by Lily White
Rule #3: Don’t fight if you’re suddenly abducted. Doing so will only result in the snot being beat out of you because you should have known this was coming.
Rule #4: If you break any of these rules or refuse to perform your task, your social life in Winter Ridge will be over and you will be run out of town.
After the rules were stated, the group of idiots were directed my way.
There hangs poor little Olive Reid, the dumb girl who refused to follow the crowd. Isn’t it funny how she’s crying to be tied up in the same place as another girl whose life ended so suddenly?
The fuckers laughed. Kendall and Shea, as well. But I could tell, even from a distance, that they felt sorry for me. They wanted to help. I was pretty sure about that. Unfortunately they were just too weak to go against Soren or his asshole cronies.
Eventually everybody broke apart from the meeting to separate into their different groups, the night wearing on as the bonfires slowly died out and people stumbled down the path to their cars to go home for the night.
There were only a few people left in the clearing when the first raindrops fell. I was completely numb by that point, both emotionally and physically. My heart couldn’t take any more panic and my mind had already accepted that I was going to be left out here to die.
It’s strange how you can accept the certainty of death when it’s staring you in the face. We spend our lives trying not to think about it while still running from the grave, but when the ground finally opens up and you’re staring at eventuality, all the static of the outside world becomes quiet because it fails to matter anymore.
The last bonfire died and in the distance the beam of a flashlight struck through the trees. Squinting my eyes, I watched as Soren and Quinton grabbed the chairs they’d sat in all night to stash them behind some bushes, their broad shoulders disappearing around the bend down the path.
And wouldn’t you know it.
I wasn’t done panicking yet.
“Soren!” I screamed, but I knew he couldn’t be bothered to look back at me. I was going to die out here as some ridiculous prank, the ropes creaking above me over the branches of two trees.
“Soren!”
Screaming bloody fucking murder didn’t help, the sound echoing across the expanse of Grey Lake, bouncing like a stone toward summer cabins that had been locked up tight when the first sign of Fall rushed in.
Tears streamed down my face at the same time the sky opened up with rain.
I would die out here.
Alone.
With the ghostly face of Teagan McKay staring directly at me.
You should have heard the scream that volleyed from my throat when an hour had passed and two hands reached from the shadows to grab my shoulders.
Deep laughter was the only sound that answered me.
“Chill the fuck out, Olive. Did you actually think I’d leave you all night? We were just messing with you.”
Soaking wet, my hair clung to my face and my clothes weighed me down even more. Beneath me, the dirt had become mud, the rain at least soothing the burning where the rope had ripped at my skin.
It was even more painful to be freed after hanging there for who knows how long.
I groaned when Soren eased my arms down to my sides, and I fell against him when discovering that my legs were too weak to hold my body up.
Wrapping his arm beneath my knees, he lifted me to cradle against his chest. My eyes opened and closed sporadically as he carried me down the path to his car. I didn’t remember the ride home.
“You’re a dick,” I said as he dropped me into my bed that night.
“You should have pledged.”
Burying my wet face into the pillow, I shook my head. “It’s never going to happen.”
He didn’t answer me. Not that he had to.
Soren had his ways of getting what he wanted. It was only a matter of time before I broke and said yes.
. . .
How I made it to school on time the next morning, I’ll never know. But the second the sun rose above the horizon, my eyes had peeled open, panic setting inside my chest again when I remembered what happened at the party.
My entire body ached from having been strung up. I stood in the shower until the water turned cold, laughing to myself that those fuckers would have to wait a few hours for their showers unless they wanted their dicks to shrivel while their balls retreated inside their bodies.
I tried to ignore how lame it was that my revenge for being victimized in the middle of the woods was a cold shower or the inconvenience of an hour-long wait.
Rolling my eyes at how fucking pathetic I was, I brushed my hair and pulled on the standard Winter Ridge Prep uniform of a grey pleated skirt and a white shirt with the academy’s emblem sewn onto the right chest.
My keys were in hand when I snuck down the stairs and through the living room. I’d expected to find one or two of them sleeping on the couch due to our lack of available bedrooms, but I was alone for the most part. It suited me just fine. I wasn’t sure I could see one of their faces without wanting to punch it.
Shoving an apple between my teeth for breakfast, I made my way to the driveway to discover Nolan’s bike was missing. Either he didn’t come home last night from Camilla’s house, or he left for work bright and fucking early.
Either way, I’d be giving him an earful when I saw him next, both to bitch about him leaving me to the wolves and to beg him to put the wolves on leashes demanding they leave me the fuck alone.
Although, I couldn’t claim it was all his fault. He’d warned me to stay away and my dumb ass hadn’t listened.
Lesson learned and all that. The same mistake wouldn’t happen again. As long as I could avoid Soren then the incident from last night would stay in the past without another word spoken about it.
It was too bad the senior class of Winter Ridge didn’t feel the same way.
