Jaden by Tijan

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

We were pulling into Denton’s house when we saw the flare from the cops’ sirens. Two cars were behind us. They parked beside our car, and I was out before anyone else. My heart was in my throat. The drive to Denton’s house was thirty minutes. Something could’ve happened to Bryce or Corrigan.

When Officer Patterson got out of the second squad car, I went over to her. “Sheila?”

There were lines of exhaustion around her mouth and bags under her eyes. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. There were strands that had fallen out. I sucked in my breath. Something had happened.

No, no. Not Bryce. Not Corrigan.

She held a hand up. “Before you jump to conclusions, we’re here looking for Bryce Scout.”

My heart started to pound. “He’s missing?”

She frowned. “He’s not with you?”

I glanced to the first squad car. The two detectives who had taken over my case were questioning Denton and Mena. The guy was studying Denton’s dress with an eyebrow twitch. Then the woman glanced over to us. Catching my gaze, she broke off and headed for us. As she stopped in front of me, her hand pushed back her coat and rested on her hip. Her badge and gun were there.

She looked at Sheila. “Scout?”

Sheila shook her head. “I just asked. Sheldon.” She held her hand up to get my attention. “We really need to see Bryce. Where is he?”

This wasn’t making sense. I pressed a hand to my forehead, feeling a headache forming. “You’re looking for Bryce? Did something happen to him?” Maybe he’d been taken? My anxiety kicked up a notch. “Did the killer take him?” My voice was a hoarse whisper at the end.

I couldn’t lose him. I couldn’t lose either of them.

She started rubbing between her eyes, the bridge of her nose. “Wait a minute here. So, you’re saying Bryce isn’t here?”

“Isn’t he why you’re here?”

The two shared a look, and the other detective raised an eyebrow. “Are you worried about him, Sheldon?”

I gritted my teeth. She hadn’t earned the right to use my first name. “It’s Jeneve to you.” My tone was frosty.

Her other eyebrow matched the other, both raised high now. “Hold on. Putting aside your winning personality, like always, you’re saying Scout isn’t here?” She leaned closer, growing more serious. “Should we be looking for him?”

“Aren’t you right now? And what about Corrigan? They were together.” My chest started hurting. I could feel a panic attack coming on. “We just left them. Nothing bad could’ve happened since then.”

Could it?

“Okay.” Sheila held both her hands up. “I’m figuring this out. Sheldon, we’re looking for Bryce because we have to ask him some questions. To our knowledge, nothing has happened to him. Or are you telling us differently? Should we be searching for them?”

None of this was making sense. “Why are you here if nothing’s happened to them?”

“Because—” Sheila started to answer.

The other female defective cut in, “We can’t say.”

Fuck the headache. This officer was a whole new type of headache. I glowered at her. “Well then.” I folded my arms over my chest. “I can’t say either.”

The male detective yelled from the other car, “We got what we needed!” He waved his phone in the air. “Scout was just leaving some fraternity house. Officers have detained him for questioning.”

I could feel the female mocking me before she called back, “Is he being cooperative?”

“He is. He’s just confused.”

“Let’s head out then.” She whirled her fingers in the air, making a circling motion.

“Wait a minute. Was Corrigan with him? Is he okay, too?”

But they weren’t replying to me. As they all started for their cars, I grabbed Sheila’s arm. “Wait. He’s okay? Nothing happened to him?”

She gave me the slightest of warm smiles. Her tone was gentle. “He’s okay, Sheldon.” She patted my arm. “I’ll inquire about Corrigan, but we weren’t here out of any concern for them. We just need Bryce to answer a couple of questions.”

“Oh.” Then what the hell was happening? “What’s happened?”

“I can’t say anything, but trust me. In a fucked-up way, this might be good news for you.”

Huh? So many questions were racing through me as I stood there and watched both cars pull out of the driveway.

The same helpless feeling that had been plaguing me weighed heavily once again. I felt like an elephant was trying to sit on my chest.

“Sheldon,” Denton called from the front steps. He sounded wary. “Come in. The guy told me before they left that Corrigan’s going to the station with Bryce, then I’m sure they’ll head back when they can.”

Thatsomething that is offwas still with me. I couldn’t shake it, and I wondered if this was the beginning of an impending doom.

“Sheldon.” Denton still waited. I hadn’t moved. When I still didn’t move, he said, “I’m closing the gate. You can stay out here all you want. I’ll wait here.”

I glanced back to see that he had settled down on the ground, leaning back against the wall. He rested his head back and closed his eyes. There was no Mena so I assumed she had gone inside, but I didn’t care.

Corrigan and Bryce were the only ones I cared about.

As it was, I didn’t have to wait that long. Corrigan texted me a few minutes later:Home soon. B needed to answer some questions the police had. Don’t know what’s going on, but it was about Guadalupe.

“Was that Corrigan?” Denton must’ve heard my phone beep.

“Yeah.” I headed back up the stairs now. “They’re heading home now.”

