“He could be heading to Canada or Mexico by now,” I tell Kode, unsure of who I’m trying harder to convince—him or me.
“He blames Tria for everything, and he doesn’t have any money to run. And he doesn’t have any friends willing to help him. She’s all he’s thinking about and you know it. He has nothing left to lose since he had ten years added to his sentence for attacking that guard.”
I dig in my pocket for my keys and point to Bella. “Stay here. Don’t go anywhere. Keep Angel here.”
She nods, not looking even a little bit defiant, and I run down to my car.
“Bella said they went for a drive. But that has to have been hours ago,” I tell Kode.
“She’d want to be close to the beach,” Bella calls out. “That’s what she does. She finds somewhere peaceful to drive when she’s really upset. Or walk.”
I just nod, and Kode mutters a curse before hanging up. I’ll drive all around the beaches near town. It’s a long shot, but it’s a shot.
Chapter 36
ALLIE
“You feeling any better?” Tria asks from beside me.
Taking in a clean breath of air, I nod. “A little. At least I’m not crying now.”
It’s dark and almost eight at night. Guilt nags at me.
“Sorry. I bet Kode is probably worried about you.”
She shakes her head. “Don’t worry about it. He’s had to be there for the guys numerous times. I can assure you that he understands. I’ve been where you are. Kode hurt me once. But… I really don’t know what to say other than to talk to Wren. I’ve never seen him be the way he is with you. Maybe today was a misunderstanding.”
We’ve driven in silence for miles and miles, and Sterling Shore is just now coming back into view. I’m still not ready to talk about it, though. I hate spilling my feelings out to anyone, which is why I’m glad Bella’s not here. She would have dug it out of me against my will because that’s what she does. But I just couldn’t take it tonight.
“Call Kode. Let him know you’re heading home,” I say to Tria, handing her the phone she abandoned so many hours ago.
She frowns, but takes the hint that I don’t want to talk about Wren.
As soon as her phone powers up, it starts going crazy with alerts and messages.
“Holy shit,” she says on a breath. “My phone has apparently been blowing up.”
She laughs while putting it back down, not calling Kode yet. “Do me a favor and check my texts, please. I can’t drive and read.”
I do grab her phone, and the first message is from Brin earlier today.
“You have one from Brin,” I tell her, even though the list under it is endless. None of them are very big previews, and I feel like I’m doing something wrong by even glancing at them.
“Read it to me.”
I click it, but it’s actually a YouTube link. I start to tell her, but my thumb hits and suddenly I’m on a video uploaded by Wren Prize. Curious, I click play and watch.
It’s Erica—inside that same restaurant where I saw him, and my heart clenches as bile rises to my throat. But just as quickly, the pang of hurt fades when I hear what she’s saying. She’s confessing everything—about how she lied and how she intentionally tried to ruin me, but she didn’t know it would get blown out of proportion the way it did.
“Is that Erica?” Tria asks, glancing over at me.
“It’s a video. From his lunch with her.”
We both fall silent as Erica continues to dig herself a grave, and then I watch Wren ignoring my call. But it wasn’t the way I thought it was. He just didn’t want her to stop telling the world what a bitch she is.
Tears fill my eyes for an entirely new reason, and I feel relieved and weighted at the same time. Why didn’t he just tell me what he was doing?
“Wow,” Tria says as Erica finishes up. Wren doesn’t say anything besides bye to her after she finishes. All the times he leaned in to talk to her was just to essentially goad her into telling more.
I read it all wrong.
Then Wren comes on, and the video is in a new place.
“Allie Thrash didn’t wreck my life, as you can see. In fact,” he says with a thoughtful smile, “she changed it in a way I never thought possible. I pursued her. I wanted her. And I love her. So, you understand why I don’t want anyone attacking her. It’s not just because she’s the mother of my daughter; it’s not just because she’s really the victim of petty jealousy. It’s because she’s part of me—a really good part that I didn’t know existed before her.
“Allie was the target of a vindictive ex and a cousin who allowed himself to be seduced by the same woman you sought justice for—Erica. The same woman most of you never knew cheated on me. The same woman who would do anything and everything to hurt my daughter and her mother.”