October 26.
RebelSin: I don’t want you talking to her anymore. You’re done.
iPlayDirty: I think we should let her make that decision.
RebelSin: I made it for you. Now delete your account or there will be hell to pay.
iPlayDirty: Make me.
RebelSin: Seriously? What are you ten? Leave her the hell alone, you fucking psycho.
iPlayDirty: I bet I could pay her thousands to come over here and lick my dick right now. Money talks, Porter.
RebelSin: My fist talk, too. And you’ll be having a long conversation with it if you go near her house again.
iPlayDirty: Now who’s the stalker. You wouldn’t know that I was at her house if you weren’t snooping around yourself.
Holy shit.
All this time these two were fighting over me on this app and I didn’t even know who the hell they were. How did I miss this? How was I so naive?
RebelSin: Tommy’s house is a three-minute walk to hers and you parked your car in front of his house at one o’clock in the morning, dumbass. When it was sitting there empty for over an hour, I knew exactly where you were.
iPlayDirty: Yeah, she was making a video for me. Good times.
RebelSin: Lying son of a bitch. She was talking to me. I walked down the road talking to her in the private chat.
iPlayDirty: Did it ever cross your mind that she had two chat windows open? Now who’s the dumbass?
RebelSin: You’re as good as dead if I catch you out there again. Hear me? Dead.
The phone drops into my lap and my hand claps over my mouth. That’s why Josh is dead? Talon killed him over me? No, that’s not right. It can’t be.
It was two days later that I was at Talon’s house and overheard the guys talking. Technically, I didn’t overhear them because it was a setup, but this conversation could put Talon in prison for murder. Without even hesitating, I delete it. I have no idea why he hasn’t done this already.
Just as I swipe out of the app, a thud on the driver’s window sends the phone flying into the back seat.
“Fuck!” I shout, as I roll the window down. “You scared the hell out of me, Lars. Where did you even come from?”
He stuffs his hands in his pockets and his back steels. “Let me in. It’s fucking cold.” I hit the unlock button, and he walks around to the passenger side and gets in.
“How’d you even know where I was?” I ask him, as he closes the door.
“Tracker. We all share locations, and you have Talon’s phone. I’ve been calling, but you must have been preoccupied. I’ve been following behind you in an Uber.”
“Oh,” I look around for Talon’s phone, but it must have flown into the back seat. “Yeah, Talon’s dad scared the shit out of me so I pulled over to call you, but I got sidetracked.”
“All good. I know the way. Let’s get the hell outta here.” I shift the car into drive and make a sharp U-turn to get out of the parking lot. “Take a left here.”
Glancing over at Lars when he goes quiet, my heart drops into my stomach, and I gasp. “What are you doing?”
“I’m sorry, Marni. I don’t wanna do this. But he gave me no choice,” Lars says, as he holds the gun low in his lap, pointing it right at me.
My entire body tenses up, and my palms begin to sweat as I grip the steering wheel. “Who?” I choke out. The long pause of silence between us is deafening. My heart hammers so violently that I fear it will explode, or I’ll pass out before it does. “Who?” I repeat again.
He looks over at me. Sheer displeasure written all over his face. “Zed.”
23
I toss the license plate that I’ve had sitting on my lap the entire ride in the back seat. No plate, no tracking.
We made it to the hotel with time to spare. My fingers tap continuously on the steering wheel while we wait for him to pull in. Tommy’s been trying to check in with Marni to make sure she made it to the hotel ok, but she has yet to reply. “Where the fuck is Lars? And why isn’t she answering my damn phone?” My palms smack forcibly against the steering wheel.
“You don’t think your dad—”
“Don’t say it.” I twist my head wryly. “Don’t even go there.” She’s a small-town girl driving in a big city. She probably took a wrong turn and had to reroute.
Tommy’s hand slaps at my shoulder. I catch the bob of his head in the direction of the entrance, and my eyes shoot over. “There he is.” He’s really here, and this is really happening. I’ve waited my entire life for this moment. This plan has to go accordingly, so I don’t even have a minute to mentally prepare. “Stay put until I wave you over,” I tell Tommy, as I pull the black hood up over my head and slide on my black leather gloves.
Tommy pulls up his black mask, showing only his eyes. “You sure? I can come.”
“I need to do this part alone.” I need this moment to be just between me and him. His death is only part of this process. I want to kill him slowly with my words. Force him to feel some sort of regret for the way he treated us.
My feet hit the black pavement, and I keep my sights on his vehicle. The windows are tinted, so I can’t see his face, but I know he’s in there. When his driver's side door opens, and his legs creep out, I pick up my pace and make it just in time to slam it back shut. Only it doesn’t close. It catches his shins and squeals come from the other side of the door.
“Talon?” I hear him say, as I press firmly on the
