Light of Day (19 page)

I moved in front of him. “If you want to do something for me, then you'll get out of here. Now.” I grabbed Bree's arm from his grip. She wasn't struggling anymore. Her sobs had turned to whimpers, as if she'd lost the energy to cry. “We'll tell the cops that a rival gang stormed in here and we didn't know who they were. Right, Bree?”

Her head swung my way, her hair falling in a messy curtain over her face. “Fuck you.”

“Back atcha.” My hand tightened around her arm. “I'll tell them everything, Bree. How you kidnapped me. Drugged me. How you played us all. You like the sound of that? Or I could make it all go away.”

She lifted her tear-stained face, pushing her hair out of the way. “Like I can trust you.”

“I'm serious. I'll tell the cops you called me over here to help you and that we got caught in a gun fight. All you have to do is not mention Jackson or the Destinos. How easy is that?”

She fell silent. Through the tearful glitter in her eyes, I saw that clever mind of hers working. She might be torn up
with grief over Milo, but she also wanted to save herself.

Jackson picked up her bling-covered phone from the couch. “I bet there are some texts that show you weren't the innocent victim after all. That you were a pimp's partner in crime. Best you can hope for is that they'll try you as a minor. But if you're eighteen by the time it goes to trial . . .”

“Fine,”
she bit out.

“Good choice.” He went around grabbing cell phones off the bodies. “I need your phone too, Gabby.”

Right. If the cops found my phone, they'd see that I'd texted Jackson to come over. They'd know he'd been here.

The sirens were drawing closer. Panicked, my eyes scanned the room. I had no clue where my phone was. After I'd been forced to text Jackson, Bree had held on to it.

“It's in the bedroom,” Bree said reluctantly. “I probably dropped it in the closet.”

Jackson ran into the bedroom, and came out seconds later. “Got it.” He looked at me, and his expression was a caress. Then he ran out the door.

It was me and Bree now.

Although I still held on to her arm, it was more to hold her up than stop her from running. She stared at Milo's body.

“Love, huh?” I said. “Was it worth it?”

She turned to me, a strange look in her eyes. “It was . . . an adventure.”

“Freeze!”

We didn't move.

Two cops, guns drawn, entered the apartment. Several more crowded the hallway behind them.

“They're all dead,” I said to the cops. “This is the missing girl you've been looking for, Brianna O'Connor.”

“Are you Brianna O'Connor?” one of the cops shouted back, not lowering his gun.

I saw the pathetic expression on her face, the
help me
look in her eyes. Bree had effortlessly slipped back into the role of innocent victim. She'd play the cops, of course. She'd play her family. She'd play the press.

“Y-yes,” she said weakly. “It's me.”

When the two-day blur of questioning was over, Jackson was waiting for me. I knew he would be.

I drove to his place at dusk, spotting him on the steps outside his building. By the time I parked the car, he was waiting at the curb, and when I got out, he immediately enfolded me in his arms. I breathed in his comforting scent, reveling in his strong arms around me. He was here and he was real, but I had to kiss him a million times just to make sure.

As he caught my hand and led me up to his apartment, relief flooded through me. After walking on eggshells for two
days, I was finally free. Both the cops and my parents had bought my story. They'd had no reason to doubt my version of events, since it was the same as Bree's.

I'd done my best to be strong and stoic during the questioning, to not give any hints of my true feelings about Bree. My goal was to protect Jackson and the Destinos, and I'd done that. My parents had hugged me and kissed me and chastised me for trying to run to Bree's aid without calling the police first. They didn't know that I'd been kidnapped, that a gun had been put to my head. And I couldn't ever tell them.

In the apartment, Jackson searched my eyes. “So Bree stuck to the story?”

I nodded. “She knows that if she rats on the Destinos, the truth about her will come out. Bree's too smart to let that happen.”

“So it's all tied up neat and tidy with a bow, huh?” His eyes were full of admiration. “You saved my ass, Gabby. But I want you to know, I could defend what I did that night. They were shooting at us. I had no choice but to fire back.”

“I know that. But you would've gone to jail.” I looked at him, taking in a shaky breath. “I'm the one who put you in that situation. I could've gotten you killed. I'm so sorry.” Then it happened—the dam burst. I threw my arms around him and started to cry. For two days, I'd kept my emotions on
lockdown. But the realization of what had happened, of the choice I'd made, was now hitting me.

He pulled back slightly, tipping up my chin so he could look into my eyes. “I know what Milo would've threatened to do if you didn't cooperate. That's how he controls his girls.” A cold rage took him over. “You had no choice but to text me.
I'm
the one who's sorry, Gabby. If I weren't in charge of the Destinos, they wouldn't have kidnapped you to get to me.”

I shook my head. “Milo blamed you for going to the cops. But I'm the one who did that.”

“Yeah, but I fucked with him, trust me. We were on the verge of shutting him down. He had to do something about me sooner or later.”

“I was terrified that you wouldn't catch on to my message.”

“I knew what ‘Jackie' meant. You're too careful to call me that by accident. But that wasn't the only reason I knew it was a setup. It was weird for you to go to a friend's place to work on a project after your show on a Sunday night. And Caro's dad doesn't live in Overtown. He lives in Coconut Grove.”

