Ultimatum (Dirty Secrets #1) (6 page)

“I honestly don’t know how to feel,” I answer honestly. Lexie knows me well, and she can see through my lies. “Disappearing for days at a time is normal for her, so I’m not really worried. I just wish she’d come home and clear it all up.”

“Everybody is assuming the worst at school.”

“I know. And when she comes back, she will
love
all the attention.”

If she comes back.
The words repeat in my head like a broken record. I have no reason to believe she won’t, but then I think about what Cassidy said earlier. She needs to talk to me. I wonder
what
she’s going to say.

I look at the time on my phone and see I have about ten minutes until I need to leave.

“You look worried,” she says.

I shrug. “I guess I am. Daisy’s mom has never noticed her missing before. The whole town is putting up flyers and looking for her. She’s probably going to be in a lot of trouble when she gets back.”

“Well, if she really did run away, she deserves to be in trouble. She’s made everybody worry.”

“Though I’m sure her daddy will pay her way out of trouble,” I say. “He always does.”

Like the time she got caught shoplifting. And the time she got a DUI — like mother like daughter, I guess. And of course, the time she totaled out her car. She came to school the very next day with a brand new car. I still think she did it on purpose. She had a Range Rover, which was an awesome car, but the day I pulled up in my Camaro all the guys crowded my car. They thought it was so cool. A week later, she pulled up to school in a Corvette. Like seriously? What kind of parent gives a car that fast to a sixteen year old? After that, when all of us girls would hang out, we’d have to take two cars.

“I never understand why you were even friends with her,” Lexie says. “She’s always been so awful to you. I don’t think I could have forgiven for what she did last year.”

“Last year?” I ask, because she did a
lot
to me last year.

“The pictures…” Lexie’s voice trails off. She doesn’t need to say anything else, because I know exactly what she’s talking about.

Last year during a game of Truth or Dare, Daisy dared me to go skinny dipping in the lake. It was just us girls, so I decided to just go for it. It sounded fun. What I didn’t know at the time was that Dee took a picture of me naked as I was running out of the water. She sent it to all of the guys in the school, and I didn’t know a thing about it until the next day. Jace was the one who told me. I was mortified that he, along with every other guy at our school, saw me naked. My brother took the picture to the principal, and all the girls backed me up saying it was Dee who sent it, but she denied it. She got sent home from school early that day, but the very next day she was back without punishment. Once again, her dad paid her way out of trouble.

I look at my phone. “I need to go. I have to meet Cass.”

Lexie looks disappointed, but nods. “Sure, I know you’re busy.”

I feel guilty, but I
have
to meet her. “On Friday, Luke is having a party. I was wondering, would you like to go with me? You could come over to my house early and get ready. It would be fun.”

She smiles brightly. “That sounds fun. Like old times.”

Old times. Before I ever became friends with Daisy. I miss those times.

Part of me wishes I had never become friends with Dee. But I can’t go back in time.

“See you then.” I wave and walk away from our booth.

Library

Scared to death.

I arrive at the library at exactly five. I walk through the rows of books and finally find Cass hiding in a corner section. She’s wearing a baseball cap, sunglasses, and she has her long red hair hidden inside her baseball cap. When she sees me, she grabs me and pushes me in the corner.

“Did anybody see you?” she whispers.

I shake my head, too afraid to talk out loud. Cassidy is kind of scaring me.

“Good,” she sighs, visibly relieved. “I have to tell you something, but you have to swear you won’t tell anybody.”

“What’s going on?”

“Swear.”

“Okay. I promise. I won’t tell anybody,” I say. “What is this about?”

“I met with Daisy the night she disappeared,” she tells me. “It was about eleven at night.”

“That’s it? That’s not even a big deal.”

“You don’t understand,” she says, blinking a few tears from her eyes. “When I met Dee, she was scared. I’ve never seen her so terrified in my life. She was shaking and talking… not really making much sense. I finally got her to calm down and tell me what’s going on, and Madi, it’s not good.”

She begins sobbing, and I want to pull Cass into a hug, but I can’t. I need to know what happened.

“Cass, tell me, please.”

She takes a couple of breaths before continuing. “She showed me these texts she’s been getting from a blocked number. At first, she thought it was just a big joke, but then the person started threatening her. She said…”
Sob.
“She said that the person… knew… knew… stuff about her that nobody else did.”

