WHO KILLED EMMALINE? (16 page)

The conversation I’d had last night with Dane is still on my mind as I drive to school. It’s a wet and dreary day, and the weather matches my mood. I’ve grown to care about Cord, and the last thing I want to do is break it off with him. I don’t think he’d understand that I’d be distancing myself from him to protect him. He’d take it as rejection, I am sure of it.

My lips tighten as I pull into the school parking lot, my windshield wipers squeaking back and forth in the silence of my car. Everyone else in this town has rejected him except for his brother and Owen. I do
not
want to be added to the list of those that have turned their backs on him.

After turning off the engine, I sit in my car, listening to the rain coming down as I sort out what I want to do. My relationship with Cord shouldn’t suffer because of Riley. That wouldn’t be fair.

So how do I stop Riley? If I put an end to this vendetta of his, all my problems will go away, and Cord and I can continue dating. Maybe I need to talk to Riley and find out what he needs in order to be able to move on. Am I inadvertently doing something that’s just making him angrier?

“So I’ll talk to Riley,” I say under my breath.

Confronting him can’t make things any worse than they already are. Now that I’ve got a plan in mind, I lean over to grab my backpack from the passenger seat and climb out of my car, ducking my head against the rain.

I hurry across the parking lot and enter the school, shaking the rain off my coat and backpack. I have homework to finish before third period, so I quickly make my way through the halls so I can get what I need from my locker. I’ll go to my first class early and hopefully finish off my homework before class starts. It’s important that I keep up on my grades or my mom will once again go back to wanting me to quit Cordane’s. She can’t make me, but it’ll sure make life more difficult at home if we’re at odds.

A commotion up ahead has my head lifting, and I see a crowd has formed. I can’t hear or see what is going on, but a bad feeling starts to burrow in my gut. I rush over and dig my elbows into multiple ribs, earning me a few glares as I push my way to the front so that I can see what everyone is so excited about.

Cord is just slamming Riley into a locker, and he pins him there, his forearm pressing tight against Riley’s throat. “Did you fuck with her car last night?” he asks in a coldly furious tone. His entire body is alert and ready to do further damage if necessary.

Riley’s face is red, his brown eyes promising retribution the second he’s free. His hands are braced on Cord’s arm, but he’s not strong enough to push him away. “No, but I wish I had if it’s got you this upset,” he sneers.

Cord grabs Riley’s shirt with his free hand, and he yanks him forward, then brutally slams him back again so that the back of Riley’s head hits the locker with force.

Riley’s scornful expression fades as he winces.

“I’m going to ask one more time.
Was
it you?” Cord demands as he presses his arm harder into Riley’s throat.

Riley gives him a withering look as his face reddens even more. “I already said it wasn’t,” he says hoarsely.

This has to stop before a teacher becomes involved. I shove aside the last person in my way and hurry over to Cord, grabbing his arm. “Let him go before you get yourself in trouble,” I say calmly.

Cord shrugs off my hand. “I don’t care about myself.”

“Well,
I
do. Let’s go.” I wrap my hand firmly around his free arm and tug harder.

He glances at me, his green eyes connecting with mine. After a second, the violence in his eyes fades as he gives a curt nod, releasing Riley.

Before Riley can think to go after Cord, I drag Cord away. Once we are far enough away from Riley, I turn on Cord as we pause along the wall near a restroom. “You can’t go after Riley like that.”

“That fucker is going down one way or another,” he says as he visibly tries to calm down.

“Leave him be. He’s not worth it.”

“Easier said than done when we have to watch him walk around here like he owns the damned place.”

“You need to calm down.”

His mouth tightens as he gazes down at me. Then, his chest slowly relaxes, and I can see the tension beginning to fade. “Wanna get out of here?” he asks.

“You mean skip?”

He nods.

“Let’s go,” I agree. I’d rather spend the day with Cord than deal with school. I’m sure I’ll land in detention on Monday for it, but I’ll worry about that later.

We make our way back down the hall, then hold hands in the rain as we jog out to the school parking lot. Cord leads me to the van, and I climb into the passenger seat as Cord opens the driver’s door.

We’re both silent as he drives out of the parking lot. It seems that he’s still struggling to calm his temper, so I sit quietly and stare out at the rain. Cord is a bit scary when he’s riled up like he had been just minutes before, but it’s not me that I fear for, it’s the one he’s pissed at that should be running in the opposite direction. I’m absolutely certain that he’ll never, ever hurt me, and I feel incredibly safe with him. Cord can definitely handle himself in situations and even take a guy down if necessary. Riley should have his head checked if he can’t see for himself that he’s on the losing end of this rivalry he has going with Cord.

As Cord drives, I start paying attention to the scenery outside my window. I’m not sure where we’re going, but it doesn’t matter. I just want this time with him. It’s not often we have more than a couple of hours to ourselves. One of us is usually working or our days are taken up with school.

Cord drives us to an area that I’ve never been before. It’s all rural, and eventually he turns down a gravel road that seems to go on forever until we come upon a dead end in the middle of the woods. It’s completely secluded, and the gravel path has tree limbs hanging over it, shielding it from prying eyes. Cord turns the van around and backs it up further into the woods. Then he cuts the engine.

As I unbuckle my seatbelt, Cord climbs out of his seat and moves into the back of the van. I watch as he opens the back doors, allowing the dreary afternoon light to fill up the interior. He then spreads out a blanket and looks at me. “This okay?”

“Sure.”

I make my way over to him, and he sits against the van’s wall and pulls me down between his legs. My back rests against his hard chest, and I relax as I gaze at the rain outside the van. What seemed like a sad, depressing day has turned into one of peacefulness. Between the repetitive sounds of the rain on the roof, and the pretty wilderness outside the van’s open doors, I feel like we’re in our own little world. There’s a bit of a chill in the air, but Cord’s warmth behind me keeps it at bay.

