Filed to story: The Mindf*ck Series Read Online Free
“I’ll be back at seven, and then I’m all yours for the rest of the night.”
She closes her eyes as I touch her, as though she’s absorbing the feel of my hand on her cheek.
“Okay,” she says softly, her eyes opening to reveal those haunting green eyes that have forever been seared into my memory.
I kiss her quickly, and head for the door, feeling like I’m doing something wrong. Never once, until now, has she seemed so vulnerable.
When I reach the outside, there are people lined up all around, everyone talking at once. What the hell? How long was I inside? This wasn’t going on when I came in.
“What’s going on?” I ask Elise.
She turns to me with a stoic expression.
“Apparently the amnesia is gone, and suddenly everyone wants to tell the tale of what happened ten years ago, along with everything that’s been going on before and since then. We’re going to be taking statements for the rest of the night.”
People are lined up all the way down the street, and I run a hand through my hair. I turn to see Lana standing on the porch, her eyes settling on the long line of people who are ready to spill the secrets they’ve kept for so long.
That coldness is back in her eyes.
It’s as though she resents them right now.
Fear is always a good motivator to make people grow honest.
I turn back to Leonard, and he gestures me toward him.
“I’m supposed to ride with Donny to the M.E. to get the report on Davenport,” I tell him.
“I’m taking his place. He’s going to help with this mess and deal with the deputies who keep showing up and trying to squash the line. Unsurprisingly, no one is backing down. I guess they fear a killer who has the power to skin a monster more than they fear the men who’ve had them cowering for who knows how long.”
I shake my head, leaving behind the mess.
As soon as we’re in the car, I crank it and start driving.
“Did you get ahold of Jacob Denver?” I ask.
“He’s in California on business, according to his answering machine.”
“You don’t say,” I murmur. “How very convenient. Look into it and see if there’s proof.”
“Alan confirmed the plane ticket was used and someone checked into a hotel under his name in California. He’s pulling security footage, but we both know that a ball cap will obscure most of the visible for a guy in a wheelchair. I’m guessing he planned this out carefully if he’s involved. His alibi will check out, even if it’s not really him.”
He raps his fingers on the dash like he’s nervous, and I give him a sidelong glance.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, curious.
“I have a feeling you’re not going to like the next part I tell you.”
“What part?”
He turns to face me, and I pause at a stop light.
“Alan has been getting watched closely by the director, so I had an old friend do some extra research. I found out that Jacob Denver has another business he’s basically a silent partner in.”
“Okay…”
“Remember how I told you I had a theory, but thought I was wrong? But then we found out our unsub has a partner?”
“Sure. Why is this making you so nervous?” I ask, confused.
“Does the name Kennedy Carlyle sound familiar for any reason?”
I think of it, trying to mull it over. “The name Carlyle does… Shit. That was the name of the drunk drivers who were behind the wheel of the car that killed Jasmine Evans.”
He nods slowly. “They orphaned a daughter who was young. Same age as Victoria, actually. Their birthdays were even close together. Her name was Kennedy.”
“What does this have to do with anything?”
He raps his fingers harder, acting more nervous than I’ve ever seen him before.
“At first I thought it was just serendipitous. I visited the hospital to ask about Victoria Evans, but when I said a sixteen-year-old girl involved in a car crash on that date, they said they’d already spoken to one FBI agent about her. I got confused, until they handed me a file on Kennedy Carlyle instead of Victoria Evans. They couldn’t show me much, but they hit the highlights.”
“You’ve lost me, Leonard,” I groan.
“Hadley Grace called them about Kennedy. Pretty typical of her.”
“Why?”
He suddenly climbs over the middle, his hip smashing into my shoulder on his way to the backseat.
“What the actual hell?” I harp, swerving when he hits my shoulder again.
“Sorry!” he calls out as he settles into the backseat. “Just wanted to make sure I’m out of hitting range.”
My eyebrows hit my hairline.
“Look, it sounded absolutely absurd, but I struggle to believe in coincidences,” he rambles on.
“Leonard, I swear, I’m this close to losing my fucking patience.” I pinch my fingers together to show him exactly how little patience is left.
“Hadley always researches any girl you’re involved with,” he finally says.
“I realize everyone thinks I get around a lot, but I’ve never heard of Kennedy Carlyle,” I tell him dryly. “And I don’t get around nowhere near as much as the rumors like to say I do.”
“She was in the hospital the same night as Victoria Evans-the same night she and Marcus Evans died.”
“And?”
“And I found that really coincidental, considering her parents were the reason Jasmine Evans died. So I dug into it a little. Kennedy Carlyle changed her name a long time ago. Ten years ago to be exact. She also left the hospital against doctor’s orders the next day after her life-saving surgery.”
“Damn it, Leonard!” I shout.
“Fine! Fine.” He takes a long breath. “Before I tell you this, you should know there is no romantic involvement with any other man going on. I researched that very, very thoroughly. In fact, she’s had very few romantic involvements over the years.”
“Why do I give a damn?” I groan.
His eyes dart around the car as I glare at him through the rearview mirror.
“She left with Jacob Denver. The two of them own a buy, sell, and trade store online. And Kennedy Carlyle now goes by Lana Myers.”
My blood seizes in my veins as all the oxygen leaves my lungs painfully. The car skids to an abrupt halt, and Leonard catches himself on the back of the seat in front of him.
“Seatbelt,” he mutters, grimacing. “Why didn’t I think of a seatbelt?”
But my ears are thumping wildly with the drumming of my over-stimulated heart. My hands grip the steering wheel too tightly as I stare ahead but see nothing.
“She loves you, Logan. I think you should know that before you react at all.”
Something ignites loudly, and a hissing of fire drags me out of my head for a brief moment as a fire lights and slithers over a wall at the town hall. People trip and stare-gawk, actually-as the words appear, written in fire this time.
Run. Before the town burns to the ground. Run. Run. Run.
“No,” I say quietly, shaking my head. “No. There’s no way it’s Lana.”
“I thought that at first,” he says too quietly. “Then I read the reports on Plemmons from the autopsy. Lana had a few bruises. Plemmons was loaded down with them. A man who had easily subdued so many women in the past just ran over a knife after taking a beating? We just never looked into it, because-“
“Hadley,” I say on a rasp whisper.
“Yeah. Hadley. And then there was the pedophile who hurt-“