pretty quickly that whoever murdered Reed had access to our campus. Your sister was targeted right under our noses.”
“Why, though? Who would target her?”
“That’s where you came in.” I scrub my hand down my face. “We thought that maybe we could use you as a way to draw whoever it was out.”
“I became your bait.” She shifts, attempting to find a comfortable position. When I try to help, she hits me with an icy stare. “Don’t touch me.” She braces herself, using every ounce of upper body strength to find a spot where she no longer winces with each move she makes.
So, she believes what I’m saying, but that doesn’t matter. She knows what these hands are capable of, and all trust is lost.
“Yes, and at first, we were all fine with it. We could live with whatever happened to you because we’d have answers. We’d finally know what happened to Reed.”
“You pulled me in, then publicly pushed me away, knowing that whoever targeted my sister would think I’d be an easy next target. Whatever she knew, they had to know she’d tell you, but she never got the chance.”
“And maybe, if she knew, then her sister, her heart, would also know.” I shrug. “For this past year, you thought you were invisible to us because that’s what we wanted you to think. I kept close, just in case.”
“No one seemed to care about me. That is, until you started bringing me closer.”
“Whoever hurt Reed wasn’t coming for you. You stayed untouched until the night of the football game. I should have known then. I shouldn’t have let you walk through campus alone. I saw you leave in the middle of the game. Whoever attacked you had to have been there as well.”
“There’s a lot that can be said about should haves, but we can’t think like that. For instance, I should have pushed you away, seen through your show.” The heart monitor speeds up, a warning of Palmer’s heightened anxiety. “You should have stopped Byron before his psycho ass could have been unleashed on me.” The beep gets louder and faster.
A nurse walks in, silencing Palmer’s argument, and then quiets the machine. She glares at me, instinctively knowing I’m the cause of Palmer’s stress.
I hiss out a breath once the nurse leaves. “After the attack, I forced Dixon to look at the report at the police station, but there wasn’t one,” I divulge.
“Well, security wasn’t much help. Told me I should expect a phone call from the detective from the police station, and I still haven’t heard anything, so I’m not that surprised.” She fidgets, and I offer her my hand. She stares at it, only to ignore my offer and scoots higher in the bed on her own. “Tonight, when one of you cornered me between the buildings—”
“What? Wait, what are you talking about?” My spine stiffens. What is she talking about?
“When you all rushed me out of the bonfire, I walked through campus. One of you cornered me between two of the buildings. Said something about being after more than my money, that something I had was more valuable.”
A shiver runs up my spine. “Palmer, that wasn’t us.”
She pulls the blanket to her chin, like it will protect her. “Then who was it, Marek? Because someone was after me. He stopped following me once I went into the woods. I assumed it was you guys because you showed up just a few minutes later.”
“I have no idea.” Our expressions match. We’re both worried.
“You four did all this because you think Reed’s disappearance isn’t a cut and dry, random act of violence? You think it was planned, that she somehow got herself mixed up into something?”
“We did all of this for her, and yes, because she was our everything. I didn’t see you coming.” Damn, that’s painful to say out loud.
“What about me?” Hurt creeps into her beautiful blue eyes. “What am I to you?”
“It wasn’t supposed to go this far, to reach this point. I’m not here to make excuses for Byron, but when it comes to Reed—”
“I’m blinded.” Byron walks into the room.
Palmer visibly retreats into herself, and I stand, blocking the path between him and her. I catch her reaching for the nurses’ button and grab it before she can.
“I’m not going to hurt her, Marek, but I would like to talk to her, if she’s willing to hear anything I’m needing to say.”
“I’m not leaving her side.” I sit back down, shifting my chair