Twenty minutes later, Quinn stepped out of Kyle’s car, the wind’s evening chill stinging her cheeks as she embraced the cool night air. She clutched what minimal warmth her slim jean jacket offered, pulling it closed. A noise rang out into the night. It was close by. Quinn passed it off as nothing more than a piece of litter clanging down the empty street. At first. On second thought, she decided it had to be something else. The sound occurred a single time and never replicated. It was distinct, a jangle, like dropped keys.
She surveyed the area. Her parents’ house was dark. So were most of the others in the immediate vicinity. Aside from Kyle and herself, no one else was around.
Or were they?
Moments earlier, when Kyle turned down her street, they passed a truck parked a few houses down. It looked like one she’d seen before. Now she was sure it was the same truck.
She stood for a brief moment. Still. Waiting. Maybe even hoping she’d hear something again—hone in on the exact location the noise came from. But the night’s wind had softened, quieted again. A feeling erupted inside her, an irritated festering that conjured up her inner alter-ego, an untapped side of herself she’d never explored.
Although the cold permeated her to the core, she took her time walking around to the other side of Kyle’s car. He was already outside, leaning against the driver’s-side door.
He smiled as she approached. “Are we good?”
She nodded. “I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier.”
He swished a hand through the air. “Nah, don’t be. You’re on edge about Evie. I understand.”
He reached a hand out, pulled her close. She bristled at his touch—not because she didn’t welcome the gesture of affection—she just didn’t welcome it from him. They were friends, and no matter what his intentions were, it was all they’d ever be.
She pulled back, forced a smile. “Let’s get together again soon, okay?”
Kyle brushed his lips across her cheek. “Count on it. Don’t make me wait too long now, ya hear?”
Keep it together, Quinn. Just a few more seconds. He’s watching.
The entire charade felt like a theatrical presentation, with her in the starring role. Except she wasn’t performing to an audience of thousands, or an audience of hundreds. Tonight all the world wasn’t a stage as Shakespeare once quoted. It was a low-budget set created for an audience of one.
Kyle’s car eased out of Quinn’s parents’ driveway. She waited until all that remained were a set of taillights before saying, “You can come out now. I know you’re there.”
Nothing happened.
“Don’t then,” she continued. “Make things even more awkward between us than they already are.”
Bo stepped out of the shadows, his hands stuffed in his coat pockets, a bewildered look on his face. Whether it was because he’d been caught, or because he didn’t know what to make of what he’d just witnessed, she didn’t know. And she didn’t want to know either.
“How’d you know I was here?” he asked.
Quinn avoided him, walked toward the apartment. She punched the door code in, stopping for a moment before twisting the knob. “I heard you. You dropped something.”
“Will you at least turn around and talk to me?”
“I’m tired, Bo.”
“So you’re back to ignoring me. Is that it?”
“What about what you’re doing? Stalking me, watching where I go, who I talk to. You must really want to keep me from finding out what happened to Evie.”
“I’m not trying to hurt you, Quinn. I’m trying to protect you.”
“Save it, Bo. I don’t need your protection.”
He clutched her arm, spun her around. “You keep digging, and the wrong person gets wind of it, and you could end up ...”
He withheld the last word, sucking it back in.
“Dead? Like Evie?”
“I’m just saying, you need to be careful.”
“You won’t want to hear this, but I hope her murderer knows I’m looking for him. I hope he finds me so I get the chance to take from him what he took from me.”
His eyelids closed, his head turning from side to side. “You don’t mean that, Quinn.”
She reached down and lifted the bottom of her sweater, exposing the pistol she’d hidden underneath. “I mean every word. Ruby isn’t the only one prepared to give this jerk a sendoff he’ll never forget.”
Bo released Quinn’s arm, peered down at the hardened steel. “Where did you get that?”
“I’ve had it for a while.”
“Is it loaded?”
She nodded. “And in case you’re wondering, yes, I have a permit.”
He was visibly stunned, but what she couldn’t tell was whether or not he knew she was lying. If he did, he didn’t react. The gun was registered. It just wasn’t registered to her. It was Evie’s, found in the place Quinn knew Evie kept it, stashed inside an empty tampon box in Evie’s bathroom drawer. It was just one of three stashes Evie kept around her place—two for guns, and another for what Evie called her monetary “emergency fund.”
“You can’t run around like some kind of vigilante, Quinn. This isn’t your fight.”
“I’m not interested in your advice. Why are you here?”
“I didn’t like how we left things earlier. I want to make things right between us.”
“Will you tell me what I want to know about Evie?”
“I can’t. It’s for your own good. How can I make you understand?”
She pushed the door open, stepped inside. “Go home, Bo.”
“Not until you agree to—”
“Go home.”
He took a few steps back, the glow from the porch light settling on his disappointed face. She’d pained him with her willful, sharp comments. Again.
“Are you going to start dating Kyle?” he asked.
“You’re with someone, which for reasons unknown, you kept from me. I don’t know why it matters whether I see him or not.”
“Are you?”
“I don’t know. I might. Does Simone know you’re here? Does she know you’ve spent the evening sitting in my yard, waiting for me to come home? Seems a little unfair to her, don’t you think?”
He bowed his head. “I’m sorry. You’re agitated, and me being here has only made things worse, so, I won’t stay.”
He shoved a hand into his front pocket, pulled out a tiny paper sack.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Hold out your hand.”
She did as he requested.
He placed the sack into the palm of her hand, closed her fingers around it, and backed away. “Open it, don’t open it. Whatever. I just wanted you to have it.”