Get Dirty (32 page)

“Thank God Ed didn’t kill them,” Olivia said.

“Ed the Head is the killer?” John looked incredulous. “I don’t believe it.”

“Believe it,” Olivia said.

“I’ll explain later,” Bree said. “Right now, we need to find him.”

“Okay.” John pushed himself to his feet, steadied by Bree. “Which way?”

“Nuh-uh,” Bree said. “You’re getting out of here.”

“Without you?” John said with a laugh. “Hell no.”

“John,” Kitty said. “We need you to find the police. Convince them that their missing persons are down here.” Kitty glanced from Bree to Olivia. “We’re going to need backup.”

John gripped Bree’s shoulders. “I don’t want to leave you.”

“I know,” she said.

He took a deep breath, then gave Bree a swift kiss on the lips, and staggered back the way they came. Kitty prayed that they could stall Ed long enough so that John could return with the authorities. It was their only chance.

They waited until the sound of John’s footsteps disappeared into the depths of the basement before they continued. The door at the end was closed, just like in every horror movie Kitty had ever seen. Opening a closed door in a situation like this was never, ever a good thing. But somewhere on the other side, Margot was in trouble, might need her help. And Kitty had to get to her no matter what.

With a sharp intake of breath, she threw the door open and rushed inside.

She stood on a small landing overlooking the boiler room. Four or five metal stairs led down to the concrete floor, where a tangled mass of pipes snaked out of what looked like an enormous furnace. Bound and gagged on the concrete floor in front of the boiler was Margot.

“Margot!” Olivia raced down the steps, Kitty and Bree close behind, and began to pull at the ropes tied around Margot’s wrists. “Are you okay?”

“
Mmumff mum
,” Margot cried through her gag.

Olivia pulled down her gag.

“Get out of here,” Margot said. Her voice shook. “Hurry.”

Kitty loosened the rest of her bonds. “Not without you.”

Bree grabbed Margot’s hand. “Where’s Logan? We’ve got to get out of here before Ed comes back.”

“Ed?” Margot said, obviously confused.

“Yeah,” Kitty said, eyeing her. “He’s the one who kidnapped you. It was Ed all along.”

Margot slowly shook her head from side to side as a massive
tear rolled down her cheek. “No, it wasn’t.”

“What?”

“I’m afraid Margot’s right,” a voice said from behind them.

Kitty spun around. Blocking the only exit at the top of the stairs, gun casually pointed at them, was Logan.

UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE

HarperCollins Publishers

..................................................................

IT TOOK KITTY A MOMENT TO PROCESS WHAT SHE WAS SEEING:
that it was Logan, not Ed, who held them at gunpoint.

“But . . .” Olivia looked back and forth between Kitty and Bree. “I don’t understand.”

“I know,” Logan said. “That’s what makes it so awesome. None of you suspected me. Not even Ed, and he hates me.”

Olivia shook her head. “But you . . . I mean, the photo. Ed had you bound and gagged.”

“He staged it,” Bree said.

“What does Ed have to do with this?” Margot asked.

“He was at the theater that night,” Olivia said. “He attacked you. We thought.”

“No,” Margot said. She was staring at Logan, her face blank, her eyes devoid of emotion. “
He
attacked me.”

Logan’s smile faltered. “Yes.”

Kitty caught a slight flutter of Logan’s eyelids, and for a split second, his trigger hand faltered. He may have been a liar and a murderer, but his feelings for Margot were real.

“How could you?” Kitty said, laying into the one weakness she knew Logan possessed. “You love her. How could you hurt her like that?”

“I did it
because
I love her.” Logan’s eyes softened as he shifted them to Margot. “I hope you understand.”

“You tried to kill her because you love her?” Bree exclaimed. “Pretty fucked-up way of showing it.”

“What do you know about love?” Logan asked. “You and John and your
Star Wars
quotes and your witty banter. It’s the most superficial crap I’ve ever seen.”

Bree jutted out her chin defiantly. “You don’t know anything about us.”

“Really?” Logan descended two steps down from the platform. “Have you done anything at all to deserve John’s love? He pined for you for years while you drooled over that idiot in the band. Then you miraculously discovered feelings for him only after he became a rock star? Sounds like the definition of superficial.”

