“I’m not going to tell anyone,” I admitted.
“I know you’re not.” His smile was sad.
I quickly added. “Not because you’d kill me too. But because…well…I want you to succeed.”
He studied me for a moment. “Shut off the light, Rae.”
I did.
Standing there, I waited for him to load the body in the back of an SUV. Under the shelter of the garage, out of the rain, I didn’t warm up, but I didn’t grow any colder. The shaking stopped after a minute, and by the time he slammed the trunk, I was feeling better.
“You’re drenched.” Nico came up behind me, opening the passenger door. “I’ve got the seat warmer on.”
Right before I could accept the offer, my phone rang. I frowned and glanced at the screen. A number I unfortunately had memorized stared back at me.
I held up a finger and stepped deeper into the garage. The familiar smell of gasoline washed through me as I answered.
“I told you that I never wanted to hear from you again,” I snapped.
“Hi to you too, bitch.” The voice was slurred. Reed was probably drunk, maybe high.
“What do you want?” I ground out, knowing he wasn’t going to answer. I had called an old friend to wish her happy birthday. The way the gossip vines spread, a bunch of my old acquaintances probably knew I was in Boston now.
There was a fumbling, as if the loser I’d been dating before I left was fishing around for something. “I just called to say hi.”
“I swear, you ain’t got the sense god gave a goose,” I muttered. “No means no, jackass.”
“Okay, fine. I didn’t want to say hi, but heads up, Devlin is looking for his dope.”
I froze. Staring at the dark wall of car cleaners, I felt the rug slip out from under me. The world tilted, and I was in danger of falling.
“What did you do?” I hissed.
“Just told him I couldn’t move it while I was in prison,” my no-good ex muttered. “Figured you’d wanna know he’s lookin’ for you.”
“You asshole!” But the call beeped before I could finish.
“Rae?” Nico called from where he stood.
He wouldn’t have heard what my ex-boyfriend said. But he would have heard enough.
“I can’t come with you,” I stammered. “I have to go.”
Nico blocked the exit, his body soaking up any light. “Where are you going?”
Yes, where was I going? “To bed.”
I would figure the rest out later.
“Sorry, you can—” I gestured to the SUV “—manage without me?”
One slow, long nod. I skirted around the other side of the vehicle, called a goodnight over my shoulder, and took off into the rain. Fear hounded my steps, and I was gasping and panting by the time I reached my uncle’s house. This shouldn’t be happening. It was hard to believe it was real! I came to Boston for a fresh start and to earn some real money. I left so I didn’t get in this kind of trouble. And now the small-town trash’s shit followed me. I didn’t doubt the junkie racecar driver for a second. Of course, Reed would sell me out. At least he’d had the decency to call and warn me.
Chapter 22 – Nico
Something changed.
I crossed my arms and leaned back against the spliced, marble pillar decorating the wall. When Rae ignored me the first time, it was because she didn’t want to draw attention to herself after our initial meeting at the pub. Tonight, and the last few days, she’d avoided me for another reason. One that made my imagination run wild.
