Page 44 of Tainted Love
Frowning, I pull out the photos. My heart sinks when I see Bea dressed in the clothes she wore to the gym yesterday. She’s leaning against her car, cheeks flushed and smiling up at some guy in a muscle tee. He looks about ten years older than her, and he has her phone in his hand. I can tell it’s hers because it has her mint green phone cover on it. In the next photo, he’styping something into the phone. The next photo shows him handing the phone back.
Who the fuck does this poser think he is? I study him carefully. There’s something familiar about him, but I can’t put my finger on it.
My eyes drop to the discarded black rose on my desk. Fuck, whoever this stalker is, they’re not only watching me, they’re watching Bea too. I slip my phone out of my pocket and pull up her contact. It rings twice before going to voicemail.
Ouch.I get the point; she doesn’t want to speak to me. I’m not giving up, though, when her life could be in danger. I hit redial, but again she sends me to voicemail.
Feeling my frustration build since I don’t know where she is or if she’s safe, I tap out a message.
Elias: Where are you, Duchess?
Bea: You’re not my keeper, Elias. I don’t have to tell you shit.
Elias: I’m serious, Bea. Where are you?
Bea: OMG, stalker much? I’m out shopping. I’ll be home later.
Elias: Come home.
Bea: How’s NO sound? Jeez, what is the matter with you?
Elias: Please, Bea. I need you to come home.
Bea: And I need you to leave me alone. Stop texting me. I’ll be home when I want to be.
Fuck me, this girl is infuriating. At least by responding to my texts, it tells me she’s okay.
I open my social media and find the account for black_rose13. The account has over six hundred followers, but it only follows one account—mine. There are no identifying signs of who the account belongs to. The profile picture is a black-and-white image of the rose fromBeauty and the Beast, and the description only has three emojis—a blue genie, a black heart, and a wilting rose.
My stomach drops.
Clicking on the message thread, I tap out a message.
Elias_vasilios13: What do you want?
The reply comes through almost immediately.
Black_rose13: You.
Black_rose13: You said you’d come back for me.
I collapse on my bed, my breath coming in ragged pants. It isn’t her. It can’t be. I watched the life drain from her eyes and held her lifeless body in my arms. I left her to be buried her in a shallow grave, for fuck’s sake. Jas is dead.
My phone buzzes with another message.
Black_rose13: Why didn’t you come back for me, Genie?
Whoever this person is, they are clearly sick. I have no ideahow they know all this stuff. It was private between me and Jas, but I’m not falling for this bullshit.
Elias_vasilios13: I don’t know who the fuck you are, but you need to stay away from me and my girl or I’m going to the cops.
Black_rose13: I was your girl once upon a time, too, Genie. Or was it really all just a game to you?
My blood runs cold. Flashbacks of that night six years ago flood back and I feel sick to my stomach. I block the account and search through my contacts for the one number I thought I’d never use again.
Elias: We need to talk.
Chapter 25
