“Andre DeLuca,” I say, shaking his hand. “Hannah, this is a friend of mine and Bellamy's. We went to school together.”
“Good to see you, man,” Andre says with a smirk. When his eyes find Chrissy, he lights up in a devious way. “Chris.”
“This is too good,” Bellamy laughs again. “Damn, Chrissy. I didn’t know…”
“I will fucking stab you,” she growls. “Can we just focus on Kendra?”
“So,” Andre says. “I pulled all of Jeff’s current cases, and… He doesn’t have a person of interest listed for anything other than the apartment fire. There is absolutely no connection being made on paper between the murders and Archer. Without Chris explaining anything, I wouldn’t even bother going after Archer. That’s why he hasn’t been found. He just has a warrant for arson.”
“Fuck,” I sigh. “Okay. So… We gave the media everything.”
“I saw that. It will give me a chance to force an investigation. If Jeff is guilty of something, he will bolt. So, until then, just play it cool with him,” Andre says. “Tell me about the kidnapping.”
We move to the office where Chrissy and Decan have been working. Andre goes over to a large board that Chrissy goes to. She stiffens a bit, but not in a way that makes me worry about her. We go through the entire shooting, and Chrissy makes notes and draws out a basic map of the scene for reference.
“So, now we need to find out where the box was placed,” I say.
“He might have written it in more than one place, so we can look around the house if we need,” Dad says.
“That might have to be the case because he hasn’t logged anything, which means he kept everything,” Andre says. “I can get Chris and Decan into the house. Just be specific about what we are looking for.”
“I’ll write it out,” Martin says, grabbing a notepad off my desk.
“You really gonna make her go on a date with you for helping?” Bellamy asks.
“I would have helped either way, but I do enjoy seeing her beg,” Andre says coolly.
“I didn’t beg, asshole,” Chrissy snarls at him.
“This is more entertaining than it should be,” Decan laughs.
“You just wait, cuck boy. Don’t think we don’t know why he wants you there,” Julie laughs.
“Someone should muzzle you,” Decan says to Julie, making her grin. “So play nice with Jeff. Give minimal details.”
“Speaking of,” Jesse says, looking up from her phone. “He is requesting a statement.”
“I’ll have a friend of mine sit in on the statement,” Andre says. “I will work with them on a plan to get into the house.”
“So are we assuming that Jeff is a part of this?” I ask.
“From what Chris told me, I am willing to bet my empire that he and Archer are connected somehow,” Andre says. “Give me some time, and I’ll get you an answer.”
I slip out of the room so I can go upstairs. Once I had closed myself into the room, tears rolled on my face. I am drawn to the bed where Kendra’s fluffy throw blanket is. I feel so fucking lost without her. I press the blanket against my face and inhale deeply, letting her scent flood my brain. I choke back a sob when the door opens, and Bellamy comes into the room.
“Hey,” he says gently, sitting beside me. I am gripping onto her blanket for dear life, afraid this is my only connection to her.
“She’s being hurt. We walked her out of the house, promised her she’d be okay, but we knew it would happen. We knew someone would get her somehow, and we didn’t warn her,” I cry. “I feel so fucking guilty.”
“Marcus, man. I couldn’t tell her. In order for her to survive, she needs to shut down like she always does. We both know if she was given the chance, she would end up fighting back. She is much more likely to get herself killed if she fights back with her anger. Her freezing up is what will save her,” he says. “I know it’s shit, and she might even get mad at us, but she will survive. We will put every broken piece back into place. No matter what she endures, she will survive. You have to keep faith in that, or all of the planning that Chrissy and Decan have done will be for nothing. I trust my sister, and if she tells me this is what we need to do, that is what we are going to do.”
“I know,” I say quietly. “I miss her.”
“I miss her too,” Bellamy sighs.
Chapter Twenty One
Kendra
