Confess: A High School Bully Romance - Madison Falls High Book 3

by K. Walker

  Again.

  “Mom?” I called when I opened the door. I wasn’t ready for another conversation I wasn’t prepared for, as juicy as it might be. There was no sound, so I tossed my keys onto the counter, set my purse down next to it and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

  Still nothing.

  “Mom?!” I called louder. She couldn’t be sleeping. It was only 4:05. I set the bottle on the counter and started upstairs. Maybe she was in her room and hadn’t heard me. “Mom?” I said in a softer voice when I stood outside her door.

  I stuck my head inside, but she wasn’t there. Where was she?

  I arched my brows and poked my head through every door upstairs. She definitely wasn’t anywhere on the upper level. I jogged back down the stairs as I searched for her.

  I found her, on the back patio, her legs up on the chair and her back to the closed glass door. She had a glass in her hand, and it was almost empty.

  “Mom?”

  “Oh,” she jumped and set the glass down on the patio table. She wiped her eyes as she was turning.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, my chest swelling and my head throbbing and on the verge of a headache. I walked slowly over to her, wanting to know what was wrong, and not wanting to at the same time.

  I could barely hear her speak over my clamoring thoughts. I touched her arm, my eyes riveted on hers as I sat on the edge of the seat next to her. I wanted to cry because she’d been crying, and I was scared of what she might say.

  She sniffled and rubbed the back of my hands. “It’s Travis,” she said and sniffed again. “He’s dead!”

  Chapter 21

  Chad

  I had no love lost for Callie, but I remembered what loss felt like. Still, I wasn’t going to offer her my sympathy. She was still Callie, and a bitch through and through.

  I knew how that would end.

  “Did you hear about Callie?” Sophia asked when I met her in the hallway after last period.

  “I think everyone has by now,” I replied. “Nothing stays hidden in this town. Plus, her uncle was a big shot. I got a news blast.”

  “Oh,” she replied.

  “Move it, dweeb!” Callie fired at a freshman who was apparently walking too slowly in front of her. The kid swerved and crashed into a locker, just so she could pass.

  Her hair swished across her back as she walked, and she clutched her purse to her chest like she was hanging on for dear life.

  “She’s hurting,” I told Sophia. “She doesn’t act like it because she doesn’t know how to. In her family, you never show weakness. I swear, they’re like the Japanese Samurai.”

  She giggled. “I didn’t mean to laugh, but the way you said that…” she stopped and glanced after Callie. “Maybe I should say something. I remember how I felt when Rachel died.”

  “And I remember losing Robby, but going to Callie?” I asked and swiped my hand under my neck. “Kill that idea. She’ll eat you alive. Look at her.”

  She did. Callie was swatting students as she walked, calling them names, jeering the weak, and being condescending even to her friends.

  “You’re right,” she whispered. “I’ll stay away from her—at least, for now.”

  “I need to go now, though. Brody and I are headed to the PD to set up this thing so we can get it over with.”

  “Oh,” she said as her eyes widened. “Was your Dad okay with the new plan? Having Brody introduce a buyer?”

  “It was better than getting Brody exposed so…”

  “Okay,” she said and reached up to kiss me on the cheek. “Be careful, and call me as soon as you’re done. I need to know that you’re okay—both of you.”

  “I will.”

  “Chad?” Brody called from behind me. “Are you ready?”

  “Yeah!” I yelled back and walked off to meet him.

  “Is this going down today?” Brody asked as we walked to the parking lot.

  “Maybe. I’m not sure. Let’s go find out how this thing will play out.”

  Detectives Willis and Taylor were both waiting for us when we arrived at the precinct. They both rose from their desks as soon as we entered the building.

  “Boys!” Willis said grimly. “Good to see you.”

  “Wish we could say the same,” I replied grudgingly. “Where are we doing this?”

  Taylor ushered me out of the building. “Not everyone knows about this, so keep your voices down.”

  “This is legit, right?” I wanted to know.

