Page 115 of Muted

“N-No!” he chokes out, his voice broken, and I suspect I may have done a bit of damage if I’m seeing those finger marks on his neck correctly.That’ll bruise nicely.

“Why did she take the money from you today, then?” Chaz asks with a hint of panic. I let him take over so he can figure out on his own how badly he fucked up.

Cliff stretches his neck, trying to ease the ache that I suspect Susu has to deal with every day. “It was only the second time I got cash from her. You all keep her locked up and away from me. I figured if I gave her a little, she’d be more willing to keep her mouth shut because then she was in on it, too.”

With a groan, Chaz looks up at the ceiling and drags his hand down his face, clearly distressed that hewaswrong. I hand him my phone and scroll back a few texts to allow him to read what Susu said.

He mutters, “Fuck me,” after he finishes reading, then stands up to pace with his fingers locked behind his head. With an abrupt stop, he yanks his phone out and makes a call, holding his phone to his ear.

“Who are you calling?” I ask him. There’s no need to say anything; I know this is going to eat him alive. Hopefully Susu will be understanding and give him a chance to apologize.

He lifts his brow at me like I’m an imbecile. “Who do you think?”

“Vance is looking for her right now,” I tell him. Chaz growls in frustration when she doesn’t answer and pokes his phone to hang up before dialing again. Three more times he calls with no answer. I shake my head slowly at him. “Man, she’s not going to take your call.”

He goes to argue, but the front door opens, and two police officers walk in with noisy radios. My phone buzzes just as Chaz approaches them, explaining what’s been happening. After reading, I jerk my head up to study Cliff.

Susu: Take Cliff’s phone.

Cocking my head to the side, I ask, “Where’s your phone, buddy?”

“In my pocket, why?” he sneers, getting more and more pissed that he’s been caught. I smile when he runs his fingers over the side of his neck, wincing at the bruise.

As nonthreatening as I can sound, I ask, “Can I see it?”

“Fuck you,” he spits out.

Biting my cheek to contain my frustration, I try a different tactic. Susu wouldn’t have said something about it if it wasn’t important. “You have something to hide? Maybe if you cooperate, things will go a little easier for you.”

His eyes slice over me, and he frowns. “There’s nothing on my phone for any of you to worry about.” Then, pointing at the cops, he adds, “Besides, they’re here now. I have rights, and one of those rights is that I don’t have to give you shit. Now fuck right off.”

Grumbling in frustration, I text her back.

Me: I can’t get it from him. Cops are here now, though.

Susu: Has he had it this whole time?

Me: I think so, why? Did Vance find you?

Text read. No response. So I call Vance, who picks up on the second ring, answering me before I can voice the question. “She’s not here yet. I’m not sure where else to go, so I’m waiting in the apartment with her roommate.”

Sighing, I meet Chaz’s eyes and shake my head. “Just stay there, then. We’ll come over once we’re done here. Shouldn’t be too long. Maybe the bus is taking time on the route or something.”

Checking my watch, I do the math in my head and realize that’s a good possibility, especially if she didn’t catch the most recent one because she was hiding from us.

Another twenty minutes of spinning my thumbs around, Cliff is eventually hauled off to be booked after Chaz gave them additional proof we’ve been compiling. A quick call to the lawyer, Richard Leigh, to give him a head’s up, and we’re finally on our way.

I leave my best friend alone on the drive, letting him mull over what happened over the past two hours. Eventually he slams his head back and groans. “Fuck, I really fucked up, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, you did. We all did though,” I tell him. And it’s the truth. We all royally fucked up when it came to her.

Eyeing me sideways, he asks, “What do you mean?”

“We’ve all been keeping shit to ourselves. We should have sat downwith herand laid it all out. She texted me while you were talking to the cops.”

Taking her exit, he seems to perk up at that. “Is she okay? What did she say?”

“I have no idea if she’s okay. All she said was ‘Take Cliff’s phone’ and that was it.” I’m still confused about why she’d want me to do that, so I voice the question both of them. “What do you think is on his phone?”

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