Saving Hailey: Chapter 37

“Here,” Dante says after breakfast, handing a black gift box to Carter. “Same model as Layla’s.” He shoots his wife a look across the long dining table. “Not that you remember to carry yours, do you, Star?”

Her mouth opens, but instead of commenting she washes the words down with a sip of orange juice.

Carter opens the box, turning it around to show me the contents. “Light but powerful. Perfect for your petite hands.” He takes the gun out, his fingers too big to comfortably pull the trigger. “Ten rounds of ammo—”

“I don’t want a gun,” I cut in.

Broadway smirks as he closes the fridge. “Anyone else notice she didn’t say I can’t shoot?”

“I can shoot just fine. My dad’s a cop, remember? He took me to a shooting range every weekend when we lived in Florida but it’s been a while since I fired a gun.”

“We’ll practice at the new safe house. There’s nothing out there for miles. Broadway can set up some targets.”

“Why do I need a gun? Why now?”

“Precautions. Mostly for the journey,” he explains, but I can tell he’d love it if I carried a gun going forward.

“You’re coming with me, aren’t you?” I ask.

“Of course I am. I won’t let you out of my sight, but I’ll feel better knowing you have it.” He gestures at Broadway who passes him a leather holster. “This goes around your waist like a belt. The gun will be almost invisible under your clothes.”

I glance from the determination shadowing his face to the Glock lying on his palm. I reach out, my fingers hovering over the handle.

“Believe me…” Carter hooks his finger under my chin, tilting my head up, “I hate this more than you do. This won’t be permanent. I promise.”

“I, uh… I need to get changed. I’m cold.” I back away, leaving the Glock where it is. I left his hoodie in the guest house and even though he packed me ten different ones, I’ll do about anything to cut this conversation short and flee before he shoves the gun in my hand.

“Hailey, stop,” he says, his tone loaded. “Until we arrive at the safe house, I want you to have this on you at all times.”

His words flip a switch inside my head and I dive right into the past. The change is instantaneous, though the flashback itself is nowhere near as consuming as many of them were before.

Relief rattles through me, mixing with confusion. I’ve seen this before. I already have this memory. It’s not new.

Alex stands in my room, opening the small white box that hides a silver necklace with a heart pendant. He grabs the delicate chain between his fingers, pulls it out of the box and dangles it between us.

“Happy birthday, Hailey.”

I examine the pendant, the loops the chain threads through, the intricate floral design, then run my nail along the zigzagging ridge that separates the two halves, but when I try to pull them apart, they don’t budge.

Alex smirks, letting the chain pool on top of my palm. “That won’t work.”

I meet his gaze, wondering why he chose this design. “It’s broken,” I murmur, my heart thumping harder.

“Yes. Just like yours.”He lifts his hand, tracing his knuckles down my cheek. “I want you to have this on you at all times.”

The image distorts, morphing into another. I’m in my bedroom again, but it must be a different day, because Alex is wearing different clothes. The dark rings under his eyes are more profound, like he’s not been sleeping much. He’s adjusting his pants, closing the zipper, eyes on me while I lean against the wall, the coldness of the concrete seeping into my spine.

It’s that kind of memory again, though this time Alex is tucking his dick away rather than pulling it out.

“Go take a shower,”he tells me, backing away.

Emotions flood my system. Humiliation, fear, regret, sorrow… I can’t tell which ones I feel in the present and which ones I felt in the past. The only emotion that’s definitely in the here and now is the anger scorching my veins.

I’ve seen so many similar memories and still don’t understand why I let him use me. Why did I follow every order? Why didn’t I fight back?

I push off the wall, my legs weak, knees aching, throat burning like I’ve been puking for an hour straight.

“What are you doing?”he asks when I enter the bathroom. “Take the necklace off.”

“Yesterday you said to keep it on me at all times,”I whisper, resignation coloring my voice.

“I didn’t mean in the shower,”he huffs, rolling his eyes, annoyance seeping from his every pore. “You can’t be this clueless. Water will ruin it. Take it off when you’re showering.”

I reach behind me, unhooking the small clasp, and leave the necklace on my desk.

Time shifts forward again, introducing a flurry of intense fear. My heart stutters in my chest, my face wet with tears.

We’re not in my room anymore. We’re in a car, and Alex… Alex looks like the weight of the world has fallen on his shoulders. His agonizing whimpers fill the confined space while he bangs his hand against the steering wheel, chewing his lips.

I don’t speak, shaking in the passenger seat, cold and empty inside. It’s dark outside. Streetlamps illuminate an empty street I don’t recognize. We’re parked by the curb, the engine idling quietly like a haunted soundtrack to Alex’s palpable despair that swirls in the air like fine dust.

He whirls toward me, leaping forward like he’s about to grab me by the throat. My back hits the passenger side door, eyes wide, panic threatening to choke me. I feel the door, desperately searching for the handle. Alex doesn’t hesitate. His hand flits to my nape and quickly unhooks my necklace.

“Watch,”he orders, his voice breaking.

His skin’s ashen, lips bitten sore, eyes bloodshot from the tears he’s fighting to keep at bay. He holds the pendant in both hands, using his thumbs to push apart the hooks where the delicate chain is threaded. They move outward, along the top edge of the heart then down and the pendant opens.

It doesn’t break clean in two halves like I thought it would. No, it opens like an accordion, held together at the bottom.

Inside, stuffed into a slit, is a small, black square.

“Memory card,”he tells me. “All the evidence I gathered is on this. If anything happens to me, give this to your father.”

My lips fall open to speak, but the memory slips away, throwing me back into reality.

Back into Dante’s house.

I’m on the floor, my back pinned against a firm, warm chest, two arms around me. The world’s muted for a beat, my heart ramming so hard I can’t hear anything else. I’m shaking as much in the present as I was in the memory.

“Hailey.” Carter’s voice breaches the whoosh of blood screaming in my ears. My eyes snap from the polished wooden floor to his face.

No… not his face. Broadway’s. He’s crouching before me.

“Deep breaths,” Carter orders. He’s behind me, my arms and legs trapped by his bulky frame.

His heart’s racing in time with mine, both fighting to leap from our chests and be joined together.

“Are you okay?” he asks, cradling me closer.

“I’m okay… you can let go.”

Slowly, he lifts his arms, then moves his legs aside, letting Broadway help me up.

“I know where the evidence is,” I whisper, running my clammy hands down my sides.

Carter spins me around, dark eyes boring into mine. “Where?”

“I had it with me… on me… on the day we met.”

His eyes narrow, confusion furrowing his brows. “What do you mean you had it on you?”

“The necklace. The heart pendant. Remember that? There’s a memory card inside.”

His gaze drops to my neck. “Where’s the necklace, Hailey?”

“I tore it off when I remembered the day Alex gave it to me.”

“Your birthday,” he says. Of course he knows. He read my diary. “What did you do with it? Don’t tell me you threw it away.”

“No, I… I hid it. I stashed it in my suitcase—it’s got a secret pocket. And my suitcase is—”

“Either at the bottom of the lake where Matthew’s car was found or checked in as evidence,” he cuts in, turning to Ryder. “What are the chances the card’s intact?”

“The car was underwater for a week, Boss, so the odds are fucking slim at best. It depends whether the necklace cavity is waterproof or the card water-resistant. Both those things might give us a fighting chance.”

I nudge Carter’s shoulder. “You didn’t let me finish. I didn’t take all my bags from Lakeside. Two are still there… including the one with the necklace. Chloe has them.”