I Promise You (Dare, #2) — Chapter no 4

CHAPTER FOUR

COLE

I SIT IN A hard chair in a cold and silent room. They brought me in for questioning and wanna pin me for murder. But for the wrong person. My hands are still cuffed behind my back. I barely made it out the front door of the clubhouse before they had me face down in the gravel with their knees in my back while cuffing me. They threw me into the back of a squad car. I don’t expect special treatment, but I don’t think keeping my wrists cuffed for questioning is protocol. Then they brought me in here and left me. To sit. All alone. There’s no clock on the walls, but I can hear every second slowly tick by in my mind like nails on a chalkboard. They think leaving me alone with my thoughts will make me nervous and I’ll wanna confess to them. They can go to hell.

I look around for any cameras but don’t see any. And there’s also no two- way mirrors, letting me know that no one is looking in on me. We’ll be completely alone.

They think I killed Celeste and shot Austin, and I can see how they came to that conclusion. But things aren’t always what they look like. And they’re about to find that out.

The door opens, and Detective Monroe enters with a file in his hand and a bag in his other. “Cole Reynolds. It’s been a while.”

I show indifference although I want to knock his head off. I should be at the hospital waiting to see Austin, not here with this dipshit.

He pulls the only other chair out and sits down in it across from me, slapping the file on the metal table along with the clear bag marked evidence with red tape. It’s my gun. It’s covered in her blood as well. The one I left behind in Bruce’s house after the paramedics took Austin. I wasn’t

thinking clearly.

Obviously.

When they loaded her into the ambulance, I noticed my car was still in her father’s driveway, so I called Deke to find out where in the hell he took

Kellan. When he told me the cemetery, I just turned and ran around the house to the back and up the hill.

Monroe crosses his arms over his chest and sits back, staring at me.

Waiting for me to speak. He’s trying to intimidate me into a confession he’ll never get. I have something better to give him, and it will be here shortly.

“Why were you at the Lowes’ residence to begin with?” he asks. “Were you there to fuck your girlfriend or her stepmom?”

My eyes narrow on him at the mention of fucking Austin. I pull on the cuffs and feel my skin scrape more than it already has.

He glares at me in return, waiting for an answer. When he doesn’t get one, he continues. “I called Bruce Lowes to inform him of his wife’s death and daughter’s condition. He proceeded to tell me that he caught you fucking his wife months ago.”

That motherfucker! I clamp my mouth shut so I don’t tell this guy to go to fucking hell! It doesn’t matter if he thinks I’ve slept with Celeste or not. I have proof of my innocence coming. And nothing else matters.

He picks up the clear evidence bag and looks at the gun in it. “Word is Austin isn’t doing well. Spoke to the hospital about ten minutes ago and got an update on her condition. She’s coded twice while in surgery.”

My breathing picks up at his words, and my heart pounds. A lump forms in my throat that I can’t seem to swallow. I can’t lose her. Not now. Not after all I put her through. She will survive. She has to. For me!

He smirks as his gray eyes look over at the bag in his hand. “I always thought I’d get you for murder. Just never thought it’d be a woman who you offed.”

I jump to my feet at his words. Not sure why. There’s nowhere for me to go. He jumps to his as well. I open my mouth to speak, but the door flies open. We both turn our heads to look at the young rent-a-cop who enters.

He graduated a couple of years before me from Collins High. He was on the varsity football team. He hated me. I fucked his girlfriend. Well, her mouth anyway. Not sure if he still feels that way, though. It’s not like he married her.

He had big dreams to play college ball, but he blew his knee out, then never left this good-for-nothing town. His father is also Liam’s friend. My father has all the law in his pocket, but all wealthy criminals do.

“This was just delivered, sir.” He holds out the laptop.

Right on time. Just like Bennett promised.

Monroe ignores it. “Bag it for evidence, Daniels. I’ll look at it later. I’m in the middle of an investigation!”

“This is part of the investigation,” he grinds out.

The detective yanks it from his grasp, places it on the table, and opens it up. “What am I looking for?” he orders.

Trenten silently pushes a few buttons on the computer, and they both read over the information on Jerrold’s laptop. Bennett wiped it clean. Well, he wiped anything that could get any of us in trouble.

