Page 112 of Fracture

“I’ll give you fifty thousand.”

Flea laughs out loud, a gravelly sound that echoes down the line. “For that much, I’ll tap his phone and send you everything on it.”

“Do that. I want it all by tonight.”

“Consider it done, amigo. Anything else I can help you with?”

“No, that’s it.”

“Good.” The line goes dead as Flea hangs up.

I spin the phone on the table for a moment. I don’t know why I asked for Flea to trace Oswald, and I sure as fuck can’t explain what would be on his phone. But the way Gloria’s eyes kept flickering off camera, as though someone was standing there…

Maybe I’m being paranoid.

But then I remember that Stella had told me that Oswald and Gloria had come to her with that plea bargain, the agreement that she wouldn’t come and see us, and that her letters would be monitored.

Oswald has something to do with this, and while my sleep-deprived brain can’t sort through it all right now, there’s more at play than anyone is letting on.

CHAPTER 26

STELLA

“She’s full of shit, right?”Zee’s eyes are wide as I click off the television.

Dylan’s leg is bouncing as he taps his foot against the ground, alternately rubbing his forehead then his mouth, then running his hands over his head in a loop of frustration, before he springs from the armchair and crosses the room to the window.

“Fucking bitch,” he hisses. “Sick fucking bitch. As if I’d ever fucking touch her.” He lets out a growl and throws the drapes closed. “And now there’s reporters outside the damn house.”

“Were you ever even alone with her?” I ask, disbelief still running through me.

Dylan laughs bitterly. “No, not fucking once. She hated me, you know that. I was nothing but a filthy Polack or a fucking beaner, depending on what day it was and how many martinis she’d had.” He paces the lounge room like a caged animal. “What the fuck is she playing at? What the fuck is she hoping to get out of this?”

“Victim status?” Zee offers. “I mean, she’s not above using anyone for her own means.”

“Yeah, but this?This?” Dylan’s hands curl into fists, and he exhales through gritted teeth. “Fuck this, I need to breathe.” He storms out of the room, and the porch door slams loudly.

Zee lets out a low whistle, and throws themselves back in their chair. “Well, this sure as hell is messy.”

“Levi’s going to kill her,” I say without thinking, and then that icy feeling drops back into the pit of my stomach. I hope my face isn’t pale, and that Zee doesn’t see the change in my expression. But I know it’s possible. I know every time the guys leave the house that they could come back covered in the blood of yet another person they’ve put in the ground.

But I can’t tell Zee that, and they simply shrug and take a sip of their water, thinking I’m joking.

“She’s sure as hell cruising for some bad karma,” Zee says, placing the glass back on the coffee table before eyeing me warily. “You doing alright?”

“Yeah I’m fine, just been a crazy couple of days. I - well…” I want to tell Zee about Oswald, about the video and his threats. But I glance over my shoulder, knowing that if Dylan catches the slightest hint of anyone threatening me, we’re just going to topple deeper into this whole awful situation. Instead, I turn back to Zee and give them a wan smile. “I guess I thought I was pregnant for a minute, so Dylan’s a little on edge.”

“You thought you werewhat?” Zee starts forward in their chair. “Oh my god, seriously?”

“I’m not, I’m not, my period was just late so I freaked out. The IUD messes with my cycle sometimes.”

Zee puffs out a breath. “I swear to god, y’all are going to give me a heart attack one of these days.” They tilt their head. “I mean, would you have been alright if you were? I don’t even know if you want kids.”

“I don’t,” I say quietly, looking down at my hands. “I mean, I never did, because I always thought I’d be a bad mother, you know, history repeats itself, right?”

“Hey, no, that’s not how that works.” They toss their dreads as they shake their head. “I think you’d make a great mother,becauseof what happened to you. You’d never want a kid to go through what you went through, are you kidding me?” They shift to the edge of their seat and reach out to take my hand. “Only if that’s what you wanted, of course.”

I shrug, shifting to tuck my legs underneath me on the armchair. “I don’t know. If it happened, I guess I’d be OK with it.” I lift my eyes to meet theirs. “But with all this insanity around us right now, I’m glad I’m not.”

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