  “Of course, it’s legit,” Taylor answered through clenched teeth. “But not everything that goes on in there is every police officer’s business. Catch my drift?”

  I nodded. “Fine. What’s the plan?”

  They looked at each other. “You sure you want to do it like this?” Willis asked and toyed with the badge around his neck.

  “No, we don’t want to do this at all,” Brody snarled. “But we have to, don’t we?”

  “Pretty much,” Willis replied. “If you want to stay out of juvie.”

  Brody growled and I gripped him in the shoulder. “Okay, so spill. How’s this going down?”

  “Since you won’t be handling any product, you just need to introduce me to Lin. Tell him I’m interested in moving weight.”

  “And how do I know you?” Brody asked Willis. “Just in case he asks.”

  “I’m from your block. Make something up. This was your idea, albeit a better one than sending you directly into the line of fire. You’ll still need to wear a wire. Taylor will be outside with two other officers. They’ll come in if anything goes wrong.”

  Brody swept his thick hair backward nervously. ‘Oh, man,” he mumbled and stared off into the distance. “Okay, come on. Let’s do this.”

  He started walking back towards my car.

  “No, you’re not going in that. We’re using our surveillance vehicle,” Taylor said and motioned to us to follow him.

  It was just like the movies – white van that resembled the kind used by journalists and bank robbers. Classic. We were ushered through the back door, where we met a quirky looking man with beady eyes staring at a monitor.

  He bumped his head when we entered and he tried to stand to shake our hands. “Ow,” he smiled nervously. “I’m Gabriel. Sit over there. Nell will set you up with the wires, and I’ll test the frequency.”

  Nell was the female cop who was fiddling with a briefcase. She was wearing glasses and had her hair caught in one – sort of like Felicity in Arrow.

  “I’m Nell. Please remove your shirts,” she said matter of fact and lifted out something that looked like earphones.

  I glanced at Brody and then back at Willis and Taylor who were standing outside the van by the doors. We did as she said.

  It was weird feeling her cold fingers touching my chest. She didn’t look at us as she worked quickly, taping the device to our skin.

  “All set,” she told Gabriel and sat back down.

  “Say something,” Gabriel said as he tuned something on the keyboard in front of him.

  “Like what?” Brody asked.

  “Anything,” Gabriel replied. “Your name. How are you? I just want to make sure the mics are working.” He looked back at us, and his beady eyes glistened.

  “My name is Chad, and I hate this!” I said with a perky smile.

  Gabriel shuffled nervously and glanced behind me at the Detectives. “Okay, that mic is fine. Now, yours,” he told Brody.

  “Can we just get going already?”

  “That one works too,” Gabriel replied. “All set, guys.”

  I couldn’t believe Gabriel was a real cop and that he was going to be back up. I turned to the Detectives. “Is he coming with us, because I don’t think…”

  “He’s going to be manning the equipment and listening in. If there’s any trouble, he’ll call us,” Taylor said and motioned to his right, “and them.”

  We leaned out the van to see two other cops approaching – two that looked like Hobbs and
Shaw from the Fast and Furious franchise. I felt a little better.

  “Hey, I’m Cooper,” the one that looked like Hobbs said, in a voice just as gruff.

  “And I’m Palmer,” the other cop said. “Let’s roll, if we’re all set.”

  “We are,” Taylor said, and Cooper and Palmer climbed into the van. Taylor and Willis walked around to the front. Willis was going in with us.

  It was the most uncomfortable ride I had ever taken. We sat, too close together, in the van while Gabriel toyed with his device and Hobbs and Shaw glared at us.

  “So, you guys do this often?” I asked to ease some of the tension.

  Cooper smiled slowly. “Not really. You boys must be special.”

  “Very funny, wise guy,” I replied. “I didn’t see Willis with a wire. Does he have a wire, because I’m not doing this again?”

  “He’s wearing a wire,” Palmer replied, in a more reassuring voice.

  My phone buzzed then and I fished it out. It was Dad. I swiped the red button and texted him instead.