“Maybe,” Bree said. “But at least I didn’t try and kill him.”

“He was afraid of what Ed was going to tell me,” Margot said. Her body was utterly still, and her voice was growing stronger by the minute.

Logan nodded. “Yes.”

“And he had to make sure I never talked to Ed.”

“I knew you’d understand.” Logan smiled at her.

Margot stiffened. “Tell me why. You owe me that.”

“Christopher was my roommate at Archway,” Logan said. “More than that. We were like brothers. That place was a hellhole, and after the first six weeks I was ready to put myself out of
my misery. But Christopher talked me down off the ledge, kept me sane.” Logan swallowed. “He saved my life.”

“But that was before Ronny,” Margot said.

Logan nodded. “I saw how much time Christopher was spending with Ronny, and I was worried. I didn’t like Ronny from the start, but Christopher said I just had to get to know him. First he gained Christopher’s trust, then his love. He manipulated Christopher over the whole Coach Creed thing. He knew Creed made Christopher’s life a living nightmare, and he goaded him on during all those late night chats, until they managed to get Creed fired.

“Christopher thought he was in love, right up until Ronny threatened to blackmail him over some emails and photos Christopher had sent. Romantic stuff. Christopher was devastated. And I . . .” Logan took a slow breath through pursed lips, the emotion overwhelming him. “And I couldn’t save him.”

“You killed the people you blamed for his death,” Margot said.

Logan nodded. “Creed was a monster and a bully. Rex threatened to kill him if he ever breathed a word of what happened between them. And Ronny betrayed him. They all deserved to die.”

Kitty couldn’t believe what she was hearing. All that time Logan had been stalking them, manipulating them, and killing in their name, he clearly thought it was for justice. Just like DGM.

“But Sergeant Callahan had the watch,” Olivia said, still not getting it.

“Because I sent it to him,” Logan said. “Pretended it was from a grateful citizen. Greedy idiot bought it, too, which made it really easy for you to think he was the killer.”

“So you wanted to get back at Ronny, Coach Creed, even Rex?” Bree said, glaring at Logan. “I get it. For the most part they deserved what they got. Why bring us into this?”

Hatred flashed across Logan’s face. “Because you started this! You think you’re so righteous, you and your DGM pranks. Christopher told me all about your betrayal. How you mocked him for being gay. And now you think you’re absolved of that because of DGM? Not so much. I followed Ronny here, and when I found out that he would be going to school with you in the fall I thought I could kill two birds with one stone: you and Ronny. I grew my hair out, streaked it blond, changed my name, and played this dumb surfer role—Ronny never even recognized me. I got Mika drunk at that party and planted her in Ronny’s car. I knew you couldn’t resist getting revenge for Kitty’s best friend.
I
made sure Margot found the DVD with the video on it.
I
left the note on the door in Ronny’s bedroom to lead to you on a wild goose chase.
I
recruited your loved ones for a new DGM then framed them for murder so you’d feel the same pain of loss I felt with Christopher died.”

“You want to get back at me?” Bree said. “I’ll take it.” She stepped forward, hands up in surrender.

“Bree, no!” Olivia cried. She grabbed her hand, yanking her back.

“It’s the only way,” she said. “He’s right, I started this with Christopher. You guys haven’t done anything wrong. You don’t
deserve to pay for my crimes.”

“Haven’t done anything wrong?” Logan laughed. He shifted the gun to Kitty. “You got your friend kicked out of school so you could take her spot as team captain.” He switched his focus to Olivia. “And what you did to Margot is unforgiveable.”

Olivia dropped her eyes. “I know.”

“I’m getting revenge for all the victims. You, your former targets, all of you. They’re just as horrible, just as guilty of making people feel small and victimized. This isn’t just about Christopher anymore. My mission is to protect the innocent by ridding the world of people like you.” He paused, and turned his eyes to Margot. “The only one of you who is truly innocent is Margot.”

Margot blinked several times, but other than that, her face was completely blank.

Logan reached his empty hand toward her. “Come with me, Margot. I’ve got the others tucked away in the basement. All bullies. All horrible people.” He nodded at Kitty. “Just like them. We’ll shoot them and the rest, lock the door, and leave their bodies here. Make it look like a murder suicide and blame the whole thing on DGM.”

