Forgiving Lies (Forgiving Lies #1)(78)
“I don’t know where Blake is. Really, this isn’t a house, it’s more like a studio apartment. It’s just one big room with a bathroom, and when I woke up from the phone vibrating, he wasn’t in bed with me any—” I broke off quickly at Kash’s quick intake of breath. I slammed my eyelids shut and wanted to curl up in a corner and die. I wanted to assure him we hadn’t done anything, but what was the point? Forcing my eyes back open, I studied the screens. Almost all were of shots of the Jenkinses’ houses and our apartment complex, focused in on Candice’s and my door and windows. But one was facing a building. I studied the nondescript outer walls for a few moments until I noticed the three cars in front. “Are you or Mason at the police station?”
“Why would you ask that?” His tone was harsh and clipped.
“Um, well, just tell me if you are.”
“No, I’m coming to get you.”
“Where’s Mason?”
He paused for a few beats. “He’s on his way to get you too. Did you—” He inhaled deeply and the pain in his voice when he spoke tore at my heart. “Rachel, did you sleep with him?”
“Kash . . . ,” I whispered softly.
“Please, I need to know.”
I turned to look at the empty room again and hung my head. “No. I’m so sorry for today, Kash. I didn’t want to do that to you, please know that I would never just hurt you like that.” I choked on a sob and pressed a shaking fist over my mouth while I collected myself. I knew I shouldn’t be telling him. But I needed him to know I couldn’t just do this to us, and maybe if he understood he would turn around and go back to his apartment. “Blake has these guys tailing everyone. He’s watching you and Mase; he has someone on Candice, her brother, and their parents . . . I’m so sorry, this is all my fault. He blew up George Jenkins’s car this morning.” I willed him to understand how demented Blake was. “If you do something right now, I don’t know what else he’ll do. I need to do this; I need to be with him. So please, go home.”
His hissed a string of curses away from the phone before asking quickly, “Why did you think we were at the station?”
“On one of the screens, there’s a video, and it looks like he’s sitting outside one. It’s showing a normal building across the street, but there are three APD cruisers in front of it.”
“Thank God. Okay, babe, listen to me. I’m going to call some people so everyone else will be safe in case Blake catches wind of us coming there. But try to keep yourself safe. We’ll be there soon, okay?”
“Kash, please listen to me. It’s not a good i— Oh, shit.”
“What, what?!”
“All the screens just stopped their live feed!” I hissed, and looked wildly around the room as I stood up and backed myself into the corner.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean it’s just a bunch of screens with flowers on them! Oh my God, what if something happens? I won’t even know now. This is my fault.”
“Flowers. Rach, did you say flowers?” I was still chanting over and over again that this was my fault, so he spoke louder, “What flowers, Rachel?!”
“It’s just a bouquet of these flowers.”
“What kind?” I heard his truck accelerate and wanted to know why flowers were so damn important right now when I couldn’t see what was happening to my family!
“Why does—”
“Just tell me!”
“They’re those—I can’t remember what they’re called. They’re white and reddish, pinkish . . .” Dear Lord, is this how people feel on Jeopardy!? “Oh! Carnations!”
“Son of a bitch. Rachel, get the f*ck out of the house and run. Baby, do you hear me? Run! I will find you and I will make sure you’re safe. Just get out of the goddamn house!”
“But why?”
“I’ll tell you later, don’t grab anything, just go!”
The fear in his voice finally caught up to me and without another thought, I took off out of the room. The door was already open, and my feet had barely touched the grass outside when I was yanked back by my hair. A cry of pain clawed its way out of my throat and I landed hard on my hip. I searched for my phone in the grass around me but came up empty. I screamed for help as Blake began dragging me back into the house by my hair and prayed that Kash was close.
“I’m disappointed in you, sweetheart.”
“Please, let me go!” I grabbed on to the wrist of the hand that was holding my hair and tried to pull myself closer, but he yanked my hands off and continued dragging me toward the bed.
“You really think I would leave you alone and not be near the door? How stupid do you think I am?” He laughed softly. “I’m not an amateur.”
My mind raced. Amateur?
He tsked softly. “My mother will be so upset when she gets the news. I was this close to letting everyone live to see the morning. For a second there, you almost made me proud with your responses to your little friend.” He yanked harder when we got to the bed. “Get up.”
I did as I was told and the relief of his letting go of my hair was enough to make me sigh.
“Tell me something, sweetheart. Do you want your friends to live?”