“How do you know?”

“It's a pretty seedy neighborhood for someone who can afford to send their kid to Catholic school. There's no one with his last name in that area. Plus, that apartment was only rented a month ago. I looked up the address, and saw a For
Rent ad that hadn't been taken down.”

I was impressed. “You did your research.”

“Point is, you didn't need to go throwing yourself at me like that.”

“I couldn't risk that you were going in blind.”

“You're brave, Gabby.” He cupped my cheek, his blue eyes tender. “You've always been brave.”

“Me, brave? You could've run but—” I broke off. “You killed Milo and his guys. It was you, right? I didn't think you ever carried a gun.”

“Yeah, it was me. Normally I don't carry a gun. None of us do. If we had guns, we'd end up shooting people—and we couldn't keep doing what we do with a trail of dead bodies around. But I knew what we were walking into that night.” His jaw tightened. “My guy, Matador, found Bree hiding in the bedroom. She shot at him. Luckily her aim was way off.”

“God.” But I could believe it. Bree would've done anything to protect what she and Milo had going. “I knew her for years, but I never really knew her. I shouldn't have trusted her after you told me she'd been recruiting for Milo.”

“There are a lot of people who get screwed up but are worth saving.” A wistful look came into his eyes. I wasn't sure if he was talking about Bree, or about himself. “Sometimes it just takes a person who can see through the darkness.”

And now I had no doubt who he was talking about. I remembered the words of the psychic.
“They're in a place of darkness. . . . You can help them break free.”
But I also wondered if, by loving Jackson, I was the one who was truly free.

ON THURSDAY, I WENT BACK
to school. The upside was I got to see my friends and catch up in my classes. The downside? I had to hear everyone cheering about Bree's
rescue
from some horrible pimp.

If they only knew.

Adriana had rescheduled the zombie club meeting for today at lunch. The atmosphere in the basement chapel was suitably spooky, with the overcast day blotting out the sunlight from the windows. The chapel smelled funkier than usual, like a mix of mustard and mothballs. Or maybe it was whatever Rory was eating for lunch.

“Are you feeling better?” Adriana asked me.

“Oh yeah, it was just a cold. All gone now. I probably
could've come back yesterday.”

They didn't question anything, and as usual, I felt bad for lying. Telling my friends that I'd missed school due to a cold was a little lie. Telling them nothing about what
really
happened to me was the bigger lie.

On the outside, I probably looked normal. But inside, I was reeling. Sometimes, a sudden feeling of elation swept through me—
I survived
. Other times, I felt a shiver of terror at how close I'd come to being dead.

I'd spent yesterday with Jackson. Being in his presence was healing. There was nothing I couldn't say in front of him. He'd let me rehash every detail of what had happened that night—details I would never be able to share with anyone else. Jackson had assured me that I would move forward from this, that the mark of that night, the fear I still carried, would fade with time.

“That was nice what you said about us on your show,” Caro said sweetly.

Rory put a hand to his chest. “I was touched. Thoroughly touched.” And Adriana made a face like she was glad she wasn't the one who'd touched him.

“Well, it's true,” I said. “You guys rock.” I'd forgotten all about having sung their praises on the show. But I was glad they hadn't.

Sudden noises brought our heads up. Shouting filled the
corridor outside the chapel. Heavy footsteps thundered down the hall.

We all jumped to our feet.

“What the hell?” Caro said, grabbing Alistair's arm. “What's happening?”

“The zombies are here!” Rory declared. He lifted the only weapon he had—a fork from his lunch bag. “Stay behind me, everyone. I'll check it out.” He slowly headed toward the door.

“Open the damn door, hero,” Adriana said.

Rory turned to us. “Stay back, everyone. I'll tell you if the threat is alive, or undead.” Lifting his fork, he opened the door and peered out. “Holy zombieballs!”

“What?” we asked.

“Liam Murray has officially screwed himself.”

We looked at one another, then pushed Rory aside to look out the door. There were four cops in navy jackets and bulletproof vests standing outside the boiler room. One of them was frisking Liam Murray.

“It's not mine, I swear!” Liam shouted. “I don't touch that shit!” Liam saw us, his eyes going huge. “There! I was meeting with my friends down here. Right, guys? You can back me up?”

We didn't say a thing. As if we were going to help him out of this mess after what he'd done to Alistair!

The cops didn't bother to look at us—they were focused
on removing several backpacks from the boiler room. Backpacks full of Blings and cash, I'd bet.

“Calm down,” one of the cops warned him. “I'm going to cuff you now.”

Liam went ballistic. “Fuck you! Don't touch me! I'm gonna sue!”

Unimpressed, the cop pinned Liam to the wall and snapped the handcuffs over his wrists.

“Stop! Ow, you're hurting me! This is harassment!”

I glanced at Alistair, seeing the slight smile on his face. Did he have something to do with this?

Liam dragged his feet as one of the cops led him down the hallway. When they passed us, Alistair gave him a cheery wave. “Bye-bye, Liam.”

