Текст книги "Fear You"

Автор книги: B. B. Reid

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Текущая страница: 17 (всего у книги 21 страниц)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Lake

We finished our dinner in stunned silence. He gave me a lot to process, but his past, as dark as it was, didn’t make me want him any less.

“What are you going to do about Mario and Arthur? Why haven’t you turned them in yet?”

“When Arthur made the deal with me, I convinced him that it would be safer to deliver him when school was over. If I brought him in sooner, it would raise his suspicions.”

“So you have to pretend nothing is wrong?”

He nodded but didn’t elaborate. “Do you want dessert?”

“I’m okay. Besides, it’s your birthday,” I smiled. He looked up in surprise. “We should get you cake.”

“I’d rather have you for dessert.”

His voice deepened, his eyes darkened, and I just knew if he could, he would take me right here.

Keiran paid for dinner, and we rode in silence back to Six Forks. It wasn’t until he pulled up to my house and walked me to the door that he spoke.

“Thank you for being my first Valentine.” He stole a kiss packed with emotion and desperation. I decided that sweet Keiran was so much more of a panty melter than brooding Keiran.

When he finally released me, I was about to say goodnight when the front door opened and Aunt Carissa stood in the doorway with Jackson.

I could tell by my aunt’s expression that she wasn’t happy, and considering what Keiran told me this morning, I knew exactly why. It only just occurred to me how much he truly risked by simply taking me to dinner tonight.

“Lake, we need to talk. Keiran, you need to go home.”

Without a word, he turned to go, but not before daring another kiss from me. My aunt watched silently, and when he drove away, I walked inside with her and Jackson.

“Lake, I thought I made my feelings about him clear.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you approached him?”

“He is not the guy you think he is.”

Telling her that I knew exactly who Keiran was would only serve to make this night worse.

“Your parents were two of the gentlest people. It’s why I never understood why they picked the profession they did.”

“What do you mean?”

At age seven, I’d never thought they could ever be anything other than my mom and dad. To me, it was enough. After they had disappeared, I didn’t allow myself to think of them at all, much less how they earned a living.

“Angie and Thomas specialized in child abuse victims.” My throat tightened hearing their names while she paused as if weighing her words.

“Were they social workers?”

“No, honey. They weren’t social workers. They worked for the FBI. It was how they met.”

Stunned.

Shocked.

Silent.

All three words were able to describe how I appeared on the outside, but none came close to doing the justice of the emotions wreaking havoc inside me.

The FBI? My parents?

“How could my parents have worked for the FBI?” The little I could remember of them was so ordinary. Day by day, our life amounted to the same routine set and rehearsed by my parents.

“Your mother always had dreams of someday making a difference, and so the day she announced she had been accepted into the Academy, I knew she had found her calling.”

“What does this have to do with their disappearance?” Aunt Carissa got up to pour another cup of coffee, filling the gray and orange tomcat mug to capacity with the hot espresso liquid.

“The summer they left you here wasn’t because of a vacation. It was a setup. They were going undercover to bring down a child slavery ring that managed to elude the federal government for quite some time.”

I could already feel my heart pounding faster. This couldn't be the same. Fate wouldn't be that cruel.

“How do you know this? Aren’t federal investigations super secret?”

A sad smile spread her lips. “Your mother was never good at keeping secrets. Besides… she wanted to prepare for the future.”

“What happened to them?” It came out as more of a demand than a question. My mind was already connecting the dots, but I needed to hear it. Never in a million years would I have thought Keiran and my past were connected.

“Oh, Lake. Are you certain you’re ready to hear this? It doesn’t have to be now.”

I spoke around the painful lump lodged in my throat. “Yes, it does.”

Finding out my parents were FBI agents was the final blow to the very fragile memories I held of them. The meager leftovers crumbled and shattered when I realized it was all a lie.

She looked at Jackson and a silent message passed between the two. If I didn’t know before, I knew now something was going on between the two of them. Something more than an investigation.

When he nodded, seeming to give her the strength she needed, she started to speak.

“Mario Fulton is an ex-FBI agent who was let go on suspicion of corruption. He was assigned to investigate the disappearance of Liliana West. She was a little girl around your age at the time she was kidnapped.”

Oh, no… Lily.

“Mario was a part of the same division as your parents. He knew them well.”

“My parents were partners then?”

