Second Nature (18 page)

Defeat cloaked itself
around me. “What do you know that I don't?”

Lindsey leaned forward,
taking my hands in hers. “Lainey, when we got you to the hospital, you were a
little crazy.” She sniffled and tried to smile. “The doctors put you to sleep
and kept you that way for a while—”

Vincent cut her off,
“While you were sleeping, the killer sent another picture of Jake. Some of us
don't think it could be faked. Some of us do.”

“Let me see it.”

Lindsey’s face paled.
“No. You don't want to see this.”

Vincent pulled his phone
from his pocket and flashed the picture as my father shook his head. My mother
looked away. I lifted the phone, gasping at the horrible sight. My hand lifted
to my mouth, covering it for a moment before zooming the picture in.

His throat was slit,
dripping blood down his torso and onto the floorboards around him. His hands
and feet were tied to the wall, like a prisoner in a medieval dungeon.

Old dried blood stained
his beautiful body that was stripped to his boxers. The ropes on his wrists and
ankles had dug in, like he’d fought. Like he’d been alive when they tied him
up.

“See how you can tell he
fought. He was alive when you—” Vincent stopped himself as the cold hard
truth slapped me in the face.

“When I left him and ran
like a coward.”

He didn't argue the
sentence. He took his phone back as Lindsey sobbed and my mother hugged me
tighter. My father shook his head, outraged. “I don't know what you think a
hundred-and-twenty-pound girl can do against someone who can lift Jake or their
cook. Have you seen that woman? You never stood a chance. You would either be
with Jake now, or dead, Lainey. That's the reality.”

Vincent stared at me, his
green eyes probing mine. “He’s right. You didn't stand a chance.” Fire burned
in his gaze. “But you aren’t alone anymore, and we aren’t going to sit back and
watch this unfold.”

“We will be leaving this
to the authorities. And you girls will stop keeping things to yourselves.
Surely you see how dangerous this is?” My dad sighed heavily, but I nodded. He
and Vincent were both right. Alone I would never have won against someone with
weapons and size. And being the girl I was, I would never have been able to
fight back on a playing field like that—none of us could have. We didn't
know the first thing about violence. But we as a group had one thing on our
side. We had unlimited resources. Connection, money, power. These were the
things we knew. They would be our form of fighting back.

Slumber party of doom

The two FBI agents from
Lindsey’s house, Ford and his boss Burnett, sat across from me. They didn't
look any more impressed than the last time I saw them.

“Tell us exactly what you
remember. Don't leave anything out.”

I sighed and started the
story, the one
we
had agreed on.
The
one that was a lie.
It was the version that left out the fact a scary
killer was stalking us. It was based around a scenario where I woke from my
nap, hearing a sound at the moment Lindsey called to see what was up.

“So then I told Lindsey
I’d heard something, and she said I should get out of the house. I tried to
wake up Jake, but he was cold. I found a dart in his arm and looked at the
closet where there was a gap in the doors. I knew the killer was there.” I
closed my eyes, reliving the next part. It was the truth. “I texted Lindsey and
told her to call 9-1-1 and then I ran. Someone lifted a gun barrel into the
gap. I saw it as I ran from the room and then I saw them—a person in
black. He chased me. I ran down the stairs, twisting my ankle.” I shuddered but
pressed on. “I made it to the guardhouse. I hid inside as the person in the
dark clothes went by the windows, moving quickly. I closed my eyes and plugged
my ears and waited for the sounds of sirens.”

The old one, Burnett, sat
quietly as the younger one, Ford, who looked like he believed everything I had
said, leaned forward. “That is quite the story. Did you happen to see a face on
this dark person? Or what type of gun it was?”

“Small barrel on the gun,
but I didn't see a face. The hood was up and it was dusk.”

“When you were running
were you aware if any of the house staff were there?” Burnett asked.

“No one was there. I was
screaming as loud as I can and no one came.”

“That doesn't happen to
girls like you, does it? You shout and they come running.” Burnett looked like
he might smile.

“And that is the end of
this interview. She is the victim, again. I will not have you harassing or
mocking her. Try to imagine what she’s just been through.” Mr. Casey got up
from behind me and walked to my side. “One of the staff will see you out.” He
smiled wide and held a hand to the doorway where my butler, Mr. Samson, was
standing.

He winked at me and
smiled at the two men. “Good afternoon, gentlemen. If you wish to follow me,
I’ll show you to the door.”

“Thank you, Samson.” Mr.
Casey clasped his hands.

The two FBI agents stood,
both giving me a look, neither one particularly friendly. Ford buckled,
offering me a bit of a smile. “Thanks again, Miss Allen.”

