Yet a Stranger (The First Quarto #2) - Gregory Ashe Page 0,135

the floor, and it was like I was waking up. I started to realize what had happened, what—what Cal had made me do. I’d be finished. My whole world would come crashing down, just when I thought Deja and I could finally have a life together.”

“Your car was here. That’s the BMW Sadie saw: yours, not Genesis’s, not Orlando’s.”

Wayne nodded mechanically. “Nia finally left, but I knew she and Sadie had seen my car, seen Cal’s, and I knew, eventually, when people wondered what had happened to Cal, they’d start thinking about it. I drove out to the expo, checked in at the hotel, took pictures, posted a couple on social media, and drove back. I left my phone there so the cell records would look like I was in the hotel. Then I waited until it was late, took Cal to his car, and drove him out to that rest stop. I left him there. I ditched his car back in Wahredua, close enough to walk, and then I got in mine and went back to the hotel.

“The rest was like you said. I thought I could make people think Nia got shot by a Volunteer. And nobody would ask questions about that bitch dealer. I left the gun at Genesis’s house, but I wiped it down. I thought I did, anyway. And I was the one sending those emails to Orlando; I made up that email account and pretended to be Genesis. I knew I needed to get rid of some of Deja’s clothes, things she’d left in the apartment, but I couldn’t do it myself. It was going to kill me to do it. I asked Orlando to take care of it; I knew he’d do anything for her.”

“You son of a bitch,” Orlando shouted. “You son of a bitch! You killed Cal!”

He charged, bulling into Wayne and sending both of them stumbling into the hallway. For a moment, it looked like Orlando had the upper hand. Then Wayne twisted free, grabbed Orlando’s hair, and brought his knee up into Orlando’s face. Bone crunched, and Orlando collapsed on the floor, his nose and mouth bloody.

Wayne was breathing hard as he looked up at Auggie.

“Theo,” Auggie shouted. This had been part of the plan too, in case Wayne turned on them. Theo’s performance earlier had been the perfect reason to separate. Now he could come up behind Wayne and neutralize him.

But no one moved in the apartment.

“I already took care of your fuck buddy,” Wayne said with a grin that was all teeth.

Beyond Wayne, at the other end of the hall, the door to Wayne’s bedroom was open. No one moved inside.

“Theo!”

“Shut the fuck up.” Wayne advanced toward Auggie, stepping over Orlando without seeming to see him. “We’re going to go for a ride now. I am not going to let you ruin everything.”

“Everything is ruined,” Auggie said, backing up until his back hit the dresser. “Everything in your life that you loved is ruined. Orlando will never forgive you. Your family will never forgive you. You’ve lost the business. You’ve lost Deja.”

“The game’s not over until it’s over,” Wayne said. “Fourth-quarter comeback. Bottom-of-the-ninth win. I’m not letting it end like this, not when I’ve worked so hard.”

He was three feet away and coming closer.

“I get that,” Auggie said, “but you don’t understand how badly—”

When Wayne grabbed him, Auggie lunged forward instead of pulling away. His fist connected with Wayne’s throat. Wayne’s eyes bulged, and he wheezed and stepped sideways.

Darting around him, Auggie broke for the hall. Wayne hit him from behind. It wasn’t some brilliant, technical move; he just clubbed Auggie as hard as he could between the shoulder blades, and Auggie smashed into the jamb. White light and pain erupted in his head. He tried to recover. His hip checked the wall, and he stumbled again. Then Wayne caught up, raining blows onto Auggie’s back and shoulders and head until Auggie went down. He hit the floor less than six inches from Orlando, and a distant part of Auggie’s brain was surprised to see Orlando’s eyes open and staring at him.

“You little faggot,” Wayne wheezed. He knelt on Auggie’s back, and Auggie felt something pop and then a sharp pain. Big hands closed around Auggie’s neck, tightening, and an alarm sounded inside Auggie. No air. He couldn’t get any air. He arched his back, trying to buck Wayne off, but Wayne was much bigger and had him pinned. Blackness fuzzed the edge of Auggie’s vision. He