Cara looked over at me. “My parents got divorced in sixth grade. I moved to the next town over, and that meant a new school, so Autumn and I eventually lost touch. Four miles might as well be four hundred when you’re that age.”
Autumn nodded. “That’s very true. It’s really nice to see you, though.” She put her hand on my forearm. “I’m sorry. I’m being rude. This is my…boyfriend, Donovan.”
Cara nodded. “Nice to meet you, Donovan.” She smiled at Autumn. “So do you still live here in Greenwich?”
“No, actually, I’m just in town for a wedding. I live in Manhattan now.”
“Oh, a wedding!” Her face lit up, and she held out her hand and wiggled her fingers, displaying a sparkly ring. “That’s why I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going. I just got engaged last night, and I can’t stop staring at my hand.”
“Oh, wow. Congratulations.”
“You know, I still live over in Rock Ridge, but my boyfriend…” She smiled. “I mean my fiancé, lives here in Greenwich. He’s somewhere parking the car because it’s so impossible to find a spot here on the Avenue. But he was born and raised here. You two might know each other. You went to the same high school, though he was a few years older than us.”
“Maybe,” Autumn said. “What’s his name?”
Just then a guy who looked like he definitely belonged in Greenwich walked across the street and headed toward us. He wore khaki shorts, a long-sleeve button up, and had a pink sweater tied around his shoulders.
“Oh, here he is now,” Cara said. She gazed at the douchey-looking guy like he was some sort of celebrity and snuggled onto his arm. “Honey, do you know Autumn Wilde? You guys went to the same high school.”
Mr. Pink Sweater smiled. If I wasn’t mistaken, that glowing white mouth definitely had a few extra teeth.
“I do. Hello, Autumn. It’s great to see you.”
I waited a few seconds, but Autumn didn’t respond. So I turned to check on her, and it looked like she was about to pass out. All the color was gone from her face. I grabbed her. “Autumn? Are you okay?”
Her entire body was shaking. Was she having a seizure?
“Oh my gosh.” Cara’s face fell. “I’m a nurse. Does she have low blood sugar or something?”
I had no idea what the hell was happening. “I don’t think so.” I squeezed her arm, but Autumn just stared forward. “Autumn, are you okay?”
When she didn’t answer, but also didn’t pass out or anything, a sickening feeling washed over me. I followed her line of sight to Mr. Pink Sweater. Unlike his fiancée, he didn’t look concerned at all. In fact, he still had that big, toothy smile on his face. What the fuck? He actually looked pretty fucking pleased about Autumn not feeling well.
Then it hit me, like driving a motorcycle a hundred miles an hour straight into a brick wall. The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and I knew. I just fucking knew.
“Your name?” I lifted my chin, still holding Autumn. “What the hell is your name?”
The guy’s face finally fell. I’m guessing it might’ve been because he saw the murderous look on mine. He also didn’t answer my question.
Cara looked back and forth between her fiancé and me a few times. She looked as confused as I’d been a minute ago. “What’s going on?”
The standoff between us continued while he ignored her. It felt like smoke was billowing from my nose and ears.
Cara grew louder. “Braden, what’s going on?”
CHAPTER 31
* * *
Donovan
I held my head in my hands, pulling at the hair on both sides, as I kept replaying yesterday over and over in my head. Eventually, I stood and walked to the cell door. Hanging on to the bars, I yelled to the cop sitting at his desk twenty feet away. “Can I make another phone call, please?”
The cop kept looking down at his paperwork and completely ignored me.
“I get three phone calls. I only used two.”
He sighed, and his pen stopped writing, but he still didn’t look up. “We know you know your rights, counselor. You don’t need to flex. You think you’re special because you’re a lawyer—you all think you’re special. But today, you’re not a lawyer, you’re a perp. I’ll get to it when I get to it.”
I paced back and forth in the holding cell. I’d called Autumn twice since everything went down. Both times it went straight to voicemail. Arraignment was going to be in the next few hours, so if I called her and she didn’t answer again, there was a good chance no one would be there for my hearing, and I wouldn’t be able to make whatever bail they set. At this point, I should probably call Trent or Juliette—someone who could at least maneuver through the system from the outside. But I’d rather sit in lockup for another day than not try to reach Autumn. I needed to apologize… I needed to see if she was okay.