Page 30 of Cornered

“Try me.”

“For as long as I can remember it’s been, ‘Cherry, you have to watch out for Benji.’ ‘Cherry, don’t let anything happen toBenji.’ ‘Cherry, Dad and I are going out with friends, keep an eye on Benji.’ All day. Every day. Even when I was at school—Lake City Private Academy—I had to keep an eye on him and report back to my parents when I got home.” She dragged in a ragged breath. “Do you know how much I came to hate my brother?”

“Oh, Cherry, I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

“You hate me?” Benji’s low voice brought gasps from both women as they spun together to see Benji in the doorway, eyes wide, face pale. “Wow.”

Cherry groaned. “No! I mean I did. Yes.” She waved a hand. “But not now. Now I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do. What’s my role? In trying to protect you, I...”

“You what?” Steph asked.

“Nothing.”

“Something,” Steph said. She slinked toward the back entrance, eyes bouncing between the siblings.

Benji’s gaze swung to Steph and he scowled. “You just couldn’t leave things alone, could you?”

Steph froze. “What are you saying?”

He took a step toward her and Cherry lunged in front of him. “Benji, don’t.” He pushed his sister aside and advanced. Cherry grabbed his arm and swung him around. “Benji, stop! What are you doing?”

He jerked out of her grip, and something fell from his jacket pocket.

A small pink notebook.

Steph let out a sharp cry, then snapped her lips shut.

But it was too late.

He grabbed for her, but Cherry was in his way, causing him to stumble, giving Steph just enough time to shove open the door and race out the back into the space between the locker room area and a large building that she had no idea what it held.

But the door at the end on the corner was open, so she bolted for it while reaching for her cell phone. She couldn’thelp a quick glance back over her shoulder. No one was coming after her at the moment, but she had to get away.

She slipped through the open door, looking for another exit that would enable her to route around to her vehicle. The place was an auto repair garage. Of course Bolin’s would have their own mechanics. She glanced at her phone. She had service and—

A clatter up ahead sent her scurrying behind one of the Subarus. At least they had good taste in SUVs. She tapped a message into her phone to Tate.

Still here. Benji and Cherry had something to do with Brenda’s accident. Benji had the pink notebook.

So, how did Stan fit into all of this? The two had obviously been working together, but...

She hit send. Then dialed 911.

Then noticed neither her text nor her call had gone through.

The metal building. It was blocking the signal. Fabulous.

One worker went in the garage, but so far no one had spotted her. Heart pounding, she scurried across the floor, heading to the exit opposite the one she’d entered. At the very back, just before the door, she came to one of the SUVs that had been damaged.

White paint marred one side, along with a dent and broken headlight. “No,” she whispered. “No, no, no.” She checked the wheels and found one missing a hubcap. This was the vehicle that had sent Brenda plunging to her death. She needed to call Tate or James or someone and she had to get out of the metal warehouse to do that. Once she was outside, she lifted her phone to check the signal and found three bars.

Something hard pressed into the base of her skull and she froze. “Just keep walking,” the voice behind her said. “Give me the phone.”

She passed it to him.

“Walk.”

“Where?”

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