Page 108 of Slapshot Obsession
To my surprise, Andy doesn’t react. “You’re just jealous because in the end, I’m gonna get the girl.”
I wonder what he means by that. Is he planning to rape me?
“So what happened then?” I ask. “I woke up alone with Tim the next morning.”
“Or so you thought.” He tuts. “I slept way too well next to you. When I woke up, it was already morning, and you began to stir. I was worried you would begin screaming, like you did. There was no way to tell if someone would wake up. I didn’t have enough time to get out of that room without potentially being caught, so I had to hide.”
This time there’s no way to avoid shuddering. “Were you still there when I woke up? Where?”
“Thank fuck for full-length blackout curtains, am I right? I hid right behind the curtains.”
That makes sense. There was just a small opening in the middle of the curtains that let out enough daylight to see. Andy must have moved them when he hid behind them.
“So you were still there.” It isn’t a question.
“I was waiting for you to calm down. You looked still quite out of it because of the roofie. I reckoned I would come out and finish what I started. I’m much bigger than you; you wouldn’t be able to fight me. But before I could do anything, you had to go and call that bitch.” He points his finger at Jodie.
Things could have ended very differently that day. It’s nothing short of a miracle that Jodie and I got away unscathed.
Knowing that I wasn’t raped brings me comfort even in this dire situation. There’s also the huge relief that now I know for sure that I didn’t hurt Tim.
But sorting through my feelings will have to wait. “So,what did you do? You waited until we were gone and followed us here?”
“That’s the gist of it.” Andy shrugs. “I put an air tag in your car while you two were packing your bags. Thanks for tampering with the murder scene and getting rid of my knife, by the way. You made things a lot easier for me. The cops didn’t even blink when I said I had been downstairs at the party until I passed out in my room.”
I have a lot more questions about how Andy didn’t get caught.
Jodie asks one of them. “But you must have been covered in blood. Fuck knows there was so much blood. All over Taryn, all over me. How did you manage to fly under the radar?”
“Easy enough.” His tone is full of arrogance. “I snuck out right behind you two and went to the locker room to shower. The athletic department keeps a skeleton cleaning crew even off-season since the ice rink is used by us and the ice skaters to train year round. I had been doing some extra skating drills in the mornings before our regular practice during the season, so I knew that the cleaners came at seven a.m. every morning. That took care of any blood in the shower. Besides, the cops weren’t looking at the athletic department as part of their crime scene. Then I took a page from Jodie’s book and took my bloody clothes with me and dumped them somewhere in Arizona. I caught up with you two right when you arrived here in Star Cove.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
THE ONE WHO GOT AWAY
TARYN
The blade of Andy’s knife has been resting against my collarbone this entire time. I haven’t forgotten about it, but it’s been so long it’s not even cold against my skin anymore.
“So…” his tone changes. He sounds almost playful. “I’m wondering how we should end this, Taryn.” He moves my hoodie to bare my shoulder, sliding the knife under the spaghetti strap of my tank top. “It’s quite obvious that you’re all gonna die. Although you have a chance to live if you play your cards right. I have to be in D.C. next week to start my new job, and I have a room for you in my new house. That’s if you agree to be a good girl and come with me of your own free will.”
It’s my turn to laugh hysterically until my stomach hurts and there are tears at the corner of my eyes. “Yeah, Andy. I’ll come with you. When hell freezes over and gets its own NHL expansion team.”
“Fucking slut!” He slices the strap of my tank, bringing the knife down the middle to cut a vertical line, baring my stomach and my bra clad chest. “Fine. Have it your way. Youget a front seat to your best friend and your boyfriend’s death. Too bad you and that stupid bitch got rid of my machete. I had to go with something a little more practical this time, but there’s no way I can cut off any heads with this. Not to worry, though. I’m gonna make it extra painful.”
Panic begins to truly descend on me. I have to keep Andy talking. The more time passes, the bigger the chance that Tucker and Colsen will start looking for me and Nash.
It’s our only hope to get out of here alive.
“I don’t get it, Andy. You could have any woman you want. You’re hot and rich. Why me?”
He drags his knife under the center of my bra. “Because you didn’t want me. No one gets to say no to me. And even when I almost had you, you slipped through my fingers. You’re the one who got away, Taryn.”
“Let’s talk about it.” I’m grasping at straws at this point. Maybe this is the end. “I?—”
“No, darlin’,” he smiles. “The time for talking has run out. Look, I still really like you. There’s something about you, Taryn. Some might say I’m obsessed with you. Nash gets it. I like you so much that I’ll let you choose. Who do you want to die first? Nash or Jodie?”
I lose my battle with my tears. “You can’t ask me to make that choice.”