She shook her head and then wiped a tear away. “Your father was Mario’s partner.”

“What?” My breathing slowed to single harsh breaths.

“He was the one to raise suspicion against Mario after he uncovered evidence of a child slavery ring. But when that evidence started disappearing, and the organization became harder and harder to track, he began to suspect Mario.”

“But why?”

“It was agreed between them that one of them would infiltrate and one of them would hang back as a backup just in case things went south. Mario volunteered to be the mole.”

I nodded and then asked, “Where does my mother come into all of this?”

“When your father reported Mario, he was suspended until further evidence could be found that he was dirty. After that, he went rogue. When your father had enough to implicate him and find the man behind the child abductions, he offered to bring him in. Your mother didn’t want to leave him at the mercy of another untrustworthy partner, so she went with him.”

I was already crying, but I didn't feel my tears as my body numbed from every piece of the story that came together.

Mario was the one to kill my parents. I just knew it.

“How did it happen?”

“I don’t think—”

“Just tell me! Please.” My voice trembled as my world spun on its axis.

My answer came swift and brutal. It was Jackson who spoke for the first time. “They were gunned down.”

Chapter Thirty

Keiran

I stood above them, still and silent, as I listened to her cries. I felt every tear she shed through my bleeding heart. I knew hearing about her parent’s death would destroy her. She avoided it for too long.

After they went inside and I drove off, I parked down the street and double-timed back to her house. I climbed the tree that stood near her window and broke through the window. I dislodged the lock a few months ago when I was intent on using her for revenge.

I sat and waited for hours, clutching the banister while they attempted to console her, and in those hours, I plotted her revenge. Around midnight, she finally had enough and broke away from them while I quickly disappeared inside her bedroom to wait.

When she entered the dark bedroom, her eyes immediately found mine, and I could see the need in her eye. It was one that I was familiar with thought it was the first time I’ve witnessed it on her.

“Do it, Lake.”

She took the invitation and was across the room in a flash. I encouraged each blow to my chest and slap to my face as she silently screamed through her agony.

“Take it.”

She never let up. She never stopped seeking.

She needed an outlet. A way to release. I knew what it felt like to need to unleash your pain on someone. It would get pretty dangerous if it built up.

“Take what you need to get past the pain…”

I hit my chest indicating where she should strike, and she mimicked.

“…because I will not let you break. It would kill us both.”

I bared myself. Let me become vulnerable for her. Only for her. Always for her.  Her hits didn’t affect me physically, but much deeper, it was fucking lethal. She killed me over and over.

“Why?” she wailed as her arms grew tired, and her screams fell to hoarse whispers. She fell against my chest and I could feel her tears soak through my thin shirt immediately.

“He won’t live another day.”

* * *

The next morning, I sat and watched her sleep while battling over what I wanted to do and what I had to do.

“Don’t kill them.”

It was the last thing she had said to me before she succumbed to sleep. It amazed me that, even after all she had gone through, she still managed to be so damn innocent.

I needed to move and I needed to move fast. Mario was still in the area, which meant Arthur was also close by, as well.

I’ve sat on this and pretended everything was normal for far too long. Since finding out Arthur had come to Six Forks, Mario had been laying low. We stopped meeting, and any phone calls placed were kept short, but on my end, they were tapped. I gave only enough to the police to keep them interested and without raising Mario’s suspicions.

I knew Arthur would still have eyes on me, and with Keenan back in the hospital, I wasn’t able to protect him. His condition had begun to worsen, and John immediately admitted him at the first sign of strain. The patch had run its course, and if he didn’t get a lung soon, he would die.

Monroe began to stir, so I silently stood and crossed the room to her. I wanted to be gone before she awakened. She would try to stop me. Either she would succeed or I would end up hurting her again.

When I reached her bedside, I leaned as close as I could without touching her and whispered to her.

Her eyelids fluttered, but I was already gone by the time she opened them.

* * *

I called up Dash & Quentin and even dragged Diana from Keenan’s room where she was temporarily holed up until she was convinced the fleas were gone. When I found out what she said to Lake the day I took her to the store, it took everything in me not to shoot her in the face. Lake never said a word about it, and I didn’t ask. I just assumed she had become upset from seeing her climb in my ride.

After explaining to Diana I would rather lose my balls and grow a vagina than fuck her, she seemed to get it, and even appeared sorry. She apparently underestimated Lake. We both did.

