Killer: A Bad Boy Romance (13 page)

I blushed. “Well, there’s one,” I said, biting my lip. “I used to think he was really sexy, but after meeting Chase he just seems like such a milquetoast.”

Jackie shrugged. “That happens sometimes, but you’ve told me that Chase is kind of an asshole. If you don’t want men to treat you like assholes, you can’t date asshole men.”

I nodded. “But how do I know?”

Jackie wrinkled her nose. “Little things,” she said slowly. “Watch and see if he takes care of you. Watch how narcissistic he is. You don’t want anyone who cares about themselves more than you, you hear that?”

I shook my head. “I know, but what if, like, Mark turns out to be addicted to porn? Or goes to hookers?”

Jackie glared at me and I blushed. “Sorry,” I mumbled. “I didn’t mean you. But come on, how do I know all the time? Some people are really good at keeping secrets.”

The mention of secrets again brought Chase—and all of his intrigue—back to my mind. Without waiting for Jackie to answer, I waved my hand around in the air. “Forget I said anything,” I told her. “Let’s talk about something else.”

“Sure,” Jackie said. “How’s school going?”

I was about to answer her when my cell phone started buzzing in my lap. Eagerly, I turned it around and looked at the caller ID. It wasn’t Chase; it just said “unknown.” Frowning, I held the phone up to Jackie. “Have you ever seen this?”

“Yeah,” she said, biting her fingernail. “My grandmother has a private line and when she used to call me, it always showed up like that.”

Frowning, I answered the phone. “Hello?”

There was a sound on the other end that sounded like deep breathing. “You’re not safe, little girl.”

A chill of fear shot down my back. It felt like ice. “What?”

“You’re not safe,” the voice whispered again. “Just because McIntyre dumped you, you’re not safe.”

“What’s going on?” Jackie hissed in my ear. I ignored her. The blood was pounding in my ears and I thought my heart was going to pound out of my chest.

“Did you hear me?” the voice on the phone asked me in a silky voice. I swallowed.

“Yes,” I squeaked.

“Repeat what I’ve told you,” the sinister voice said.

“I’m not safe because McIntyre dumped me,” I said in a wobbly voice. Jackie’s face went from one of confusion to one of horror and I immediately looked away. The voice on the other end of the line laughed hysterically and then hung up. I blinked back tears for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

“Lacey, what the fuck is going on?” Jackie asked, glaring at me. “What just happened?”

“You need to leave,” I said in a shaky voice. “I’ll call you later, okay? I can’t talk about it right now.”
Because I don’t know anything
, I finished in my head. Jackie stared at me.

“Are you out of your mind? I have half a mind to call someone and get them here with a gun, Lacey!”

“Nothing’s going to happen,” I said with a false smile. “I’m sure it was just a prank.”

“Lying isn’t going to get you anywhere,” Jackie said flatly. “And I want you to come with me, if I leave.”

I looked around my apartment. Suddenly, going to Jackie’s didn’t seem like the worst idea in the world.

“Okay,” I said, nodding. “But let me make a call first.”

Jackie watched in silence as I dialed the non-emergency number for the police.

“Hello? May I help you?”

“Hi,” I said shakily. “I was threatened over the phone, and I’m worried that I might not be safe.”

There was a pause. “Can you tell me more about what’s going on?”

I looked at Jackie, not wanting to say anything in front of her. Hell, I knew I shouldn’t mention Chase at all. It would be much, much too dangerous.

“I don’t know,” I said finally.

“Honey, if you can’t tell me what’s going on, we can’t help you,” the dispatcher said, not unkindly. “If you can share a little more information with me, I can send someone out there to help you.”

I shook my head. “I can’t,” I squeaked out. “I really don’t know anything else.”

“If you can think of anything, you just go ahead and call us back, you hear?”

I nodded even though they couldn’t see me. “Right,” I said finally. The dispatcher hung up and I rolled my eyes.

“Cops?”

“Yeah,” I muttered. “Let me pack a bag and then we can go.”

“Actually, Lacey, I’m not going home,” Jackie looked guilty. “I’m going straight to that party. But you can totally come if you want! It might even be fun. And it’ll get you out of the house.”

I frowned. “Thanks, but I just want to be alone, I think,” I said finally. “I’ll call you if anything else comes up.”

“Okay,” Jackie said finally. We hugged and she put her coat on. “Call me later anyway. I want to make sure that you’re safe, if possible.”

When she was gone, I went back into my bedroom and lay down. The call kept playing over and over in my head. Who had called me? And how did they know about me and Chase? And how did they get my phone number? At this rate, I had more questions than answers, and it seemed like things got worse with each passing day.

Chapter Eighteen

Chase

“Hey, buddy.” Marco grinned at me. “You try some of this shit yet? It’s so smooth.” He handed me a little bag full of white powder and instantly, my veins itched.

“That looks so sweet,” I breathed, holding the bag close. The medicinal smell of the heroin was noticeable through the plastic; or so I thought. After almost a year of being hooked on dope, I could smell it in my sleep.

