“I’m honestly worried, man.This level of recklessness is unlike you.What if he’d seen you and decided to report you to the police?”
I lift one shoulder in a halfhearted shrug.“We have a few friends on the force.Besides, he did see me, and nobody’s shown up on my doorstep yet.”
“Nobody’s shown up on your—” Zed breaks off with a humorless laugh.“That’s fucking perfect.Okay.Moving on from all of that, because fuckinguh-oh, man.What does following the beautiful twink you refuse to admit you want to fuck have to do with this horror house we’re standing in right now?”
“That was a mouthful, Zed.”
“Well, I like to keep my mouth full as often as possible, Liam.Stop fucking around and answer the question.”
“Fine.When I was casually observing him on the Premiere’s pool deck the other day, a group of obnoxious twenty or thirty-somethings mentioned parties at a house that had recently gone into foreclosure.They mentioned people.On chains.”I gesture to the eyebolts on the wall.“Like the sort of thing that might be used to secure people to those hooks, perhaps.I remember sending Bev a picture of the guys because their conversation seemed fishy, but they were being vague enough that the meaning of it wasn’t obvious.”
Zed’s upper lip lifts into a sneer.“Sounds like those guys you saw were party guests.Or customers.”He pulls his phone from his pocket.“I’ll touch base with Bev.See if she’s had time to look into those guys yet.Oh, and by the way?You make an appointment to see the therapist or I’m going to zip tie your ass and drag you in there myself.”
“Right.”I turn and wander through the only doorway in here that doesn’t lead back to the butler’s pantry.Because the room needs to be checked out, and not at all because I’m avoiding my friend’s judgmental stare.
What I see when I enter the room stops me cold.It’s a shower room, most likely originally intended to be used by people on their way into or out of the swimming pool.The exterior door has been walled off, however, and though someone made a cursory effort to hose this place out at one point, there is very clearly dried blood on the tile.
Zed pokes his head in.“Fuck.”
“Think they killed people in here?”I gesture to the dried blood on the tile.
“Or tortured them.”He sighs.“We’re going to need to report this to law enforcement.Not that they’ll probably do anything.”
“I think I saw an article in theBelle Argo Timesabout some detective getting arrested for their involvement in this whole thing.”I gesture around the room, but we both know I’m referring to more.
“Must be the detective some of our witnesses mentioned.Maybe things are changing at Belle Argo PD.”
Zed proceeds to scrape a sample of the dried blood into a small, zippered baggie for us to test before the police come in.While he’s making the call to local law enforcement, my own phone rings.
It’s Ravi.
“Kid?”
“Okay.Don’t be mad, but I kind of decided to go out and find some breakfast.And, well, I think someone’s following me.”
This house.This call.I’ve been barely holding on to my sanity, and that was beforeI think someone’s following me.
The words wrap tight around my throat.
What the fuck?I gesture to Zed, yanking the keys from his back pocket as I race for the door.“What do you mean you think someone’s following you?”
“Well, it’s pretty early on a Sunday morning for people to be out, and this car came up behind me almost as soon as I left your property.It’s kind of nice, actually.Red?I’m not good with the brands though.Anyway, I drove around in a weird pattern for a while, and it’s still behind me.”
Once again, Ravi isn’t taking danger seriously.If he was, he wouldn’t sound like he’s reporting the weather.
My race to the exit feels like moving through quicksand.Even at top speed, it’s too slow.Way too fucking slow.
“Where the fuck are you now?”I’m in the car and starting it up when Zed jumps in.
“Downtown.I was on my way to get a breakfast burrito.”
He was on his way to—“Of course you fucking were,” I grumble.
Ignoring Zed’s questioning look, I say, “Keep your speed reasonable.Not too slow, but I don’t want you leading this guy on a car chase.Keep me on the phone.Zed and I are on our way.Whatever you do, stay in the car.Try to not get fucking kidnapped before we find you.”
I’m tearing out of there like a rabid dog who’s slipped its leash.
“You got it, Daddy.”