“What do you mean?”

She looks up at me, shaking her head. “I shouldn’t tell you, but I have to tell somebody… This summer, Dee wasn’t really in Barbados. She was at her parents’ house in Florida. She had a baby this summer.”

“A baby?” I question. “No way. She couldn’t have. She wasn’t pregnant.”

“She was. She hid it well, but she was.”

I lean back against the wall. “Wow.”

“I know,” she says. “I was going to tell the police about the text, but after Dee left that night, I got a text.”

She holds out her phone for me and I read the text.

Blocked ID:
Breathe a word of this to the police and you’re next.

“Cass, you have to tell them,” I say, holding the phone back to her.

“No,” she says. “Please, just don’t tell me to. I can’t. And neither can you. You promised.”

“I can’t keep something like this from the police.”

“You
have
to.” She holds out her phone again, showing me a different text.

Blocked ID:
Want to find your friend? I’ll be sending you clues over the weekend. If you tell the police, the clues will stop and you will meet the same terrible fate as your friend will.

I swallow hard.

“Please, Madi, don’t tell.”

Finally, I nod. “Okay. Just… tell me what I can do.”

Cassidy breathes a sigh of relief. “Just don’t tell
anybody
. I haven’t even told Frannie. Let’s pretend we didn’t have this conversation, and when I get my first clue you can help me solve this.”

“Okay,” I say, and then repeat, “Okay. I’ll do this.”

“Thank you,” she says, wiping her tears away. “I couldn’t do this without you, Mads.”

“Of course,” I say, as if I had another choice.

Despite how mean Dee was to me, she doesn’t deserve this. And Cassidy definitely doesn’t deserve this. I will do whatever it takes to bring Dee back. Even if it means lying to the police and everybody that I love.

Let’s just hope this works.

Look for Deception, Episode 2, coming October 10!

This book is the first in a five part serial. A serial is a lot like a TV show. Each book will be short (around 14 thousand words each), and every week, a new episode will be released.

As an indie author, I rely heavily on my readers to get the word out on my books.
If you loved this story, it would mean the world to me if you left a review where you purchased it! <3

Check out my other books!

Dirty Secrets:

—
Ultimatum
(Book 1)

—
Deception
(Book 2 - coming October 10)

—
Ruin
(Book 3 - coming October 17)

—
Forgotten
(Book 4 - coming October 24)

—
Betrayal
(Book 5 - coming October 31)

New Haven Academy:

—
Losing Grip
(Book 1- coming December!)

East Wood Prep Series:

—
Char
(Book 1)

—
Ali
(Book 2)

The Kihanna Saga:

—
The Fab Life
(Book 1)

—
I Hate Goodbye
(Book 2)

—
Stranded in Paradise
(Book 3)

—
It’s So Obvious
(Book 4)

—
I Need You
(Book 5)

The Rock Star Trilogy:

—
Jaded
(Book 1)

—
Faded
(Book 2)

—
Hated
(Book 3)

Stand Alones:

—
Don’t Tell

—
You Got Me

Acknowledgements

I think that YA mystery is my favorite genre to write. I don’t know why, but something about murders, stalkers, and crazy secrets get me every time. I’m so excited that I started writing this series, and I hope that you guys love Madeline’s story as much as I do.

My acknowledgment section in every book probably sounds pretty similar, but that’s because I have constant support from so many people in my life! I feel very blessed.

Shane, my husband, for always encouraging me to pursue my dreams. Without you, this wouldn’t be my job. I’d probably be stuck behind some desk. (OMG — I’d have to wake up early, and get dressed EVERYDAY. No thanks!)

Laura Heritage — the best cover designer and editor EVER. Mostly because you put up with me. Thank you for becoming my friend! :)

To all of “Mercy’s Pimps”! Jenna, Jenn, Amanda, Devianna, Lauren, and Ashley! You girls are so amazing, and you make everyday so much better! THANK YOU!

To my beta reader, Devianna Smith, for all your input. Thank you for reading this book before it was ready and giving me feedback. I appreciate you SO SO SO MUCH!

To everybody who has taken the time to read this book, THANK YOU. Your support means the world to me. Sometimes I still can’t believe that people actually like my books. It’s crazy to think that I created a world and characters that people like reading. You are all so amazing.

<3
Mercy Amare

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