Chapter 6 Undivided attention
Zane's pov
Have you ever been to a funeral where the preacher talked about what a shitty person the deceased was?
How he was a shitty husband to his wife and kids and fucked the underage babysitter every chance he got? How he never paid his taxes or how he used the family’s savings to feed his gambling addiction or how he snorted coke off a stripper's ass during his bachelor's party and fucked her after?
Me neither.
Why are we all suddenly fucking saints when we die?
It’s always “John Doe was a good father and husband.”
Liar!
Let’s not forget the deceased never even went to church or met the preacher. All he knows is the stories the loved ones wrote on a card and he reads it back to us.
Like a fucking puppet!
I don't read the Bible, so I'm the last person who should be talking about God, but even I know it says that if we repent and ask him for forgiveness of our sins, he forgives them.
Pooof…….like magic.
The question is…..
What if you’re not sorry?
I have done a lot of things and I know I will be punished for them one day, but we will all die eventually. You can either be the type that lives and buries your head and not do what needs to be done or just do it.
It’s life.
Live or die
Heaven or Hell.
So when you’re the one lying in that casket, what kind of person do you want to be remembered as?
I’m not a religious person….obviously…….but one thing I know is if I’m going to be damned to hell…..
It will be because I fucking earned it.
………….
I stand in the shower washing away the blood of the man I killed earlier.
Jeff was right.
I’m not God. I don’t have the right to decide who lives or dies. But he deserves what he got. He deserved to die for what he and his brother did. If you ask me we killed him pretty fast. I would have loved to draw it out more but thanks to me we didn’t. My rage. Everybody in this fucking town know about it and they all stay out of my way. I have had this rage inside me since I can remember and it gets worse as I get older, so I stop trying to hide it.
I shut the water off, grabbing the towel and drying myself with it.
Parker Lowes is going to be a problem though.
Derek wanted to kill her but I have plans for her.
Besides, the daughter of Austin Lowes isn’t someone you can just kill and not expect the police to come knocking. I need to find out where I stand, then I will take care of her.
I step into the room grabbing a sweatpants. Xavier, Garett and Justin had all left, having women they planned to fuck, while Derek and I return to the clubhouse because there are still things to discuss about Jeff and his brother. Derek didn't say a single word when I didn't bother to wash the blood off me. He knows me better than anyone, understanding that the scent and the pain of my split knuckles are the only things that keep me tethered to reality when the dark thoughts take over.
I grab my phone, noting its well past 3 am and then frown as I see a message from an unsaved number . I click on it and see it’s a video and I just received it a minute ago.
I play it.
It’s all dark and I squint to make out the image. I hear a flint strike, followed by flames. The person holding the camera takes a step back from the burning object.
“Do you see that Zane?” An unfamiliar voice asks over the roar of the fire.
“What the…….”
I trail off as the person starts to circle the fire. But I still can’t place the place or what is burning because it’s dark and the fire is causing a glare. It comes to a stop and the phone spins around and my jaw clenches as I see Parker.
She looks the same way as she did four hours ago when we let her go. Her face and neck are still smeared with blood from my hands.
She smiles, the light from her phone making her blue eyes shine like stars. It makes her look like an evil angel with perfect teeth and blood staining her gorgeous face.
“What evidence Zane?” She says
Then the video ends.
I grip the phone in my hand clenching my teeth as I rewatch the video. What the fuck is this? What is she burning and how did she get my numbe—-ahhh yes I told Derek to call my phone with hers.
“And what evidence Zane?” What does that mean?
A realization comes to my head. No she wouldn’t. No way she had the guts.
I hit dial on the number.
“Hello, Zane,” she answers on the first ring as if she is waiting for me to call.
Her smooth voice is no longer hitched with fear or anger. She sounds seductive.
“You fucking bitch. What did you do?”
She laughs and it runs over my skin like hot lava.
“You know when I got back to the house, I thought what could I do that would clear my name in case you decide to set me up.” My brow pulls tighter. “It occurred to me that if there is no DNA found, then there is no way you can pin it on me or use it to blackmail me. Do you know it takes a little over three hours to burn a body?”
I laugh to cover up my nervousness. “Fire doesn’t destroy everything, sweetheart.”
“I know.” I can hear the smile in her voice that lets me know she is ahead of me again. “That’s why after burning the body, I took a hammer and crushed what bones were left and tossed it off the cliff into the ocean. Ohh and no worries, I also burned my clothes as well.”
“You little sh—”
“I know how to cover my ass Zane. I’m a Lowes after all. But it was fun watching you think you had it all figured out.”
Click. She ends the call.
“Goddamnit!”
I throw my phone across the room. I don’t care she burned the body. Fuck whatever she does to Jeff, what I care about is she might have recorded this conversation and with the body gone she can go straight to the police and it will be her words against us. My friends and I don't exactly have a good reputation in this town to begin with.
The only reason we ain’t in prison is that we all have rich parents who get us out of trouble. And it doesn’t help that Xavier’s uncle is the chief of police in the city.
I pace the room.
“Think, Zane.”
What can I do to get her to keep her mouth shut? What can I do to make her understand why the bastard had to die?
My door opens and I spin around to see Lily standing in my doorway, her pink princess nightgown on, her blonde hair a curly mess and her brown eyes sleepy.
“Zane? Are you okay?” She asks softly. “I heard something and bunny got afraid,” she brings up her favorite bunny to her chest and hugs it tightly.
“Everything is fine,” I say, walking over to her. “Go back to bed, princess.”
“Will you stay with me?” She holds out her right hand.
I sigh and bend down picking her up. “Of course.”
I carry her across the hallway into her bedroom and gently lay her down on her bed and climb in beside her, pulling the heavy blankets over us both as I kiss the top of her head. She curls into my side, resting her cheek against my ribs while I place both hands behind my head and stare up at the glowing glow-in-the-dark stars stuck to her ceiling.
Parker Lowes.
You just got my full, undivided attention.
And you’re going to wish with everything inside you that you didn't.