He yawned, rubbing a hand over his face. His makeup smeared. “That was fast. The cops literally just left.”

“Yeah.” I frowned, but we’d have answers soon. Offering a hand to him, I helped him up and we went inside. “Where’s Mena?”

“She said she was tired. I’m sure she’ll be in her room all night now.”

He went to the refrigerator, and when he pulled out two bottles of water, I smiled in thanks and took a seat at the table. He sat across from me. “Man,” he said. “I’m tired. I need to go back to work. Too much stress trying to find your killer, traipsing around in ball gowns.”

I grinned. “I thought this would be second nature to you, Mr. I’m-in-Movies.”

He laughed shortly. “Nah. The hours are fine. Even dressing up and pretending to be a fraternity brother who’s pretending to be a girl is fine. It’s the stress about what could happen to you, now being worried about Bryce and Corrigan, too.”

Denton was concerned about them too. I frowned to myself. That thought had never occurred to me, but I didn’t know why it hadn’t. It wasn’t a surprise.

“What?”

He had noticed my look. “You care about them, too.”

He nodded. “They’re good guys. I do. I’m firmly in the friend-zone, so yeah, I feel like I’m actually friends with all of you guys, not just you.”

“Thank you, Denton.”

“For what?”

I gestured around the room. “For this, sheltering us.” For caring about my family, too. “Thanks for everything.”

He gave me a half-grin. “Aw, Sheldon. You’re such a softie inside.”

I scowled and gave him the middle finger.

“See.” He pointed at my hand. “Even that’s with love. I can tell.”

“Shut up.” I laughed.

“Listen, I’m all for staying up and making sure the guys are fine, but,” a yawn escaped him, “I don’t think I’m going to make it.”

“Pussy.”

“I’ll take it.” He grinned. “Come on, Sheldon. Tonight’s been a long night. Go to bed. The guys will be fine. They’ll be here in the morning.” He pointed to my phone. “Corrigan texted you. You know they’re fine.”

“Yeah, maybe.” If I were in bed, I wouldn’t be here when they both walked in; I wouldn’t feel the urge to wrap my arms around both of them, never wanting to leave them again. Then I shook my head. What the hell was going on with me? I grinned, laughing at myself. I was becoming a sentimental fool. Denton was right. Bed was the right place to go. They’d be there in the morning, no awkward middle-of-the-night hugs to be had.

“Okay.” I stood up.

Denton lifted an eyebrow. “That was easier than I thought.”

“Yeah, well, you’re right. I should get some sleep. Tomorrow . . .” Tomorrow would be another day spent trying to figure out what the hell I could do. “’Night, Denton.”

“’Night, Sheldon.”

I left for my room alone. He went to the refrigerator for something. If I was going to avoid the late-night awkwardness, I had to go now. If I waited to walk with Denton, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to go. I’d wait at that table the whole night, if I needed to, but when I got to my room and after getting ready for bed and crawling under the bed sheets, it didn’t matter.

I was still restless.

I still wanted to be up.

I still wanted to hug both of them.

I lay in bed for an hour, tossing and turning, until I heard someone’s voice in the hallway. My heart leapt to my chest. Was it—”’Night, Bryce.” A door closed, then light flashed under my door. I slid out of my bed without thinking. No, that wasn’t true. My internal logic was yelling at me to stay put, but I switched it off. The need to see Corrigan was too much.

I opened the door just as he was closing his.

It opened again, and his head poked out. “Sheldon?”

I sighed. He looked good, so damn good. My fingers curled around the doorframe, and I rested against it, not moving another inch. I could see him. That was good enough. “Hey,” I whispered.

His face transformed. The slight concern morphed into a tender grin. “Hey, yourself.”

My heart started to pound more, growing stronger with each beat. “You guys are okay?”

“Yeah.” He paused, glancing to Bryce’s door. “They had questions about Guadalupe for him.”

“Oh.” I swallowed, a light-headed sensation was filling me up. “Like what?”

He shrugged, the corner of his mouth lifting in a teasing grin as he studied me. He knew what was going on with me. I’d been the one to crawl into bed with him for so many nights. I licked my lips. They were so damn dry.

Corrigan murmured softly, “Like the last time he saw her. What happened? When was the last time he called or texted her? Questions like that.”

I frowned. “That’s weird.”

“Yeah, it is. They asked the last time he saw her assistant, too.”

“They did?”

He nodded. “He gave them her phone.”

“Oh.”

“He said you might be mad since that was a big thing from going to the hotel that day.”

“Yeah.” I folded my arms over my chest and turned so I was leaning onto the doorframe. I wanted to go to him. It was the next best thing to hold myself back. “I wanted to see what else was on that phone.”

He nodded. “I know. Bryce feels bad, handing the phone over, but he thought it would help. He thinks the police are looking into Maria more. Maybe they’re taking this case more seriously and looking at other suspects or something.”

