Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
I left the office and ventured down the hallway. Eddie and Gina were murmuring to each other in the kitchen. I couldn’t see them but could definitely hear what they were saying.
“Why did you even let her in?” Gina hissed. “We don’t know a thing about that girl.”
“She was being chased, Gina. The fuck did you want me to do?”
“She could’ve shot us too! Did you think about that? She could’ve been lying!”
“You’re being dramatic,” Eddie grumbled. “Like always.”
“I want her out of here,” Gina snapped back.
“Well, we can’t rush her out. You saw her. She was scared, G. Someone is trying to hurt her.”
As they continued talking, I opened one of the hallway doors quietly. One was a bathroom. The one next to it was a closet full of pool floaties and life vests. Another door led to a guest bedroom. But the door closest to the kitchen, just around the corner from Eddie and Gina, was the garage door.
I pulled it open . . . and my heart dropped to my stomach.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
Metallic red Aston Martin.
Just like the photos.
Just like Lincoln and Rory saw.
With shaking hands, I flipped the light switch on to take in the full details of the car. It was spotless as it glistened under cold white light. Beside it, a black BMW was parked.
“What are you doing?” A deep voice rose behind me.
I gasped, pressing a hand to my chest as I twisted around.
Eddie stood there with his brows drawn together. He looked from me to the car.
“I—sorry. I was looking for the bathroom,” I told him.
He gave me an odd look. Then he smiled and pointed back with his thumb. “It’s just across the hall.”
My heart raced faster. “Thanks,” I said. He moved back to let me pass.
I stepped by, gripping the doorknob for the bathroom and walking in. I pretended to use the bathroom, flushed, washed my shaking hands, then stared at my reflection for a bit, trying to make sense of the car in Eddie’s garage.
Rory said a guy had thrown Eve over his shoulder. That he’d taken her into the house while she was screaming and suddenly the screaming stopped. Mrs. Abbot said she’d heard a scream too. My hands were still shaking as I dried them off.
I pulled out my phone, desperate for some kind of signal. There was finally one bar. I went to my emails with Nico and tried opening the attachment again, the one with Victor McDonnell’s name on it. Relief washed over me as the attachment slowly loaded, revealing words first. The blur faded so I could read them clearly. I cupped my mouth.
Victor E. McDonnell. That was the name on the credit card in Eve’s wallet. That same name was on this document, except the E wasn’t an initial. It was a full name.
Eddie.
Victor Eddie McDonnell.
Everything in my stomach turned sour. My hands rattled harder as I read the address Nico had highlighted. An address to a house on the same circle as Twilight Oaks. Right on Aquilla Lake. This house. Slowly, an image appeared at the bottom. Grainy at first. Then it cleared. A photo of Eddie himself, smiling and wearing golfing attire.
“Oh my God,” I whispered.
My mind went back to Eve’s photos on her laptop. The video of her saying yes to ice cream. Of taking pictures on the hood of a red car. The entries in her digital journal. The guy she didn’t want to name at first and a person who had clearly broken her heart and used her. A guy she’d met in Miami. A guy who would never choose her . . . because he had a wife, a daughter, and had created a whole life. They clearly made great money. He had everything he needed here.
I was in the belly of the beast. I tucked my phone back in place and drew in a few deep breaths. It was fine. Eddie—or Victor—didn’t know what I knew. I could leave now, say I’d figure things out for myself. They wouldn’t care. They wanted me gone anyway.
I had no idea what Eddie had to do with Eve. All I knew was that I couldn’t figure it out here. Everyone on this lake had something to do with her death and it made me want to throw up.
This was bigger than me. A monster with so many heads that just kept growing more.
I opened the door but was shocked to see Victor still standing in the hallway.
“All good?” he asked, eyes bright.
“Yeah. I’m feeling much better now. Thank you.”
He gave me a concerned once-over. “You look a little sick. You sure you’re okay?”
“I’m good, Eddie. Really. The friend I called, she actually said she’s on the way and I don’t want to take up any more of your time, so I can wait outside for her. It’s fine.” I pointed toward the kitchen, where the patio doors were. Where my gun was. “Probably safer to wait out back, right?”