“What kind of question is that?”
Thayer hits the headrest behind him with the side of his fist and I flinch, not expecting it. “Don’t play games with me, Shayne.”
“I don’t know anything!”
“Her phone’s locked,” Holden says, reaching back to hand said phone to Thayer over his shoulder.
Thayer takes it, punching in the password, giving me a look I can’t decode when it works. I roll my eyes and look away. I really need to change my password…for everything. I don’t know what he’s hoping to find, but I don’t put up a fight because I know he won’t find anything. I have nothing to hide, especially when it comes to Danny.
“Your brother ignoring you?” he teases, angling the screen toward me, displaying our one-sided text thread.
“He’s busy with school.” I lunge for my phone, but he raises his arm, holding it out of reach. A dark look passes over his features, but he schools it quickly.
“I’m going to ask you one more time. What do you know about Danny?”
I shake my head, confused, and open my mouth to tell him again that I don’t understand, but he cuts me off before I can.
“About…that night,” he clarifies. His jaw is tense, eyes sad, and for a brief second, I forget that he’s holding me here against my will. I forget all the mean things he’s said and done, and I just want to wrap my arms around him. But then his mask slips in place, reminding me that the old Thayer is nowhere to be found.
“You know what I know,” I say quietly, hoping Holden doesn’t pick up on it. I was with him when we found out, after all. “He fell at the falls.” I try not to choke on the words.
“He fell,” he repeats flatly. “Come on, Shayne. You’re going to tell me that you—the girl who listens to murder podcasts and has a conspiracy theory for every goddamn thing—thinks it’s likely that my brother happened to go for a swim in fucking thirty-degree weather? Alone?”
I frown. “Are you saying it wasn’t an accident?” I shake my head, dismissing the thought. I’ve wondered what happened that night, but people hurt themselves jumping off that cliff all the time. After Danny died, they finally put up signs warning against it. But not once did foul play enter my mind. “Who would want to hurt him?”
“That’s what I’m going to find out,” he promises. “And if I find out you’re lying to me—”
“I’m not,” I snap.
“We’ll see.”
Thayer
“Think she’s telling the truth?” Holden asks, eyes locked on Shayne’s retreating form as she stomps back to her car. I can’t help but feel amused by her newfound attitude. When Holden first told me she was back, I was pissed—no—I was fucking enraged. How dare she show her face as if nothing happened? But now? Now our little encounters are something I look forward to in a way I can’t make sense of. Not that I’ve ever been able to make sense of anything where Shayne is concerned.
“About not knowing anything?” I shrug, watching her ass bounce in those fucking spandex shorts that used to drive me insane, then she’s tossing her bags into her back seat before getting into the driver’s seat. “Maybe. But that doesn’t make her innocent.” As if on cue, Shayne rolls down her window, sticks her arm out, and throws her middle finger up.
“No,” Holden agrees. “Not so innocent anymore, is she?”
I catch his hungry expression in the rearview mirror and something like jealousy swirls in my gut. He doesn’t know Shayne was mine once. No one does. She was my dirty little secret. And I’m going to keep it that way.
Reaching around the front seat, I slap the side of his head a little harder than necessary.
“The fuck,” he barks, peeling his eyes away from Shayne.
“Move over. I’m driving.”
Holden climbs over the middle console and I get out, jumping into the front seat.
“So what now?”
“Befriend her. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer and all that shit.”
Holden looks at me as if I’ve grown two heads. “How the fuck am I supposed to do that? She’s not exactly trusting of us anymore.”
“Then make her trust you. If she knows something, she’ll eventually let it slip.”
Secrets never stay buried for long.