I can’t promise her that. “Taryn loves you, Jodie. And she has the biggest heart of anyone I know. You’ll find a way to make things right with her.”
“Will you be there when I talk to her, please?”
I chuckle. “It’s a little funny that you’re asking for my help, since a second ago you were ready to julienne me.”
“I thought you were the person behind all this mess. Can you blame me?”
“No. I can’t. Let me really text Tucker so we can all sit down together and talk about this. Maybe at our place, though. It’s better if Gen doesn’t get wind of this.”
She agrees. “No shit. She can’t have killed Tim, but I wish there was a way to pin everything on her. She’s a horrible human being.”
“No shit.” I snort.
As I open my message app to write to Tucker, my phone vibrates with a text message, and so does Jodie’s.
“What the fuck?” We both gasp.
It’s a photo of Taryn, gagged and bound to some pipes in what looks like a utility room.
Unknown: I finally got my little bitch and I’m about to have some fun. You’re invited to the party if you can figure out where we are. But don’t be late. Tick Tock.
“Shit!” Jodie cries out. “That could be anywhere.”
I state at the photo and panic makes it hard to think.
“Fuck, I got it! He’s in one of the utility rooms at the arena. Look, see behind Taryn? Every office, locker, and every other room at the arena is numbered.”
“Let’s go, Nash. I’m bringing this,” Jodie grabs the knife from the floor.
“Good idea. I’ll grab my hockey stick from the locker room on the way there.”
We run like the wind.
Thank fuck the stalker was stupid enough to give us a hint of his location.
We find the door with the numbers three, two, one, just like in the photo. It’s a utility room in the underbelly of the practice arena here at camp.
“Get ready to strike and watch your back.” I whisper to Jodie as I open the door.
“What the fuck?” She says. “Taryn isn’t here. Are you sure you got the right room?”
I open my mouth to answer her question, but something heavy crashes on my head. The last thing I hear is Jodie’s bloodcurdling scream, then everything goes black.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
MOUSETRAP
TARYN
“Thank you so much for taking me to get a new phone.”
One of Tucker’s big hands lands on my thigh as we enter the campground’s main gate. “Don’t mention it, baby. By now you should know that I’d do anything for you.”
I know he means it. “And it was nice to be able to go out with you without worrying about getting caught.”
“Yeah, about that… Coach said he would talk to your coaches, and I trust him to come through for us. But I had to tell him that we’ll go to the cops about your stalker.”
I open my mouth to object, but he reassures me. “It isn’t an immediate concern. I told him we were trying to document enough stuff to bring to the police first, so that will buy us some time. I had to lie about what happened last night, though. I just told him that you were followed. If Coach had known that you were assaulted, he would have made me call the sheriff right there and then.”
