He held up his phone, dancing it back and forth between his fingers. “It was fun to take a stroll down memory lane. I probably should’ve left when I realized you didn’t know shit about what Chels was up to.”
“What did she do?” My question came out in a whisper, each word a struggle to get past my lips.
Derek chuckled. “Can you believe she thought she could con me? Either that or get me to grow a conscience. She hired a freaking P.I. to track me down. Flew to L.A. to try totalkto me.”
“About what?” I asked, but I already knew the answer.
“That bitch thought she could get your sentence overturned. Said she wanted to do it to make up for not sticking by you years ago.”
I felt dizzy, as if the air wasn’t fully reaching my lungs. “What did you do?”
That ugly grin was back. “Told her I had to think about it. And that I couldn’t talk there. Got her to meet me in Vegas a week later.”
The world dropped out from under me. My entire body felt weightless and fuzzy at the same time. As if I no longer truly existed. “You killed her.”
“I got a charge out of turning her into what everyone thought you were. I knew that’d get your parents going, too. God, it was fun to watch all of that play out. Help in all of the little ways I could. Didn’t hurt that I got paid for the trouble, either.”
Tears burned the backs of my eyes as I stared straight ahead. Chelsea. Having her back in my life was enough. It didn’t matter that other people might think the worst of me, as long as the people I loved knew the truth.
My gaze locked on my wrist secured to the door and the final pieces came into place. I hadn’t been hurt enough for Derek’s pleasure. He was going to end me altogether.
My breaths came faster as I tugged at the tape. As I clawed at the bindings, Derek laughed. “It won’t do any good. Too many layers. It’s unfortunate that mental illness runs in a family. First, one sister overdoses, and then the other dies by suicide. A shame.”
“Don’t do this. Please.” I wasn’t above begging. “I’ll do whatever you want—”
“I don’t want a fucking thing from you.”
My free hand went to the horn, hoping someone would hear me. Maybe Mason was close. My chest constricted as his face filled my mind. I’d messed everything up, and now my last words to him would be ones of anger and hurt.
The butt of Derek’s gun slammed down on my hand as I pressed the horn again. I cried out in pain, bringing my arm to my chest.
“Enough,” he barked. “We’re done.”
“Don’t,” I whispered, tears of pain and desperation leaking out.
“Should’ve let you give me the world.” He climbed out from behind the wheel.
I frantically searched for keys but there were none. My hatchback began rolling towards the water. I reached for the gear shift, but my fingers could barely grasp it. And when I tried to close around it, the pain was blinding. I couldn’t. There had to be broken bones in my hand.
Water surged around the vehicle as Derek gave me a final push down the incline and into the lake. I yanked as hard as I could on my bound wrist but got nowhere. I pulled my feet up, kicking against the horn. Hoping against hope that someone would hear me. But if they did, no one came. And the water swallowed the vehicle whole.
43
Mason
Cain rolleddown the window and punched in the code to my security system. As he did, a horn sounded. He glanced at me as the gates to the property swung open. “What the hell was that?”
“I have no idea.”
He guided his SUV down the drive and left his window open. The horn sounded again, this time in rapid succession. Then there was silence.
The noise was too close to have been from a passing motorist or someone who’d been in an accident out on the main road. I rolled down my window. “I think it might be coming from that direction.” I pointed towards the dirt road that led to the lake.
“I see a light,” Cain said.
What looked like a flashlight beam glinted in the far-off distance. A chill slid down my spine. No one should be out there. I pulled out my phone. “I’m calling Walker. Something’s off. Turn off your headlights.”
A million different possibilities ran through my mind. All of them bad. But none of them made any sense.
