Sunday
February 11
There’s a ringing in my ears that won’t go away. I can’t believe how much bolder Jake is getting.
He’s been following us around, taking more pictures. “How have we not seen him?” I ask, collapsing on to the couch in our living room.
Sienna shrugs. “Maybe he’s changed his appearance. He was bulking up at lot before he left from all that time in the gym. He could be double the size by now. It also isn’t hard to dye your hair.”
“Maybe he’s just really good at being a creep,” Charlotte adds.
Char is right. Jake’s certainly proved that he’s intelligent and can get around undetected.
Neither cop joins us in the living room. Instead they both go into the kitchen to speak with the officer who’s been here with Chace.
Chace. Oh God, he doesn’t know yet.
I turn and shout for him. He’s going to be livid knowing we’ve been followed again, I didn’t get to look at the photos for long, so I’m not sure exactly when they were all taken, but they definitely weren’t all taken on the same day. We had on different clothes, and they were taken in multiple locations.
My body shudders, a bolt of ice shooting through my spine. How long has Jake been following us? I wish we knew what he wanted.
“Chace?” I call again and get up to find him. There’s no way he didn’t hear me. All three officers come out of the kitchen, standing in the hallway with matching frowns.
Oh no. “Chace!”
I sprint up the stairs, taking the steps two at a time. “Chace!” A herd of footsteps thud behind me as the rest of the house follows suit. I run to his door and shove it open without a second’s hesitation.
His room is empty.
My heart starts to race. I step to my room and open the door. Empty.
“Chace!” No, this cannot be happening. Not him. “Where is he? Where did he go?” I demand from the officer who was supposed to be watching out for him.
“He’s not in the bathroom either,” Charlotte says.
I can’t breathe. Why can’t I breathe?
“Whoa, Lylah. Don’t panic,” Sienna says. Her hands circle my upper arms and I stumble forward.
“Jake has him, doesn’t he? He’s going to make sure I find him and—”
“Hey!” Charlotte snaps. “Stop that. We don’t know anything yet. He could have gone for a run.”
“Without security?” I turn to the officer who’s failed at his job, and try to block my imagination from all the terrible things that could have happened. “Where is Chace? Where were you? You were supposed to be with him!”
Except the officer’s not listening to me because he’s on his phone.
He holds up his hand. “He’s okay,” he tells me, then goes back to his conversation. “Stay where you are. I’m coming.” Hanging up, the officer grinds his teeth. “Chace is fine. He skipped out. I’m going to meet him now.”
My shoulders slump in relief, and I close my eyes. “Thank God he’s safe.”
“Come on. Detective Lina will be here soon,” the officer who opened the envelope says. “Why don’t I put on the kettle and make us all some tea while we wait.”
He’s the nicest officer to accompany us so far, but they change so often I can never remember their names.
With my heart still pounding from the shock, I follow closely behind Sienna. Her presence keeps me from launching into a full-blown anxiety attack.
I sit and put my head between my knees, my mind in overdrive.
“Are you okay, Lylah?” Charlotte asks. Her voice is soft, like she’s talking to a toddler.
“I’ll be okay,” I reply, straightening. “But why would Chace leave the house alone? He knows better with Sonny and Isaac dead.”
Sienna shakes her head and folds her arms. “You’ll be able to ask him soon. Right after I’ve punched him in the stomach for being such a massive idiot!”
Despite the lack of humor in this situation, I laugh. “Take a number and get in line, Sienna.”
“Are they in the living room?” Detective Lina asks, bursting into the house and calling from the front hallway.
Where is Chace?
“Thank you,” she says to one of the officers standing out there. I hear three steps, and then she’s at the living room door. “Girls,” Detective Lina says. “Chace is safe, with an officer, and is being escorted home.” She takes the photos from the envelope. “We need to talk about these.”
“Jake’s been following us for a while. Some of these aren’t recent,” I say. “The last time Chace and I were in the editing suite before this week was a month ago, in early January, not long after we got back from the holiday break.”
She splays the photos out on the coffee table. “When would you say the others were taken?”
I take each one in. Chewing my lip, I try to think back to when I was wearing the outfits in the photos. It’s not easy considering I can’t even remember what I had for breakfast.
Sienna leans forward, blocking my view. “It’s hard to say. Most of those outfits are in the wash now. I haven’t done laundry in two weeks, so I’d say between one and two weeks.”
Wow. Sienna has two dressers jam-packed full of clothes, so it doesn’t surprise me that she can avoid laundry that long. Who would have thought one of the perks would be providing the police with an accurate timeline?
Detective Lina nods. “Okay. Thank you. Do you think any of these photos were as recent as Sonny’s murder?”
“Um, possibly. I can’t say for sure,” I reply. The others nod in agreement.
“Do you think Jake has been following us while we’ve had protection too?” Charlotte asks. If that is the case, I won’t feel safe. Ever. These undercover officers are supposed to be watching for Jake. They’re trained for that kind of thing…but they still haven’t caught him.
