Anonymous(53)

Gaze narrowed, I lower it. “Shouldn’t you be guarding Ellie?”

“Yes, but she wanted me to come out here and find you. She’s afraid something bad might happen to you.”

“Or maybe there’s no outside threat at all,” I counter, body tense.

Taken aback, he blinks and takes a step back. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about Ellie and all the shit that’s happened. I never saw it before, until Bryan mentioned it to me the other night.”

His eyes darken. “Bryan? What the hell? You can’t listen to what that fucking psycho has to say.”

I shrug. “Maybe . . . maybe not. If he’s right, that means you’re the one who killed Samantha, and the same one who tried to kill me.” The thought sickens me to my core. Could he really do such a thing? He’s been my best friend for over ten years, and Ellie’s friend even longer. How could I have not seen the signs?

Owen slowly moves a hand conspicuously toward his gun. “This is bullshit, Jake. This whole thing has been Snyder’s plan. He’s trying to turn you against me.”

Deep down, I don’t think I can believe him. The signs were there. I just chose not to see them. Taking a deep breath, I keep my focus on him and the gun at my side. “It didn’t really hit home, until I saw how you reacted when I was with Ellie last night, especially when we told you she was pregnant.” I stare hard back at him. “You didn’t like it one bit. Not to mention, I bet it pissed you off to no end to hear us in bed. Now that I’m thinking about it, it was probably you who cut the brake line on my motorcycle all those years ago.”

I’ve thought about everything that’s happened over the years, and how many close calls I’ve had with certain things. If Owen’s capable of orchestrating all this, there’s no telling what he’s done in the past.

Owen’s jaw clenches. “You’ve lost your goddamn mind.”

“Has he?” The voice comes from behind and I’m shocked to see Bryan step out from behind a tree, gun pointed at Owen. Owen’s gun is out in an instant, and he points it at Bryan, but Bryan doesn’t stop talking. “I know how you are, Owen. Years ago, I thought maybe you and Ellie would end up together. You were always so possessive when it came to her dating life. I’m surprised you let Jake get to her. What a slip up that was on your part, huh?”

I scoff. “Nothing and no one was going to be able to keep me away from her. She made her choice.”

Bryan’s face hardens. “Unfortunately, that’s just the beginning of his weird, twisted game. Not everyone was lucky enough to get away unscathed.”

“Don’t listen to him, Jake,” Owen growls. “He wants you to doubt me.”

I point my gun at him. “Then why did the phone numbers trace back to you?” It’s like the air surrounding us stops moving. Owen keeps his gaze and gun pointed at Bryan. “Answer me!” I shout.

He takes a deep breath and his finger bends over the trigger.

“Stop!” Ellie runs up the trail, but she’s too late. The shot rings out and echoes through the trees. Bryan is down, and I spring into action.





Twenty-Seven





Ellie





It’s as if everything moves in slow motion. I hear the shot, and the next thing I see is Bryan falling to the ground, and Jake attacking Owen. Owen’s gun flies out of his hand and they’re on the ground, punching and fighting like they’re in the MMA ring, only this is real. I don’t know what to do or why they’re fighting.

“Stop!” I shout again. “What the hell are you doing?” Bryan is still alive, so I hurry to him. He tries to sit up and blood oozes out of his shoulder. “What’s going on?” I cry.

Sucking in a ragged breath, he grabs my hand. “I’ll be okay. You need to listen to me. I’m going to say this fast.” He winces in pain and his breaths come out faster. “It’s been Owen this whole time. The phones trace back to him and he’s the one who killed Samantha, the one who tried to kill Jake on the road that night.”

His words don’t even register. Nothing makes sense. “What? No. How can that be?”

He squeezes my hand hard and desperately looks over at Jake and Owen. “Kimberly’s dead.” It feels like I’ve been punched in the gut. “Her blood was in Owen’s house, and her body was found a few miles away from Samantha.”

I shake my head, barely able to see him through my tears. “Why? Why would he kill her?”

His eyes clench shut and he grunts. “Because of what she saw. There’s a video, Ellie.” He opens his eyes and takes a deep breath. “There’s a video of you and Owen together. You’re passed out and he’s fucking you. We believe she found it and was going to tell you. He couldn’t let that happen.”

Disgust, pain, betrayal . . . everything you can imagine rushes through me. I feel violated and sick to my stomach. Even more so, I feel like a fool. Flashes of moments spent with Owen bombard my mind. Sirens can be heard in the distance, getting closer with each second.

“That’s . . . the . . . police,” Bryan says, his voice shaky. “End this now.”

Jake and Owen are both bloody, their shirts and faces covered in it. Pulling out my gun, I fire it in the air, not once but twice. “That’s enough!” I scream as loud as I can. Jake pushes Owen off and jumps to his feet, but Owen finds his gun and points it at Jake. They’re both breathing hard with murderous glares on each other. I can’t seem to wrap my head around how far and how fast we’ve fallen. Owen was my friend and he used me. He’s a murderer and a liar, and he’d forced himself into my bed. Anger boils in my veins. I do the first thing I can think of.