I Promise You (Dare, #2) — Chapter no 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

COLE

IT’S BEEN THREE DAYS since the shooting, and I haven’t left the hospital. Shelby kicks me out of Austin’s room during the night, but I never make it past the waiting area. I brush my teeth in the bathroom and splash some water on my face and call it good. I’m starting to smell and am exhausted, but I’m not going home. Blanche takes care of Lilly, and I talk to her on FaceTime several times a day. Even Becky goes over and sees her for me. Last night, she took Lilly out for ice cream.

I sit in her small window with my feet propped up on the windowsill, looking over Collins. You can’t see much from here. The hospital sits on the back side of town on a cliff, facing the ocean. I’ve never really stopped to appreciate how pretty the landscape is or how it goes as far as the eye can see. It reminds me of Austin. Gorgeous to the view, but you don’t know just how dark it can get. How deep it can go. She surprised me with every turn, fought me with everything she had, and I loved it. I had thought I could take this scared little girl and turn her into my own personal game, but she ended up turning the tables on me and made me fall in love with her. She made me need her more than she ever needed me, and I hate that I couldn’t admit that to her sooner.

“It’s done,” Bennett announces, entering her room and my thoughts.

Shelby started letting our friends come back into her room yesterday. As long as we stay quiet and don’t cause any problems, we won’t get kicked

out during the day.

I look over at him. “All of them?”

He nods. “The original recordings have been erased, but you know if some pervert saved them to his phone and uploads them later, I can’t help that.” My eyes narrow on him. “But I’ll keep my eyes open. Have you watched the news?” He changes the subject.

I shake my head. I refuse to turn the TV on.

He walks over, picks up the remote to the bed, and hits the button for the TV that hangs on the wall. “The news broke an hour ago.”

I look up at it to see multiple officers leading Bruce out of his office downtown with his wrists cuffed behind his back. He’s dressed in one of his ten thousand-dollar suits and walking with his head down. I’d like to see him buy his way out of this one. Officers and cop cars swarm the streets along with the media.

“Why did you kill those kids?” one reporter asks, shoving a microphone into his face. “Did you know that Cole Reynolds was in that car?” another asks.

Of course, he did. It was my car we were in.

“Did you know that your wife was having an affair with the underage boy?” another asks. “He still hasn’t been found. Did you kill him too?”

The reporters have run with this story in all different directions. It’s worked more in our favor than we had hoped.

“And what about your business partners? Jeff and Jerrold?”

The town knows Jerrold is dead. They said his death was accidental. But they’ll never find Jeff’s body. Austin took care of that for us. The town just speculates that Jeff’s embezzlement of JJ’s Properties has caused him to run off.

Still sitting in the windowsill, I bow my head and run my hands through my hair. I’m exhausted. You don’t get any sleep in hospitals. Austin still hasn’t woken up, and Shelby quit giving me updates. They come and wheel her out for tests periodically, but no matter how many questions I ask, she just responds with, “These things take time.”

“Have you been to see your daughter?” one reporter asks Bruce as the officer places a hand on his head and puts him in the back of a police car. “I hear the cops want to question her …”

“Turn it off,” I order roughly, and then silence comes over the room.

I look up when the door opens, and I shoot to my feet when my father enters her room. His shoulders are pulled back, and his nose is in the air.

Shelby follows behind him.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” I demand. He hasn’t tried to contact me once since he pulled me out of the interrogation room. And neither have the police.

He straightens his tie. He wears his usual expensive Armani suit and a scowl on his face. They go hand in hand.

“Cole, I’m sorry—”

“For what?” I interrupt Shelby and ask again. “What the fuck are you doing?” Why is he here? He doesn’t care about Austin. Hell, he doesn’t even care about me.

He looks over at Austin lying in her bed still hooked up to the machines that help her stay alive. “I just wanted to check on her …”

“Bullshit!” I snap, making my way over to the end of her bed and blocking his view of her.

He reaches into his suit jacket and pulls out a folded piece of paper and hands it to Shelby. She swallows nervously. My heart begins to beat rapidly.

“Since Bruce Lowes has been arrested, he has made me power of attorney over Austin.”

My heart stops completely at his words. “That’s illegal.” It has to be.

“She’s over eighteen and not a relative of yours.” I’m not an attorney, but I know enough to know he’s a lying piece of shit. “And he’s in jail, not dead.” If anything, the doctors would decide her care. Not her father’s best friend.