“That’s a sixty dollar bag, man,” Marco said. “You’ll want to be careful with that. It’s stronger than what you’re used to. Break it down and sell it in quarters if you have to. We don’t want any ODs on this turf, we gotta keep the customers alive for right now.”

I nodded, already searching my mind for a way to try the pure heroin in my hand. I decided that once Marco left, I could shoot up. Between my toes so there wouldn’t be track marks. Then just pass out for a couple of hours in a state of blissful high and wake up in another world. Heroin was like the warm embrace of a woman, and I craved every moment I could get alone with her.

“Marco, what do I owe you for this?”

He grinned at me. “Gratis right now, little dude.” He clapped me on my big biceps. “But if you like it and want to start selling, let me know. I’ll hook you up!”

The junk Marco gave me was the purest heroin I’d ever tried. I was hooked instantly, and I started selling so I could buy even more for myself. I thought Marco was just a neighborhood kid, but I soon realized that he had gang ties. He promised to keep me out of everything, but I couldn’t help but feel suspicious. The junk he was getting was far too good to come with no warning, and it was only a matter of time before Marco’s headless body showed up on my front step.

Around the same time, I was getting heavy into the H. I was shooting up multiple times a day, it seemed like nothing was enough to keep me sated. I was dealing whenever I could but the customers started to dry off as people overdosed more and more often. I was just about at rock bottom when thugs broke down my door and stole everything. They took all of my junk stash and all the money I had saved up looking for the monster who slaughtered my sister.

Then, I got charged with possession. One of my clients turned on me and handed me over to the cops, with a grin on his face like the bastard he was. I served ten years for it, and got no fucking closer to the killer. But he was still around. Oh, he was still around and he never let me forget it.

“Man, you awake?” Peyton snapped his fingers in front of my face and I snarled back at him. “Man, you gotta talk to me about this.” He held out a piece of paper with a blurry photo and a name. “You know this asshole?”

I nodded and gave him a dark look. “He was involved with junk back in the day. I bought from him a few times.”

Peyton opened his eyes wide. “This asshole is the motherfuckin’ hustler of The Machetes,” he whispered. “You tellin’ me you worked with him?”

I felt like someone had punched me in the gut. “What?” I asked dumbly.

“He’s in the motherfuckin’ Machetes,” Peyton repeated with a grin. “Remember I told you to watch out?”

I glared at him. “Why the fuck are you so happy about this?” I growled. “This is bad news, Peyton. This is really fuckin’ bad, and it’s a lot worse than I thought.”

“Sorry, man,” Peyton replied, holding his hands up in mock defeat. “I didn’t mean to make you pissed off, but do you know how fuckin’ serious this is?”

I swallowed the urge to punch him in his smug face. “I do,” I replied. “Can you stop throwing that name around in here? It means something to everyone.”

Peyton rolled his eyes. “And he’s the one who told me about those kills,” he whispered to me. “He’s the one who told me about that guy in The Machetes carving people up.”

My stomach turned to a block of ice. I couldn’t even process what he’d just told me. If that was true…

“Fuck,” I whispered aloud, feeling my heart thud in my chest. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!” 

“What is it, man?” Peyton asked. He leaned back in his chair and cocked his head at me. “What you fuckin’ about over there?”

“When I was younger, in my twenties, I dealt junk for a while,” I said quietly. Peyton opened his eyes wide but didn’t say anything. “And I thought I was mostly dealing with this street kid, Marco. He got killed one day—someone fuckin’ cut his head off—and I assumed it was another dealer. I didn’t know we were involved with The Machetes.”

“Are you fuckin’ stupid?” Peyton glared at me. “You sold grade A junk and didn’t think you were involved in a gang? How retarded can you be?”

I looked down. “I was a fuckin’ kid, alright? And I was dope addicted myself,” I added in a quiet voice. “I didn’t fuckin’ know up from down at that point.”

Peyton leaned back in his bar stool and gazed at me. “And now you’re thinkin’ that asshole is the one who offed your sister?”

I nodded. “Yeah,” I muttered. “It has to be him. It’s been him the whole time. He’s always fucked with me. First Rose, then Marco, and then someone turning me in. Now all the kills around me.”
And Lacey
, I wanted to add. My heart jumped into my throat when I thought about her. The involvement of The Machetes made everything so much worse than it had been before. They weren’t a clueless gang. They were one of the most ruthless, lawless gangs in the country. The towns they lived in, they owned. I knew they had probably paid off local law enforcement everywhere they claimed as territory. And now I knew that it was only a matter of time before they came gunning for me.

And gunning for Lacey. Jesus, I’d be lucky if they came for me first. If my previous luck gave any indication of the future, I didn’t think I’d be so lucky. I could just see it now; walking into Lacey’s apartment, calling her name, finding her mutilated and battered body in the bedroom. The idea alone made me sick; I knew that if it actually happened, I wouldn’t be able to cope.