“Wait.” I pressed a hand to my forehead. “You think Maria killed Grace?”

He lifted a shoulder up. “Who knows? Guadalupe’s assistant is bat-shit crazy. I wouldn’t put it past her—hurt someone that had hurt you, set you up. Bryce showed me some of the messages she sent him. Some were just crazy. She was threatening him, saying that if he didn’t go back to Guadalupe, she’d do something to hurt the ones he loved.”

“Me?”

“It makes sense. It gives her motive.”

“That’s insane.”

“Yeah. She’s insane.”

“Oh.” I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I had never considered Maria as a suspect. Yes, she hated me and she was nuts about her boss, but killing? “Yeah, maybe. That’s crazy, though.”

“Newsflash, Sheldon. Whoever killed Grace is crazy.”

“I know. I just . . .” A wave of anxiety rolled through me. “I don’t really want to think about it now. Tomorrow, we’ll figure something out.” That was going to be the plan from now on. Every day we had to try something new. We had to.

“Can you sleep?”

My heart lurched back into my chest. That was the problem. “No.”

He hesitated, glancing at Bryce’s door again.

Corrigan was my best friend. He’d always been there for me. He’d been my shelter and protector. I held out a hand.

He looked at it, but didn’t move.

I kept it there, holding it out between us.

He continued to look at it.

My heart was pounding, louder and louder in my eardrums. I wanted him to take it. I needed him to take it.

Then I heard him, his voice hoarse. “You should check on Bryce. He needs you tonight.” And his door shut.

His rejection hit me. When his door shut, the sound was like an extra nail to my coffin. I opened my mouth, but there were no words. What the hell was I doing? I glanced at Bryce’s door, then I slipped from my room and knocked on it softly.

Looking at the bottom of the door, there was no light shining from inside, and I didn’t hear him answer me. I opened the door anyway.

He still didn’t call to me, but I could see the silhouette of his body in the bed. He was sitting on the edge with his hands braced on his knees, leaning forward. “Bryce?” I entered the room, calling to him.

“She’s missing, Sheldon.”

I frowned, feeling a nervousness in my gut. “Maria?” The assistant?

“Guadalupe. She’s missing.”

Shutting the door, I left the light off and crossed to his bed. I stood in front of him, unsure what to do at that moment. “Do they think something happened to her?”

“Or she’s running.” He lifted haunted eyes to me. I could see the whites of them from the moonlight streaming in through the windows.

“Running?”

“There were messages on Maria’s phone to Guadalupe. They talk about hurting you. There’s even one that mentioned hurting someone and making it look like you did it.”

My eyes widened. I hadn’t actually thought . . . “Are you sure?”

He nodded. “I’m so sorry, Sheldon.”

“Sorry?”

“It’s because of me. I saw the messages earlier today, and I was going to show them to you, but we got busy with the masquerade ball. You seemed intent on going so I figured tonight or tomorrow, then the cops asked to see me, and they were asking all these questions. I gave them the phone. I showed them the messages. I’m hoping it’ll help. I mean, my god, Sheldon. Then there’s another suspect. You could get that ankle monitor off.”

I didn’t know what to say. Guadalupe? Her assistant? I knew they hated me, but to frame me? To kill Grace over it? A surge of anger rose up in me. My fingers curled inward, forming fists. The desire to find them, to hurt them back, was growing stronger and stronger.

“Sheldon?”

“They hurt Grace? So she could be with you?”

“I’m sorry, Sheldon.”

I left. I didn’t know what to think and finding this out—that was the reason Grace was dead—I couldn’t be in the same room as him. Tearing through the door, I stalked into the hallway, but stopped suddenly.

Corrigan was there. He was waiting outside my door.

“Sheldon?” Bryce followed me. He stopped too, seeing Corrigan there. He said, “Let me talk to her.”

“No.” Corrigan shook his head as a somber look came over his features. “I sent her in there, but she came out.” He opened my door and stepped inside. “I’m done with being nice and holding back.”

His eyes met mine. I saw the stark hunger in him, and I gasped, feeling it in me, too. I didn’t think. I just went to him.

“Sheldon!” Bryce grabbed my arm.

I stopped in my doorway and turned to face him. I saw the agony there, how he wanted to reason with me, but I shook my head.

She was between us. She always would be.

“Sheldon,” he murmured again, softening his voice. “Please. I’m just starting to get you back. Please.”

There it was. Right there. Pain sliced through me as I said, “Maybe you were right before. Maybe what we did to Marcus put a block between us. Maybe I didn’t want to think about killing him and that meant pushing you away because you did it with me. Maybe. I don’t know, but I can’t undo that. I can’t go back. I . . .” I knew. “I choose Corrigan.”

“Sheldon!” His eyes widened. Desperation filled them. “Please.”

“I shouldn’t have to try to force myself to feel a certain way, and right now, I want to be with him.”

“Sheldon,” he whispered.

“I’m sorry.”