Almost immediately when I pulled into a parking spot of the student’s private lot, several people turned their heads my direction, their hands moving to cover mouths that were undoubtedly laughing to remember how I’d been strung up, or whispering to others the sordid tale of the girl who was stupid enough to defy Soren Callahan.
Ignoring them, I crossed the lot to enter the school, a blast of warm air hitting my face to chase away the chill that stuck to my body like a rubber suit. My shoulder ached where I carried my bag, so I rushed to my locker to dump some of my books.
It took me three tries with shaky fingers to spin the correct combo into the lock, the door clanging open as a waterfall of papers tumbled out.
Glancing down at my feet, bile shot up my throat while a chorus of quiet laughter erupted around me.
Scanning the hall, I realized I was still the entertainment for the pledges that had made a Faustian bargain the night before.
The pictures of me strung up had scattered over the floor, but when I bent down to pick them up, I took the time to examine one.
Not me.
My throat closed almost instantly to keep from vomiting.
I was looking at the pictures taken of Teagan McKay when she was found over two years ago.
Naked.
Hanging.
With dead eyes and a slack jaw.
You could see clearly where her skull had been crushed in and the bruising that was barely covered by makeup applied to her face.
“You sick fucks!”
I turned to meet the eyes of every asshole that laughed at me, but found I was mostly alone now. Many of them had snuck off.
Half tempted to leave the pictures scattered where they lay, I cursed beneath my breath and took the time to gather them up.
Nobody deserved to have their body displayed so callously.
After dumping them in a garbage can, I grabbed what books I needed and hurried to class.
Avoiding Soren wouldn’t be enough, apparently, not when he had a merry gang of assholes to fuck with me while he wasn’t around to do it himself.
Taking my seat at the back of the class while studiously avoiding the stares and quiet snickers of the students that surrounded me, I settled in my seat and accepted the fact that life in Winter Ridge was about to become a hell of a lot harder.
And wasn’t it just lucky me that I had the ringmaster living in the same house, leaving me no possible way to escape.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Jonah
Simon was bleary eyed by the time I walked into the conference room that morning. With a white shirt unbuttoned at the collar and the sleeves rolled past his forearms, he sat folded over a stack of documents, his focus intent on whatever he was reading.
“Late night?”
My question echoed through the room as brown eyes crawled up to meet mine, the sclera streaked and bloodshot.
“Some of us have a case to solve. We don’t have time to worry about getting our beauty sleep.”
Voice rough with exhaustion, he was on the defensive already.
Sitting back in his seat, Simon groaned while scrubbing a meaty hand down his face, that same hand dropping to the table to wrap around a coffee mug with steam rising off the black liquid.
“What did you find out from Tristan? I tried calling him last night, but he didn’t answer.”
Pulling a seat from the table, I sat down and tugged my sleeve cuffs into place over my wrists.
“I haven’t finished reading all the witness statements, but I was wondering if you’ve already taken the time to speak with Nolan Reid.”
Simon took a sip of coffee with his eyes pinning me from over the rim of the mug. Swallowing loudly, he was careful to set the mug back on the table. Despite his care it still landed with a heavy clunk.
“I didn’t see a reason to speak with him.”
“He was Teagan’s boyfriend,” I argued. “And from what Tristan told me, she was cheating on him with Soren Callahan. It could be enough of a reason for killing her. Men have done worse for less.”
Simon’s fingers curled into his palm, the skin staining red and white as blood was trapped and diverted with the effort.
“I won’t deny the thought occurred to me. But Nolan didn’t have the same resources as Soren to hide a body for a week. His family was barely keeping the roof over their head. It wasn’t like he has a spare house where nobody could hear the girl scream.”
His hand relaxed as his body slouched further into the seat.
“Plus, Nolan drives a motorcycle. It’s not the most useful vehicle for transporting a body.”
“He could have lured her to wherever she was held,” I countered.
“Yeah, but how would he have taken her to The Pointe when she was limp?”
I understood his reasoning, but the train of thought was lazy at best. Desperate people are always able to find ways to commit nefarious acts. It didn’t matter what was immediately available to them. Given enough time and incentive, they would find a way.
His hesitance had more to do with his stubborn focus on Soren than the excuses he’d devised to clear Nolan.
Remembering Olive’s odd behavior, together with the white lies she told, I wasn’t willing to stop looking in several directions due to my certainty that there could only be one.
“I’d like to talk to him, if you don’t mind.”
Shoulders shaking with a bark of laughter, he waved his hand.
“Be my guest. You’ll only be wasting your time. I’ll save you some digging and tell you that he works as a motorcycle mechanic at Sigmund’s Automotive in Seattle. The kid took a job there after his parents died to help support his sister. She would have gone into foster care if he didn’t give up his partying lifestyle to become her official guardian.”
Brows drawing together at that information, I didn’t miss the sly smile that curled Simon’s lips.
“Doesn’t sound like the type who would kill a girl for cheating, does it?” Another bark of laughter. “Spin your wheels all you want, Jonah, but I’ve already covered a lot of the bases. Soren killed Teagan. When this is all said and done, that’s the only answer you’ll be left with.”
