Page 97 of Kept in the Dark

Gavin looked at her. “I’m not leaving your side until this whole thing is over.”

Sara squeezed his hand for a moment but didn’t let go.

Trey shook his head. “And neither of you goes anywhere by yourself. You stay with me or with Gavin until I figure out what to do next.”

Hailey simply nodded, too exhausted to put up a fight; probably too scared, too. Sara was grateful, she didn’t have the energy to fight about Hailey’s stubbornness tonight, though it was nearly two in the morning now.

Sara wiped her brow. The sun wasn’t even out yet and the heat was still hardly bearable. The buzz of officers moving around on the property had drowned out the sounds of the night. Though it seemed that silence would soon fall as dawn approached and the investigation came to an end.

Another officer walked up to the truck. “I’m so sorry to interrupt, but Chief, we need you and Mr. O’Dell to come take a look at one last thing.” She looked at Sara and Hailey, and then back to Trey and Gavin. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

Trey nodded. Then he looked at Hailey and Sara and said, “We’ll be right back.”

Hailey took Sara’s hand and moved closer to her, as the two men followed the officer back to the crime scene. Then she laid her head on Sara’s shoulder and cried. Sara wanted to cry too, but she held her breath so the mist in her eyes would disappear. But the tears still came streaming down her face and she let them.

Then, soft chirps of her phone had her brushing her tears away. She furrowed her brows. The number was private.

“Hello?” she coughed out.

“I told you to mind your business, Sara; to leave things alone.”

“And I told you I was going to bury you,” she said matter-of-factly.

How had her father gotten her number? She was using a burner phone and had kept the number a secret aside from Hailey, Gavin, and Trey.

Hailey furrowed her brows and clutched Sara’s hand tighter. After what they’d just been through, they were both on edge.

“I saw your little interview in the paper.” David didn’t bother hiding his disdain.

She was surprised by his straightforwardness. Her father was a textbook narcissist, gaslighting his victims so they wouldn’t see his attacks coming. And, once they were vulnerable, he would strike.

But David knew they were no longer playing his game of cat and mouse where he would toy with her before attacking. She had grown accustomed to his deceit and was no longer playing along.

“A gift: from me to you,” she mocked.

“You know, Sara, revenge comes at a price. And it’s always the innocent who pay it.”

Her heart dropped to her stomach. She looked around, trying to find him in the crowd, but David wasn’t among the neighbors and the first responders.

“Who told you about Carter?” she demanded.

“The man who killed him. Ryan was supposed to kill Hailey, but of course you had to intervene. And now Carter’s blood is on your hands. And your sister’s will be too if you don’t stop.”

“How could you-”

“Did you truly believe I would sit back while you tried to destroy me? I warned you and you didn’t listen.” He chuckled, “Do I have your attention now, Sara?”

The line beeped and Sara screamed, startling Hailey. Rage engulfed her. She heaved her phone onto the ground, and it smashed onto the pavement.

After tonight, she would make it her life’s mission to hunt down Ryan House.

Next, she would find her father.

And then she would become the murderer everyone claimed her to be.

Hailey quickly jumped off the tailgate and followed Sara down the street. “Sara, stop!”

But Sara didn’t stop, she ignored her sister’s pleas and continued into the darkness of the early morning, dim streetlights their only source of light. Hailey could hardly keep up and was limping, her body still throbbing from the attack.

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