“Is this … is this true?” Monroe whispers while his eyes scan it quickly.

“Yes, sir.” Trenten nods and then presses a few more buttons. “Here are the bank statements ” he trails off.

I remain standing, my hands still cuffed and fisted. When I really want to jump across this table and headbutt him. But Deke was right, that fucking bastard. I need to be with her. And I can’t do that from prison.

“Son of a bitch.” Monroe hisses and looks at me. “How long have you known this?” he demands.

I remain silent. That’s all the information right there that he needs to prove that Bruce paid Jeff to tamper with the brakes on my car, causing the wreck that killed three of my friends. And I’ve got copies just in case something happens to these. And if I have to, I’ll go to the press with my information.

Obviously, when this shit shows up the moment I’m wanted for murdering the wife of the man who murdered my best friends, it isn’t a coincidence.

“So this was about revenge on Bruce?” he fishes. “This had nothing to do with his wife or daughter.”

We figured they would think this. That’s why the laptop isn’t the only thing that Bennett handed over to the police. Well, he planted it. Can’t make it look too obvious. If only he knew how little Bruce loved his wife and daughter, they wouldn’t come to that conclusion. He probably has a big life insurance policy on Celeste. And he would have paid someone to take Austin off his hands.

“And I have this.” Trenten hands him a phone in a bag.

“What is it?” Monroe asks.

“This is Kellan Grove’s cell phone. We found it outside the house when doing our final sweep.”

Monroe looks up at me. “You couldn’t kill them both yourself?” he snaps, thinking I called in the sharks for help. That Austin really meant that little to me. “Put an APB out on Mr. Grove’s car. Find him!”

“It’s already been issued, sir. But I think you need to hear this first,” he says with a nod.

Monroe presses a few buttons on the phone. He takes his seat and looks up at me. “Sit down.”

I do as he orders and try to roll my shoulders, but I can’t. My right one aches. I need these cuffs off.

Trenten looks down at me and then at the phone. “Maybe we should

listen to it in private.”

“No,” Monroe snaps.

So Trenten’s already listened to it. That’s obvious. But he doesn’t think I know what’s on it. I smile on the inside. I’m the motherfucker who found it.

I did your job. You’re fucking welcome!

Hours earlier

I stand over Kellan’s dead body as Bennett joins us on top of the hill. He has his flashlight, which makes it easier for us to see.

“What the fuck?” Bennett asks, looking down at Kellan wide-eyed. Then his eyes run over me, taking in my bloodstained clothes, busted knuckles, and sweaty skin. It’s a hot and muggy May night. “What the hell happened?”

Austin’s blood is starting to dry, causing my clothes to stick to my skin.

And the overwhelming smell is making me lightheaded. I wanna rip it off.

Claw at my own skin. Just to get her off me. But I refrain because I gotta finish this first.

“Kellan killed Celeste and shot Austin,” Deke answers.

Bennett runs his hand through his hair, his eyes running over me again as he asks, “Fuck! Is she okay?”

Deke shrugs. “We’re waiting for an update from Shelby.”

Bennett shakes his head and clears his throat, clearly shaken up.

I tilt my head and watch the way he swallows. How he shuffles from foot to foot. Did he know what Kellan was going to do? Was this their plan all along? To fucking play Deke and me? Kellan said that Austin was always meant to die for the game … Just how many were playing against me?

“What do you want me to do?” he asks Deke, but his eyes stay on Kellan’s dead body.

“Cole and I need to get back to the clubhouse and shower. The cops are gonna come looking for him. They know he was there. We need you to

dispose of the body.”

He nods. “I’ll call Shane—”

“No!” I interrupt him, finally speaking. “No one else gets involved. Can you take care of it or not?” I don’t trust Shane. He was always defending Kellan. If he had any involvement in hurting Austin, he will be the next one I take care of.

“I got it,” he answers without hesitation.

I bend down, satisfied with his answer because I don’t have time to stand around at the moment. The clock is already ticking. I begin to pat down Kellan’s jean pockets and find both of his cell phones. All of us have two.

Just like when we forced Austin into the group, we gave her a backpack, and it also had her a new phone in it.

