Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 75450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
“Yes. Almost right away. I made it clear that was why I was visiting—to figure out what happened to my best friend.” She looked over at me, her face a little green. “God, he did all that… all the while knowing he was the one who killed her.”
“He was one cold, ruthless, unfeeling bastard,” I said. “Guys like that, they can usually hide their evil. Or else the townspeople would be coming with pitchforks.”
“Did he say he knew Vicky?”
“No. No, actually, he almost gave the same story you did. He said he wasn’t involved, but that he was there that night. That he saw you kill her in cold blood.”
“He mentioned me by name?”
“Yeah. Just your first name. And that you were from the States. Why would he do that?”
“Did you mention your plan?” I asked. “To kill the guy who killed Vicky?”
She sat for a second, brows furrowed. “I think I might have when we were tipsy one night.”
“He probably thought it was a great way to tie up a loose end without having to get his own hands dirty. Have you take me out. Whether you got in trouble for it or not was inconsequential to him. But he effectively would have silenced the only person who could point to him and say he was a killer.”
“But… but I wasn’t even someone who knew what they were doing.”
“Even better. Easier to manipulate. Less likely that this would come back on him in any way, shape, or form.”
She sat with that for a moment. “Okay. But then what is going on now?”
“Did Jon ever come to the States? Could he have some sort of foothold here?”
Her chin fell. Her head shook slowly side to side.
“His brother. The last time I saw him, he said his brother was coming here to go to law school.”
“His brother,” I repeated, blood going cold. “Tall, skinny, scar through his hair right here?” I ran a finger from the hairline at my temple and back.
“Yes.” She swallowed hard. “He was there, too, wasn’t he?”
I raked a hand down my face.
“It was the brother’s gun Jon used to kill Vicky.” The memory flashed of the weapon exchanging hands. “I imagine he’s here to go to law school so he has the skills it takes to keep the rest of the organization out of prison.”
“So you think his brother has been keeping tabs on me?”
“Seems like it.”
“And, what, realized I was no longer trying to kill you, because we were hanging out?”
“Best guess.”
“Why the kidnapping attempt then? Why veer from the trying to kill us thing?”
“I imagine they wanted information. That’s why they said they weren’t supposed to hurt you yet. They wanted to save the pain to use it as motivation. They likely were fishing to see if you and I had traced this thing back to Vicky yet or not. Make no mistake, though, they would have killed you after. There is no surviving being tortured. You are too much of a liability.”
“I guess I knew that. That’s why I fought so hard. Do you think Sofia is in danger?”
“I think if she was still here, yeah, she would be. But nothing about her path right now is predictable. It would be hard, if not impossible, for them to track her and hurt her. Besides, now that we have an answer, I’m gonna make sure no one can touch her.”
“You have to kill them, don’t you?”
“Listen,” I said, my tone serious, but a little soft. Because I knew this part might be hard to swallow. “I can’t talk to you about club business. It’s better for the both of us if that stays the case. You can’t be used against me then. And you don’t have to carry the weight of things that have to happen around here. But hypothetically, you don’t want the man who murdered your best friend in cold blood to live, do you? You were ready to end me for it.”
“No, I don’t think people that evil should be allowed to be walking among us.”
“I know he’s your cousin.”
“But does that actually mean anything if he lied to my face? If he was going to pin the murder on someone else, all the while comforting me about the woman he killed?”
“This kind of shit can get tricky. I’ve seen it a lot that family members are still able to love someone who did atrocious things. That ain’t me. But it might be you. And I’m not gonna judge that. Shit with family is complicated.”
“Maybe it would be complicated if this was Sofia. But it isn’t. I didn’t even know Jack until last year. I mean, I knew of him, but I didn’t know him. He might as well be a neighbor. Or some kid I went to school with. And if he was as evil as you claim he was that night, I don’t want to know him.”