“Oh my God. It was. She opened the locket and saw my initials and decided to torment me.” Anger sizzles up my spine, heating my face.
Without another word, I stumble toward the door.
“Ryan,” he calls after me.
“Where is she?” I growl. “Where the fuck is she?”
I burst into the hallway, stomping toward the neighboringroom and flinging the door open. It’s definitely Nikki’s, judging by the clothing all over the floor and the makeup strewn across her vanity table, but there’s nobody in here.
“Ryan, stop.”
I race toward the stairs, Everett calling after me. I ignore him and take the steps two at a time, so mad I can taste it. I’m going to wring Nikki’s neck when I find her. But first I have to find her. The living room is empty. Same for the kitchen.
Where the hell is she?
I throw the front door open, but before I can make it off the porch, Everett is right behind me, reaching for my arm. I yank away from his touch, turning to face him.
“Where is she?”
“She didn’t come home last night,” he says, sounding tired. “She hasn’t been around much since the bodies were found.”
I’m still furious, shaking from the force of it. Nikki James stole my necklace and sent those sinister messages. Did she follow me and Jasmine to the lumberyard too? Try to scare us on purpose?
“I cannot believe she did this. Did you know about it?”
His lack of reaction makes my stomach twist.
“Say something!” I demand.
Seconds tick by. A lot of them.
Until finally, Everett shakes his head. “Nikki had no idea who you were, Ryan. Not until the dance.”
Frowning, I wait for him to continue.
“She stole the necklace, yeah, but I’m the one who opened the locket. I saw the initials inside. I put it all together.”
I take a step back, confusion washing over me. “Youknew who I was? Before it all came out at the dance?”
He nods.
“And the messages?”
Everett exhales slowly, not breaking eye contact. “It was me.”
Forty-three
Wave of Darkness
Time slows to an absolute crawl. I’m unable to process what I’m hearing. My throat is so dry I can barely get a word out. “You were the one texting me?”
Everett nods. “Yes.”
“Was that you at the lumberyard, following me and Jasmine?”
He nods again.
“Why?Why would you do that to me?”