A week later, I walked into math class to find a surprise waiting for me.

Bree was back.

I did a double take.

Holy. Shit.

I knew that she'd been planning to return to St. Anthony's. Since her
rescue
, she'd been in touch with Ellie and Karina, and they'd spread the word around school that she'd be back. But I hadn't expected her so soon.

I had to make a quick decision. Did I sit down beside her
in my usual seat, or grab a free desk at the back of the class? If I didn't sit beside her, people would think I was avoiding her because I felt awkward about her ordeal. It would only add to my heartless-bitch reputation. But really, what harm could a little more hate do?

Spotting a free seat, I made a beeline for the back of the class. Then I saw it—the challenge in Bree's eyes. She was daring me to sit beside her.

No way would I let her think I was afraid of her. No way.

Circling around the last desk, I sat down in my usual seat.

“So you're back,” I said. Since the whole class had their eyes on Bree, I tried to act upbeat.

My words seemed to cut some unseen tension in the room, because others started piping in.

“Glad you're back, Bree.”

“You look great, really.”

“We all missed you.”

“Excellent to have you back, Bree,” Ms. Saikaley said, standing in front of the class. “Come on, everyone. Let's welcome her back properly.” She started to clap, and the whole class joined in.

Bree smiled and her green eyes shimmered with tears, as if she was genuinely touched. Hell, maybe she was. Who knew?

When the clapping died down, Ms. Saikaley launched into the lesson.

On the surface, everything was strangely . . . back to normal. I copied the question on the board. Bree did too, along with the usual doodling in her notebook.

“So, are you passing the class?” Bree whispered to me.

I looked at her, astonished. Seriously? She was going to act like nothing had happened? Part of me wanted to laugh, and part of me wanted to smack that innocent look off her face. But in the end, it was best if I played along.

I finally said, “Heading into exams with a seventy-two.”

“See, I knew you'd be fine.” I shouldn't have been surprised that Bree had come back to school so soon. She wouldn't want to miss all the attention. I glanced down at the words
Bordom is evil
that she'd scratched into her desk back in September. That said it all, I realized. She'd wanted an exciting life—that was why she'd run off with Milo.

Now that the dream of Milo was over, her excitement would come from being the center of attention. I could see it now—
Dateline NBC
, maybe a guest appearance on
The View
with all the ladies nodding sympathetically. Not to mention a book deal. I could picture her face on a book cover, all sweet and serious. The title would be
Survivor
or some bullshit like that.

When class ended, everybody filed out except Bree, who stayed behind to talk to Ms. Saikaley.

Ellie and Karina were waiting for her in the hallway. As I
walked by, Ellie said, “Hey, Gabby.”

I narrowed my eyes, waiting for the dig. But there wasn't one.

“Your birthday's coming up next week,” Ellie said, giving her face a quick scan with her compact. Spotting some freckles, she swiped at them. “We should do something, the four of us, like we used to. I bet Bree will be up for it.”

Karina nodded, her shiny black ponytail bobbing. “She'll want to have as much fun as possible before she moves to Nowheresville.”

I frowned. “To where?”

“Her mom's sending her to live with her dad in Iowa. She's leaving December thirtieth, right before New Year's Eve. Can you believe that?”

“It's the most boring place ever,” Ellie said. “I can't believe they'd do that to her after everything she's been through. It's like they're punishing her.”

Interesting. Was the move an effort to keep Bree safe, or to keep her out of trouble? Had her family figured out that she wasn't the innocent victim—that she'd run off with Milo willingly?

Either way, the exciting life Bree had dreamed of was about to take a turn for the boring. How tragic.

“So are we doing a birthday thing or what?” Ellie asked me. “I say we do. Remember last year when we all went to that
place for dinner? What was it called?”

“The Urban Bistro,” I answered. This was JC's doing. He must have convinced them I wasn't a snobby bitch after all. I wished he hadn't bothered.

“Guess who called me this weekend?” Ellie asked, as if I hadn't already guessed. “JC. Nobody's heard from him in forever. Not even a thank-you for the gift basket and card we sent him. And then, out of the blue, he calls and asks how Bree's doing.”

It seemed like a reasonable thing to do, since they were Bree's closest friends, but Ellie and Karina weren't impressed.

“JC still won't return Liam's calls, his
best friend
,” Karina said, disgusted. “Liam's devastated. He's in so much trouble right now with the charges.”

Even more good news. Liam was finally getting his. “I wouldn't be too hard on JC,” I said. “He's focused on staying clean. He can't manage his own problems and Liam's right now.”

Ellie scoffed at that. “I'm surprised you're so sympathetic considering what he put you through. He told me that all the smack he talked about you was a pack of lies.”

Karina nodded. “JC had everybody believing him. You didn't deserve it, Gabby.”

“Yeah, you totally didn't,” Ellie said.

Was that supposed to be an apology?
Sorry we believed JC
and treated you like dirt; let's be friends again?

I started to walk away, but Ellie called after me. “We'll see you at lunch, Gabby?”

I said over my shoulder, “Thanks, but I'm good.”