Page 72 of Fall onto me

“Just wait.” He grins, looking like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders.

“I don’t want to wait!” I laugh, trying to put last night out of my mind to focus on Foster’s change in mood.

A moment later, we pull up to the school and drive around back to the shop. The bay door’s open, and Barnes stands besides Wes talking.

Wes rushes over the moment I step out of the car and pulls me into a hug. “Young lady!” He frowns. “Where the fuck have you been?”

I bounce on the balls of my feet, waiting for someone, anyone to fill me in. “Long story, but it’s all good now. Can someone please tell me what’s happening?”

Foster grabs Wes’s shoulder and gives it a friendly squeeze. “Wes here had the best fucking idea.”

I throw my head back with a groan. “You’re killing me, guys.”

“Last night, before I realized you were missing, I went to see TK.”

“For what?”

“This.” He pulls out a little recorder and presses play. TK’s voice bleeds through the speakers.

TK: You haven’t completed your assignment.

Foster: I told you I wouldn’t murder for you.

TK: Are you saying you’re done?

Foster: I’m saying that I can do something else since you’re so adamant that you’ll hurt my family if I don’t kill Kent.

TK: You have two choices here, Ghost. You either fulfill your job and take down Mr. Johnson, or I will hunt down everyone you love.

He stops the recording,and a chill runs up my spine. “I don’t understand.”

“This is evidence, baby.” He smiles, handing it to Barnes.

I look at my sweet boyfriend, who is so hopeful and happy that it nearly makes me sigh in relief. “Won’t you get in trouble for doing work for him?”

Barnes shakes his head, pulling a stack of papers from the back of his squad car. “Detective Askena has these records on file. It’s proof of the Keeper forcing people to do his bidding. For years we’ve had witnesses coming forward. But they don’t consider them credible enough considering they don’t speak until they’re behind bars. This evidence was never enough for anything … but this?” He dangles the recorder. “This will finally get the son of a bitch.”

I suck in a quick, dry gulp of air. “So, we’re safe?”

Barnes nods. “Absolutely. There’s a warrant for his arrest, they’re planning on swarming the harbor tonight at ten.”

Relief.

All-consuming relief flows through me.

“I want to see him go down; I need to see his face.”

Foster shakes his head. “No. We’re done missing things because of him. Tonight, while we’re cheering Brett on at our last college football game, he’ll be seeing what it’s like to have his life ruined. We’re done putting everything on hold, baby girl.”

24

Istreak a smear of black paint underneath my eyes, “How does this look?” I ask Kate.

She nods in approval, pulling her fiery red hair into pigtails. “Fierce!”

For the first time in a long time, I’m able to not pretend.

The smile on my face is genuine. The shimmer in my eyes tells my friends I’m happy, and I can walk hand in hand tonight with Foster in the dark without trembling.

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