Amber pulls out her phone. “Are you calling her?”
Megan shakes her head. “Tried that on my way to the cabin. She didn’t answer so I‘m trying Polland. Going to see if he can come out and help look for her. He said he had something to do tonight, but—Shit, he’s not answering either.”
“Neither is Kleo,” Amber confirms after ending her call. “Just tried her again.”
I don’t know why it hits me then. Why the realization dawns on me, but it does, and I want to fucking hit myself. Polland and Laura were an item in high school. I can still remember how depressed he was when she took off. And when Kleo got back—he was pissed. “Judson.”
“What?”
I nod my head to the side and pull him away from everyone.
“What is it?” he asks as soon as we’re out of earshot.
“Polland and Laura—they were together back in high school.”
“Okay.”
“He—” I can’t form a solid thought. “What if—” It doesn’t make any sense though. He’s been here every day for the last month. But every night, I’ve been with Kleo. Tonight was the first night I felt comfortable enough to run back to the cabin and get some paperwork done. I can’t believe I left her alone. What if—
“Easy, Dean.” Judson pulls out his phone as he steps away, and I look back over at Amber, Keith, and Megan.
“Check the trees,” I tell them before heading down the path toward the beach. I walk first, not wanting to believe that my best friend could have done anything to hurt her. After all, he’s happy now. Getting married. Why would he have anything against Kleo?
But I remember the first mirror showing up in the trees when she could have sworn she saw something. When I thought I saw something. According to the sheriff, Laura was out of town then.
And then the second mirror. The third. They stopped the minute Al’s security team arrived, but when they did, Polland started showing up. He and Megan have been together for two summers, and he never used to pick her up after work.
I thought it was just because he was worried about her safety.
But what if there’s more to it?
Walking isn’t fast enough, so I start running as fast as I possibly fucking can.
Kleo
Ice in my veins, I don’t fight as Polland drags me toward the lighthouse. It’s secluded, and other than Dean, no one knows I like to come here.
Dean. Will he come looking for me?
I pretend to trip, throwing myself forward, and Polland releases me. I stare up at him, scrambling back toward the water. If I can get to the ocean, I can get away. I know that the second the door of that lighthouse shuts behind me, I’ll be trapped.
I refuse to be trapped again. Never again.
He glares down at me, blade in his hand. “You took Laura from me.”
“What? What the hell are you talking about?”
“You fucking set her old man up, and she had to leave!” he roars. “I loved her, Kleo. We’d talked about getting married after school, having kids. And when you did what you did, she no longer wanted anything to do with Turner Cove. She found someone else, replaced me.”
“I didn’t—”
“Do you know what it feels like to have your heart broken?” He laughs wildly, and I have no damn clue how I missed the insanity before. Is this what happens when someone snaps? “Of course not. Why would you? Kleo fucking Turner is the crowned jewel of Turner Cove. Princess and soon-to-be queen.” He spits on me, and I grimace. “You’re nothing but a little whore who’s going to get what she deserves.”
“You planning on finishing what he started then? Is that it?”
“Oh, no.” He kneels in front of me. “Sexually, you do shit for me. No, Kleo, I’m going to break your heart. And then I’m going to leave you out here for Dean.”
“Dean’s your friend. Why would you do this?”
He cocks his head to the side and nods, for a moment, almost appearing normal again. “Yeah, it does suck, but we both know I’ll be doing him a favor. He’ll be upset for a little while, but with you not around, clouding his senses by tossing your tits at him, he’ll remember all the reasons he hated you. Because trust me, Kleo. He despised you.”
Polland reaches for me, and I lift my foot, slamming my heel into his nose. Bone crunches, and he falls back, howling with rage. “You bitch!”
I waste no time. Pushing to my feet, I race back toward the path. Lungs burning, legs aching, I turn the corner as someone shoves me from behind. I tumble forward, managing to barely miss a huge piece of driftwood.
Rolling to the side, I kick out again and scream.
“Kleo!” Dean roars, and I look over as he bounds down the path.
“Back the fuck up, Dean! This doesn’t concern you!” Polland grips his blade and yanks me up, pressing it against the hollow of my throat.
Dean’s eyes widen, the muscles of his jaw hardening as he puts both hands up. “Let her go, man. She didn’t do anything.”
“She ruined my life!”
“How so? You have a beautiful fiancée, a great job.”
“Laura was my everything. My first. We were supposed to be together, and because of this bitch’s lies, she lost her father and was ripped away from her home—from me.”
“They weren’t lies,” Dean insists, stepping forward.
The blade bites into my throat.
Judson rushes down, stopping abruptly behind Dean. “Let her go, or I’m going to fucking kill you, you son of a bitch,” Judson growls.
“Like you tried to kill Laura’s father? Be glad you aren’t next, you asshole.”
“All this over Laura leaving? I don’t understand it.” Dean takes another step toward me.
“Move again, and I’ll kill her right here. Laura had to leave because this bitch’s family made her go. They threatened her and her entire family.”
“That’s not true,” I plead, and he shakes me. Dean rushes forward, and Polland backs away.
“I swear, Polland, if you fucking hurt her, I’ll tear you apart.” Dean’s hands clench into fists at his sides.
“Then you know how I feel. I loved Laura. She was everything to me. And when she left—she couldn’t even stomach coming back to visit because of it. Then, she gets married to someone else, has someone else’s kids. She moved on and told me that she was happier without me. Without Turner Cove. This little whore doesn’t fucking care about anyone. How about those mirrors, Kleo? I tried to scare you. Get you to leave so Laura could feel comfortable here again, and you just fucking ignored them!”
He’s rambling, and that’s what terrifies me the most. Not that he’s angry or that it’s irrational but that he’s spiraling. The ones that lose control are the most dangerous, and he’s close to completely snapping.
“She didn’t know about the mirrors. Not until before security showed up to keep an eye on things.”
“And then?” Polland asks. “Then were you scared? Kleo? Terrified?”
More people rush down the path.
Sheriff Fawns draws her weapon, stepping cautiously around Dean and Judson. Dean holds my gaze, his eyes wide with fear. I can’t focus on anyone else because he looks so damn terrified that it gives me the strength to do what I know I need to, even if I end up getting hurt in the process.