“Hopefully your days as
the victim are over,” Burnett said with a wry grin.

I offered nothing.

I had nothing else. I’d
given them my story. It was as truthful as I could give without endangering all
of us, Jake especially though.

Mr. Casey gave me a
sympathetic look. “I’m going to see your dad. You did great, kid. Why don't you
go have a lie down?” He left the room.

I got up and headed for
my bedroom. I didn't want to lie down. I wanted to be alone.

When I closed my bedroom
door, I pressed my back against it and touched the icon for my answering
service. There were nine unanswered messages, each one from him.

I tapped in my code and
listened to the sound of his voice. If I closed my eyes he was in the room.

“Hey, Lain. I know I
should have stopped myself. I should have known you were—that it was your
first time. God, I sound like an idiot. I’m sorry. I mean, I’m sorry and I’m
not. Why aren’t you—?”

The message ended and I
pressed the next one, desperate for more of him. Desperate for this to not be
the only way I would ever have him.

“Lainey, don't do this.
Please. I think you think it was a mistake and maybe it was too rushed—I
rushed you—but I don't even know. I just—I need you. Can you at
least read my texts? If you’re already reading them can you please message me
ba—?”

Tears streamed my cheeks,
soaking the front of my shirt.

Staggering slightly, I
made my way to my bed and collapsed, pressing start on the next message.

“Okay, look. It’s been
three days. You avoided me in the hallway at lunch. I know you’re mad at me.
Can you at least give me a chance to explain? Lainey, what can I do to fix
this?”

The heartbreak in his
voice didn't bother me anymore. It was the wasted time I could have had. If I
had only asked him about Sage and Sierra—

I lifted my finger to
press the next one when my door shot open. I jumped, ready to scream as Sierra,
the girl I had just thought about, stepped in.

Tears flooded her eyes as
she rushed me. She curled up on the bed, wrapping around me and forcing me to
snuggle her.

We didn't speak. We
didn't need to.

I pressed the voicemail,
not caring if she heard it.

“Lainey Allen, this is
Jackson Van der Wall calling, I was hoping you would consider a date with me.
I’ve thought about this a long time and should have called and asked when you
were about eleven, but I was twelve and back then it might have been
creep—”

I started to laugh a
snotty disgusting giggle.

Sierra laughed too. “He
is such a moron.”

I loved that she said is
and not was. Was, was a possibility but not one I was willing to consider.

My door opened and Sage
and Rita came through. Sage rushed the bed, jumping on Sierra and me. We became
a ball of emotional meltdowns.

Lindsey came in during a
big group cry, slowly making her way into the pile on my king-sized bed.

Without explaining,
without needing to, I pressed the next voicemail.

“Day seven.
A whole week?
Lainey, you have to give in. Remember the shower
and the way we snuggled? That was the first time for me. I don't snuggle. So it
was a first for you and a first for me. There’s other things that are firsts,
I’ve nev—”

I turned and looked at
Sierra. She shrugged. “Don't look at me, I never had sex with him.”

“Too much like sex with a
brother.” Sage laughed.

“What?” I gasped. “You
totally hooked up with him.”

“Not like—I mean.”
Her cheeks flushed as she shook her head. “Okay, I don't know how you did it.
It’s Jake. We made out a fair bit, but no matter how hard I tried to force it,
it was Jake.”

Rita lifted a hand.
“Unlike these sluts, I never made out with him. Ever.”

Lindsey shook her head.
“Me either.”

That made me laugh but it
turned to tears again. We laughed and we cried, and we didn't talk about the
plan all night.

When we woke it was a
jumbled mess of hair and legs and hands.

I groaned, stretching and
needing space and to be away from the stifling heat.

“Lain, your foot is in my
face,” Lindsey growled and tried to move in the pit.

I sat up, pulling my legs
in and shuffling to the edge of the bed with Lindsey as she moved off and
climbed onto the floor. She sat on her knees, staring at me.

“I’m sorry.”

My gaze lowered and I
nodded. “I’m getting less sorry and more pissed off.”

I got up and walked to my
closet, flipping back the wall and revealing the spider web of information I
had gathered.

“Holy shit, dude.”
Lindsey got up and walked into the large room. “You made your dressing room
into a killer clue room?”

“Yeah.” I grabbed my pen
and paper and started adding the things that had occurred since I was last
there. I hadn’t shown any of them the corkboard.

I stuck the new pictures
and clues to the right places.

“Lainey, what is this?”
Sierra rubbed her eyes, smearing mascara everywhere as she stumbled into the
closet.

“It’s everything.”