As soon as this was over, I’d make it up to her if given the chance.

“Why am I here?” Diana questioned with her nose in the air. Quentin looked as if he’d tasted something foul.

I took a deep breath and released it slowly, feeling the vein in my forehand come to life. “You’re here because you’re not dead, and if you’re not dead, then it means you serve a purpose.”

“I told you everything.”

“Do I look like I’m short of a brain?”

The day I brought Diana here, I interrogated her well into the night until I was satisfied I had drained her of every piece of information. After finding out not only was Mario an FBI agent, but the reason why Lake’s parents were dead and Lily was never found, I realized I didn’t know half of what I needed to know.

“I told you everything I knew. I stay in my dad’s home, but I see him every couple of months. I don’t know anything else.”

“What did she tell you?” Quentin questioned.

“Hey, I’m sitting right here,” she snapped. Quentin ignored her and waited for my answer.

“Money wasn’t the only reason he broke the partnership with Arthur.”

“What other reason was there?”

“He was sleeping with his wife. She got knocked up and threatened to tell Arthur when Mario wouldn’t agree to make them exclusive.”

I remember Esmerelda well. She was the closest thing I had to a mother when I was young, but she was no mother. It was her name that was on the license for the children’s shelter. It was all a front to capture kids from off the streets, and even those who were kidnapped or sold. They would toss a few back to keep up the front while stowing away the unlucky ones.

“Damn.” Dash shook his head. “What are we supposed to do with that?”

“I have an idea, but first…” I stalked over to the seat Diana sat in and watched her shrink lower and lower. “Is that all the information you have? Think carefully before you answer because if I find out you’re lying, I will send you back to your father in pieces.”

I clocked every breath she took and muscle she moved while I waited. “He had those kids killed.”

“Is that right?” Quentin questioned. He didn’t trust her and neither did I.

“Why?”

“I’m not sure. It had something to do with you disappearing a few weeks before. I guess he panicked. He didn’t know if you were arrested and couldn’t risk you ratting him out, so he killed them and dumped them.”

“The police didn’t connect the murders to me, and they wouldn’t have. Lake told them of my involvement.”

“Then shouldn’t you be questioning her?”

“What else?” I pressed.

“I don’t think he wanted to set you up. He wanted to dispose of any evidence just in case you talked.”

The days I spent looking for my father led to Trevor and Anya’s death, but even that night when I ran down Mario, he didn’t confess. What else would he be hiding? His rash decision to kill them because of me only confirmed Mario didn’t trust me any more than I trusted him.

“Why are you turning on your father?” Dash asked.

She scoffed, but when her eyes trailed to Quentin before she closed them as if in pain. “He’s never been a father.” Her voice shook with barely controlled anger and emotion. “He’s my pimp.”

Dash nodded as if he understood, and strangely, he likely did better than anyone else in this room. Not out of experience, but because he was always the voice of reason and understanding. He would always be the last to pass judgment, even with all the facts laid out in front of him.

“I have one last question. The same rules stand. Did your father send you here to keep an eye on me?” Diana had done nothing but try to fuck me since the very second I met her. She was relentless these past three months, and I wouldn’t have suspected anything if I hadn’t seen the turmoil in her eyes every time she came on to me. She was nothing more than a trained concubine, but it wasn’t by choice.

“I told you why I’m here.”

“I won’t hurt you for telling me the truth, but I will hurt you for lying to me.”

“And I am just supposed to believe you?”

“You don’t have any other choice, Di.” I purposely used her nickname to appear less threatening. I needed her on my side. She was the bridge between information I could use against her father, and if her father could plant his own daughter here, then it meant she was disposable to him.

Her small nod was the only answer I needed.

“So who do we take down first?” Dash asked.

“We take them together.”

“How?”

“We get the detectives, Mario, and Arthur in the room together.”

“Shouldn’t we get the feds in on this?”

“It’s too risky. We wouldn’t know who to trust. Arthur and Mario both have agents, judges, and officers in their pockets.”

“How do we know we can trust those two?”

I asked myself the same question repeatedly, but always came to the same answer. “Because Lake trusts them.”

“And that’s good enough for you?” Diana sneered.

“It’s good enough for me,” Quentin barked, cutting his eye at Diana.

“Me, too,” Dash answered.

“Now that we are all on board here’s what we’re going to do.”

