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“Took you long enough. Hope you’re not planning to be heroic.”
Of course, I plan to be heroic. Just not in the way he thinks. I put the call on speaker and type out a new text while I talk.
“Not like I know where you are, Terrance. What I do know is if you hurt her, I will end you.”
The quiet, somewhat introverted man I have known a decade laughs on the other end. The sound hollow and monstrous. “Like to see you try.”
I finish the text and hit send. “Terrance, I don’t make idle threats. I make promises.” Kirsten tiptoes into the room and I press a finger to my lips. She shows me her phone screen, her call still active. “What is it you want, Terrance?”
“What, your tech friend didn’t find all the answers?” He clicks his tongue. “Consider me surprised.”
“Still not an answer.”
“Pretty bold for someone who’s not in charge, aren’t you?” The line goes silent a moment. I clamp my jaw tight, and pain shoots through my molars. “You just couldn’t leave well enough alone, could you? Had to mess everything up.”
“What does that mean, Terrance?”
A muffled groan echoes in the background of the call, followed by a woman’s voice muttering, “Shut up, stupid bitch.”
My blood boils to the surface, lighting my skin on fire. Low or loud, I would know that voice anywhere. Kelli Langston. Hard as it is, I suffocate the urge to call her out.
“Mess what up, Terrance? I haven’t done shit.”
My phone vibrates with a new text and I tap the message. Keep them talking. I quickly respond. On it.
“You getting with this juvenile bitch ruined everything. I had it all mapped out. For years, it’d all been so smooth. No one noticed a damn thing. Everyone just said the market was fluctuating. That’s always been the reason for the occasional dip in accounts. You just never noticed until last time. When I skimmed and then a stock took a major hit the next day.”
Maybe because I don’t think like a criminal, I am not connecting all the dots. If the market dipped, the numbers would have changed across the portfolio. Not in only one place. Terrance doesn’t need to be privy to my lack of felonious mindset, though.
“I don’t get you, man. You have it all. Why do this? Why fuck up your life?”
My phone vibrates with another text, this one with an image and address. I forward it to Kirsten and she dashes back to her room.
“I didn’t fuck up shit. If you played nice, if you didn’t keep trying to throw Kelli in the trash, everything would’ve stayed as it should be.”
Kelli? Why the hell would Terrance care if I stayed with Kelli?
Yes, I heard her a moment ago. Yes, I assumed she played a role in some of the shit happening. Not with the money, but definitely the rumor mill and possibly the flat tire. There was no concrete evidence, though.
“Not wanting a relationship with someone is not throwing them in the trash. It’s called life. Not everyone is compatible.” I huff out a breath and pace the call. Speak slow and pray the cops get to Skylar quick. “I broke up with Kelli—over and over—because we had nothing in common. Because I wanted more out of life than a fake woman with a trust fund on my arm. Thought you knew me better.”
“You piece of—”
A loud bang cuts Kelli off. Voices in the background scream, “Police! Get on the ground! Now!”
Kirsten runs out of her room, looks me in the eye, and we both dart for the front door. She disconnects the call with the police, but I leave the call with Skylar’s phone open. I zip through town, pausing at stop signs and red lights long enough to not cause an accident. A mile out from the address, the call disconnects.
My heart bangs violently in my rib cage, begging for freedom. I bear down on the accelerator. Watch the speedometer needle crank clockwise, more and more.
“She’ll be okay, Law,” Kirsten says, resting a hand on my forearm. Her words meant to soothe both of us.
Flashing lights come into view and my heart calms slightly. I slam on the brakes and we jump out of the car. Running toward the house, I skid to a stop when the one voice I want to hear calls my name.
“Law.” My head twists toward the ambulance.
Skylar.
My little phoenix.