I pull them out and throw one to Bennett but keep the other one. I slide my finger across the screen to unlock it and frown when I see that he has a recording app open. I go to the last thing recorded and press play.

“I don’t think …” Trenten whispers to Monroe.

“I don’t care what you think,” he growls. Then he looks at me and presses play. He thinks it has incriminating evidence of me on there. And he

wants to see my face while he plays it.

Fuck him!

“Please, baby?” Celeste’s whiny voice comes through the speaker and then sniffs. “Let’s just take the money and go.”

“No,” Kellan says in a clipped tone. “That’s not what we agreed on.”

“What do you expect me to do? I’m gonna start showing soon.”

“I don’t want a fucking kid,” he growls.

She begins to sob. “I can’t play it off as Bruce’s.”

“Then you should have taken your birth control correctly.”

“We need to act sooner,” she whispers. “We can pull it off—”

“I’ll do what I want when I want,” he snaps, interrupting her.

“Please?” Celeste begs. “Don’t do this.”

“It’s over,” Kellan growls. “It’s been over. But you refuse to believe it.”

“You can’t do this …” Celeste’s voice trails off. “Austin.” She sounds surprised. “I didn’t expect you to be home so soon.”

“I’m going to bed,” Austin answers, and my chest tightens.

I’ve already heard this once, but that doesn’t make this time any easier.

She had just arrived home, not knowing what she walked into. In less than ten minutes, she’s gonna be dead lying on her father’s kitchen floor.

“Have you told her?” Kellan demands.

“Tell me what?” Austin asks. No one answers her. “I’m tired, and it’s too late to play games with you, Kellan. What has she not told me?”

“All her secrets,” he says simply.

“Kellan, don’t—” Comes Celeste’s panicked voice.

“I don’t have time for this,” Austin says.

“Why do you think you’re here?”

“Excuse me?” Austin asks Kellan.

“It’s ’cause I wanted you here,” he answers.

And my jaw tightens. That motherfucker was playing us from the beginning. I should have done more than just break his fucking jaw before I

killed him.

“What?”

“I was with Celeste when your mother called her and said that you were too much for her. That it would make Celeste look like a saint in this city to take in Bruce’s troubled teen. But she didn’t want you. She wanted Lilly.”

“What?” Austin asks again. You can hear the panic starting to rise.

“So you still haven’t figured it out yet.” He sounds proud of himself.

“What she did. What she is capable of?”

“Don’t,” Celeste growls at him.

“She can keep a secret, babe,” he tells her. “Celeste, here, killed Betty, Cole and Lilly’s mother.”

Monroe’s brows pull together in confusion. They don’t understand it.

Why would he? No one would understand why Celeste would kill my mother. They don’t know that Lilly’s father is Bruce.

“It was an accident,” Celeste says defensively.

“Don’t lie,” he growls.

“You what?” Austin asks shocked. “Why would you …”

“At first, everyone suspected Liam or Bruce, but no one could figure out why they would kill her at nine months along. If they were going to do it, they would have done it the moment they found out she was pregnant. But when Celeste found out she was pregnant, she was pissed. She wanted a baby. She wanted to have Bruce’s child. But Bruce didn’t want kids. So

Celeste went over to her house and confronted her. Said that she wanted joint custody of Lilly, and when Betty said no, she pushed her down the stairs.”

That fucking bitch killed my mom, and I never knew it! Never even suspected it. I let her take care of Lilly and never knew what she was capable of.

“I told you all of this in confidence,” Celeste barks at Kellan.

He continues. “Then she called 911 and said she heard her fall down the stairs. As if she cared about her pathetic life.”

“No!” Austin says slowly, still refusing to believe it. “Cole said she fell and died in surgery due to complications.”

He laughs. “Cole only knows what Celeste told him. She waited thirty minutes before she called for help. Lilly was delivered in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. Betty was dead by the time they arrived at the hospital.”

“You son of a bitch!” Celeste shouts at Kellan.

“And now you’re gonna see history repeat itself,” he calls out.

You hear some commotion, and Celeste cry out. “Back up!” he orders.

And I can only guess that he’s speaking to Austin.

“Keep them up!” he snaps, and I imagine he is pointing his gun at her.

