Just Let Me Love You (Judge Me Not #3)(33)

I glance at Will…then at the gun lying in the dirt.

“What?” Will asks. “What are you thinking, Chase?”

“Just give me a minute,” I reply. “I need to think this through.”

He nods. “Okay.”

My brother bought the gun illegally, so there’s no record of the purchase. Hell, the serial number is probably scratched off. But if the police learn the truth of Will’s transaction with Kyle Tanner, my brother will end up in a shitload of trouble.

Not going to happen.

My decision is made.

As I rise to my feet, I take off my T-shirt. Wrapping the dark cotton material around my hand, I reach down and pick up the gun. After wiping the .45 clean of all prints, I place it back on the ground.

But then I reconsider, and move the gun over to Paul’s limp grasp.

“Chase,” Will says warily. Leaning in to me, he whispers, “Do you really think putting it there is a good idea? Isn’t that, like, tampering with evidence or some shit?”

I raise a brow. “So says the kid who just cleaned my prints off a metal pipe.”

“Hmm, point taken,” Will retorts.

After I put my shirt back on, I make the call to 9-1-1.

Next, I call Kay. She’s only a half-mile down the road, but I can’t leave my brother alone with Paul while I go retrieve her. What if the perverted prick wakes up?

Kay answers before the first ring is even completed.

“Chase,” she says shakily, her tone sounding frightened and frantic. “Are you okay? Where’s Will? Did you find him before he did anything stupid? Do you need any help?”

“Hey, hey, calm down, babe,” I reply. “We’re both okay.”

I hear her breathe out a sigh of relief. “Thank God.”

“Will is with me,” I continue. “Stay where you are. We’ll come to you after we talk to the police.”

“The police? Oh, Chase.”

“Don’t worry,” I say. “Everything is okay now.”

I proceed to tell Kay an abbreviated story, enough to ease her fears and keep her in the car.

“Okay,” she assures me. “I’ll wait here.”

After I wrap up with Kay, I go to stand next to my brother. His temple is still trickling blood, so I reach over and gently wipe at the cut on his head.

Will winces, and I ask, “Does it hurt?”

He shrugs. “A little.”

“It’s not too deep, but we’ll have the paramedics take a look at it, okay?”

“Okay,” Will whispers, eyes downcast.

He’s staring down at his sneakered feet, so I nudge his shoulder with mine. “Hey, you want to talk about it?”

“Nothing to say,” Will replies flatly. “I made a stupid mistake, Chase. I should’ve never come out here. I should have just given you the right gun the day you asked for it.”

I drape an arm around my brother’s defeated shoulders. “Don’t worry about that shit now. It’s over.”

Will breathes in deeply. Slowly, he starts to speak, but then he stops.

Finally, after a few minutes, he says in a low voice, “I don’t know if Cassie and I are much good for each other. Early on things were all right, but lately it seems like shit turns so toxic when we’re together.”

I make a scoffing sound, but hold my tongue.

Truthfully, I’d like to see Will get away from Cassie. The thing that bound them together initially—shared loss—is not enough anymore. Cassie’s problems are for adults—like her mom and the police—to handle. Will is only fifteen and dealing with enough shit of his own.

“What do you think you’re going to do?” I carefully inquire.

“Break up with her, I guess.” His gaze lifts and zones in on me. “Do you think I should?”

I throw my hands up, as if to say don’t ask me. “Hey, you have to decide that for yourself, bro.”

Despite my true feelings, I am not going to lead Will one way or the other. Whatever he decides, the decision must be his. Anything else, like my interference, will only breed resentment. I know this from experience.

“I’ll think about it,” Will says at last. And then he abruptly adds, “Did you know Mom wants me to go talk to someone? Like a counselor or some shit.”

“How do you feel about that?” I softly inquire. “Do you think it will help?”

Will shrugs, and just like that he’s back to staring at the ground. “I don’t know, Chase,” he says. “I really don’t know. Maybe…possibly.”

I want to talk more with Will about the counseling, but sirens in the background put an end to that discussion…for now. Not to mention there’s something Will and I need to get straight—our story about what happened here tonight.

“Hey,” I say to Will. “We need to have our stories straight before the cops get here. What are you planning on saying?”

“Mostly the truth, I guess. Nothing about the gun, though. We can pretend it was his all along, right?”

I glance at the .45 resting in Paul’s outstretched hand. “Right,” I say.

We continue to go over our stories so they corroborate perfectly.

I clear my throat when we’re done, and Will says, “I’ll probably get in trouble for driving Cass’s car without a license.”