Page 67 of Oliver

“I don't know. She died…”

Oliver grabs Oren by the neck and says, “Focus. Who? Where?”

What’s he saying? Oh, oh shit.

“She didn’t tell me. And when I found her…I ran.”

Scrambling back, I say, “Are you telling me there was one more? And you don’t know where they are?”

Shit. It’s been months. Whoever it is or was has to be dead by now.

This time, I can’t contain the roil in my stomach and with a sob, I escape to the bathroom as vomit spews from my lips.

Turns out, my sister was a murderer after all.

Oliver

After Penny rushes from the room, I turn to Oren and say quietly, “You better tell me everything you know. Now.”

Oren nods and a tingle of disgust shivers down my spine at his pathetic visage. Get it together, asshole.

“Dixie wanted to get back at Jaxon. She started messaging all these freaks, getting ideas. I think it got to her. You know?”

I don’t but when I merely raise a brow, he continues, “She begged me to help with Jaxon and I did but after that, I said no more. Except she wouldn’t stop.”

“And?”

“Well, she picked up some dude on the side of the road. A hitchhiker. Took him somewhere and asked me to meet her but by the time I got there, hoping to talk her out of it, she was dead.”

Glancing at the photos, I silently sigh. Dixie Loughlin was a very bad girl. Now what do I do about it?

Penny’s already knee deep in trouble, having brought my sister along for the ride. Maybe this is what my father was trying to tell me. Nothing about this was innocent and whoever Dixie involved in her activities, got tired of playing the game.

Sifting through the photos, I say, “What about my…father.” I practically trip over the word because I hate the fucker, but Oren doesn’t seem to notice.

“Once, way back when, she asked him to help her learn how to do this…but he blew her off. At least that’s what she said.”

“Why are you here?”

“Why?” He cocks his head and I grunt. “You have pictures here of a now, I presume dead Jaxon, who cares about anything else?”

His lower lip quivers and I glance at the door. Penny still hasn’t emerged when Oren starts sniveling again.

Chapter 21

Penny

Helpless is pretty much how I feel as I stare out the window. Somewhere out there, some poor fucker is dead because of my sister. And her letter did nothing to make me feel better about her disgusting behavior.

After another five minutes of brooding, I say quietly, “What else did he say?”

The tap, tap, tap of Oliver’s finger against the wheel brings me around. He’s on lockdown.

“Oliver?” I nudge and he grunts. “Well?”

“What do you want me to say, playpen?”

“The truth,” I rasp, and he grimaces.

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