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“Take good care of her.” I glared at him.
He suddenly looked very solemn. “I’ll call in the incident right away and arrange for someone to follow us.”
“Good.” I accompanied Tessa to the passenger side, brushed her lips with mine and closed the door once she was inside. I hated the way I felt, like I was losing her in a small way. It should have been me driving her.
“Hey.” She reached her arm out the window to hold my hand. “If you weren’t taking care of Bree, I wouldn’t be able to do this. Thank you.” She smiled. “See you soon.”
I silently cursed Chait and watched them drive away. Apologizing for his behavior only made him seem like the bigger man. Hell, he didn’t need that added boost — he’d rescued Tessa. My dislike of him was unjust. I resented him anyway.
Noting the time, I texted Tessa and reminded her to call the neighbors. I headed home since Bree didn’t have to be picked up for another hour.
At my house, I walked up the driveway and spotted my mom.
“Hi, honey.” Her face lit up like it always did when she saw me. She looked stu
I smiled back, realizing how much I’d missed her the last few days. “You look awesome.” Sam was probably taking her to a super expensive restaurant with her money.
She hugged me and whispered in my ear. “Sam’s in a particularly good mood. Might as well take advantage.”
Especially since his pleasant side showed itself so rarely. “You’re leaving now?” I squeezed her for a moment and released her.
“As soon as he comes out.”
Right. I’d successfully avoided him for days. I didn’t need to see inside his twisted head. “I have to go.”
Her face fell. “What’s the rush?”
“Hayden,” Sam called, hurrying toward us. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about something.”
He didn’t need to talk — I got his pictures. He was thinking about getting another car and wanted to discuss horsepower. Sam had other things on his mind too. Things that if I ever had to repeat or even think about, I’d want to beat him senseless.
In a flash, I gripped him by his collar and dragged him toward the house. “Mom, come with us. You’ll want to see this.”
Sam struggled against my grip and though he had two inches on me, he couldn’t free himself. My new sorcerer strength couldn’t have been handier. I opened the side door and shoved him through.
“Hayden!” Mom yelled. Her heels clicked on the concrete path as she hurried after us. “What are you doing?”
“Mom, get the other door. Now.” I stopped outside Sam’s office.
“What has gotten into you?” She caught up with me and opened the door that led to Sam’s computer.
“You’re about to find out.” I pushed Sam past the doorway, his head banging into the frame. Then I tossed him in front of the nearest computer. “Log into your email.”
Sam’s eyes blazed with fury. “I will do no such thing.”
“Yes. You will.” I put my hand on his shoulder and spun his chair to face the monitor. “Don’t you think Mom should know about the women you’ve had on the side? Not that they were ever girlfriends. Wait. Does a stripper from Barely There count as a girlfriend? What if you spent one night with a prostitute? Does she count? We need to check out the history on your browser.”
“Sam,” my mom said, “is this true?”
He made a noise deep in his throat, his face scarlet. “Of course not. How could you believe something like that? Rachel, I love you. I’ve never cheated on you.”
My hands wrapped around his neck. “When you were at the Camel Motel last night, that wasn’t cheating?”
“W-How do you know about that?”
“What’s your password?” I asked, hands still around his throat. He didn’t need to tell me. I only needed him to think of it, picture the letters. “Big rack is your password? Why am I not surprised?” I held his shoulder down with one hand and typed with the other.
He freaked before I punched in the last letter. His arms flailed and his shoes banged into the desk leg as he tried to strike at me any way he could. I effortlessly dodged him.
“Who do you think you are?” he shrieked. “You worthless piece of—”
In a split second, I flattened him to the floor, my fists slamming into his face. “You stay away from my mother or I’ll tell her the rest.” I didn’t want to. I could hardly think about what he’d done, much less say it out loud.
“That’s not necessary, Hayden,” my mom said, her steely voice cutting into the visuals I had of Sam’s escapades. “Let him go.”
My gaze shot to her. “But, Mom, I—”
“Let him go,” she said loud enough and with enough authority to make me obey.
I released him, my fingers twitching as he stood up and wiped at the blood on his face. If she let him stay, I didn’t know what I’d do.
“Sam,” my mom said slowly, hands on her hips. “Listen to me carefully. After you wash up, I want you to pack your bags and leave.”
“Baby, he’s lying. He set me up. You’ve gotta believe me.”
“For years, I’ve put up with your insults. Let’s not forget the physical abuse.” Her voice vibrated dangerously as she stepped closer to him, her eyes narrowed to slits. “I was about to leave a few years ago, but you stopped hitting me. I stayed because, for once in my life, I wanted to make a marriage work. I wanted to believe you were worth it, that I hadn’t made the biggest mistake of my life. So you had another chance.” She shook her head, chin quivering. “Wrong again.”
“Rachel, you’re everything to me. I love you. I’d never hurt you. I swear.” He dropped to his knees in front of her, groping for her hands.
“Is that why you stole money from her company?” I asked him, then turned to her. “Proof is on his hard drive.”
She stepped back and took a deep breath. “You have one hour to gather your belongings. I’m cutting you off from all financial support and if you try to get anything from me, I’ll turn you in for embezzlement. You should be able to live off the stolen money until you find a job.”
“I already have a job.” His face reddened again, fists balled. “You can’t do this. It wasn’t me.”
She scoffed. “It all makes sense now. No wonder you spent months examining the books and couldn’t figure out where the money went. You were the one who stole it. After tonight, I never want to see you again. If I do, next time I won’t ask Hayden to stop.”
Chapter Twenty-nine
Tessa
David and Jason stood guard while a woman and another guy shoveled dirt at lightning speed several plots away — preparing Rena’s final resting place. David hadn’t even flinched when we’d told him what happened, as though he never doubted our word for a moment.
I tried not to think about the body in the tarp or that it had traveled with me in the trunk the last half hour. Thankfully, Rena would remain here and only Chait and I would be in the car for the trip back.
My mind drifted to Zoe. According to Chait, she should’ve been around there somewhere.
He must have read my mind. “There are some older graves over there and there.” Chait indicated two spots in two different directions, both about twenty yards beyond Rena’s body. “I’ll wait here.”
On my way to the first burial spot, I texted Hayden to confirm that he would pick up Bree in about thirty minutes. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Rena’s new home already half way dug.
I continued on and stopped in front of several headstones that lined a small section near some brush. Without looking, I knew which belonged to Zoe. The space around the left headstone pulled me in. I sensed an odd energy. Not like someone was actually there — by now, I knew the difference. This was a faded version, as though only her memory lingered, a bit of her essence maybe.