Anonymous(37)

He nods at me. “Mr. Kingston.”

“You can call me Jake.” I look behind him at the door. “What’s it going to take to get inside there?”

Kevin chuckles, but there’s no humor in it. “Sorry, but you’re not allowed near the suspect.”

I hold up my hands. “I just want to talk to him.”

He regards me curiously. “I highly doubt that. If my wife was the one he was after and if he had tried to kill me, I’d be in there beating his ass.”

All kidding aside, I nod. “Then you know why I need to get in there.”

Kevin glances up and down the hall and sighs. “You have two minutes. If anyone asks, you slipped in while my back was turned. I’m not taking the fall for you.”

“Deal.”

He nods toward the door and I sneak inside before anyone can see me. It’s dark in the room and I can hear monitors beeping behind the curtain that hides Bryan from view. My steps are heavy as I walk around the corner.

“Hello?” Bryan calls out, his voice gravelly.

When I appear around the curtain, his eyes widen. They’re all sunken in and he looks like shit. “Recognize me?” I sneer.

“I—I’ve wanted to talk to you. They wouldn’t let me.”

Anger boiling in my veins, I march to his bed and grab his neck. He doesn’t even fight me off, just struggles to catch a breath. “Why? So I can kill you, like you tried to do to me?” I squeeze one more time and let go. “I’m not that fucking stupid, Snyder. I know you want me out of the way, so you can get to my wife. I’m not about to lose her by killing you.”

My hands shake as I step away. Bryan coughs and grabs his neck. “It wasn’t me. You have to believe me.”

“Like it wasn’t you at the party and the one sending the text messages?”

He coughs again. “I was at the party, and I did run into Ellie. I’m not going to deny that. And I’m not going to deny how amazing it was to see her again.”

Hearing it only makes me angrier. I don’t want him or any other man thinking of Ellie that way. She’s mine. “Why were you even at the party? You weren’t invited.”

A heavy sigh escapes his lips. “My buddy, Jared, is a friend of Owen’s. I rode with him.”

“So, you knew Ellie would be there,” I state, already knowing the answer.

Bryan looks away. “She was my friend for many years, Jake. I was in love with her.” Then he turns back to me, his expression serious. “But I didn’t do what everyone thinks I did. I’ve moved on. I’m seeing someone. I love her, not Ellie.”

“Then why isn’t she here with you?”

“Probably because she doesn’t want anything to do with me after hearing that I stalked Ellie. I haven’t had a chance to explain.”

“Also, why were your truck and footprints near my house and on the road where I had my accident? I saw you.”

Bryan shakes his head. “You saw someone, but it wasn’t me. Someone’s trying to blame it on me.”

“If someone’s trying to blame it on you, where have you been the past few days?”

Tears well up in his eyes. “I don’t know. I can’t remember anything. The only thing I remember is a woman screaming, and I couldn’t help her.” He closes his eyes and squeezes them hard, bringing his hands up to his head. “I can still hear her.”

I don’t know what to believe, but it’s obvious he’s coming down hard from whatever the hell kind of drugs he was on. “You’re a fucking liar and a manipulator. You can deny all this shit if you want, but the evidence is there.”

The door opens, and Kevin clears his throat. “Out.”

I turn my glare back to Bryan. “You’re not going to get away with this. If you get off and ever try to come near me or Ellie again, I’ll kill you.” With those final words, I storm out, wishing like hell I’d gotten in a few punches.



* * *



Bryan’s going to say whatever shit he can to get away with the crime. The man’s a loose fucking cannon. I could see it on his face. He’s not far from going off the deep end. I stop by my office to see my colleagues, and to tell them about everything going on. I also stop in at the bakery to make sure Vikki is okay. Luckily, there haven’t been any issues. Ellie will be happy to know that her bakery is doing wonderfully, but that everyone misses her.

My phone rings and I’m hoping it’s Ellie, but it turns out being a number from Arizona. I set my keys onto the kitchen counter and sit down. “Hello?” I answer.

“Mr. Kingston, I’m Margaret Thatcher at Cactus Cove Realty. I’m calling to inquire about the offer you placed on 319 Evergreen Drive.”

“Yes, Mrs. Thatcher. I put that in this morning.”

“I’m calling to inform you that it’s been accepted. My clients are ready to make the deal.”

I jump out of my seat. “Hell yeah. That’s what I want to hear.”

Margaret laughs. “Me too. I think you’ll love the home. It’s beautiful and has amazing views.”

“That’s why my wife and I want it. It’s her favorite out of all the houses we looked at.”

“Glad to hear it. I see you’re in North Carolina. I’ll get the paperwork overnighted to you, so we can get that rolling.”