That remained to be seen. Regardless, I promised every bit of information I found and there was one more detail to discuss.
“I went home last night and met with my brother, Calvin.”
Simon’s chair creaked when he shifted his posture. Picking up a sheet of paper, his eyes scanned the words written across it. “Oh yeah? How’s the freak doing these days?”
My blood boiled to hear his words, but I didn’t take the bait. Calvin had never been accepted by any of the kids in Crayton. After suffering a few years in school, he eventually convinced my mother to teach him at home, his retreat into isolation complete by the time he was twelve years old.
“He’s fine. Thanks for asking.”
Simon smirked without looking at me.
“As you know, he prepared Teagan’s body for burial. He mentioned to me that her hair had been chopped off. I checked the medical examiner’s report last night, but no mention was made of it. Did the family bring that detail to your attention? Is it noted somewhere in the file?”
“I’m not sure why it matters-“
“Because why would a person take the time to wash the body, brush what hair was left and apply makeup after mutilating her?”
“A haircut isn’t mutilation.”
“It’s a clue, Simon. One that I’m assuming by your lack of interest was missed.”
Hand wrapping over his mug, he squeezed tight enough that I was concerned it would shatter. His eyes lifted to mine.
“It doesn’t fucking matter. I know Soren killed Teagan-“
“How?”
“- because the fucker strung another girl up last night.”
Stilling in place, I glared across the table.
“He killed someone else? Why didn’t you call me? Why are we still sitting here if you have evidence that he’s murdered another woman?”
Laughing a full baritone chortle, he lifted his mug to take a sip. Thick throat working to swallow, he set it back down with another heavy clunk.
“Because he didn’t kill her. You see, while you were busy talking to Tristan and visiting your brother, some of us were doing real police work. And after catching wind that Soren was throwing a welcome home party at The Pointe last night, I decided to crash the fucking thing and learn what I could.”
Apparently the exchange of information wasn’t a two way street, not immediately at least. I understood then just how difficult it would be to fully investigate this case when I was working with a man who would keep some of the playing cards to himself until they were no longer useful.
Rather than reacting with anger as he’d probably hoped, I straightened my posture in my chair.
“Tell me what you learned.”
“Not much more than the identity of his new pledges and the rules they have to follow.”
He scoffed, his head falling back from exhaustion.
“Kids these days. You’d think they’d be more creative than to steal rules from an old movie.
“Nobody talks about fight club...” He deadpanned, shaking his head. “Dumbasses.”
“Beyond that,” I prodded. “What do you mean he strung a girl up?”
Lowering his head, he rolled it over his shoulders, bleary eyes meeting mine.
“Prior to their little meeting, I was able to sneak into the woods surrounding them. I was close to the lake, but hidden. Apparently they took issue with Olive Reid because they tied her up in the same place and position as Teagan. She screamed for a while, obviously seriously pissed off.”
Surprise lifted my brows. “And you didn’t do anything to help her?”
Simon shrugged a disinterested shoulder.
“I would have stepped in if they’d tried to hurt her, but from what I could tell, they’d only done it as a screwed up prank. After the party ended, they let her down. No harm, no foul. You know?”
I didn’t know. In fact, I was pissed off beyond reas
on to hear about it. But I knew better than to butt heads with Simon over the error in judgment. It would only shut him down and make this case impossible to solve.
My thoughts returned to Olive, to the meek behavior she’d displayed before I mentioned her brother. She may not have been the type to stick up for herself, but she was fiercely protective of Nolan.
What was running through her head to be tied up? What would she allow them to do to her in the future?
“Should we assign a security detail to watch her? One cop to keep tabs and make sure she doesn’t become the next body found near Grey Lake?”
Simon grunted.
“Hey, it’s not my problem if she is stupid enough to let Soren crash at her house. The police force doesn’t have the resources to waste a cop on babysitting duty. If she’s scared, and if she’s smart, she’ll come to us. In the meantime, I’ll keep an eye on Soren’s new pledges. If I can catch that son of a bitch connected to even a minor crime, I’ll toss his ass back in jail for it.”
“And when he gets out again?”
“Rinse and repeat,” Simon answered. “At least until I’ve had enough time to find what is needed to put him away for good for murder.”
His dismissive tone of voice indicated the conversation was over. Taking the hint, I rose from my seat to begin my day.
“I’ll speak with Nolan Reid today. After that, I’ll hunt down Kendall Warner.”
Simon’s gaze shot to mine. “Why Kendall?”
“I’d like to know what happened with Soren that caused her to retreat and be homeschooled.”
“Nobody talks about-“
“I get it. But she might be willing to talk, so it won’t hurt to ask questions.”
Attention returned to the file in front of him, Simon shook his head.
“Keep spinning those wheels, Jonah. You’re only kicking up mud in the process.”
“How can you be so sure?”
A brow cocked above his eye.
“Because Kendall Warner was at that party last night, and despite what happened two years ago, she was one of the new pledges.”