Page 99 of Beguiled

But instead of a voice, there was a single, horrifying click.

“Tawny. If you can hear me, call me back. I’m worried about you. You were supposed to drop by. Look, I’m coming to your place, but call me if you get this.”

Shaking all over, I shoved my phone into my purse, grabbed a light jacket and headed out, running down the stairs to the back door. Thankfully, there was a tiny secure parking lot, so my car was close. One reason I stayed in the location.

Stash would be angry that I’d ignored my promise to stay inside, but I wasn’t going to allow anything to happen to her.

As soon as I was inside, I tried to start the engine. The whirring sound was more irritating than anything. I smashed my hand on the dashboard out of frustration. Nothing had gone right recently. I tried it again, pumping the gas. Nope.

“Breathe. Just breathe.” The last thing I wanted to do was flood the engine.

After counting to ten, I caressed the dashboard this time, willing my baby car who’d successfully carried me out here all those years ago to start.

When she did, I threw my head back, thanking the stars above. Something told me the sooner I got to Tawny the better. If only I’d bombarded her with questions before. If only I’d asked more about her family.

Why hadn’t I? Why hadn’t both of us taken the time to get to know more about each other? Was her father trying to force her into something she didn’t want to do? Who was this guy? The one from the date. Had she even mentioned his name?

Thankfully, with it being so late and with where she lived, the streets were quieter than normal and I was able to maneuver them quickly. I’d been to her apartment a few times, the twenty-story building one she’d been so excited to get to move into. With a spectacular view and a rooftop pool, she’d told me more than once there was no way she was moving.

Then suddenly, she’d started talking about getting a little house.

She was a city girl, which was why her comment has struck me so strangely.

I moved through the streets, glaring at my phone. There was no sense in trying to call her again. It would only prove to frustrate me that much more.

As I drove in silence, several ridiculous conspiracy-style theories popped into the back of my mind. I’d spent way too much time with Stash and learning about his family.

Only a couple more miles anyway.

Almost immediately as I turned down the street, I knew something was terribly wrong. Even from a distance, I could see flashing lights filling the night sky with red, white, and blue. I’d consider the colors patriotic except they meant something devastating tonight.

An emergency, the kind that needed rescue and police personnel.

With my fingers white knuckled, I eased my foot off the gas as I moved closer. Where the hell had all the people come from? There had to be twenty standing in the street, all forced behind a long strand of yellow police tape surrounding several cars and cutting off access to a building.

Not just any building.

Tawny’s apartment building.

CHAPTER 22

Saige

Terror found its way into my system, a devastating chill that created difficulty moving forward.

Fighting panic, the only spot I could find to park was on a perpendicular street a couple of blocks away. By the time I stepped onto the pavement, my entire body was shaking. Something had happened to Tawny. I felt it in my bones.

I jogged to the sidewalk, fighting terror and nerves, a fog visible in front of my eyes accompanying a light buzzing in my ears. Along with the sirens, the macabre symphony left bile in my throat.

Still shaking as I approached, I tried to find anyone I recognized from Tawny’s building. Moving closer was difficult, a couple of policemen actively trying to keep the crowd well behind the swinging tape.

“Stay back, please,” one said. Another siren blasted from behind us.

Backing away, I could see an ambulance making its way toward us. With all the chaos, I was able to find a spot where I could slide in a little closer.

What I witnessed would haunt me for the rest of my life.

Someone had either fallen or jumped, smashing into the roof of a parked car. Whoever it was had been covered with a sheet or a tarp of some kind. There was broken glass on the sidewalk, the roof caved in. I quickly glanced toward the roof, my heart thudding in my chest.