* * *

After everyone was in position, I put the plan in motion by calling Mario. He’d moved out of the hotel a couple of months ago and kept his hideout a secret even from me so I would need to draw him out.

I dialed his number and rehearsed in my head while the phone rang.

“What’s up, kid?”

“I need your help. It’s bad.”

The change in his tone was immediate. “What’s going on?”

“My father showed up. It ended badly. How soon can you get here?”

“I can send someone.”

“No. It needs to be you. I can’t have anyone else knowing about this.”

“How messy is it? I’ll at least need to bring a cleanup crew. You know I can’t move without my men.”

“Fine. Just get here quickly.”

“Where?”

I gave him the school’s address and told him to meet me in the gym. A public place would be their better choice. It would make him think I was blindsided by my father, and I could avoid the suspicion that a secluded setting would bring.

Once the call disconnected, I dialed Arthur. This part of the plan would need to be executed perfectly. He would catch on to the smallest slip-up.

“Arthur.”

“This is a surprise. May I ask the reason for your call?”

“Christmas is coming early this year. I have what you want. Meet me at the high school gymnasium. I’m sure you know where it is. We don’t have much time, so you need to come now.”

“Son, the last time I spoke to you about this, you were adamant about waiting until you graduated.”

“I’m still unavailable, but Mario in a body bag is up for grabs.”

“Why the sudden rush?”

“He slept with my woman. I’ll even throw her in the mix, so you coming or not?” I hung up the phone before he could respond or have the chance to question me further. Mario’s history with sleeping with married women provided the perfect cover. A man like Arthur was always suspicious, and it was suspicion that made me sure he would fall into my trap. If he thought he was being set up, he would want to deal with it. His status afforded him the confidence he couldn’t be defeated.

I checked all the doors of the gym, ensuring there was only one way in or out. The last thing I needed was the wrong person walking in at the wrong time.

A quick text from Quentin and Dash let me know they were each in position, and it was clear for me to make the last call.

I waited for the line to connect.

“The school gymnasium. Now.” Dressed in my basketball gear with my gun strapped to my thigh, I had about twenty minutes to work up a sweat, I grabbed the ball I had brought with me and played harder than I ever had before.

When the door behind me opened, I continued to play, seemingly unfazed by the intrusion. After all… I was only here to practice.

“Hey, kid. This is hardly the time for recreational fun. Where’s the body?” I turned to face Mario, who stood confused with two men behind him.

“Is this all the men you brought?”

“I have one more waiting guard outside.”

“Can I trust you?”

He let out a nervous chuckle and subtly looked around. “What’s with the questions?”

“I need to know if I made a mistake trusting you.” I knew he picked up on my meaning when he straightened and flexed his jaw muscles.

“Are you challenging me, kid?” The two men behind him went on alert.

“I’m asking a friend a question.”

“Why the sudden doubt?”

“The last time I trusted you, two people ended up dead, and I was being blamed for it. You’ve yet to give me an answer.”

His face reddened with anger. “He framed you, and the girl was a whore in the making, so does it really matter? You can trust me!”

“Like you trusted me?

“What are you talking about?”

“You killed Trevor Reynolds and Anya Risdell because you were afraid I rolled on you when I disappeared after my brother was shot—so you killed them to frame me, isn’t that right?”

“That’s ridiculous!”

“Your daughter didn’t seem to think so.”

“The worthless bitch is only good for one thing and thinking isn’t one of them.” Anger flared to rage hearing him talk of his daughter that way. It confirmed everything I needed to know.

“I want you to leave Six Forks and never return. You can catch Arthur on your own.” I turned to leave, putting the icing on the cake.

“Fine!” he roared at my back. “I killed them. You should be grateful. I did you a favor.”

“Having me set up for murder was a favor?”

“You should blame that girl. She turned you in, didn’t she? They never would have implicated you if it weren’t for her. You should have killed her a long time ago!”

I remained silent, grappling with the need to kill him here and now. Keeping a cool head would keep her safe. It would end all of this.

“When? Long before she turned me in?”

“It would have saved a lot of time.”

“I can see the fear in your eyes, Mario. Why do you want her dead?” I spent so much time learning what fear was to avoid it that I recognized it no matter how well it was hidden or covered.

Anger. Bravery. Indifference. None of them compared to the potency of fear.