“How did you hear about my car?” I eventually ask, breaking the soothing quietness of the rain.

Cord’s chest vibrates against my back as he replies, “Dane.”

I rest the back of my head against his shoulder, relaxing further into his embrace. “He thinks I should quit.”

Cord is silent for a moment. “Maybe you should,” he responds.

That is not what I was expecting to hear, and I frown. “Is that what you want?”

His lips brush against my temple. “I can see you outside of Cordane’s, so in all honesty, I don’t really care. If you’re not commuting back and forth so much, you’ll stay safer,” he murmurs, tightening his arms around me.

“I don’t want to quit. I really like it there.”

“It’s grown on you, huh?”

“Yes, it has.”

I peer down at my combat boots that I’ve paired with skinny jeans today. I’m even wearing a black, V-neck shirt with a red dragon on the front. I like the way I look these days. I’ve never cared to wear the best clothes or whether people like my outfit or not. I’ve always left that to Sidney to worry about. I have always dressed for comfort, and if people didn’t like it, then too bad. I never imagined that Cordane’s would open my eyes up to how much fun it can be finding my own style and being unique. I’ve heard some rumors going around that my new clothing is because I am trying to impress Cord, but that’s not true at all. If I was trying to impress Cord, I’d buy that corset he likes so much, but I haven’t looked twice at it. He might like it, but it’s not me. I’m not trying to be someone that I’m not. All I’m trying to do is figure out where I fit in this world. I think that’s something all teenagers try to figure out in high school.

“I’m sure Dane can hire someone to replace you,” Cord says, bringing me back to the present.

“This close to Halloween? Cord, quitting is ridiculous. If I quit, Riley wins. Or is there another reason you’re suggesting it?” I ease out of his embrace and turn to look at him expectantly.

Cord just watches me silently.

“Is there?” I prod.

“No, I just want to see you safe,” he says finally.

“I’m with you, Dane, and Owen at the store. What could possibly happen?”

“Your car was covered in blood,” he says dryly.

“
Fake
blood. And it was my car. Cars are vandalized all the time, Cord.”

He’s quiet, then he draws a knee up and rests his elbow on it. “Thanks for getting me off Riley.”

I’m relieved we’re moving away from the topic of me quitting Cordane’s. “You were pretty mad.”

“I’ve always had issues with my temper. I’ve taken anger management classes and shit. My first thought though is to settle the situation with my fists,” he says quietly.

“Seems to me like that’s a natural reaction for a lot of guys.”

He blows out a breath and rubs the bridge of his nose. “Yeah, but once you put a guy in the hospital, your issues are suddenly three times worse than they were the day before.”

I’m not sure what to say, and we both are quiet as we listen to the rain. I look down and pick at a piece of lint on the soft blanket he’d spread out across the floor.

“Do you miss Indiana?”

“Sometimes.” I look up at him and shrug. “I miss my friends more than anything.”

“Tell me about them.”

“Well, Sidney is a bit of a firecracker,” I say with a smile.

“Why’s that?” Cord asks curiously.

“She has no filter whatsoever. She’s also incapable of feeling regret when she does something stupid. That girl owns everything she does, and you know what? We all love her for it,” I say with a grin.

“What were you like at your old school?” he asks with interest.

“Me? I was the calm one that stayed out of trouble. Chelsea, my other close friend, her and I are a lot alike. We’re both content watching the action instead of being the center of it. We were forever dragging Sidney off before she could stir up trouble.”

“Did you have a boyfriend before moving?” he asks casually as he watches me, his eyes roaming over my face as we talk.

I shake my head. “No. I was dating someone towards the end of my junior year, but we broke up. I haven’t dated anyone in months.”

“Can I ask why you guys broke up?”

“Considering I asked about your sexual history, I think it’s only fair that you ask after the guys I’ve dated,” I tease. “I don’t know why we broke up,” I say, turning serious. “I just wasn’t excited to spend time with him anymore, and we seemed to be growing apart.”

“So you ended it?”

I nod. My eyes drop as I think of a question I’d like to ask Cord, but I’m not sure if I should or not.

“Something on your mind?” Cord asks dryly.

My eyes flicker up to his. “Can I ask you something about Emmaline?”

He studies me. “Go for it.”

“Were you upset when she broke it off with you?” I ask quietly.

“At first I was. It was how she chose to break it off with me that pissed me off instead of the actual breakup.”

“What do you mean by how she broke it off with you?”

He looks at me searchingly. “You sure you want to know?”

I nod.

“She announced it right after I screwed her senseless. She didn’t even have her clothes on when she told me she was done with me for good,” he says bluntly.

“I see.” Jealousy has raised its ugly head inside me, and it bothers me that Cord would have sex with someone he hated just because the sex was that good. An insecure part of me wonders if he finds me as good as what he’d had with her.

“I knew it was coming sooner or later,” Cord continues. “We had nothing in common, and I never really liked her anyway. Like I said before, it was just sex. I never felt anything more for her than physical attraction.”

“What happened after she broke up with you?” I ask lightly.

His eyes hold mine. “She left. She went straight home and was never seen again until they found…her in the creek.”

“How do you know she went home?”

“Her car was at the house, and her purse was left near the front door. Whoever killed her knew where she lived and was waiting for her.”

“That’s creepy,” I say with a shudder.

I turn my gaze out to stare at the rain, and I can’t even begin to imagine the fear that girl had probably gone through before her death. She may not have been a nice person, but no one deserves to go through what she had.