LATER THAT EVENING, we find ourselves sitting in the Range Rover once again. I’m driving down the darkened road as Cole’s cell rings through the silence. He picks it up out of the cupholder and lets out a long breath before he hits answer and places it to his ear.
“Hello?” There’s a pause. “It’ll be late.” Another pause. “Don’t wait up. Love you.” Then he hangs up.
I slide my eyes over to him and see he holds down the power button until it shuts completely off, and then he tosses it back into the cupholder. “Cole—”
“Drop it,” he interrupts me coldly.
My hands tighten on the steering wheel, and I clamp my jaw to keep from telling him he’s making a fucking mistake. Pushing away Austin is not the answer, but we all deal with our demons differently. And Cole is gonna do whatever the fuck he wants.
My phone dings, and I take a quick glance at it. My eyes dart to Cole when I see it’s from Austin. “I need to get gas,” I say all of a sudden, needing to pull over so I can read it.
Cole waves his hand in the air, and the guys mumble an okay from the back seat as if I was asking permission. I wasn’t. Pulling into the nearest gas station, I put it in park and get out, taking my phone with me. I begin to fill up my SUV when I open the message.
Austin: I don’t know what’s up with Cole, but you need to figure it out and tell me what I can do. It’s getting worse.
I run a hand through my hair and let out a sigh.
Me: I’m working on it.
Austin: Are you with him right now? He’s turned his phone off.
Me: Yes, I’m with him.
I top off my tank, and no one questions the fact that I only pumped ten dollars in gas. Or the fact that I just filled up this morning on the way home from the airport.
Twenty minutes later, we pull up to the cabin, and I shut the car off. My lights continue to shine on the little house that the address brought us to at Lake Travis.
“Sure this is it?” Shane asks.
Cole doesn’t answer. He just opens the door and gets out. I make sure to grab my gun out of the center console and tuck it into the back of my jeans. Who knows what kind of situation we are walking into? I’m not gonna go unarmed. And I know that Cole isn’t either. Since the police kept his gun for evidence back in Collins, he’s gotten a new one, and he never goes anywhere without it. I’m not sure about Shane or Bennett. I doubt they’re armed, though, since they flew in today and wouldn’t have been able to carry a gun on the plane with them.
Walking up the five steps, Cole picks up the small flowerpot and grabs the single key. The message we had received told us it would be there. Cole opens the door, it creaks as we step in.
I reach over and flip the single switch on the wall, and it lights up the room. It’s not bad for a cabin. A brown leather couch sits in the middle of the room. It has various photos on the walls of the lake that it overlooks, a TV hangs on the wall. It has a musty smell to it, letting us know it hasn’t been lived in for a while.
Cole walks farther into the small house, and I shut the door behind me.
I follow him into the kitchen, and we all come to a stop. In the middle of the kitchen table sits a glass bowl, just like the one we used to draw our dares from. My heart starts to pound in my chest when I see a folded-up piece of paper inside it.
“Shit!” Bennett hisses softly.
Cole walks over to the table and removes the paper from the bowl. Unfolding it, he looks down at it for a few long seconds. Then he wads it up in his fisted hand and throws it to the floor. “Goddammit!”
“What does it say?” Bennett asks.
Shane just stands there, staring at it on the floor.
I pick it up and swallow when I see it’s been typed. Smart fucker.
“First, there was eight. Then there was five. But you chose to add one more. Now you’ve killed one of you own. Putting you back to where you were before. What would you do if you lost any more?” I read it out loud.
Then our names are typed one by one, but Eli, Landen, Maddox, and Kellan have a black line through theirs. Then Austin is after that. Her name is also marked out but in red. And below hers, the last name is Demi. Typed black letters but with no line.
What the fuck …?
“Cole …”
He reaches up and grabs the glass bowl off the table and throws it into the nearest wall, shattering the glass.
We all stand silently, and Bennett grabs the crinkled-up paper from my hand and his shakes as he reads over it.
Cole places his fisted hands on the table and leans over. His shirt sleeves strain against his taut muscles, and he’s breathing heavily.
Shane shakes his head, clearing his foggy mind, and takes the letter from Bennett. He swallows nervously as he too reads over it. “Cole …” He starts.
But Cole doesn’t allow him to finish. He spins around and shoves Shane’s back into the closest wall. “Whoa!” Shane throws his hands up in the air. “What the fuck, man?”
Cole grips Shane’s shirt. His eyes murderous, and I’m just waiting for him to punch him. Cole loves to handle his problems with his fists. But instead, he takes in a deep breath as though he’s trying to calm himself. “If anything happens to her, you’re the first one I’m going to kill. Do you understand me?”
Shane’s eyes narrow on him. “I wouldn’t …”
“Do you understand?” Cole yells in his face.
He gives Cole a curt nod. “Understood.”
“Who the hell is Demi?” Bennett asks, looking over the paper again.
Cole lets go of Shane and answers. “Deke’s new fuck buddy.”
“I’m not screwing her.” I sigh. I just dream about killing her. No big deal.
Shane brushes his hand down his shirt. “You’re fucking Becky’s little sister?” He obviously remembers her.
“No.” I growl. “It’s not like that. And she’s with Seth.”
Cole snorts.
The rest stare at me with hard jaws and narrowed eyes.
“What?” I snap, not in the mood to play some game with a new psychopath.
“What all does she know?” Shane asks.
“Noth …” My words stop when I realize that’s a lie.
“Fuck!” Shane growls. Throwing his hands up in the air, he knows I’ve run my mouth.
“What does she know, Deke?” Bennett asks, stepping forward.
“Enough.” I growl.
“How much is enough?” Bennett snaps.
Cole begins to pace with his head down. Shane drops into a seat at the table and places his head in his hands.
“She knows I’ve killed five people,” I admit.
“Of course, she does,” Shane mumbles to himself. I’m about to let Cole knock the shit out of him.
“Why the fuck does she know that?” Bennett shouts.
“After Cole told me that Becky was driving the car when the accident happened, I confronted her at her house and told Becky what I had done. I was pissed. My intentions were to scare her. Demi overheard us talking …” I pause when his eyes widen.
Cole has stopped pacing, and Shane is looking up at me from the table with the same look Bennett is giving me.
“What?” I ask again. “Quit looking at me like that and use your fucking words.”