Page 101 of Caged
“Jace,” I swallow.
She cocks her head in confusion. “And he didn’t try to kill you?”
“Well, I mean, he caught me snooping around in the basement, and then I shoved my hand down his pants to distract him, and just when he got hard, I kicked him in the balls with my knee and ran. Oh, and I sliced his arm with this,” I add, pulling the switchblade from my purse.
“Cute knife,” Monroe compliments, but I hear the sarcasm in her tone. “But he’s probably outside your apartment, waiting for you to return.”
“You mean,ourapartment,” I correct.
Monroe shakes her head. “I don’t live there anymore.”
“That’s not true. All your stuff is there!”
The conflicted pain contorting Monroe’s face breaks my heart. “The person I was and the life I had before Kieren did what he did are over, and I’ve made my peace with that reality. I can never go back. Not to Dornell. Not back to the way things were. Kieren took that life from me. He took the worst parts of myself and turned my own fears and insecurities against me. I’ll never forgive him, but I’ve got to move on, which I will do right after I kill him,” she says in such a matter-of-fact way, that I almost think she’s joking.
“So... you’re just going to kill him and then what? Are you really throwing in the towel, and not going to graduate after you’ve worked so hard?”
“You don’t understand, and that’s okay. I hope you never understand, Gabi.”
Tears slip past my lower lashes. “It’s not right, Monroe. You can’t let him do this to you.”
“It’s too late, Gabi. It’s already been done. The best I can do is figure out a new path for myself, but not until I expose the truth. Those women deserve justice. Kasey deserves justice. Their families weren’t even able to hold a proper funeral, because they’re still‘missing’in the eyes of law enforcement.”
“They found a body, you know,” I say, unsure if Monroe has the latest information.
“Oh, I know,” Monroe confirms, and the look on her face makes part of me wonder if she had a hand in the appearance of the body found floating in the gorge several weeks ago.
“Okay, so, what now?” I ask. “What’s the plan? How do we kill him?”
“The plan is to get you home safely,” Monroe responds.
“You’re not coming? Not even to see Ele and Viv?”
“The fewer people who know I’m back, the better. Besides, if all goes according to plan, I won’t be here for long.”
“You keep mentioning this plan of yours, yet you haven’t told me any details.”
“Why would I tell you the details? That would make you an accomplice,” she deadpans like she’s in the fucking mob. Who is this person, and what did she do with my friend?
“Fuck that, I want in on the plan,” I say firmly.
Monroe laughs in a way that makes my skin crawl. “No, trust me Gabi. You don’t.”
“Jesus, Monroe! You just got back and now you’re already pushing me away? You don’t get to tell me what I can and can’t do. Besides, you told me that fucking asshole Jace is in on what’s happening at Sigma. Also, he clearly made no effort to help you last semester, even though he knew what you were going through. He let you be tortured, for fuck’s sake! I’m not going to let him get away with it,” I say, clenching my fists at the thought. If I didn’t want to kill Jace before, I sure as fuck want to kill him now.
“You really do know how to hold a grudge,” Monroe smirks. “I’ll tell you what. Sleep on it, and if you feel the same way in the morning, you can meet me at my storage unit at ten a.m. tomorrow. Let me use your phone, and I can pull up the location. Take an Uber. Come alone.”
“Spoken like true member of the mob,” I snort.
“Let’s just say I learned a thing or two over the summer,” she says. “Oh, and one more thing. I have a set of spare car keys in the top right drawer of the desk in my bedroom. If you come, bring those. It will save me the trouble of having to break in and get them.”
“You could just come through the front door like a normal person,” I chide.
“I’m no longer a normal person, Gabi.”
The traffic light changes from red to green, and thankfully, I don’t see Jace’s motorcycle or car parked anywhere along the empty street. I guess he’s not waiting to ambush me after all.
“No sign of Jace’s car. You got lucky,” she comments, glancing around as she pulls up outside our apartment. The bars are long closed by now, and College Avenue is practically silent, content to sleep off its hangover until sunrise.