She leaned on the wall,
blinking and trying to wake up as she took it all in. This is crazy.” She
pointed at my drawings. “You draw almost as well as Sage.”

“Not even close.” Sage
laughed until she walked into the closet, then she just stared. Rita joined her
and for the first time since Rachel died, we focused all our energy on the
facts before us.

“So we still need to talk
to Lori about her job at Silver Hills. And we need to find that designer, and
we need to know why Mr. Henning. And we need to find the Van der Wall household
and Jake. I don't think Lori or the designer will have anything to do with
Jake.”

They nodded, each of them
as confused as I was.

“I can ask Vincent to
talk to Lori. She loves hi—”

“No!”

Lindsey’s eyes widened.
“Why?”

I bit my lip and
contemplated just telling them about Vincent’s mother.

“Secrets will be the
reason this killer wins,” Sage spoke softly. She didn't always add a ton of
sense to the conversation, but she had a point.

I lifted my hand and
opened the wall panel I had made specifically for that information.

I didn't say a word as
they looked up and realized Vincent and his mother were not suspects. And
Rachel’s mom wasn't an asshole.

“Oh my God! Are you
kidding me?” Sage gave me a wide-eyed look.

“Oh shit, Vince is going
to be so upset.”

“We can’t tell him.” I
gave Sage and Lindsey a look. “This isn’t our secret to share. We have to be
careful about what we say. Vincent’s dad knows the truth, and he doesn't care.
Vincent is his son. His mom made her choice.”

Lindsey swallowed hard.
“I feel sick.”

Each of our phones
buzzed, ringed, and made music at the same moment. We all jumped and lifted
them at the same time.
Maybe just as it was intended.

Getting scared now, bitches?
Because I’m
just getting started.

“Oh, come on,” Sage
moaned.

“There’s something else
you should see.” I gave in, ready to share all my clues and secrets with them.

I went and grabbed the
key to the attic and walked them to the hallway door.

We climbed the stairs to
the little haven Ashton had made for himself. The moment Sage saw him she
gasped and ran for him, jumping on the air mattress.

He woke with a start,
giving her a look and then hugging back. “Decided to spill the beans, Lain?”

“Yeah. I think it’s time
we start working as a team. If we keep doing things separately, this asshole is
going to knock us off one at a time.”

He nodded. “I heard about
Jake. You okay?”

“No. But we’re going to
find him.” I shrugged and then cocked an eyebrow. “Who told you?”

“Mazy came and let me out
and brought me food. She kept me apprised of the situation. She said she
figured the killer hadn’t actually killed Jake but had tortured him and was
keeping him alive.”

“She knew?”

“Of course she knew.
She’s smarter than all of us. The first day you were gone she was scared and
needed someone to hang with so she came up here and asked if I cared if she
slept up here. I’d assume she’s known since the beginning. She’s pretty clued
in.”

His words gave me an
idea. “If Rachel’s phone sent us a text, maybe it’s on.” Every time Vincent’s
connection tried to ping it, it was off.

Rita nodded. “We can ping
it.” She grabbed the laptop from the armchair and sat down, lifting it into her
arms. The way her fingers flew across the keyboard made me smile.

Sage looked confused
though. “Dude, what are you doing?”

“Getting my friends in
New York to ping that phone for us.” She grinned. “Lainey isn’t the only nerd
in the building. Okay, she’s the only nerd here but not the only one I’m
friends with.”

We laughed and it warmed
those deep cockles of my heart that she thought of me as a friend. We were
friends.

It hadn’t felt like we
were. We didn't talk. But I was as much to blame for that as she was.

Ashton gave me a look as Sage
cried into his neck and held him tightly. “What did you figure out about the
designer?”

“I never made it there. I
was going to ask Sage to come with me, but I got distracted.” I wished I had.
Then Jake would be here with us. We would have gone to New York instead of his
bed for a nap.

Sage wiped her face and
sniffled. “We can leave in an hour. We need to find him. We need to find Jake.”

“Okay.”

Rita gave me a look. “No
offense, but Lindsey should probably be the one to go with Sage.” She bit her
lip and gave Lindsey a look. “You naturally have that dirty boho look, sort of
already going on.”

Lindsey’s eyes narrowed
but Ashton started to laugh, making the rest of us laugh.

After a minute Lindsey
wrinkled her nose. “So we split up then? Sage and I will go to New York, find
Shuster Helmut, and you three go convince Lori to do some heavy talking about
Silver Hills. We need to ensure that Lainey’s dad’s story checks out.” Lindsey
gave me a look. “Sorry dude, but all our parents have to be triple checked. Just
in case.”