  Chad: Can’t talk now. I’m with the cops heading to Main Street.

  Dad: Chad, I told you to call me first.

  Chad: Sorry, got caught up. But we’re fine. We’re with the Expendables.

  Dad: You’ve got jokes at a time like this?”

  Chad: As opposed to what? Anyway, I’ll call you when it’s over.

  I knew he was probably pacing his office floor. And I hoped he hadn’t bothered to mention anything to Cheryl, although I was pretty sure he had.

  “Everything good?” Cooper asked with concern in his voice.

  “Yeah,” I replied. “That was my dad.”

  He leaned forward and rested his hands on his thighs. His gray eyes burned into mine, intense and fierce. He was a seasoned Detective – I could tell. He had seen his share of shit.

  “Are you ready for this?” he asked sincerely.

  I sighed and looked at a nervous Brody. He did too. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

  “I’m sorry you boys had to get mixed up in this shit. But you’re already in it. Just do what you gotta do, and everything will be fine. Don’t overdo it,” he advised and looked from one to the other. “Don’t act out of character. We don’t want any issues. I don’t want to have to come in there.”

  The way he said that made me feel like it was a threat, like if he had to come in, it would be bloody and messy.

  “Alright,” I said and nodded. Brody simply shook his head and twiddled his thumbs.

  “We’re here, guys!” Taylor shouted from the front. He turned and looked back at us through the grilled partition.

  “You’re up,” Cooper said.

  I sucked in a deep breath and waited for Detective Willis to open the door. He did and we hopped out.

  “You remember what to do, right?” he asked.

  “We’re not idiots,” I snapped and walked off. “You have the cash? That would be more convincing.”

  He shook his head and reached inside the front of the van. He pulled out a duffel bag.

  “A duffel bag? Not a briefcase?” Brody wanted to know as his brows dipped.

  He held it up. “Yeah. I wanted to look like a drug dealer, not a member of a cartel,” he said and rolled his eyes. “Come on.”

  We walked up to the aluminum shutter and rapped on the opening. Lin’s security opened the hatch, and then the door started rolling up.

  He nodded towards the back when we walked through and then rolled down the shutters again.

  “I hope you have a plan for that other than —it’s the police, open up,” I warned when I looked back at the door.

  “We do,” Willis replied. “Just keep walking. We’re not friends.”

  We did as he said and walked past the garage section and through some plastic flaps to a room in the back. Lin was sitting on a stool, waiting for us. He stood as soon as we entered.

  “You’re back again?” he asked and pointed at me. “I don’t like you.”

  “That makes two of us, but I already told you how this is going to go,” I said angrily. “Brody’s not doing this alone. Besides, that’s not even why he’s here. This is the guy…”

  “Hey!” Lin said and held up his hand. “I don’t need to hear from you.” He turned to Brody. “This, your guy?”

  “Yep. Just like I told you. He’s interested in moving some weight. And not the small stuff.”

  “Is that so?” Lin asked and walked around Willis, who just stood still, the duffel bag in his hand. “What’s in the bag?”

  “Show of faith,” Willis told him. “I wanted you to see how serious I am about this buy. I have some clients, but I need a steady supply. My boy here tells me you’re just the guy for this.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Lin asked and sniffed, as was his habit. “You know, I have to trust the people I do business with, and I don’t know you.”

  “I know, but doesn’t every good business partner start out that way?” Willis asked confidently, never taking his eyes off of Lin.

  Lin chuckled. “Okay, I feel you. How much you got in the bag, and what do you need?”

  ‘Why don’t you tell me what you have, and see if we can work something out,” Willis said and slapped the duffel bag on the table. He opened it up and revealed stacks of money. “I can pay for whatever.”

  Lin reached in and picked up a stack. “That’s what I’m talking about.” He walked right up to Willis. “If I find out I can’t trust you, this isn’t going to end well.”

  I watched the exchange like I was in a trance, while Brody crossed his arms over his chest.

  Lin stood surveying all of us for a couple of seconds before he walked over to Brody. “If this isn’t real…if he fucks with me…you’re going to have hell to pay.”