The officer arrives with a tray of tea, and Detective Lina is quiet while we get settled. The officer pours himself a drink and, instead of leaving the room, sits down. I don’t want to talk in front of him because I don’t want him to think I’m questioning how he’s doing his job. But in all fairness, I am questioning how he’s doing his job.
“So are you any closer to finding him?” I ask. Does he have a hit list? Does he want all of us dead? Who is he punishing? What did we do to him that was so bad? We don’t deserve this.
Detective Lina tries to reassure us, but I’m only half listening. The second I hear a key in the lock of the front door, I’m on my feet. He’s home.
Chace enters the room, smiling sheepishly. He holds up his hands. “It was stupid, I’m sorry.”
“What the hell were you thinking sneaking out?” I snap. “We were worried sick!”
“I’m sorry, Lylah. I thought I’d be back long before you got home.” His face falls. “Why are you home anyway? What happened?”
Detective Lina launches into a lecture. “Chace, we have provided protection for a reason, so—”
“You really don’t need to say it. What I did was stupid and it won’t happen again. I swear.”
She nods, satisfied that Chace is done being an idiot.
For as much as I care for him, I’m still not convinced.
“The girls were given these,” the detective says, gesturing to the coffee table.
A quiet expletive that I don’t quite catch leaves Chace’s lips.
“You got these while you were out?” he asks us, and we nod. “Jake was there. Jesus. Why is there only one with me and none of Sonny or Isaac?”
Maybe because they were already dead?
I shrug. “Some guy was paid to hand the envelope to us. Jake must have been close though. How else would he know where we were?”
“We’d only been at the bar long enough to order one round of drinks too,” Sienna says. “It makes me sick to know he was following us tonight.”
Detective Lina interjects, “Please try not to let it get to you too much. I know that’s a tough ask. We have every available officer on the streets trying to track the perpetrator down. He couldn’t have gotten far.”
She didn’t mention Jake by name. I know the police have to look at different options and that having only one suspect when there is no definitive evidence is dumb, but Jake is the only person it can be.
I glance at Chace with hope. This could be over tonight. We’ll get to be normal again.
Or a new, different normal anyway. Without Sonny and Isaac.
He smiles, seemingly to reassure me. But his eyes still show skepticism, which doesn’t ease my worry.
“He’s been tracking us and leaving us notes this whole time, and you’ve still found nothing,” Chace snaps. “Sorry, but that’s the truth. You’ve got no idea where he is, meanwhile my friends are dying.”
Why can’t a whole team of police officers and detectives find one man?
“Chace, I understand your frustrations, but I can assure you we are doing everything we can. We’re following every lead, and we will continue to do so until the killer is found.”
“Right. How many of us will be dead before you do that?” Chace storms out of the room before anyone can reply.
Chace was a lot closer to Sonny and Isaac than Sienna, Charlotte, and I were. They spent a lot of time together—hanging out, playing football, going for drinks, playing video games.
Sienna puts her hand on my shoulder. “He’ll be fine, Lylah.”
“I think I should try talking to him.” I’ve never seen Chace like this before. Worry churns away in my stomach.
Chace often makes me feel nervous; he’s the only person who has ever given me butterflies. Right now though, they are fluttering so hard I feel sick.
I excuse myself, head up the stairs, then knock on Chace’s door. He doesn’t immediately answer, but the bathroom door is open, so he must be in his room. I don’t realize I’m holding my breath until my lungs start to burn. How long has it been? Thirty seconds? Forty? Is he okay? Does he want to be left alone?
“Is it you, Lylah?” Chace calls from inside.
I suck in a massive breath in relief.
“Yeah, it’s me.”
I wait.
One. Two. Three.
He opens the door.
“I’m sorry. Despite the good morning, it’s been a shitty night.”
“Yeah. I get that.”
Chace steps aside so I can come in and closes the door behind me. I’ve been in his room hundreds of times before—we’ve even hung out together on his bed—but being here now feels different.
Chace grins and tugs my hand, pulling me back to the bed, and we lie down. He wraps his arm around my shoulders and rests the side of his head against mine.
“I’m going to have to tell Riley about what happened at the bar when I see him tomorrow,” I whisper. “He’s going to freak out. Are we going to be okay, Chace?”
He sighs. “That’s a pretty broad question. But yes to all of it.”
“Why did you go out on your own tonight?”
He sighs. “No lectures. I had to get out. The house was too quiet, and I felt the loss of Sonny and Isaac. Like, really felt it for the first time since they died. As dumb as it was, I had to get some air and be alone. I don’t think I’m going to be good company, so if you want to leave to chill with Sienna and Charlotte, I’ll understand.”
I shake my head gently and nudge my hand over his. Chace threads his fingers through mine. “We can be bad company together. I don’t want to be anywhere else.”
Chace takes a shallow breath and whispers, “Thank you.”