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“Ridge assumed it was me. Lev thinks it was me. Now they both have me questioning myself. I was so out of it. I don’t even remember anything after…”
“After you were drugged?”
I take a step back, remaining in his arms, and my eyes shoot to his. “Ridge told you?”
His features soften, and he nods.
“I can’t believe he told you.”
“We tell each other everything. Well, almost everything.”
Maddox’s phone vibrates again, only his phone is in his hand and the sound is coming from the chair where Maddox’s coat is hanging. When the vibrating stops, the phone chirps, a familiar sound—the sound of my phone when I get a voicemail.
Stepping away from him, I haul ass toward it, but he races me to it. “No,” he barks as I grab the coat. “Why do you have two phones?” I dig my hand in the pocket, and at the same time, Maddox’s face falls in his hands.
When I pull the phone out, my soul feels like it’s been sliced in two. “It was you?” I hold it up, showing proof that I’m onto him. “You stole my phone. When was it? The party? Or are you the one who came into my room?”
“I can explain.” He comes toward me, but I take a step back, away from him.
“You better explain fast or I’m calling The Elders right fucking now.” My posture slumps, along with my heart. “I trusted you.”
“You can trust me. I mean it, Riley. Let me explain.”
When he tries to come closer again, I shout, “Stop. Stop right there and tell me why the hell you have my phone.”
“It was on Zeke when his body was found. It was handed over to my dad, who handed it over to me.”
“Zeke had my phone?”
He comes closer, both hands in the air. “There’s no way of knowing if Zeke actually had it in his possession while he was alive. All I can conclude is that someone’s either trying to frame you for his fall or they accidentally left it behind when they killed him.”
Really don’t want to talk about Zeke coming into my room last night, but it seems it’s a conversation that needs to be had. “He must have stolen it after he…” My words trail off, unable to even finish the sentence.
Maddox nods toward a smaller room off to the right that’s empty. “I think we should talk about this in private.”
I probably shouldn't believe what he, or either of the other two, says but I don’t have much of a choice. If given one, I’d trust Maddox over any of them. Still, I can’t be sure.
“Fine.” I walk toward the meeting room, while keeping my eyes on him. “But don’t come close to me. I mean it, Maddox. I will call The Elders.”
“You don’t wanna do that, Riley.”
“Just because you don’t want me to, doesn’t mean I won’t.”
We step into the room and Maddox closes the door. As I pace one side of the small space, he remains on the other side. “If you call The Elders, you risk incriminating yourself.”
I pull out a chair at the oblong table and sit down, feeling faint. With my elbow pressed to the table, I rest my forehead on my balled right fist. Just when I think things can’t get much worse, this shit gets sprung on me. Lifting my head, I roll my lips together and take a deep breath. On a clipped exhale, I ask, “Who gave it to your dad, and why?”
Maddox takes a seat at the opposite end of the table, making this ‘talk’ feel like an interrogation. “The first cop on the scene. He’s employed by The Society. My dad met him there and collected the only piece of evidence found—your phone.”
“It had to have been Zeke that came in last night. He must have stolen my phone and then someone pushed him out the window.”
“Maybe. But, maybe not. We can’t be too sure. I’m not even certain Zeke actually had it. My gut tells me someone planted it after he was already dead. Someone linked to your past at The Academy, perhaps.”
“Who would do that, though?”
He’s quiet for a minute, before asking, “How much do you trust Neo Saint?”
Why is he asking this?
