Page 109 of My Turn

“You’ll do no such thing, Jayce Weste. I’ll leave you at that altar.”

“First of all, we’re not getting married in a church. I say… a vineyard.”

“Speaking of wine,” I drawled. “Do you have any more of those special bottles?”

“Yeah, I have two in the basement. I’m keeping one, though, either to see how it ages or as a monument to what it represents.”

“And what is that?”

There was a small smile on his lips as he stroked the back of my hand. “Maybe, in a sense, it’s what brought us to this moment.”

“Wine brought us together?” I laughed.

“Yeah. It’s some weird fate shit. Don’t ask me how it works.”

He got to his feet and I gave him a quizzical look. “Are you going somewhere?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna go to Ben’s place. I know some of his friends too, so I’ll check in with them.”

“I want to come.”

He shook his head. “I don’t want you involved at all. Some of the things he deals in… I just think it’s better if there’s no way for you to be implicated if he ever fucks up. It’s best if you don’t show up at his house.”

Maybe he was right. I didn’t know what went on there and I couldn’t be around his illegal dealings. Jayce would find him, hopefully. If not, I would be filing that police report, but that was all I’d do.

Still, there was this churning in my gut that made me think something was off. Really off.

Jayce leaned down to kiss me, then headed out the door. I sat there for a while, tapping my fingers on the counter. I was tempted to call Ben again, but it was pointless right now.

There was one thing I needed. That damn wine. It was in the basement, though, and I fucking hated those. How important was it? My nerves said it was of the utmost importance.

With a deep breath, I got up and headed for the basement door. It was the first one in the hallway and I’d opened it before, but only to check out the wooden stairs and further convince myself there was nothing good in a basement. I was an adult and this wasn’t a horror film. I’d been down there before, so I knew it was nice, albeit a little serial killer-esque.

With my hand on the knob, I counted to ten. Feeling far from ready, I twisted it while I sent up a prayer that there were no demons waiting for me in the abyss.

Chapter 40

Jayce

What was the best course of action here? Alana wasn’t supposed to reach out to Ben. Not for a while, at least. Everything was riding on that, but I’d been wrong. She was going against her norm and I should’ve considered it was a possibility after everything that had happened.

I could text her from his phone. That could also stir up more suspicion. If I said the wrong thing or sounded off to her, she’d be more inclined to go to the police. I wasn’t terribly worried about the idea since I’d covered my tracks well, but it could still be an issue. There was one thing remaining that could screw everything up. His body.

Ben wasn’t fully decomposed yet. It’d been a few weeks and he’d still need another five, give or take. Unless they truly saw me as a person of interest, I wouldn’t need to worry about my basement getting searched, but it was still an issue. Somehow, I needed to get rid of him, which was a damn shame. It was a waste of good fertilizer, but avoiding prison was more important.

I glanced down at my phone when it buzzed.

Alicia:Grandma said I could come when break starts.

Jesus. She was relentless.

Alicia was adjusting remarkably well, which I wasn’t too surprised about. There was still a lot to do before my parents could actually adopt her, but they’d get there. She was part of the family now and that was the important thing.

Jayce:When does Winter break start?

Alicia:Wednesday. We’re out early.

Jayce:K. I’ll be at a job site late. I’ll get you after. Cool?

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