I try to scream, but it’s so muffled from the tape there’s no way anyone outside this room can hear me. I’m not even sure where we are, what time it is, or even if I’m still in Sacramento.
“Your boyfriend is a murderer and got away with it because of who is daddy is, so I’m taking matters into my own hands. It’s really a shame I have to kill you, Sophie, because you’re actually pretty. I would’ve fucked your brains out in a heartbeat.”
Disgust rolls through me as I narrow my eyes at him. Then he walks toward me and rips the tape off my face again, which hurts like a motherfucker.
“You got something to say?” He leans down, his face inches from mine.
Shaking my head, I close my eyes tight, hoping this is all a sick nightmare I haven’t woken up from.
“Caleb,” I plead softly when I finally look at him. He stands and paces in front of me. “Just let me go, and I won’t tell anyone about this. We can go our separate ways and both move on with our lives. It doesn’t have to be like this.”
The tears come, and I try to push away my hysteria.
He furrows his brows as if he’s studying me, and what scares me the most is how insane he looks. “Did you love him?” he asks, and when I don’t answer, he repeats, “Did you love my brother?”
My eyes meet his, and I see the resemblance between the two of them even more, though I remember recalling a familiarity about him when we met. Now it makes sense. They’re both fucking crazy as hell, yet I can’t figure out why Weston never mentioned having a brother. He never gave me many personal details about himself, though, and the ones I knew were all lies. It seems as if I can say the same about Caleb. Knowing I need to choose my words carefully, I try with everything I have not to set him off, but I take too long to respond. It’s hard to say I loved a man who hit and nearly killed me.
“Fucking answer me!” he yells, making me jump. “And don’t you dare lie to me. Your life depends on it…” His threat has my heart racing harder.
Blinking, I swallow down the lump in my throat, hoping he can’t hear the fear in my voice. “Yes, I did at one time,” I respond honestly.
“But then Mason happened,” he concludes. “We’ve been having a little chat actually.”
I study the device in his hand, and it looks like one of those cheap prepaid smartphones. “How’d you get his number?”
“I’m a lot smarter than you think. You don’t give me enough credit, Sophie,” he spews as a cruel grin spreads across his face. “I mirrored your phone, knowing he’d find a way to track it and then strategically placed it somewhere else. So he’ll go looking for you in one place, but you’ll be in another. By the time he figures it out, your body will be cold. And if all goes according to plan, I’ll have the satisfaction of killing him too.” He flashes an evil smirk, and it’s scary because it’s genuine.
The realization hits me that he’s using me as bait to get to Mason, and I pray Mason stays away and doesn’t try to be a hero. I don’t want anything to happen to him or anyone else. Weston’s death is partially my fault, and I feel guilty about everything that happened. I should’ve left that night without him, called the cops, told Lennon the truth—any of those scenarios would’ve kept him alive and Mason out of trouble. If I’d never dated Weston, rushed into a relationship and introduced him to everyone, things would’ve been so different. Or hell, if I would’ve just left him after the first time he hit me and reported it, maybe none of this would’ve happened. I’m lost in my thoughts, and the roughness of Caleb’s tone brings me back.
“So did you fuck Mason while you were living with my brother?” He steps closer, narrowing his gaze on me like a predator hunting his prey. I can taste the bitterness in his tone as he scowls at me, and I know that nothing I say will satisfy him. My chest heaves with the anticipation of his next move, and the adrenaline rushes through me, but this time, I won’t take his shit lying down. I already did that with Weston, walked on eggshells, and that got me nowhere just as fast.
“I never cheated on Weston. I was faithful,” I tell him truthfully. “I loved him until he started hitting me and choking me and then threatened to kill me.” I wiggle my wrists, struggling against the tape, anger fueling my next words. “Now that I think about it, you two have a lot in common.”