Page 18 of They Will Fall

“Doesn’t it, though? Isn’t Riley being accused of murdering them, too?”

The line goes silent for a moment before Ridge finally says, “It was you. I thought it was Cade, but it was you, wasn’t it?”

“If you’re asking if I killed them, I think we both know the answer to that.”

“Eric Mathers,” he says the name, as if it’s supposed to mean anything to me. “He was the last name on the list and once I crossed it off, I saw a shadow in the woods. I tried to catch the guy, but I wasn’t fast enough and he got away. I thought it was Cade, but it was you.” His voice rises a few octaves. “You knew this whole time it was me and you set her up! Why the hell would you do that?”

He’s right. From the very first murder, I knew it was him. Ridge stalked Riley, and I stalked them both. I watched everyone. I paid attention to every calculated detail and formed my own plan for the good of my future. I had to look after myself because no one else was going to. At that time, I was doing it to protect Ridge, and even Maddox, as I saw him slowly falling for Riley, too. With her out of the picture, they were safe, and what better way to get her out of the picture than to set her up for the crimes Ridge committed? She wasn’t innocent by any means—she killed our state governor. In my head, it was all justified. But my mind was in a fog and I hadn’t thought clearly in years.

I just never expected to fall for her, too.

“Answer me, dammit!”

I rest my head back with my hands still gripping the steering wheel. “I did it for you! Okay. Are you happy? I did it for you and Maddox. I saw her as a threat to you, and to our friendship. I knew they suspected her of the governor’s death and I thought for sure she was going to drag you both down. So I tried to get rid of her.”

“Why the hell didn’t you just tell us?”

“As if you’d listen to me. I was a joke to you and Maddox. I heard the whispers. Don’t act like you guys didn’t keep shit from me just because you were worried about how I’d react.”

“Well, for fuck’s sake, Lev. Do you blame us? Look at what you did?”

“Me?” I huff. “You murdered four fucking men for her. Is it so crazy that I assumed the girl had you in over your head?”

His silence is telling.

“Exactly my point,” I say. “Look. We all did some seriously fucked-up shit. We’ve all killed with her in mind.”

“We are pretty unhinged, aren’t we?”

I chuckle. “We’re fucking deranged. At least one of us turned out okay. There’s still hope for Maddox.”

“Speaking of Maddox, we need to find them. I’m not saying I believe you didn’t have anything to do with their disappearance. But if I did, do you have any idea where they might have gone, or who might have taken them?”

“One hundred fucking percent. It has to be my uncle.”

“I disagree.”

His words take me by surprise. “You do?”

“There’s a lot of shit we need to talk about. Where are you?”

“Heading back to campus as we speak.” I glance at the clock on the dash. “Should be there in about forty-five minutes.”

“Don’t go there. Meet me at the cabin.”

“Fine. But this better not be some sort of trap.”

“Ditto, fucker.”

The line goes dead and the only thought in my mind as I take off speeding to get to my friend is her.I need you to be okay, Trouble.

CHAPTER7

MADDOX

Lyingon the cold cement floor, Riley rests her head on my lap and wraps her arm around my torso. Guilt washes over me, knowing that I brought her here with nothing more than a few snacks and bottles of water. If my body could be the bed she lies on and the heat that warms her, I’d do it in a second. But she insists she’s fine.

My fingers stroke her head, tangling in her messy, beautiful hair. Her eyes open and she turns slightly, cracking a smile. “Thank you for hiding away with me,” she says, as if I’d be anywhere else.

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