The same make and model of my gun. But all they gotta do is open my magazine, and they’ll see all but one bullet, which is chambered. I’m sure they already have. It’s probably sitting there, chamber cleared and magazine empty.

“Okay, okay, okay,” Austin says, and her voice shakes.

“See …” He goes on. “Celeste is pregnant.” She starts to sob. “With my child. After getting Betty pregnant, Bruce had that situation fixed so it would never happen again. That rules him out. And I’m the only other guy you’ve fucked, right, baby?” he asks.

Celeste continues to sob but doesn’t answer out loud.

He goes on. “And just like Bruce and Liam, I don’t want a child. But unlike them, I plan on doing something about it.”

“Please, Kellan,” she begs. “I love you.” She sobs.

“You were nothing to me.” You hear Celeste falling down the stairs from him pushing her. Then silence.

“You killed her.” Comes Austin’s voice. “You killed her,” she cries out this time.

“You are trying to save her? She killed the love of your life’s mother.

Who just happened to be your half-sister’s mother as well.”

“She’s pregnant,” Comes her frantic voice. “The baby didn’t do anything to you.”

“Oh, but it will. That’s why it’s got to go.” You hear more commotion and the sound of skin being dragged across the marble floor, followed by her gasping for air. Then nothing. Whatever position he has her in, he’s choking her. My breathing picks up. “You’ve been playing a game all along, Austin, but it’s been my game. My rules. And now it’s over.” Then you hear her body hitting the floor once again.

We knew exactly what to do with his cell. Bennett doctored it, though, ’cause Kellan had said too much on the tape. He spoke about how much watching her burn Jeff’s body turned him on. And we couldn’t let the cops hear that part. It wasn’t to save my ass. At this point, I couldn’t care less about what happens to me. But her? I would spend the rest of my life in prison if it meant saving hers.

And he had also mentioned her stealing a car with me. That had to go too. He ran his mouth too much. We should have killed him years ago.

“But you hated me … you tried to kick me out of the group …”

Monroe looks up at me for the first time since the recording started. He knows something isn’t right. That something is missing. But he must prove it. And as far as Austin mentioning the group? Everyone knows we’re the GWS. Have been since we were young. This isn’t the first time he’s ever had one of us in an interrogation room.

“All part of my plan. Every time I pushed you away, Cole pulled you closer.” And Bennett had to doctor this part as well where he told Austin our final plan of killing Bruce. “She wanted me to kill you and Cole and run off into the sunset with her and Lilly.” He snorts. “All the lies she told Cole.” He chuckles. “You. It was so fucking perfect.”

“I’m not like her, Cole. You can’t blackmail me.” Celeste had said that to me when I told her I knew she was sleeping with Kellan. I didn’t think about it at the time, but how did she know what I was doing to Austin? I was too consumed with finding a way to get Kellan off her back that I wasn’t thinking about her words.

Listening to this tape makes me wish I would have asked him some questions before I killed him. Like why did he want her to come here in the

first place? What were his plans for her and how much did they change?

Now that he and Celeste are both dead, I will never get those answers.

“You sick bastard,” Austin spits out.

He chuckles. “He and I are the same, Austin. We both used you however

we wanted.”

“Cole would never hurt me. Not now.”

I swallow the knot that forms in my throat at her words. She and I both know she was lying. Because I was hurting her. Or he wouldn’t have been alone with her. The guys and I thought if I pulled back, he wouldn’t have a reason to go after her. But that was before we knew Celeste had plans too. If Austin dies, her blood will be on my hands. And I can’t live with that.

“You’re right,” he agrees with a sigh. “He wouldn’t harm a hair on your head. But I’m gonna paint these walls with your blood. After all, his favorite color is red.” Then more commotion.

You hear skin skid across the marble floor, like she’s trying to get away from him. Then she cries out and the sound bounces off the walls in the interrogation room, followed by something hitting the floor with a clank.

“I wanted Bruce to take care of you,” he growls. “Just like I wanted him to kill Cole when I drove his car to fuck his wife.” He laughs at that. “But I’ll just have to do it myself. In case you just recorded me killing Celeste.”

I don’t understand why he said that, ’cause he was recording it. But Bennett pointed out that Kellan sending me this tape is different than her

sending it to the police.