“She’s bad news.”

“You don’t even know her. You’ve never even met her.”

“I know you let what’s between her thighs make you forget who you are.”

“If that’s true, why is there fear in your eyes?”

“Don’t flatter yourself, son. You’re a teenager. I’m a man.”

“So what about another man?”

“Are you threatening me?”

“If I were, would you kill me? Isn’t that what happened to your partner?”

“What partner?”

“Thomas Monroe. The real reason you want his daughter dead.”

The reason why I was given a second chance. I realized at some point while I held Monroe and wished upon wish I could take her pain away, that it was her parents who saved me. I had thanked them by hurting their daughter for ten years.

“Who told you about him?”

“It seems that Arthur isn’t the only one after you.”

“You little shit. After everything I’ve done for you?” He signaled to his men and they pointed their weapons. “I should have just killed you or let you die in the streets.”

He watched me. Waiting for me to cower and beg. When I only offered him a smile, his eyes blazed with unrepressed rage. “Kill him.”

“You haven’t changed.” The door to the gymnasium slammed shut as five men, including Arthur, walked in. Mario and his men swung around, but his guards were quickly gunned down by Arthur’s men, leaving only Mario. One of the men shot Mario in the arm where he held the gun.

“Ahhhh!” Mario screamed. When he recognized who had intruded on our meeting, his face paled from more than just pain. “Arthur.”

“Mario… it’s been a long time.”

“Big fucking mistake showing your face,” he threatened even as he clutched his arm. Blood gushed from the wound.

“I believe I was invited.” Arthur smiled and looked past Mario. “I have to say, Keiran, your work is a little sloppy, but with a little training, you’ll be one of my best. Good job.”

Mario looked back at me with accusation in his eyes. “You set me up!”

“You should thank me. I did you a favor.” I threw his words from earlier back in his face with a smirk.

“Speaking of favors… you held up your end, so I’ll hold up mine. Mario’s blood type is O negative. Kill him and his lungs are yours. I have a surgeon waiting on standby as we speak.

Shit. This was not part of the plan. I was planning for at least one death today, but it couldn’t be by my hands. If I refused, Arthur would become suspicious. I wracked my brain until I found the best excuse.

“We don’t know if it’s compatible. Keenan’s body could reject the lungs.”

“I don’t give a shit about your brother. I only said I would get you a lung. Take it or leave it.” There was no way in hell I was putting a piece of this scumbag inside my brother and using his lungs only for them to fail and kill him anyway.

Fuck pretending.

“I am not going to help kill my brother.”

Arthur’s expression became clouded as we stared each other down.

“Maybe with the proper motivation, you’ll see things my way.” He turned to one of his men and said, “Bring her in.”

My heart fell to stomach. I knew without seeing who her was. She was unconscious and flung over the shoulder of the man who brought her in. When she was dropped carelessly on the gym floor and started to stir, I started forward but was held back by every gun pointing at me.

Mario’s outrageous laughter was the only sound in the building. “Did you think it was going to be that easy, kid?”

The butt of a gun slammed into the back of his skull knocking him unconscious as he continued to bleed out.

“I needed a little reassurance that this wasn’t a setup, but, after all, you did say I could have her.” He peered down at Lake, a lustful grin spreading wide. “She will make an excellent addition to my stable.”

I took one last look at Monroe whose eyes were open but had not found me.

“Do you remember what I told you, Arthur?” I watched the confidence fade from his eyes. “If you touched her again, I would kill you… even if I had to die with you.” The gun I used to kill my mother was in my hand before any of them could react.

I would have to die today. I should have died a long time ago.

“No!” I heard her scream just as both gym doors burst open and a collection of “Freeze” and “Put your weapons down” echoed.

I knew what her intentions were the moment she jumped to her feet and ran over to me.

“Lake, no!” I screamed.

She threw up her arms around me as if to protect me, and I only had a split second to realize that one of Arthur’s men still had his aim on her head.

I moved, but it was too late. The bullet hit.

“I’m sorry, baby,” I whispered.

Her expression had turned from fear to shock before her body dropped to the floor.

* * *

May 27th

Dear Diary,

They took him away today…

Willow says I’m free.

Freedom means possibilities of happiness.

So why does freedom feel so empty?

Is it wrong to miss him? Is it sick? Is it twisted?

I think it’s all of those things and more.

It’s painful.