Page 13 of You for Her (The Edge of Retaliation 2)
I reach the top and walk past Tanner’s room and go straight to Tatum’s. I curl my gloved fingers around the handle and open it, stepping inside. I can’t turn the light on, that would be risking too much, so I have to rely on my flashlight to see. I walk over to the desk in the corner first, and start shuffling through the papers there. It’s doubtful he would keep anything worth my while out in the open, so I have to look deeper.
I look around the desk for a compartment, or something that would be ideal for hiding information. I can’t find anything on the desk, but I quickly flick through the drawers anyway. Then, without finding anything interesting, I move to the cupboard and start opening boxes and looking. Inside one box, I find a picture of Tatum and Chase. I tuck the picture into my jeans and keep looking.
I find a stack of papers in a box hidden right at the back of the cupboard that have a few printed emails in them. I pull them out, trying to read them with the light. There is information on one of them about a fake I.D. I narrow my eyes, reading further, trying to get as much information as I can in a short time, when I hear a door slam downstairs. My head whips around, and I hear low male voices. They’re home. I frantically use my phone to take pictures of the papers I’m holding, and then I shove them back into the box.
Someone is coming up the stairs.
Heart racing, I put the box back where I found it and get into the cupboard, closing the door just in time for someone to open the door. The light flicks on and I clench my eyes shut, terrified. I’m well hidden in the cupboard, but if Tatum comes in searching for clothes, there is a solid chance he’ll find me. How would I ever explain that?
Blood rushes through my body at a frantic rate and my heart is pounding against my ribcage. My palms begin to sweat and I’m suddenly very aware of my surroundings. If I make one noise, they’ll know I’m in here and it’s all over for me. I hear Tatum shuffling around, some clothes drop to the ground, but he doesn’t come into the closet. After a few minutes, he disappears out of the room and closes the door.
I exhale. Thanking everything he didn’t find me.
That still leaves me with the issue of getting out of this house.
Without being seen.
I tiptoe out of the closet, legs trembling as I walk towards the door.
I open it softly and peer out. I can hear their voices downstairs.
I take a shaky breath and tiptoe towards the staircase, peering down. If they see me, everything I’m working for will unravel. I’ll have to explain why I’m in their house, explain what I know. I can’t do that. Not now. It would all be for nothing. I slowly make my way down the stairs, and when I reach the bottom, I peer around to see them standing in the kitchen. They’re going to see me moving if I try to make a run for it.
“You still feelin’ off about everything?” Tatum asks.
“It’s all a fuckin’ mess. Be much easier if I just knew the truth.”
“You do know the truth, Tanner. You know that Celia wasn’t depressed. Don’t let a good story throw you off the trail. I get it, I do. I like Callie, too. She’s believable, but you know in your heart what the truth is. You know that she’s lyin’.”
Fucking Tatum.
Damn him.
“Know that, but also gotta question if maybe I missed somethin’. Would be incredibly unfair if all this time we were pushin’ her for nothin’.”
“I’ll prove it to you. Callie will break eventually. It’ll get to her enough that she will just lose it and admit what she’s done. When she does, everything will be clear.”
“Then what?” Tanner mutters.
“Then we have our closure, we have our fuckin’ answers. Her actions cause Celia’s death, don’t forget that. Don’t forget why we decided on this to begin with.”
I shake my head, horrified. Answers? Closure? That’s what they’re doing this for? Because they want closure? What a fucking joke. Anger bubbles in my chest, and I clench my fists, wanting to out there and give them a piece of my mind, but knowing damn well I can’t.
“We’re targeting her car again tonight, goin’ to make it a good one this time. She will fuckin’ crack, she will own up to what she did,” Tatum says, his voice hard. “Don’t let your thoughts get sidetracked.”
Fuck you, Tatum.
They’re going to target my car again?
“How do you know she won’t be home?”
“Her and Jo are going out to dinner in about an hour, we’ll be fine,” Tatum adds.