You hear her struggle, gasping for air.

“My only regret is that I won’t get to fuck you.” He sighs and my body tenses at his words. “Because I listened to the recording of Cole fucking you inside that bathroom, Austin.”

The detective and officer both look at me with raised brows. Fuck, that video has got to go.

“I got off on it so many times, imagining it was you and me.”

My jaw tightens, and you hear her stop struggling followed by a long silence. Monroe goes to turn off the recording, but then you hear Kellan scream and her coughing. “FUCK!” he screams.

Seconds go by of her strangled breathing.

“Cole!” Austin chokes out my name in the distance. As if she was able to get away from him. Maybe to another room.

It was when she had called me.

You can’t hear what I say to her. But she bursts into tears and I bow my head. I should have fucking been there for her!

“He’s here!” she screams. “Kellan’s at my father’s house. He killed Celeste!”

I shake my head. I couldn’t get to her fast enough. Always failing those I love.

You hear Kellan’s voice. “He’s not gonna make it.” Followed by gunfire.

“Fucking bitch!” he hisses before the recording goes dead.

I keep my head down. My body aches. My fists still bleed, and the cuffs dig into my wrists. They put them on extra tight on purpose. But killing Kellan was worth it. That bastard deserved to die. Just like the rest of them.

Silence fills the room, but you can hear Monroe’s heavy breathing. He’s pissed because I just solved his case. He thought he would finally get to put me away for good. He’s wanted to put all the GWS away for years because we’ve pulled so many pranks. And this was his last chance before I leave this godforsaken town.

“Sir, you can’t …” We hear a commotion outside the room right before the door bursts open.

I look up to see my father’s attorney, Jacob Lasser, enter the room. “Cole, don’t say a word,” he orders, then turns to the officer and detective.

I wonder why he’s even here because I doubt my father sent him. He must have seen it on the news and just assumed I needed help and he’d get a big fat paycheck. Too bad for him, I helped myself. Like I always do.

To my surprise, my father then barges in the room. What the fuck is he doing here?

He takes one look at the cut on my face that Deke gave me and his murdering eyes land on his friend who sits across from me. “I will have your fucking job!” he roars. “You have no fucking right to arrest my son for murder!”

I refrain from sighing. It must have hit the news already. Or Bruce called my father. Either way, he is only here for his image, not mine.

Monroe stands. “We are just questioning him …”

“In fucking cuffs?” he snaps, interrupting him. “Remove them. Now!”

Trenten runs around the table, not even bothering to wait for an okay from his superior officer. Yanking me to my feet by my upper arm, he undoes them, and I refrain from rubbing my wrists. I will not show weakness in front of these men, especially my father.

“Liam …”

“You will call me Mr. Reynolds!” He walks around and grabs my arm, digging his nails into my skin. “And anything you have to say to my son or me will go through my attorney!” Then he drags me out of the room.

I rip my arm from his hold as we make our way down the long hallway.

He stays quiet as we come to a room where Deke is sitting. He jumps out of his seat, and we silently exit together. It’s still dark out.

Once outside, my father turns to face me. “I don’t give a fuck what you did. You keep your fucking mouth shut and let me handle it.”

“I already have,” I grind out and walk past him.

His fingers dig into my shirt, and he yanks me to a stop. “What the fuck does that mean, and where the hell do you think you’re going?”

I get in his face. And his nostrils flare as his blue eyes narrow on me. I hate how much I look like him. “It means I took care of it myself! And I’m going to the hospital to—”

“No, you’re not!” He interrupts me. “You’re staying as far away from

that girl as possible!”

“Gonna stop me?” I arch a brow.

“I’ll let them throw your ass in jail, Cole!” he threatens. “I’ll let them take whatever evidence they have on you and lock you up forever if that’s what it takes to prove to you that I fucking own you!”

Deke turns away and runs down the stairs. My father smirks, thinking Deke has left me, but he’s really just going to pull the car around ’cause I’m ready to get the fuck out of here.

I place my hand on his shoulder and return his snide smile. “Go ahead.”

Then I jog down the stairs myself just as my car comes to a quick stop at the curb. I jump in, and Deke hits the gas.