  “Okay, so does this mean you don’t need me right now? I already got my products so…”

  “No, you stay right there. I’ll be back.”

  He walked back through the flap and Willis turned to Brody. “Keep it together, son. We’re on the home stretch now.”

  Brody nodded, moments before Lin returned with a package. “There,” he said and handed the bag to Willis.

  “What’s this?” the Detective asked even as he began to open the parcel.

  “Crystal and heroin, for starters. Let’s see how fast you can move that, and then we’ll go from there.”

  “This is it? Come on, man. Surely you can do better than this? I have a lot of clients. I need more than a paper bag of products like I’m some fucking junkie.”

  “Look, man, I don’t know you. I’m not giving you more than that. Take it or leave it.”

  Willis grimaced. “Fine. But you better have more for me next time.”

  “If there’s a next time,” Lin said right away.

  “How much do I owe you?” Willis asked and reached for the bag.

  “Hundred large,” Lin said and rubbed his hands. He cocked his head to the side and watched as Willis fished the amount out of the bag.

  “Is that good enough?” Willis asked and handed him the money.

  “Yep,” he said as he thumbed through the bills.

  We nodded and started walking off. We were through the flaps and Willis was walking out behind us when Lin spoke.

  “You think I’m stupid, don’t you?”

  Willis turned. “What do you mean?”

  “You’re a cop, aren’t you?” he asked and walked menacingly over to us. “You set me up,” he said and pointed at Brody.

  “Cop? Man, what kind of nonsense is that?” Willis barked.

  “Okay, if I’m wrong, lift up your shirt. Show me you’re not wearing a wire,” he demanded and started reaching for something in his waist.

  Willis glanced over at us. “Double time!” he said.

  We looked at each other. “What?” I asked.

  He winked and turned back to Lin. “Look, you might be kinky, but I’m not. If I were a cop, wouldn’t I have already busted you?”

  “Not really,�
� Lin said and eyed the bag in Willis’ hand.

  Willis held it up. “Nervous that you’ve already shown your hand?”

  Lin pulled his gun and aimed it at Brody. “I told you what would happen if you fucked with me!” he spat, and saliva sprayed from his mouth.

  “You don’t want to do that,” Willis said and held his hands out. “Just let them go.”

  “Let them go?” He turned the gun at me, and my hands shot out instinctively.

  “Whoa!” I yelled. “What the hell, man?”

  “I never liked you,” Lin snarled.

  “Lin, you’re being paranoid!” Brody yelled. “Stop waving that thing at me.”

  “I don’t trust him,” Lin said and sniffled.

  “Then why did you sell him your products?” I asked. “Just cut the…”

  A loud banging on the door disrupted us. “Police!”

  Lin’s eyes widened. “I fucking knew it,” he said as he tried to grab me.

  I ducked and squatted before swiping his foot clean from under him. He fell and the gun slid on the floor. Willis kicked it away and pulled his gun. He walked over to Lin and aimed the gun at him. “You’re under arrest,” he said as he knelt on the ground and cuffed Lin.

  He was reading him his rights when I nodded at Brody and we started walking out. There weren’t many people in the building – Lin had always kept it low key, to make it appear like a garage of sorts.

  I grinned and slapped Brody on the shoulder as we approached Taylor, who had cuffed the security guard and the mechanic on duty.

  “Nice work, boys,” he said when he got to us.

  “So, we’re square?” Brody asked.

  “Not until you give us the products you mentioned about earlier,” Taylor said and folded his arms.

  “Oh, right. I’ll take them in tomorrow, but you’d better not bust me for it,” Brody warned.

  Taylor chuckled. “Bring it in, and you’re all set.”

  “Good,” Brody breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Come on, let’s wrap this up. We’ll have the DEA over in a couple of minutes. This should be a large one,” Taylor said as Willis shoved Lin ahead of him and out the door.

  “I’m glad I didn’t get shot,” I said to Brody as we watched them load up the van.