Page 71 of PET

I drag down the top of the screen and see a strange text message from a private number.

PrivateNumber: Execution date: November 1st.

My brows pinch together in confusion as I read it several times. Scrolling up, I try to figure out who the hell this is and what that message might pertain to. There are no messages from Christian and only three from this number. I snap a picture containing an address I somewhat recognize from the valley and put his phone back down behind him.

He groans and moves a bit, so I take this time to get the hell out of here. I was going to cuddle up beside them, but I have to figure out what this address is first. Something was really off about those messages, and the execution date?

Oh my God.

Is Christian the one killing everyone? Both those girls were my biggest bullies, but would he actually hurt them? Maybe… He was sleeping with Lacee after all. Maybe he saw her as a threat and took her out. No, that can’t be right. He was on house arrest, for fuck’s sake.

When I’m back in my bedroom, I search the address and get a bing on the map. I click on it, turning it to the satellite view and zoom in. The Google image says they took this photo this year. It’s a house in the valley like I had predicted, but whose is it? I tap the street view and nearly choke when I see who’s house we’re in front of. And I only know it’s his because of the car sitting in the front driveway.

Chris. CJ. My Valley Boy.

Why the hell does he have CJ’s address in a text message telling him to use the back door after 11 at night—oh. My heart sinks into my gut, jealousy ripping through me. Sneaking in the back door late at night? Yeah, that’s a booty call if I’ve ever heard one.

I’m angry—fucking pissed the hell off. I throw my phone down and launch up from bed, wanting some goddamn answers before I lose it. Marching back to their bedroom, I shove the door open and click on the string of lights. The soft golden glow fills the small room as I kick the end of their bed roughly.

“Get up, assholes!” I snap, kicking the bed again.

They wake with a jolt, Christian looking at me like he’s going to rip my head off. But his brows soften when he sees me. “B-Billie, what are you—”

“Are you fucking CJ’s mom?!” I yell without reserve, putting him on the spot.

“Whoa, dude,” Zeke says, looking at Christian with a shocked expression. “Are you actually?”

“NO!” he screams, launching up from bed. His overalls fall from his hips, showing us his dick before he pulls them up, heat filling his cheeks.

I ignore the way the metal in his dick looked and shake my dirty thoughts out of my head. “Then why do you have his address in your text messages telling you to come in the back door after 11 p.m.?!”

He huffs out a breath, looking away as if I have caught him red fucking handed. Shoving his long locks from his face, he glances at Zeke like he’s going to help him out of this somehow.

“Billie, you don’t understand.”

I blink several times, disbelief consuming me when Zeke actually steps up for him. They’ve clearly made up and I’m on the other team again.

“What I don’t understand is—Oh my God,” I whisper, covering my mouth. “Are you sleeping with CJ?” Tears blur my vision when I realize that might be the truth all along. It would make sense why he’d break up our date both at the movies and the pool hall. And he could be fucking me to get back at CJ.

“What?!” he shrieks, shaking his head. “No, Billie! I’m not fucking CJ. Fine. I am fucking his mother, okay?”

Dread falls over me when I stare at him, his sudden honesty slapping me in the face like a frozen blast on a hot summer’s day. So, he actually is sleeping with her. I cross my arms over my chest and instantly remember how I felt when I found out Holden had been sleeping with Dana while he was sleeping with me.

I blink away the tears and go to turn away, but Christian launches forward and grabs my arm. “Billie, please don’t shut me—us—out again. I’ll tell you everything. Anything you want to know.”

Turning to face him, he lets go of my arm and holds his open, a look of pure vulnerability crossing his features. I glance at Zeke, who’s looking at me much the same way. It actually looks like they’re wanting to come clean once and for all. I give them a small nod, saying nothing so they can say everything.

Chapter 29

CHRISTIAN VERADIN

GlancingbetweenBillieandZeke has my heart about ready to beat out of my fucking chest. I knew I’d have to come clean in order to have them both forgive me, but I didn’t imagine it would be so soon. As I take a deep breath in and blow it out, I nod and start telling my side of things.

“I’m not sure where you want me to start, so here goes nothing. When I was a little boy, my dad would bring me along to what he called work meetings. I didn’t think to question why these meetings were in the middle of the night in some creepy basement at Reaper academy, but whatever—they were.”

“What were these meetings?” Zeke asks, stealing my attention for a moment.

I shrug. “No clue. I was too young to really comprehend much of it. Besides, I was too occupied by the candy they gave me.”

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