Chapter 32

Chapter Thirty-Two

Hudson

I rush into the hospital and ask for Abbot and Starling. They send me to Abbot's room, but can't find any information on my wife.

When I get there, inside, I find a boy around Abbot's age sitting beside him while he sleeps.

He jumps up when he sees me. "Sir."

"Who the fuck are you?"

"I'm Lewis, sir. I'm a friend of Abbot's."

"How did you know he was here?"

"A paramedic called me. I was the last person he messaged. I came straight here when they told me where they were taking him."

I rub my hand down my face and walk over to the bed. Atlas stands in the doorway.

"I'm going to call Kenzo and see if he has anything."

I nod and sit down beside Abbot. "They said he was in a car accident." My voice comes out gruff, making the other boy wince.

"That's what they told me, too."

"Do you know if he's had his x-rays yet?"

"Yeah, he's had them. We're just waiting for the results. The cops will want to talk to him too."

I look at him sharply.

"It was a hit-and-run. Whoever did this left the scene. The cops want to know what he saw."

"You know an awful lot for a friend I've never heard of."

"I told them he was my fiancé," he whispers.

I freeze for a moment before turning to look at him fully. The guy's big and built like a quarterback, but there's something about him—something I can't quite put my finger on—that makes him seem vulnerable.

I raise my eyebrow at him. In an act of defiance, he slips his hand into Abbot's and glares at me.

Huh, I might end up liking this kid after all.

"I'm not sure you're his type."

"And I'm sure you're wrong."

I look from him to Abbot as pieces of the puzzle fall into place. "He's bisexual."

"I'm gay," Abbot's broken voice rasps out.

"But Starling?—"

"Only Starling," he murmurs, leaving me to fill in the blanks.

"She's the only woman you've slept with, and she knows. She knew all along."

"Protected me. Loved me," he whispers.

"Of course she loves you. She told me you're the only man she's ever loved. I hate you a little for that. Okay, I hate you a lot for it."

He makes a noise that sounds almost like a snort. "Hate me like…like Mom now?"

I look at Lewis, who I don't think Abbot realizes is here. He shrugs his shoulders.

"Your mom didn't hate you."

"Hated me… because I'm gay."

I blow out an angry breath. Really, in this day and age? "If you're asking me if I hate you because you're gay, the answer is no, Abbot. Not even a little. I hated you because you fucked my wife first. But as long as you stick to dick from now on, we'll be fine."

Lewis grins but stays quiet.

I squeeze Abbot's arm gently. "Starling wasn't with you, was she?" I already know. She never said in her letter; I just assumed. I forgot she's pissed at him too.

"No. Home."

"Yeah, about that. You missed a lot. She got hurt at school. Some bitch took a baseball bat to her."

His body jolts, but I hold him still.

"She's okay, just bruised. But she got angry with me for something and left. And I thought she might come find you."

He shakes his head, agitated.

"Hey, it's okay. She's fine, I promise."

The door opens, and Atlas walks in.

"Turns out my kid's gay."

"Well, that was lucky for you."

"Yeah. You find out anything more?"

He looks from me to Lewis before continuing. "A partial print was found at Kelly's apartment."

Shit, I forgot about her in all this.

"And?"

He licks his lips. "It's a match to Derek Rivers."

"Starling's father? I thought he was dead."

"Apparently, he got better. I guess it was one way to stop the loan sharks from coming after him."

"And if he's back, you know he's going to come for Starling. Fuck."

I move to stand, but Abbot grabs my hand.

"Landon."

"Landon? What about Landon?" I ask Abbot, but he's fading fast.

"Would Starling go to him? If she couldn't be with Abbot, would she go to her other stepbrother?"

"I don't know. She never mentions him, but he's the only other person she has. She wasn't there when I spoke to him earlier, but that doesn't mean she isn't on her way."

I pull my hand free from Abbot's with ease. He's asleep again.

"Shit, Pete. Look."

I turn to look where Atlas is pointing and see the burn marks on his wrists. "That's not from a car accident. That's from being tied up." I curse as Atlas steps closer.

"Not that. This." He slides the edge of his hospital gown sleeve up over his bicep, where there's a number 15 carved into his skin.

I look at Atlas and snarl. "We need to get to Landon's now. Have Kenzo give me everything he's got so far and tell him to find Starling." I turn to Lewis. "Don't let him out of your sight."

"I won't leave his side, I swear. I'll keep him safe."

I nod and leave the room, bumping into Atlas, who's waiting for me in the hall. He puts Kenzo on speaker. "I'm almost there, I was gonna deliver all this in person. Brace yourselves. I got more than I expected. I followed a lead, and things started unraveling. I don't have it all yet, but?—"

"Kenzo!" I snap as we make it out to the parking lot and climb into the car, this time with Atlas behind the wheel.

"Right. First of all, I tracked Starling's movements from the hospital. She went back to the house while you were at the school, blowing your alibi apart, by the way. I'm working on a new one. Anyway, she packed a bag, then took the BMW and headed your way. You don't have tracking on that car because it's older, but I've caught her on a dozen cameras so far."

"Do you know if she's here yet?"

"No, but I'll keep looking. Atlas told you about Derek?"

"Yeah."

"I can't find him. He's probably using a fake name. I did some digging into the twins. They did go to the community center here. Know who else goes there—or used to? Starling. That's one hell of a coincidence."

"It might be, but I can't see the link between the two. The twins are dead, so they're not the ones coming after me. We can dig more into them later. Focus on Starling."

"Will do."

"Oh, Kenzo, I have another number for you. It was carved into Abbot's arm. Fifteen."

"Shit, okay. I'm adding it now. So far, I haven't had any hits. I'm going to see if I can figure this shit out on my own. I'll call you back when I have something."

When he hangs up, I pull out my phone and dial Landon's number, but he doesn't answer.

"Fuck!" I snarl, tossing the phone on the dashboard.

It takes twenty minutes to get to Landon's apartment. When I spot my car parked outside, I jump out and look inside. Starling's not there, but her bags are.

I jog to the entrance and press the buzzers for all the apartments until someone lets me in. When the door unlocks, I pull it open and take the elevator up to Landon's floor. I hurry to his door and bang on it. When no one answers, I pull my gun and kick the door in.

I charge inside and find… nothing. I search the whole apartment, but no one's here. The elevator dings as I walk back to the front door.

I aim my gun at the doors but lower it when Atlas steps out, holding his cell phone. "It's Kenzo. He found something."

"Hudson, can you hear me?"

"Go ahead."

"The numbers. They're code. I would have figured it out sooner, but we've been treating them as the number of victims, so we put the twins in the wrong order."

"In English, Kenzo."

"The numbers correspond to a letter in the alphabet. Twelve is L. One is A. We had the next two mixed up, which is why it took so long to figure out. Fourteen is N, and four is D. And now fifteen is O."

"Landon?"

"We only have five letters, but it's looking that way, yes. You aren't the target. He is."

"Kenzo, where did Abbot crash his car? If it hasn't been towed yet, it should still be there."

"Two secs. Got it. The car was towed from Monroe Street. Which is?—"

"Ten minutes from Keller View Way, where my summer house is. That's where we'll find Landon."

"Are there any links between Landon and any of the other victims?"

"Just checking. Hold on."

"Shit. He's linked to Jessica, Kyle, Conner, and Derek. He's their lawyer."

"We need to get to the beach house now. If Landon's the final target, then Starling will be collateral damage."

"Or she's the next victim. Landon's her lawyer too. And it's through him that Derek and Eloise met."

I look at Atlas in horror. "GO!"

"I'll meet you at the beach house." Kenzo hangs up but I'm already halfway out the door.