“I’m so mad at Aiden. Wait until I tell you what he did.”
“I know what he did, Ally, it was my idea,” she says in a small voice.
“What?” I screech.
A flock of birds, pigeons I think, fly off the roof of this building, probably in response to my voice, startling me.
“I didn’t break your confidence, but I invited Aiden to eavesdrop in case you said something helpful.”
I gasp.
“I know. But I was so scared for you and that was before I even knew the details were as bad as they were.”
“I can’t believe you,” I snap.
“I love you and I’m worried about you and now that Jude knows everything, finally you can-”
Click.
I’ve hung up on her.
I stare at the concrete railing in front of me and put my forehead against a pillar.
There’s noise behind me.
I look over my shoulder.
“Hey,” Jude says, leaning out the window. “You order food?”
“Yeah,” I reply. “Your credit card is about to be charged a hundred and thirty-six dollars plus a 20% tip. I hope you’re okay with that.”
“Should I invite the family over? Sounds like there’s enough food for all of them too.”
“No. I can’t do any peopleing right now. They live near here?”
“Three blocks that way.” He gestures to his right.
My phone starts ringing in my hand.
Carly calling.
I decline it and pass him his phone.
“Comin’ in?”
“In a bit,” I say.
“If you want some outside time, got a better spot up on the roof.”
He wants to show me his rooftop patio and I don’t want to see it. I don’t want to see it because I might love it. I love hanging out outdoors. I’ve always been a whiny bitch about the fact that Carly’s apartment has a balcony and mine doesn’t.
“I’m fine.”
“Okay, baby. I’ll let you know when the food’s here.”
He shuts the window and leaves me be.
I sigh heavily.
My phone starts ringing again. Carly again.
I turn it off.
And try to put my thinking cap on.
Because what the heck do I do if these people who are all trying to help me wind up getting hurt? I won’t survive it; I know it. And it’ll be their own damn fault for not listening to a word I say, for refusing to keep their noses out of this.
Just days ago I was so worried about being all alone again.
Now here I am, worried about not being alone because of the consequences of caring about people and having them care back. How can I enjoy having people when all I’m going to do is worry about Thad showing me he’s murdered them?
I’ve never been so chilled to the bone by a single person before.
I turn my phone back on and scroll through recent calls and see “W”.
Wade.
It’s from when I talked to him on Friday. Today is only Monday. How could my life be this different when it feels like yesterday I was excitedly planning Carly’s bachelorette party? I’d also like to know … how did Tori find out who’s after me?
Is my past about to catch up with me? It sure feels like it.
34
Jude
I walk through my bedroom and bathroom, picking up after Ally, who has left clothes and towels all over my room. I push her suitcase into my closet and put the rest of her stuff on the easy chair beside the bed.
I then head down a flight of stairs and see the trash bag with the litter box, and the cat is sniffing it, so I take it and set up in the back corner of the laundry room on the bottom level of my place. She follows so as soon as that’s done, she immediately hops in and starts digging around.
I head back to the living room and Ally’s coming in from the bathroom. She shoots me a dirty look, but it doesn’t have the fire it usually has.
I get that she’s scared, and more than ever I get why. I need her to know she’s in good hands. I need her to know that none of those fuckers are getting anywhere near her.
I sit down on a couch and pat the spot beside me.
“Come here.”
She walks by me to sit on the couch opposite to me instead, ever the sassy vixen, arms folded across her chest. Her ridiculous pajamas have built-in feet and a trap door in the back. I find myself smirking at them.
She still wiggles when she walks like a stripper putting on a show, even more so when she’s ticked off.
“Talk,” she demands. “I want to know everything you haven’t told me.”
“Okay,” I say.
She rolls her hand, telling me to get a move-on.
“Jonah Steele went looking for you at your place. My brother got ahold of footage from your old super. Footage of Steele, footage of you before you left, and of your movers pulling your stuff out. No guarantees that the super won’t call him to tell him someone else was looking for you, but my brother disguised himself and used a fake ID and knows how to avoid being tailed, so it won’t trace back to you. License plates for the movers turned up stolen, so no trace back to the movers or your stuff. Two cops also visited. Separate occasions. Your ex probably hit a dead end trying to find you. You ever look at your old social media accounts to see if he sent messages?”