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“Novak was our guy. He was our target, one we were so sure of. It took us time to track Allie’s death back to him, but when we finally did, it was like everything was falling into place. The monster who took everything away from us was finally going to be taken out by our hands.” His muscles coil the longer he talks, making my stomach twist in knots from what he’s about to say.
“Novak did have a part in Allie’s death, but he had more information to give.” Waiting for what he’s going to say weighs heavily on my shoulders.
What does Matt have to do with any of this? My eyes glance at the pained look on Matt’s face before I turn my attention back to Ace.
“Get on with it.” The impatience in my voice makes his emerald eyes darken as a cold smirk lines his face. A smirk meant to show me his ruthlessness, his savagery.
“He had a partner. One that controlled him, getting him to find women he could take advantage of.” Ace looks over his shoulder, gazing at Matt who looks like a ghost right now with his face paling. “Your beloved Matt is the one who took Allie from me. He’s the one who killed my sister. Raped her. Beat her. Left her for dead in an alley like she was garbage.”
I’m glad Theon is holding me, because I don’t know if my legs would hold me otherwise. My head goes fuzzy and my stomach feels like it’s completely fallen to my feet.
“He’s lying, Z. Don’t fucking listen to him.” Matt’s loud voice pulls my attention, but not before I see Blais moving toward him.
“Shut the fuck up.” Blais lands a rough punch to Matt’s cheek, making me gasp loudly. Matt’s head rolls to the side, groaning from the impact. My body tenses, feeling overwhelmed by everything Ace is saying about Matt.
There’s no fucking way. Matt is a pain in the ass, always cracking jokes, being inappropriate at times, but there’s no way he’s a rapist and a killer.
They have to be wrong.
I need them to be wrong.
“He took my baby sister. My innocent, young sister who had so much to live for. The only good thing I had in this world, and he selfishly took her.” Ace’s voice cracks, getting even more furious the more he speaks.
“Don’t listen to them.” Another echo of Blais’ fist hitting Matt’s face fills the room, making me flinch in Theon’s hold.
“How do you know?” I give a false bravado, trying to pretend this isn’t affecting me as much as it is.
“Are you seriously asking that, Z?” Matt asks with disbelief, but I ignore his question, keeping my eyes on Ace.
“Are you questioning us?” Theon growls in my ear, making goosebumps line my arms.
“Isn’t that what you expect of me? No matter who you are, do you think I’d take your word for it? I need proof. I need to see what makes you so sure.” There’s no way they could expect me to blindly take their word for it. This seems like too much of a coincidence. My best friend is also Allie’s killer? The way Ace and Blais are both staring at me makes me believe they’re telling me the truth, but my entire body doesn’t want to accept it.
“Proof? You don’t trust us?” Ace approaches me again, running his finger down my cheek gently, a stark contrast from the hostility in his eyes.
“Oh, just like you don’t trust me? Isn’t that the reason for this test?” I bite out, getting angry by the fact they’re mad I’m asking questions.
“Zamira,” Ace groans, running his hand down his face.
“Ace, please.” The raw croak of my voice gives away the pain I’m feeling.
“Well, your FBI friend isn’t a very smart criminal. That or he felt like he was never going to get caught.” Ace scoffs, acting like he’s offended at the thought of Matt being a shitty criminal.
“Novak gave us his name, and we had our guy look into Matt. Want to guess what we found?” Ace asks redundantly, while I continue to stare back and forth between him and Matt. “We found pictures and videos of all the criminal activities he’s been engaging in. He attempted, poorly, to encrypt the files but it was easy to bypass. Your little friend likes to do terrible things, and keeps evidence of it for himself.”
“Don’t listen to them, Z. They’re lying to you. Trying to turn you against me,” Matt pleads, but I keep my stare locked on Ace.
My heart feels like it’s being torn in two directions.
“Show me.” It’s a simple demand that carries the potential to bring my world crashing down. Ace pulls out a phone that I know isn’t his, approaching me like a wild animal. I take a steady breath, while Theon loosens his hold on my arms so I can grab the phone.
Staring back at me is a picture of a gorgeous redhead, naked on a bed with bruises lining her fragile looking body, but what gets me the most is her open eyes looking void, lacking all emotion. “What is this?”
“One of his many victims.” My heart stops when I recognize her. She’s the woman I saw dancing with Novak the first night I went to Trinity. There’s definitely a connection with Novak, but I still don’t see how Matt is involved in this.
I continue to scroll through pictures, each one showing a different woman, in a similar position with those hollow eyes. Each one around the same age as me or younger, losing their lives way too soon.
“We are FBI agents. It’s not abnormal for us to have crime scene photos on our devices when we are working on cases.” The denial coursing through me is at an all-time high. I don’t want to believe that my best friend could be capable of this. Not only do I feel blindsided by Ace, Theon, and Blais, but also by fucking Matt. If he truly did do this, I wouldn’t expect him to announce it to the world, but fuck. The Matt I know doesn’t seem capable of this.
