Broken Cheaters (16 page)

“So, this is a coincidence, isn’t it?” He drummed his fingers on his knees while I crossed my arms over my chest, somewhat trying to create more distance between us. “You know, you coming home after we saw each other in New York.”

Is it?

It was a rare sight to see Jack nervous. I never thought I’d see that cocky smirk wiped off his face, and yet here we were.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Must be hard for you.”

“It is what it is, but I’m making peace. Jack, you should make peace as well.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Our last night on campus. Chloe left right after what happened, and… well, you should go to the authorities and tell them. Confess.”

“Nothing the fuck happened. You better not start making up stories about me, Trish.”

“Or what?”

“Or nothing. Just don’t spread any rumors. It’s bad enough that your sister tried.”

Hmm, that’s what I thought.

“She was trying to get you to confess as well, wasn’t she? That’s one of the reasons she returned home.”

A driver behind Jack honked.

“What do you confess when there’s nothing to say?” But that sly smirk on his face didn’t go unnoticed. It was back with a vengeance. One day, it would cost him his life.

Another honk sounded.

“You better move your car, Trish. You wouldn’t want anyone to move it for you, would you?”

What did he mean by that? And why did it sound like another threat?

“So, you think we could meet for a coffee?” He wiggled his brows the way men usually did when they thought they were a gift to the world and the sexiest thing on earth. Well, he was definitely a thing, but a bit closer to the worms and maggots that crawled under rotting garbage.

Even if his offer was genuine, I’d had enough of dating broken cheaters. Besides, I was in a committed relationship, and Jack knew it.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Jack. Drive safely.”

With chills swarming over my skin, I turned on my heel and went back to my car.

“Watch out for the squirrels,” he yelled out his window before I drove away.

“What was that about, Patricia?”

“Mom, did you get an accident report after the crash?”

“Yes, of course. We kept all the documents. An eye witness mentioned they saw someone hit your car on the back bumper, but no one ever came forward. Police could never find that car.”

I didn’t remember a car, either; only a bright flash in the rear-view mirror.

“I thought I swerved. The weather was bad,” I whispered.

“Patricia, the accident wasn’t your fault.”

“But I was behind the wheel.”

“It wasn’t your fault, honey. Do you hear me?”

Yeah, hearing my mom wasn’t the problem; believing her was. For the past five years I had blamed myself for the accident. I’d been convinced it was my fault. Was it possible that it wasn’t? Had someone else been involved?

When I knelt at Chloe’s grave that afternoon, goosebumps covered my arms. I wasn’t sure what to say or what to do, but as I stared at the headstone, I felt peace pass over me. I could see her behind my eyelids, leaning her head to the side and smiling. She then removed her phone from her pocket and pointed it my way, as if she wanted to record me for her memory. Soft wind tussled my hair, jolting me out of a trance.

I gasped, touching my hand to my heart, and then looked around the cemetery. My mom was engrossed in her prayer, and I felt more lost now than I had before.

“I miss you, Chloe,” I whispered.

At home, I took a shower, had supper with my parents, and texted Axel again. He was home with Trevor watching movies. Once in bed, my gaze caught the blinking green light on Chloe’s phone. That’s when I remembered her in my vision at the cemetery. I picked up the phone and started scrolling through her gallery of photos. And what I found was more surprising than it should have been. After all, my sister has been leading me to find the information all along.

I
called
Jack the next morning. As expected, he agreed to meet with me for that coffee at a café. I let his smug remarks about reconnecting with the right sister flow in one ear and out the other as he desperately tried to sail over the incident from yesterday. What Jack didn’t know, however, was that I’d spent the last five years with a jerk, and I recognized the inner workings of an asshole before he even spoke. If he thought he could play me, he had another thing coming.

Sitting across from him at the cafe, I sipped on my coffee, clenching my hand into a fist every few minutes underneath the table. As calm as I might have appeared on the outside, a storm was brewing within me, and we were about to collide head on. Even the coffee tasted weird, but maybe it was because of the company I was in.

“Jack, I’ll be frank with you. I called you here because I’d like you to go to the authorities to confess about the night Chloe was raped.”

“I’m getting the impression that this isn’t a meeting to catch up and get reacquainted.” His lips tightened.

“You’re quite observant,” I said.

“You better let your sister rest in peace, Trish.”

