He comes to stop in his driveway and parks in front of his four-car garage. Lifting his right hand, he presses the button and opens up one of the garage doors. “I’ll only be a minute.” He doesn’t wait for a response and exits the car.
I lean my head against the headrest and close my eyes. They sting. “Don’t do it,” I growl, trying to keep the tears from falling.
I open them up and let out a little scream of frustration. This is crazy. I should just get out and start walking back home. I look over at Titan and Emilee’s house. I can see the lights on through the front of their floor-to-ceiling windows. Maybe he’ll take me home. He’s done it before. Maybe …
A phone vibrates in the cup holder. My eyes drop to look down at it. It’s Grave’s.
It vibrates again.
Giving a quick look at the house, I see he’s still inside. I pick it up and go to open the screen, but it’s locked.
I know the code. I’ve seen him open it a hundred times whenever he gets a text.
It vibrates in my hand again, and I make up my mind. I punch in the four-digit code, and the screen pops up. His background picture is of his Charger sitting out on the tarmac at the Airport.
I click on the text message icon and open it up.
Lucy: I miss you, baby. I’m sorry for what I did.
My eyes shoot to the house again to check on him. Still no sign. What did she do? Is that why he’s mad? At her?
My hand tightens on the phone. Is that why he agreed to this date? Because she stood him up this time? I’m just a backup plan? That’s why it took him so long to say yes to me.
“That motherfucker …”
It vibrates in my hand again, and this time it’s a video. I hit play.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
GRAVE
“WHERE THE FUCK is it?” I growl, while on my hands and knees checking under my bed for my extra phone charger. The one I have at the hotel isn’t working properly, and my phone keeps dying. And I haven’t felt like going to buy a new one. My house just happened to be on the way to dinner, and I thought I’d stop by and get it.
Standing up, I open my nightstand again. Shoving shit around, I dig for it but no luck. Where did I have it last …?
“Grave?” I hear April scream bloody murder.
I run out of my bedroom and to the banister just in time to see her charging up the stairs. “What the fuck, April?” I snap, trying to calm my racing heart. I thought she was dying, for fuck’s sake.
“Grave.” She comes up to me, crying.
“What the fuck happened?” I demand, looking over her. We’re in a gated community. No one can get in and out except for us Kings. She’d only been alone for about five minutes.
“We have to help her,” she says, tears running down her face.
“Who?” I ask, looking around the second story of my house. “We’re the only ones here.”
“She messaged you.” She shoves my cell into my chest. “A text and … video.” She sniffs.
I take my cell from her hand and look down at it. Whatever she was watching was paused. I press play.
It’s Lucy. My jaw tightens. She’s standing in her penthouse apartment in the middle of the bathroom. Naked from the waist up. Someone is filming her. She’s crying. Her makeup from days ago runs down her face. Her hair a bleached, tangled mess. “I’m sorry, Grave. Please forgive me. I love you. I miss you …” She hiccups. “I want you. Come and save me.” She reaches out, grabs a bottle of pills and pops the lid. Opens her mouth and tips it back, swallowing a countless number of pills.
“Fuck!” I hiss.
“We have to go.” April grabs my arm. “Grave, we have to.”
I look up at her, and she sniffs. Her ice blue eyes are red, and her lips wet. “April, this is a trick,” I tell her. This is what Lucy does. She needs attention. She needs to be seen and heard. Lucy knows I’m pissed off at her and want nothing to do with her right now. Possibly ever. This is her crying wolf.
Her brows scrunch as if I’m a heartless bastard. “What? No … the video …”
“Do you know how many times she’s sent me videos like this?” I demand, shaking my phone. “This is what she does.”
“Grave.” She steps into me. “We have to help her. She’s obviously crying out for help. Please,” she begs.
“No,” I say and place my phone in my pocket and start down the staircase.
“I thought you were dead,” she says, stopping my feet. “I thought you died, Grave. And you know what?” I turn to face her. “I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I hadn’t done everything in my power to save you. Would you be able to live with yourself if she dies when you had a chance to help her?”