Page 80 of Lie with Me
“What’s up?” I glare at Jett, beyond worried.
“CJ, we wanted to show you this first. Alone. Just the three of us.”
“CJ?” They never, ever call me CJ. I start to sweat, the morphine’s effects completely dissipating.
Jett and Kayne flank my bed, and then Jett sets the tablet down on my lap.
“You know him right?” He points at Slade walking into the Long Island house.
“Yes,” I confirm, confused.
“Keep watching.”
And I do. I watch Slade as he converses with Nino as if they’re old friends, watch as he pours drink after drink while the house fills with dirty, disgusting men. I watch as he slips into the corner of the room as girl after girl is auctioned off right in front of him. I become physically sick. Then I watch as Tara is pushed into the room. I watch as Nino puts her up like property, and Slade steps forward to claim her on the spot. I force myself to watch as he humiliates her in front of half a dozen people, and then I try to throw the iPad across the room.
“I’ve seen enough.” I’m boiling with rage. “Where the fuck is he?”
“Dead,” Kayne informs me.
“During the raid?” My stare is as sharp as a razor blade.
Jett shakes his head and flips over the white device.
“I don’t want to see.”
“You’ll want to see this.” He punches a few things on the screen and the images change. My eyes widen to the size of satellites as I see Tara strung up like a fucking fish in front of Slade. I shake excessively as I witness him torture her, and listento her scream as he cuts all over her skin, blood running like a river down her back. Then I watch as Philly breaks down the bedroom door and takes Slade out, lickety-split. I get a second’s worth of satisfaction in the way he kills him execution style, but it’s squashed immediately as a tidal wave of conflicted emotion pulls me out to sea. Where I drift at a loss. Alone and confused. Slade saved my life. He wasn’t only a friend, he was a brother. And I realize now, I didn’t know him at all.
Tears actually escape down my cheeks. Fucking tears. I haven’t cried since I was twelve, but today is a solemn day.
“We only showed you so you could believe it for yourself.” Jett puts his hand on my shoulder.
I nod silently. I understand, I really do.
“I want to see her.”
I need to see her.
“Don’t you think you should take a few minutes?” Kayne asks. “Process all this?”
I gaze up at him dangerously. “No.”
THE REASON I NEED TOsee Tara is because my world is in mass chaos right now, and she is the only thing that makes sense.
She is the only thing that can pull me back from completely losing my mind.
Betrayal. It’s a tough pill to swallow. Today, tomorrow, forever. I find myself questioning everything. I’m trained to see through lies, and I missed one of the biggest lies of all. Our friendship blinded me; that’s what Jett would say. It’s normal, human. The rational part of me knows he’s right. The irrational part—not so much. The irrational part wants to bring Slade back to life and kill him all over again.
I watch Tara sleep peacefully. I don’t have the heart to wake her. After everything she’s been through, she deserves the rest.I do, however, spy the bandages covering her entire back. She’s sleeping on her side, her hospital gown open just enough for me to see.
I sit down on the edge of the mattress. I can’t even begin to imagine the hell she’s been through.
I take a piece of her hair between my fingers and run my thumb over the bloodstained end. My heart breaks and hammers all at the same time.
This is my fault. I should have never left her side.
As if she senses my presence, her eyes pop open to find me.
“Hi,” she says softly.