“My sister might not be here in person, but she’s here in spirit.” I pressed my hand to my chest. “If you don’t go to the police on your own, if you don’t make a public statement about what you did, then I will.”

He leaned over the table, that devilish cocky look overpowering his demeanor.

“Go the fuck ahead. You’ll be just another loser looking for her fifteen minutes of fame. I have a good reputation, and if you say anything to tarnish it, my reps and lawyers are going to have a field day with you. My father’s in Congress. Chloe was just another girl who got everything she wanted. People will forget about your claims quicker than the last commercial they saw.”

“They won’t forget about a Congressman’s son who’s already been charged with rape before.”

“Where the fuck have you been snooping?”

A few people raised their heads and looked toward us.

“Chloe was going to confront you, wasn’t she? She was coming back home to make peace and tell the authorities. She already told your father. That’s why he made you step down and choose a profession that wasn’t in the public eye, isn’t it?”

A hint of anger flew across his face, and I knew that I was right.

“I guess we’ll never know, will we? Listen, whatever stories are floating in your head, you need to stop them.”

“They’re not stories.”

“How much do you want, Trish? And I’m only offering because we’ve known each other for a long time. You can keep your little waitress job, I’ll write you a check that will make your puny salary laughable. Hey, maybe you’ll quit being a barista.”

How did he manage to throw in all those insults along with his offer? And was he really trying to bribe me? He may as well have raised his hand and confessed
guilty
.

“This isn’t about money, Jack, and you know it. Chloe deserves justice.”

“Chloe is dead.”

“Fuck you!” This time it was me who raised her voice. A few of the patrons at the café threw me a dirty look, and I took a deep breath to calm down.

He pulled out a checkbook and started scribbling. He looked up once and then added another zero to the row that barely fit in the rectangle before writing out the number. He pushed the paper over to me, saying, “This should be enough to last you a lifetime.”

I didn’t even look down. “I already told you, I don’t want your money. I want you to confess about what you did to Chloe.”

He slammed his fist on the table. I saw the café manager head our way, but he stopped when someone dropped a mug.

“I did nothing,” Jack insisted. His ears were red, and the veins in his neck strained.

I leaned in closer. “If you think you can get away without retribution, you’re mistaken.”

“What are you going to do? Go to the police? To the press? No one’s going to believe you. Chloe’s dead, and she can’t testify. For fuck’s sake, she can’t even press any charges.”

I ignored his snide remark. He should have known better than to fuck with a lawyer’s daughter. Chloe might not have been able to press charges, but I could.

“If you don’t do it, I will.”

Jack lowered his shoulders. His rock-hard jaw line smoothed out and the flirting expression was back.

I wanted to roll my eyes so badly, but then I’d be just as bad as he was.

“You know, I really thought you came back home because you saw me this past weekend.” He reached over the table and covered my hand with his. He was definitely a player, but I had grown up as well, and had dealt with enough assholes to know a scam when I saw one. “I mean, I’ve always had a thing for you, and you know, I secretly wanted to date you – but Chloe was your sister, and it would have been weird. You shouldn’t have run away, Trish. We could have been good together. It’s not too late to see where this friendship goes.”

Are you fucking kidding me?

I pulled my hand out from underneath his. “What’s weird is that you seem to think you have some sort of charm no woman can resist. Don’t try to pull that crap on me. It won’t work. All I care about right now is to make peace with the fact that I led her to you. I left her there, thinking you’d take care of your girlfriend, but you chose to pass her around to your buddies.”

“Again, that’s a lie. If Chloe told you something about that night, then she lied. Unfortunately, she’s not here anymore.”

He was so wrong about that. I could feel Chloe inside my chest louder than ever. That drumming in my chest wasn’t just because I was livid — it was her. Chloe’s anger was fuming through me and I was about to lose it.

“Ok, so money is not your thing.” He stuffed the checkbook back in his breast pocket. “Do you need something approved at the city, or maybe a job, seeming that you’re just a waitress now? I have the right contacts. I could even talk to someone at NASA. You have a good education behind you. I can put in a good word for you.”

At that point, I wanted to laugh. I could almost hear Chloe’s spirit chuckling beside me. A job was the least of my worries. I was happy now, but my past five years had been lost to guilt and remorse, and even that was nothing compared to my sister’s life, which she could never have back.

Enough was enough. I shook my head. “If you don’t do it, I will.”

