Make You Beg

I hear a car door open and close. “Who is at your house? In Switzerland?”

“I didn’t go to Switzerland.” I rush out. “I’m at my father’s house. Hiding out here.”

“You’re not making any goddamn sense, doll!” he snaps.

I bend over once I make it to the main road, my palm resting on my knee, and suck in a breath. “Steve isn’t dead. You lied to me.”

A silence falls over the phone. “Yes, he is,” he finally says.

“He just tried to attack me in my bedroom,” I grind out.

Another long silence before he grinds out, “Who all knows you’re there?”

“No one.”

“It couldn’t have been Steve,” he argues.

“I know what I just saw,” I growl, my hands shaking. “Vanessa was on my bed … another fucking note. Then Steve was there.”

“Are you … did you take something?” he asks slowly.

Tears prick my eyes at his accusation. No one ever believes me. I’m so tired of them thinking I hallucinate things. I straighten my spine and suck in a breath. “You know what, Law?” I pull the cell from my ear and look at his name on the screen as I scream. “Fuck you!”

I go to hang up but hear him yell my name. “Henley?” I just hold it to my ear, trying to catch my breath. And he continues. “I’m on my way.”

Headlights start shining up above the road—it’s a one-way street, and we’re at the back of the dead end. No one would be coming down here unless it was for our house. I hide behind a bush, knowing it can’t be Law that quickly. But as they get closer, I step out. “No need,” I tell him with a sigh of relief. “Scout’s here.”

His Bugatti Chiron comes to a stop, and I run to him.

“Henley? What’s going on?” he asks, getting out of the driver’s seat.

I throw my arms around him, and he hugs me tightly. “Oh, God, Scout. Steve was inside the house. He had this stuff on a rag. He chased me,” I rush out, pulling away.

“HENLEY?” I hear my name being shouted in the distance. Turning around to see nothing, I realize it’s coming from my cell down by my side. I hadn’t hung up with Law.

“Sorry,” I breathe into it, placing it to my ear. “I—”

“Little doll,” Law interrupts me with a chilled tone, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand. “Run.”

I blink, looking up at Scout. His eyes scan the property behind me, looking to see if the intruder is going to pop out. “Huh? Law … what?”

“Get the fuck out of there, Henley!” he commands, his voice rising.

“I—”

“If no one knew you were there, then how did Scout know?” he interrupts me with a bark.

“I don’t understand …” Trailing off, I take a step back from Scout and swallow. “How did you know I was here?” His green eyes drop to mine, and he takes a step forward, ripping the cell from my hand. “Hey …” I’m grabbed from behind and lifted off my feet. “LAW!” I manage to scream out as one arm pins mine to my sides while his free hand places the rag over my face, making sure to cover my nose and mouth. I breathe in the liquid he poured onto the rag, struggling to get free.

“Doesn’t this feel like old times?” Steve growls in my ear. His warm breath on my neck makes me want to vomit. “The only thing we’re missing is a dead girl lying on the floor.”

My eyes widen, and I fight him harder, tasting the sweetness of what he used on me. I scream out into it, trying to twist and turn. My watery eyes meet Scout’s, and he just stands there in front of me, lifting my cell to his ear.

GRAYSON LAW

“Law.”

My name comes through the speakers of my car—calm, collected, and even a bit smug.

Monroe sits next to me stiff as a board, and my hand tightens on the steering wheel while the other shifts as I speed through traffic, trying to get to her. I’ll never make it.

“You know …” Scout goes on at my silence. “If you didn’t have your face so far up her pussy, you would have caught on to this sooner.” A rough laughter fills my car. “That it was me.”

He’s right, of course. If I had taken a step back once and paid the least bit of attention, I would have realized that Scout, my best friend, was the murdering rapist all along. It only fell into place when Henley told me that Scout was there. We were all under the assumption she had flown to her mom’s today.

But the signs have been in front of my face this entire time. I just ignored them because what Henley told the police just wasn’t possible. Dax was out of town, and when he got off, he said to let her go. He didn’t want revenge on her. It was Scout who did. His plan to drag her back. It was his idea to use her. I mean, I’m just as guilty in that area. I played with my little doll just as much, if not more, than he did.