Chapter 4 The Cold Alibi

I stood in the dark kitchen, staring down at the bloody silver necklace in my trembling hands.

The metal felt freezing against my skin, the red stains smudging across my palms. My heart pounded violently in my chest. Brody’s chain was right here in my hands, inside the house of people who already wished I didn't exist.

I looked at my phone on the counter, desperate to call the police station, but Sheriff Miller’s voice echoed in my head. Every path you walk, I’m going to be right there watching.

He wouldn't believe me. The second I said I found this in a grocery bag on my counter, he would put handcuffs on my wrists and lock me away.

"Think, Nevaeh," I whispered, tears stinging my eyes. "Just think."

I couldn't leave it out in the open. If Thomas or Martha found it, they would hand me over to the sheriff themselves just to keep their names clean. I wrapped the chain tightly in a paper towel, hid it deep at the bottom of my school bag, and ran to the sink, scrubbing my skin with soap until my hands turned raw and red.

I didn't sleep that night. I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the closed door, waiting for sirens to flash outside.

When morning came, the sunlight was pale and bitter cold. I dragged myself downstairs with burning, tired eyes. Thomas was sitting at the table reading news on his tablet, and Martha was pouring hot tea into a mug. Neither of them looked up when I walked into the room.

A loud knock hit the front door.

Martha flinched, almost spilling her drink. "Go see who that is, Thomas. If it's another reporter asking about Brody, tell them to leave us alone."

Before Thomas could move, the front door swung open. Sheriff Miller walked in with two deputies right behind him. His blue uniform looked worn out, and his face was tight with exhaustion and cold suspicion.

"Sheriff," Thomas said, stopping in his tracks. "You can't just push your way into my house."

"I'm here for your daughter, Thomas," Miller said, looking straight past him to lock eyes with me. "Nevaeh. We need to talk about what happened to Mason Cole last night."

My breath hitched in my throat. "I didn't touch Mason."

"Mason is in the hospital with a cracked skull," Miller said, taking a slow step toward me. "Three kids at that party said you were asking around for him right before he was attacked near the trees. Why were you hunting for Mason, Nevaeh?"

"I wanted to ask him about Brody!" I backed away until my spine hit the doorframe. "He was Brody's best friend! I thought he knew where Brody was hiding!"

"That's a real convenient story," Miller said, stepping closer to block my path. "Except nobody saw you inside the house when it happened. You don't have an alibi."

"She came home early," Martha cut in from the kitchen doorway, her voice sharp as she tried to push the trouble away.

"I know when she got home, Martha," Miller said flatly, never breaking eye contact with me. "And Mason was attacked twenty minutes before that. Who can prove where you were between nine and nine-thirty last night?"

An unbearable silence filled the room. Thomas stared down at his shoes, refusing to say a word, and Martha stepped backward into the kitchen. They were stepping aside. They were going to let the police take me to save themselves the shame.

"She was with me."

The calm, low voice came from the front door.

Everyone in the room turned at once. Xavi Moreau was standing in the open doorway, leaning casually against the frame in a dark jacket. His pitch-black eyes rested on Sheriff Miller without a single trace of fear.

Miller frowned, his jaw tightening. "Moreau. What are you doing in this house?"

"The door was unlocked," Xavi said smoothly, stepping inside and closing it behind him. He walked over, his tall frame stepping directly between me and the sheriff's intimidating presence. "And I couldn't help hearing you press Nevaeh for answers she already gave you."

"This is police business, son," Miller warned, his tone dipping low. "Step back."

"I don't think I will," Xavi replied softly. His face didn't move at all. His eyes stayed flat, his tone completely steady. "Because if you're looking for her alibi between nine and nine-thirty, she was sitting on my front porch across the street. We were talking. I walked her to her driveway right before she went inside."

My stomach did a violent drop, he was lying. Straight to the sheriff's face, without a single blink or a tremor in his voice. He knew for a fact I wasn't on his porch.

Sheriff Miller narrowed his eyes, searching Xavi's empty face. "You're telling me you were with her the whole time?"

"That's exactly what I'm telling you," Xavi said. "If you want to look for someone else, go ahead. But Nevaeh didn't touch Mason Cole. She was with me."

Miller stared at Xavi for a long, agonizing minute. Finally, he let out a slow breath and stepped back, shaking his head. "I'm going to check the timeline on that, Moreau. If you're lying to cover her tracks, I'll charge you with obstruction. We're done here for now."

Miller turned and signaled his deputies toward the exit. The front door clicked shut, leaving a dark quiet hanging over the room. Thomas glared at Xavi with pure disgust, turned around, and walked upstairs without saying a word to me. Martha trailed right behind him like a silent ghost.

I was left completely alone in the hallway with Xavi.

My body began to shake violently from pure terror. I backed away from him until my shoulders hit the wall.

"Why did you do that?" I whispered, my voice trembling as I stared up into his handsome, emotionless face. "Why did you lie to the police for me?"

Xavi took a slow step forward, closing the space between us until he blocked out the soft morning light. "You didn't have an alibi, Nevaeh. They would have taken you in."

"You don't even know me!" My chest heaved as panic flared up. "What if I really did hurt Mason? What if I really did something to Brody? Why would you protect a girl everyone thinks is a killer?"

"Because I don't care what you did," Xavi replied softly. His voice was flat, lacking any normal human warmth, yet the intense gaze in his dark eyes made my skin burn.

He reached out slowly. I froze, wanting to run, but my body wouldn't obey. His warm fingers brushed against my neck, gently tucking a loose strand of dark hair behind my ear. His touch sent a terrifying shiver straight down my spine.

He leaned down, his face stopping just inches from mine until I could feel his breath against my skin.

"I gave you an alibi, Nevaeh," Xavi whispered, his pitch-black eyes locking onto mine with a dark, unyielding focus. "Now you belong to my story."