Margot stared at him but didn’t say a word.

“Don’t you see?” Logan continued, his finger twitching against the detonator. “We can expose the hypocrisy and end their reign all at the same time. The world will know what horrible people they really are, and we can be together. I love you and—”

“Leave her alone!”

Margot was still processing Logan’s words when she saw an arm fly around his neck. Thin and angular, with a knobby elbow, Ed’s arm was unmistakable as he hurled himself through the doorway, catching Logan from behind.

“I won’t let you hurt her,” Ed shouted, trying to wrestle the gun from Logan’s hand. “I won’t let you hurt anyone else.”

Logan threw his body back, slamming Ed into the door frame. Ed grunted, loosening his grip on Logan’s neck, his other hand still locked on to the gun. Logan bent forward, flipping Ed’s body over his head. There was a moment of confusion, a blur of arms and legs and bodies as the two of them fought over possession of the gun, then with an earsplitting crack that sent convulsions racing through her, the gun went off.

Margot heard someone groan, then she saw Logan heave Ed’s body down the stairs. Kitty caught him, and lowered Ed to the ground. As she did, something clattered to the concrete floor at Margot’s feet.

The world seemed to slow down. Olivia screamed, then burst into tears, while Bree rushed to Ed’s side. She pulled off her sweater and pressed it to the widening red spot on his abdomen. Meanwhile, Margot’s mind had gone utterly blank as she grappled with the reality of what was happening. Logan was a killer, and he’d just shot Ed.

“Where’s he hit?”

“Stomach, I think.”

“What should we do?”

She should have been crying like Olivia, or angry like Bree, but instead it was as if all of her emotion had drained away,
leaving just her brain. The chaos and noise sounded distant and far away as Margot bent down and wrapped her fingers around the handle of the gun.

She expected it to feel hot to the touch since it had just been fired, but it was surprisingly cool. And heavy. She’d never held a gun before, but she could see how easily it fit in her hand, how well-designed, how simple it would be just to aim and pull the trigger.

Logan stood at the top of the landing and reached down toward Margot. “Give me the gun.”

Instead, Margot swung around, aiming it up at him. He looked confused, almost hurt, then his face softened. “Come with me, Margot.”

“Margot,” Kitty said. “Don’t listen to him.”

“We can leave together.”

“Margot, please,” Olivia sobbed.

Margot looked at her friends, huddled on the ground around Ed’s body.

“They’re not your friends,” Logan said, as if he could read every thought that passed through her mind. He stood very still, blocking the exit. “But I am. I love you. And I know you love me.”

She did. She truly did. She’d never felt as alive in her entire life as she did when she was with him. His presence was calming, his strength addictive. She’d been able to stand up to Amber, stand up to her parents. For the first time, she felt as if she had the strength to take control of her life.

“Yes, I love you,” Margot said.

“Margot,” Bree said. “Don’t do this.”

“He’s a killer!” Olivia cried.

Margot merely smiled. “I’m going to make you so happy,” she said.

Then she raised the gun and fired.

UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE

HarperCollins Publishers

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LOGAN DIDN
’
T MOVE. HIS BODY DIDN
’
T RECOIL, HIS HANDS
didn’t fly to the wound. He didn’t blink, didn’t waver, didn’t utter a word. He just stared at Margot, the smile slowly fading from his face. His eyes went glassy, and then he simply collapsed onto the landing. His body shuddered once, and was still.

“I’m sorry,” Margot whispered, her throat so constricted she barely made a sound.

She felt Kitty’s hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

Margot tore her eyes away from Logan’s motionless body. “Yes,” she said. And she meant it. She placed the gun in Kitty’s hand.

“You scared the shit out of us,” Bree said.

Margot smiled out of the side her mouth. “Sorry.” Her eyes strayed to Ed, his head cradled in Olivia’s lap. She crouched next to him on the floor, taking his hand gently in her own. His eyes fluttered open and he forced an easy smile, but his skin was unnaturally pale.

“He’s losing a lot of blood,” Bree said. The sweater she held
to Ed’s wound glistened, utterly soaked.

“My fault,” Ed said. “This is all my fault.”

“Don’t talk,” Margot said.

“John’s getting help,” Kitty added. “You’re going to be fine.”