whether he should get the gun. But Nate remains on the ground, unmoving. Will steps away carefully, climbing up the creaking stairs. When he reaches the door, his hand shakes as he tries to unlock it. The second he manages, he hurries inside and locks the door behind him. He goes into the kitchen and grabs a knife, then standswith his back against the wall where he can watch the front door. He waits with his heart pounding to see if Nate will try to break in.
The minutes pass, and finally—fucking finally—the sound of the police car breaks through the silence as it drives off.
Will slides down to sit on the floor, still holding the knife. His body hurts, and he smells of sweat and urine, but among the pain and fear, there’s also relief. He faced the monster and lived through it.
It’s over now.
As he gets up and goes to take a shower, he almost believes that.
Chapter 11
Owen
“Wake up, Owen. Wake up!”
He opens his eyes with a start, heaving as though he’s running. “What?”
“Jesus, kid.” Aunt Sheryl sits on the edge of his bed. “What the hell did you dream about?”
Dream? He moves to sit with his back against the headboard, his heart beating fast. He was in that dark alley until a moment ago, smashing Lee’s head with the trash can lid so many times there was no longer a head to hit, just scattered pieces of brain.
“Clowns,” he says lamely. “I had a nightmare about clowns.”