He smirks and rips the paper from her hands. “Leave us,” he orders, and Shelby all but runs out of the room. Bennett stays, waiting for my instructions. I nod to him, and he follows, leaving us alone.

“What are you doing?” I demand.

He calmly walks over to the only chair that was once by her bed but has been moved up against the wall. He sits down in it and places his right ankle on his left knee. “I spoke to Bruce earlier before he was arrested. He informed me that she may not make it.”

“You expect me to believe that he cares enough about her health to call up here and check on her status?” I don’t let him answer. “And he’s wrong.

She’s going to be fine.” I lie because I need it to be true. More than anything in this world.

He smiles. “His friends aren’t limited to the police force of Collins, son.”

I hate when he calls me son. Who the hell does Bruce know in this hospital? Are they a threat to her? Will he pay them to hurt her further? To fuck up her care and make it look like an accident?

“Just like you. You’re very lucky you have Shelby here, or you wouldn’t know shit about her care. Or be allowed in this room.”

I grind my teeth, hating to hear the truth. “What is it that you want? Did Bruce send you?”

Who knows what that bastard is up to now. He must know that the laptop came from me. I was arrested, and then three days later, Bruce was arrested due to evidence on a laptop that he knew was stolen. I think he was onto us all along. Writing Austin a check from one of the accounts we had drained wasn’t a subtle hint. The question is why didn’t he act faster? Or maybe this was his plan. Hell, for all we know, the bastard was paying Kellan to take out his wife and daughter.

Liam looks back at her lying in bed. “For a while, I thought she was mine.”

“What are you talking about?” I ask, rubbing my temples. I need some fucking sleep. Or some laps in a pool. They always help me relax.

“Austin.”

My eyes snap to his, and I snort, not surprised to hear he slept with that druggie. I always knew he was never faithful to my mother.

When he smiles up at me, it’s full of appreciation. And it makes me

tense. “You are so much like me, Cole.”

“I’m nothing like you,” I growl.

He stands and adjusts his suit jacket. “I used your mother too. Just like you used Austin.” My heart begins to pound, and my breathing picks up. “I must admit it took her longer to fall in love with you, though.”

“You don’t know anything about Austin and me,” I decide to say. I don’t even know how she feels about me. I never told her I loved her. I never even treated her like I loved her. All I did was control her and then push her away. She should hate me. I deserve that.

He gives a soft laugh. “You can’t possibly think that I don’t know what you and your friends were doing? You weren’t secretive about your plans for her. Hell, even Bruce saw it.”

My chest tightens. No one even tried to stop me. No one tried to intervene and save her.

He sighs. “But then you went and fell in love with her too. Disappointing me once again.”

I smile at that. “Like father, like son.”

Instead of showing his anger, he looks over my swollen and busted knuckles. Shelby has tried to care for them several times, saying I need stitches, but I keep blowing her off. They’ll heal over time. They always do.

He leans in to whisper, “I imagine her mother will never be found. Like Kellan. And Jeff.” My jaw clenches, and he laughs. “You guys think you

own this town? That you were the only sharks in these waters?” He shakes his head. “Who do you think taught you how to kill? How to hunt?” He gives me a threatening smile, and it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. “Don’t get me wrong. I am proud of you, son. You’ve done well for yourself. And you did me a favor by getting rid of Bruce.”

I bet I did. “I’m sure he knows all your secrets.”

He nods. “He knew enough.”

I take a step forward, closing the small space between us. We both stand eye to eye at six feet two. “And what about his secrets, Dad? Did you know this whole time that he paid to have me killed?” I have to ask. “See, I thought that you fought to keep me out of prison because you were afraid that having a son in jail would lose you multimillion-dollar deals. But maybe it was because you didn’t want them to investigate and get your best friend in trouble.”

He knew I wasn’t at fault, but he never tried to get me to confess. Or even bothered to ask who was really driving.

“What were you thinking?” my father snaps at me while we stand in his

office.

I say nothing.

“You could have ruined your life! You’re lucky that I have pull in this town, or you would be spending your life in prison.”

“Lucky?” I can’t help but ask. “Three of my friends are dead!”

“But you’re not!!” He slaps his checkbook down on his desk. “Fuck, you know what this town thinks of you now? I mean, they already knew that you were a fuckup. Now they know you as a murderer.”

“Because I am!” I shout. “I killed them!”

