Page 45 of You Belong With Me

I blink at him, surprised. I’d assumed I was being brought in about the Gabriel shit, but could this be about something else entirely? Fuck knows I’ve done enough to warrant being arrested a hundred times over. “Is this about Tyler?”

That dude, August, from Shadow and Ash, did say we’d be sorry about what we did to Tyler. I’d assumed that was a bluff, but I don’t know, maybe Shadow and Ash is better connected than I assumed they were.

“No,” McKnight says quickly. “That was a suicide, case closed.”

I shrug. “Okay, then the assault against Kai? The stalking? What?”

I mean, fuck, it could be anything at this point.

“They’re charging you with first-degree murder,” he says somberly.

I nod slowly, adjusting my arms. My muscles burn from being in such an awkward position for so long. “And who am I supposed to have killed?”

He pushes out a breath, opens his notebook, pulls a photo out, and slides it across the table to me. “His name was Justin Welch.”

I glance down at the photo, amazed at his resemblance to Gabriel. The facial features are different, but his coloring and build are spot on.

With a shrug, I shake my head. “Never met him.”

“He had a loose connection with an underground society called?—”

“Let me guess,” I interrupt. “Shadow and Ash?”

McKnight’s eyes widen like he wasn’t expecting me to know their name. “Precisely. I didn’t realize you were aware of them. I heard their name for the first time this morning.”

“The witness in Gabriel’s case is also associated with Shadow and Ash,” I say with another shrug.

“And you didn’t feel compelled to mention that to me?” McKnight says, annoyed.

“Why? Gabriel is alive now. Case closed, right?”

“Not exactly. Someonediddie that night—a real piece of shit, though.” He flips his notebook open again and pulls out a sheet of paper. “He’s been booked for drug trafficking, burglary, assault…and recently, attempted rape.”

“Wow, this guy sounds like a peach,” I say flatly. “So, clue me in…why do we care that he’s dead?”

McKnight lifts his hands. “Murder is murder, and from what I’m hearing, they have surveillance footage ofyoupushing this guy into the path of the train.”

Releasing a breath, I lean back, angling my body in a way that doesn’t crush my arms. “Why would I kill a guy I don’t even know?” I ask.

“You tell me, Lucas. I haven’t seen the video, but apparently, it’s pretty damning.”

Goddamn. “So a video just happens to magically appear, is that it?”

McKnight shrugs. “From what I’m being told, there’s an abandoned building across from where this all happened, and the owner just remembered that he had cameras installed to catch trespassers.”

“Hejusthappened to remember?” I laugh under my breath. Damn, whoever set this up is good. “That’s pretty damn convenient.”

“Listen, I have connections that I’ve already reached out to, and we’ll try to get this worked out, but I have one question for you, and I need you to be honest with me…”

“Okay, shoot.”

“Did you kill this guy? Was that you on the surveillance footage?”

I look McKnight dead in the eye and I lean forward. “Before I answer that, there’s something I need you to do for me.”

McKnight leans back in the cheap plastic chair, and I can already tell, he’s frustrated with me. “What is it?”

“I need you to put Gwendolyn Barker on all of my bank accounts.”

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