The lines on his face hardened, and the hint of the smug asshole resurfaced from underneath the perfectly cut suit.

“They won’t believe you. I’m a respected man. And I’m pretty sure that you wouldn’t want to jeopardize a multi-million dollar deal for Axel, would you?”

I’d expected him to be a jerk about it, but I hadn’t expected him to threaten me with blackmail and bring my boyfriend into this.

“I know what you did to Chloe, and it’s time the authorities knew as well.”

He leaned back in his seat. A glimpse of doubt and frustration passed over his face before he composed his expression. He was losing this battle, and he knew it.

“Seriously? You’re going to bring up your dead sister’s issues all over again? I already told you, nothing happened that night. We fucked in a basement at a party, and that was it. You really want to embarrass yourself?”

My heart beat faster, and I knew that if Chloe were here, she’d punch Jack with all her might.

“You have twenty-four hours, Jack. Confess on your own, or I will do it for you.”

I stood up, but he grabbed my wrist. I ripped my arm out of his tight hold. It reminded me of the way Brad used to control me, and if I’d learned anything the past five years, it was that I would never stoop so low as to give ownership of my life to a man again. At least not to a man unworthy of it.

“Everyone’s forgotten about it. Why don’t you as well?”

“I’m sure they’ll remember once they see the proof I have.”

“You’re bluffing.”

I shook my head. “I didn’t want to go down that road, Jack. I really thought I could convince you to do the honorable thing, but I guess I was wrong. Twenty-four hours.”

With my head held high, I stood up and left, for the first time in five years feeling a sense of calmness fill my chest. It was Chloe confirming that I did the right thing.

As I stepped out of the cafe, my phone rang. When Axel’s name came on the display, I smiled. Perfect timing. This man knew exactly when I needed to hear his voice.

“Hi,” I said.

“How is your visit going?”

“Well, I think. But I miss you. Next time I come up, I’d like you to join me. Both you and Trevor. I would love it if you met my family, and they’d love it as well.”

“We will for sure. I’m sorry that we had other plans.”

“That’s okay. I can’t wait to see you on Monday.”

“Me too. Listen, Trevor has something he wants to ask you.”

“Okay, put him on.”

“Hi, Twish.”

“Hi, sweetheart. How are you?”

“Will you come to my biwthday pawty? It will be with dinosaurs.”

“I’d love to.”

“She said she will,” I heard him tell Axel. Talking to both of them made the day perfect again. “Okay, bye. I love you.”

“I love you too, Trevor.”

It was so easy to love him. I couldn’t imagine my life without him or Axel. Yet I hadn’t told Axel how I felt about him and his son. I couldn’t yet. Chloe needed to be avenged before I did.

“I’ll see you in a couple of days?” Axel asked. “I can’t wait to tell you something.”

My stomach did a funny flip-flop.

“Is Brad still in jail?”

“Yes, and he’ll be staying there for a while.”

“Good. I’m glad that’s behind us.”

“Me too. Stay safe, Trish.”

“You too.”

After we finished, I drove my mom’s car back home. George had prepared lunch in the back yard. I was sitting on the patio chair, legs stretched out, letting the sun warm my skin, when the tuna sandwich swirled in my stomach. I shot off the porch and rushed to the bathroom. My stomach emptied in seconds.

George knocked on the door. “You all right, girl?”

“Yeah.” I flushed the toilet, rinsed my mouth, and washed my hands. When I stepped out of the bathroom, George put his hand over my forehead.

“You’re pale. And did you just throw up my tuna salad?”

“I’m sorry.” I shrugged.

He shook his head. “You must really be sick if you can’t keep your favorite food down.”

“I think it’s the stress.”

He lowered his hands to his hips. “What stress? Patricia Dalton, what are you up to? I overheard you talking about Jack Powers. You better stay away from that man. He’s trouble.”

“I know. Wait – what kind of trouble?” I asked.

George looked around the room. “I’ve heard he’s crossed a few people. His father’s not happy with him.”

I figured that much.

“Don’t worry, George. Jack will be out of our lives for good soon enough.”

He called after me as I went upstairs to change, but I didn’t reply. My stomach had finally settled, and I spent the remainder of the day by the pool, resting. I’d already typed out the email to the detective, and now it was just a matter of pressing the send button. For the first time in years, I finally felt that everything was going to work out for the best.

Except everything was about to become more complicated than I could have ever imagined.