Page 149 of Rebel

“What did you do to Beck?” I demand. Kolton puts his arm across me, holding me back when I would lash out at him.

Gill is calm, almost too calm, and rational as he steps forward.

“What do you know about Beck?”

“Um, not much. She’s your new lead singer. Is something wrong? I know she ran off stage, but they wouldn’t tell us why.” He lifts his arm, and I see a cut across it. It’s maybe a few days old.

“What’s that?” Trav asks, his voice cold.

“Oh.” He glances down with a frown. “I cut myself on the rigging a couple of days ago. Guys, what happened?”

We share a look. “You tell us,” Kolton retorts.

“I really don’t know what you mean.” He just stares at us, completely confused, and it’s then I realize he genuinely doesn’t know. No one is that good of an actor. “Is everything okay? Is Beck okay?”

“No, she isn’t,” I mutter.

He flinches. “What can I do to help?”

“Tell us what you know. Not about Beck, but about Willa. She was struggling before. Maybe you saw someone with her a lot or talking to her. Anything will help,” Kolton tells him, his voice softer. His approach is good. Whoever is behind her sister’s suffering is behind this, and if we find them, then we find our girl.

“She was always alone,” he says. “She seemed to like it that way.”

My shoulders slump. It’s another dead end. We have nothing to go on.

“Oh, but there was that reporter,” Gill exclaims, as if just remembering.

“Reporter?” I frown.

“Yeah, shit, what was his name?” He squints as if he’s racking his brain. “He was always hanging around and asking for her. She kept ignoring him and almost seemed scared of him. Shit, what was his name? Friendly eyes, brown beard?—”

“Ben,” I murmur.

“That’s it!” Gill grins. “Ben something. He seemed obsessed with her, but what do I know? God rest her poor soul.” He trails off, watching us. “Guys?”

I hear nothing, ice in my veins.

Ben.

Ben is behind all of this.

The very same Ben my girl trusts.

He could be hurting her right now.

Ben pushed her sister to kill herself, and now he’s going after our girl.

Fuck!

SIXTY-NINE

There was only one person I could call, only one person who would understand. I explained everything over the phone, hoping he might be able to help me dig up dirt on Rachel, because I’m going back, and when I do, I’m exposing her and the truth about what she did to my sister and me.

She won’t get away with this, and I know Ben can help me. I hit record on my phone and drop it on the bed as he knocks again, no doubt worried about standing outside the seedy motel as rain lashes the cheap windows. Hopefully, I can record everything he says so we can use it against her.

I’m almost overcome with gratitude as I swing the door open and grin at him. He smiles at me, his hair slicked back and wet from the rain. He shakes off his coat as he steps inside, stomping his boots to try, in vain, to dry them.

“Thanks for coming.” I sit down on the edge of the bed since there isn’t really anywhere else to take a seat.

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