“Don’t you fucking say that!” he barks, pointing his finger at me. “You keep that shit to yourself!” He falls into his seat and sighs. Then he looks at my right arm that is in a sling. His eyes narrow on it. He knows I wasn’t driving. I lied to the cops. The paramedics. Everyone. And no one questioned it. But he knows. Nothing gets past him. “Eli’s funeral is tomorrow.”

I swallow around the knot in my throat. I’ve already missed the others.

Landen was cremated, and Maddox’s was held while I was still in the

hospital. “What time?”

“Doesn’t matter. You’re not going.”

My jaw tightens. “Yes, I am—”

“This is not up for discussion.” He interrupts me. “You are not going to his funeral. The entire town is going to be there, and you think they want to see the boy they all think killed him?”

I look away from him, hoping he doesn’t see the tears that sting my eyes.

“I made him a promise.” I have to check on Aimee. Eli was so sure that something was wrong with her, and I can’t let him down. Not now. I just got released and haven’t had the chance to get over to his house to grab his computer and see what he was talking about her not being safe. What Jerrold does to her when no one is looking.

My eyes find his again when he doesn’t speak right away. He watches a tear roll down my cheek with disgust. I hate that for once I look so weak in front of him.

“You should have thought about that before you took the fall.” He stands from his desk and crosses his arms over his chest. “You made a decision, and now you must face the consequences.”

The next day while the whole town was at Eli’s funeral, Deke and I set three crosses at the scene of the accident. We silently cried and said our own goodbyes to our brothers.

Liam places his hands on my shoulders, and I stiffen. “It doesn’t matter why I did it,” he finally answers.

I shove his hands off me. He’ll never tell me. Even if he were to answer, it would be a lie. “Did you know Celeste killed Mom?”

The corners of his lips turn up before he looks me up and down. “You look like shit, son.” Then his eyes slide to Austin. “Get some rest. You’re gonna need it.” He pulls away and smiles at me as though I just told him a joke. “When she is released, I want you to come by the house …”

I snort. “That won’t be happening.”

“Yes, it will,” he says matter-of-factly. “I have something to show you.

And we will be releasing a statement to the press together.”

He’s lost his fucking mind! “I’m not doing a press release.”

“You are. My best friend paid to have my son killed. And you were a prime suspect in the murder of your girlfriend’s stepmom. We will speak to the media. Together. Jacob will be there as well. Then you are free to go.

And after that, I don’t care if you come back.” He pats my cheek. Hard. To onlookers, it may have seemed like a love tap, but we both know it was a warning. He turns to walk out of the room.

“I’m taking Lilly with me,” I call out.

He comes to a stop and turns to face me. That smile still in place. “I’ll make sure Blanche packs her things.” Then he exits without another word.

I stand, breathing heavy with my limbs shaking. Running my hands through my hair, I begin to pace the small room. He fucking knew everything! All this time! That’s why he challenged me to prove he had killed my mother ’cause he knew who it was. Over time, I convinced myself that it was just an accident. Nothing more. “Motherfucker!”

“Cole?”

“What?” I bark, coming to a stop.

Shelby enters and licks her lips nervously. “He can’t do that …”

I wave her off. “He was just fucking with me.” I make my way over to the chair my father had occupied and fall into it.

He knows he has no control over Austin and just wanted to piss me off.

See what I had in me. He’s always pushed me for as long as I can remember. But the question remains—how long can she go on like this before someone steps up and takes control of her care? How long will they

wait for her to get better?

“Cole?”

How much power does Bruce still have over her?

“Cole?”

I look up at Shelby, trying to calm my breathing and not to lose my shit.

There aren’t very many things in this room I can destroy to help calm myself. I feel caged. I need a pool or my punching bag. Hell, even Deke will go toe to toe with me when I need it.

“She’s improving.” Shelby speaks softly. “We are going to wean her off

sedation tomorrow.”

“What?” I sit up straighter.

She nods, giving me a soft smile. “You look tired. You need to rest.”

“I’m sleeping just fine,” I lie.

“Go home tonight, Cole. Get a good night’s sleep.” She pats my shoulder.

“And come back tomorrow because the hard part isn’t over. She’s gonna need you now more than ever.” Then she exits the room, leaving Austin and me alone.

I get up, walk over to the side of her bed, and grab her cold hand. I lean over and run my busted knuckles down her bruised cheek, avoiding the tape that holds her breathing tube in place. “I’m not leaving, sweetheart.” Then I lean down and kiss her forehead.