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“This place gives me the creeps,” Oliver murmurs. “Like dead bodies are buried out here.”
I snort. “If there aren’t now, I have a feelin’ there’s about to be.”
Boyd stands on his porch as we approach. He’s in jeans and a black jacket, both hands covered in dark gloves. We get out of the car and meet him by the trunk.
“Let me see,” he says lowly.
Oliver pops the trunk, and I stare down at the man who brought me into this world. A sad, pathetic man now covered in his own blood.
“You were never here, Ayden. Understood?” Judge Carmichael says.
“Crystal clear,” I reply.
He nods before his gaze shoots to Oliver. “Leave him on the ground. I’ll take care of the rest.”
Oliver obliges, lifting my dad out of the trunk and not-so-carefully tossing him to the concrete. My father makes a disgruntled groan as he hits the pavement.
“Argh. Howie.”
“What’d he just fuckin’ say?” I ask.
Oliver shrugs.
“Say it again,” I demand, kneeling closer to his face.
It must take every ounce of strength my father has to pull in a breath as he repeats himself. “At least…I got…Howie.”
My blood boils as he says my best friend’s name and the implication of his words.
“You had him killed,” I murmur, swallowing hard. My words are painful as I spit each one out.
My father’s eyes struggle to stay open as he goes silent.
“Why?” I shout, demanding answers. When he shakes his head, I stand and kick him in the ribs.
It’s the first time I’ve touched him. And damn, does it feel better than I imagined.
“Rot in hell,” I hiss, then spit on his frail body.
Oliver pulls me aside as if to make sure I don’t go overboard.
“I owe ya one,” Boyd says. “Off the record, of course.”
“No, sir. I oweyou.” I give one final glance at the man who ruined my life.
“Time to leave,” Oliver says, slamming the trunk closed.
I walk to the passenger’s side. “Let’s go.”
ChapterTwenty
Ayden
TWO WEEKS LATER
The more I obsessed over my father’s last words, the more frustrated I got. It wasn’t until Laney reminded me that Howie became a paralegal and worked for another law firm in town that it started to make sense. My dad probably saw him numerous times over the years. Howie must’ve said or done something to make my father aware that he had some kind of evidence about Gabby. It’s the only thing I can tie together that’d make him a threat to my dad.
And if it’s true, my father’s a worse monster than I thought, and I have no remorse for turning him over to Judge Carmichael.
