got out of this. If things ever calmed down, that was.
“It sounds like everyone at the school knows you and Brittany Pots were clashing. Her boyfriend, her crown—you made it clear you weren’t backing down.” Ollie leaned back in his chair, the old, worn leather creaking under the sudden shift of weight. “Unfortunately for you, that makes it easier to pin the crime on you.”
Oh, thank God. Ollie thought I was being set up, too.
The relief was evident in my voice as I asked, “So you don’t think I did it?”
“No,” he spoke quickly. “Even if you weren’t here all weekend after the dance, I wouldn’t think you did it. I’ve seen real monsters, Jaz, and you’re not one of them.” Maybe he meant his sons, or even possibly the Scotts. Markus and Vaughn. “I think someone is using your feud with Brittany to set you up for her murder, someone who wanted Brittany out of the picture.”
By that logic, it couldn’t be any of the guys close to me. Dante and Vaughn would never want me to go down for murder, and Jacob? He always called himself a bad man, but he really wasn’t so terrible. He wasn’t a killer.
Who did that leave?
“From what you’ve told me, Brittany had her hand in a lot of things,” Ollie went on, putting the dots together in a way I never would’ve on my own, “including her boyfriend.”
Archer? I mean, I did say their dating was a sham, but to go so far as to accuse Archer of murdering her and framing me for it…it didn’t sit right with me. Or maybe that was simply because I didn’t want yet another sexy psycho around me.
No, no way. Archer wouldn’t do that, even if Brittany had pretty much forced him to date her. He wouldn’t…
Although, didn’t he use me before? Didn’t he sleep with me while knowing he was lying? He thought I’d gone out and told on his father for his sick crimes, so maybe he wanted to kill two birds with one stone and frame me for his girlfriend’s murder. After all, he hadn’t gone to the dance, didn’t even try to make it up to Brittany for skipping it.
Maybe Archer Vega was a killer.
“I’d tell you to stay away from him while all of this is undergoing, but I know you won’t,” Ollie went on, folding his hands across his desk as he stared squarely at me. “Same with Vaughn Scott. You can’t trust any of the Scotts, Jaz.”
My heart beat wildly in my chest, worry and paranoia sinking into my bones. “I know.” Of course I knew that, but did that mean I’d steer clear of either of them? Fuck no. I wasn’t like that. As I figured it, I was already knee-deep in shit. Why not dive head-first into it? At least I’d see it coming.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s a call I have to make. You can go, have a chat with your mother.”
I got up, mechanically turning to leave, but not before I witnessed him pulling out his cell phone. I wondered who Ollie was calling, who he needed to contact right this very second.
My mom was waiting for me in my room, sitting on the edge of my bed with a frown on her face. She got to her feet the moment I entered, pointing to where she’d been. “You better explain what’s going on, Jaz, or so help me God, I’ll…” She trailed off, but her threat was clear. She wasn’t the type of person to make needless threats, or to swear, or to do anything that was inscrutable. To have a daughter that was arrested for murder was the last thing she probably thought she’d have.
Gingerly, I sat down, and when I opened my mouth to tell her what she wanted to hear, I picked and chose what I kept to myself. Unlike me with Ollie, I didn’t tell her everything. There were just some things my mom didn’t need to know—such as the fact I almost got gang-raped at a party and at school.
I’d rather die before I told my mom that.
Hmm. Maybe that wasn’t the best thing to think, considering.
Chapter Two – Jacob
I hadn’t heard from Jaz in about a day. I wasn’t worried, but the word on the street was something happened. I’d lost all my contacts in the force when those fucking twins blackmailed me, so it wasn’t like I could waltz into the station and demand to