CHAPTER NINETEEN

“So, that’s it?” Carolina asked me a week later. It was my first venture out in public since the official announcement from the police that I was no longer a suspect. The media had changed. Half still condemned me as the killer, quoting that I was the smartest killer there was. I had killed her, and I was going to get away with it. The other side had raised pitchforks up in my defense. I needed to sue the police force. My good name was ruined. My life was destroyed. I’d never be able to shed this image.

Neither appealed to me.

I wanted the attention to end. That’s all I wanted, and that hadn’t happened, which meant we all remained in Denton’s house. Corrigan and Bryce had started to come around with Mena. She wasn’t the hated enemy, and Corrigan told me that his fraternity brothers found Mena in a heated debate, defending my honor on campus last week. They joined the fight, and the students calling for my head on a plate dispersed after that.

Was that it? I came back to Carolina’s question and shrugged. “I was a suspect, and now I’m not.”

“But—” She stopped running and gaped at me, her mouth hanging open. “Sheldon!”

Spying a bench nearby, I plopped down. I shook my head at her. “How did you talk me into running?” My damn body was aching everywhere, even my cheeks. How could cheeks get sore?

Carolina was jogging in place in front of me, pulling one arm across her chest to stretch. Black running tights, a pink top, her blond hair up into a ponytail—I started to sneer. Sometimes Carolina was too perfect.

But she’s a good friend to you so shut it, woman, I chided myself immediately.

“With the evidence they found on Guadalupe’s assistant’s phone, they’re the main suspects.” My stomach rumbled, and yes, even that ached a little bit. I started to look around. Maybe I could grab a smoothie or something. “Ritt’s supposed to be released on bond today. Corrigan’s slipping out to grab him. He wants to have a talk. Bryce, too.”

Oh, snap.

I just opened that Pandora’s Box, and I could feel Carolina draw upright. Corrigan and Bryce. I had uttered those names, and I readied myself, knowing an onslaught was coming.

“So,” she started.

I smirked. She sounded careless and deceptive, but an attack was imminent.

She asked, “Which one was in your bed last night?

Yep. There it was.

I let out a sigh and stood. “I’m good to start running again.”

Carolina barked out a laugh, falling in line next to me. “If you think running is going to make me not ask these questions, think again, Jeneve. I run marathons. A one-miler to me is like walking to you.”

I gave her the middle finger.

She laughed and only nudged me with her elbow. “Out with it. Just tell me what’s going on.”

“There’s nothing to tell.” And there wasn’t. I had told her earlier about my night with Corrigan, but she thought it was only messing around. She didn’t know that he’d given me an ultimatum. I had to get in touch with my repressed feelings about Bryce first, and then more activities could ensue after that.

It was fucked up. That was my opinion of the whole thing, but I only said to Carolina, “I have no clue what I’m going to do.”

“No more evening activities with either of them?”

I shook my head. “Nothing.”

“Really? Have either of them said a word to you about that night?”

“Nope.” That was true, too. Bryce saw Corrigan enter my room. He heard me choose, but the next morning I took it back, and there’d been no Corrigan in my room. I had no idea what he was thinking. The only thing I knew was that it was checkmate. I had to drop my wall blocking Bryce, and then everyone could go from there.

“That’s so weird.”

I kept my mouth shut. If I wasn’t ready to deal with my emotions, there was no way I was going to start being a chick and sharing them with another girl. I let out a frustrated groan and put forth a burst of speed. Maybe I could run this shit out of me? That might help.

Carolina laughed, matching my pace again. “You want to sprint the last bit?” She pointed farther down the sidewalk as it weaved out of the park. “There’s a coffee shop up above.”

I almost fell down from the relief. Thank god for coffee. When we turned the corner, heading out of the park, the coffee shop was two stores down.

We never got there.

“Oh.”

Carolina saw them first, then touched my arm, drawing me to a halt.

Then I saw them. Bryce and Corrigan. Both were standing next to a car, wearing baseball caps pulled low and their shoulders hunched forward. They were trying to be inconspicuous.

They were idiots.

I rolled my eyes and strolled over to them. “Really? Are you trying to fulfill the definition of shady?”

“Shut up,” Corrigan grumbled, straightening from the car. He nodded at Carolina. “Nice to see you, Royal Princess, but,” he opened the back door for me and gave her a polite smile, “this is where your road ends with Sheldon today.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Why am I not getting a good feeling about this?”

“Not to be mean.” Bryce fielded this one from across the car. His arms stretched over the hood. “But the less you know, maybe the better for you.”

I took a quick reevaluation of them now. They were here, waiting for me. How they knew we’d end up at the coffee shop, I didn’t want to dissect, but both were grim and serious. Then it clicked—Michael Reveritt got out of jail.

“Oh.”

They both nodded, knowing what dots had connected in my head. “Yep,” Corrigan murmured. He nodded again to Carolina. “See ya, Smalls.”

“For real? You guys are just taking Sheldon and leaving me here? I ran here.”

Bryce opened his mouth, but I shot a hand up. Flashing him a grin, I winked. “I got this one.” I turned around to my friend. Yes, my friend. She was my female friend, but she wasn’t a part of our family. The only person who’d been allowed in was Denton, but since he wasn’t in the car waiting, I knew serious damage was going to go down.

Carolina was a friend, but she wasn’t my family.

A delicious shiver worked its way up my back and through me as I thought that last statement. Family. I could call Bryce and Corrigan family again. It felt damn good.