“They’re probably going to get the snot kicked out of them later,” I said, my smile fading.
Paul put his arm around Zoe’s shoulders. “Anybody messes with them, they’re messing with the rest of us.”
Zoe smiled up at him. They were nuts about each other. God, I wished Gabe had been there to see Corey and Andrew. I sent him one of the photos I’d taken. Thought you might get a laugh out of this.
A few seconds later he replied, LOL. Just saw them walking down the street. How’s it going?
All right. I’m going to stay till midnight. Want to pick me up?
Just call.
I slipped my phone back into my bag—no pockets on a Harley Quinn costume. If I hadn’t gotten the chance to get to Drew by midnight, I’d just leave. It wasn’t like I was in the party mood—not really. I just kept thinking about the year before, and Magda.
I could almost see her, standing there in her Cleopatra costume. She’d looked awesome. “Do you think Drew will like it?” she had asked me.
“He’d be dead not to,” I’d replied. God, I’d been so indifferent about him then. I seriously hadn’t thought he was a threat to her, even though we’d both heard rumors about him over the years. Magda assumed it was gossip and nothing more.
Were any of the girls there previous victims of his? Had they come just so they could stand up to him—face him unafraid? Did they wonder if anyone would ever stop him? Did they wish they’d reached out to Magda?
I shook my head. If I kept thinking about it, I’d get even angrier than I already was, and then I’d pick a fight with him, and that wouldn’t do anything but get me slapped with a restraining order too. No, I’d stay till midnight, and then I’d leave. If I couldn’t get payback for Magda, I’d rather spend the night with her brother, feeling loved rather than the hatred I felt for Drew.
Yeah, I was tired. Tired of all the violence and the fighting and the scheming and trying to keep from getting caught. And all the while, I kept wondering why I hadn’t gotten caught. I’d been questioned and that was it. I wasn’t a criminal mastermind, so what if the police were just waiting for me to make a move on Drew and then were going to arrest me?
At ten to midnight I decided to call it a night. I had just come out of the bathroom down the hall from the party, and was about to text Gabe to pick me up at the bottom of the driveway when I spotted Drew climbing the winding staircase. He had a girl with him—a very drunk, very young girl.
I had to stop it.
I put my phone back into my bag. I waited a few moments, trying to keep my heart rate calm. Then I made sure no one was looking and I followed them.
CHAPTER 25
Drew took the girl to his room. I could see them from where I crouched in the shadows near the top of the stairs. The girl staggered on her high heels, falling against him. He grinned down at her and ran his hand over her ass.
“I just need to lay down,” the girl mumbled.
Drew steered her into the room. “Yeah, you’ll be on your back real soon. Just a couple of minutes and you can sleep.”
I wish I could say it was anger that filled my veins, but it wasn’t—not completely. My heart hammered hard against my ribs, adrenaline pumping in my blood. I should have jumped him right then, but I couldn’t make my legs move.
Mad as I was, I was afraid. Scared of Drew. He wasn’t right in the head. I didn’t know how he’d react when I came after him, but I believed that he meant to kill the Pink Vigilante if he could. He was the person who had planned everything he and his friends had done to Magda. I’d be stupid not to be at least a little apprehensive about going after him.
He closed the door behind them. I waited a couple of minutes to see if any of his friends were going to join him, but no one came. They might already be in the room. I could be walking into a trap. The four of them could be waiting for me. To kill me. That’s if I was lucky. They might decide to have a little fun with me first.
I had no weapons except for my feet, fists and head. For all I knew, Drew could have a gun. What was I doing?
A girl cried out. My head jerked up, gaze snapping to that closed door. My fear evaporated, replaced with cold determination. Yes, Drew might have a gun. He might have a knife, or something else. He also had a drunk, and probably drugged, girl in that room with him who he planned to violate. He’d probably film or photograph her like he had Magda. Maybe he’d post the video for the whole world to see, as well.
Danger or not, there was no way I could just sit there, and I couldn’t walk away. I rose to my feet, climbed the last few steps to the hallway and moved quietly to Drew’s door. I hadn’t planned this properly. I hadn’t planned anything at all. Drew would know it was me for sure if I stormed in with my Harley costume on. Pulling the ski mask over her head wouldn’t do anything, either. Really, what had I been thinking? I hadn’t.
I looked at the door. I heard another soft cry from behind it. I was going to have to do this one without the mask. I had to save the girl from that bastard, and I was going to have to do it as myself.
I dug out my phone. If I could get photos of Drew attempting to rape the girl, it might help make charges stick. Video would be even better. I swiped and tapped the screen until the movie icon came up. I selected it and then slipped the phone into the belt of my costume, the lens pointing out.
I sucked a deep breath into my lungs, then reached out and turned the doorknob. He hadn’t even bothered to lock it. I guess he figured anyone who dared walk in would want to join in his sick fun. I pushed...
The door opened. I expected it to be dark inside the room, but it wasn’t. Of course it wasn’t. Drew liked to be able to see what he did to his victims, and he needed good light to record his crime.
He was on the bed, shirtless and straddling the girl. He’d removed her top and bra, and was running his hands over her skin. He pinched her, laughing when she whimpered in protest.
“That’s it, baby,” he said. “I like when my girls make a little noise.”
God, he was gross. There was a camera mounted on the headboard of his bed. How many girls had he recorded with or without their consent?
“’m gonnabesick.” The girl tried to sit up, roll to the side of the bed. Drew grabbed her and shoved her back, his hand over her mouth.
“Swallow it,” he commanded. “You fucking puke on my bed, you’ll regret it. Swallow it, bitch.”
The girl made a sobbing sound. Her body convulsed, but he kept his hand over her mouth. She was vomiting, and he wouldn’t let her spit it out. He was going to choke her.
“Get off her.”
Drew went still. Slowly, he turned his torso to face me. I watched his muscles shift beneath his skin, trying to gauge his physical strength beyond the ability to break a nose—anyone could do that. The girl broke free of his hold and wretched over the side of the bed onto the carpet.
“What the fuck?” Drew swore, grabbing the girl by the hair. “You’re cleaning that up.”
“No,” I said. “She’s not.” I walked farther into the room.
Drew smirked at me. “Volunteering to take her place?”
I glared at him. “Are you high?”
“Maybe. Come on, Hadley, get on the bed. We can have a threesome.”
“Let her go, Drew.”
“No. I went through a lot of work to get her like this, and I plan to enjoy it.”
“Not going to happen.”
“Do I need to break more than your nose?” he asked, climbing off the girl—who had passed out with her head hanging over the side of the mattress—and the bed. He walked toward me, slowing removing his belt. I swallowed. I should have brought a weapon—my brass knuckles or something.
“What’s she to you?” he asked.
I glanced at the girl. “I don’t even know her.”
&
nbsp; “So you saw me with her and decided you’d come running to her rescue?”
“Something like that.”
“What a Vagilante thing to do.” He coiled the leather around his knuckles. “I was right, wasn’t I? It is you.”
I didn’t know what other recording devices he might have in the room, so I couldn’t afford honesty or even half-assed lies. “You saw her that day at the cemetery.”
“That wasn’t really her. You and that boyfriend of yours are the only ones who’d come after all four of us.”
“I doubt we’re the only two. How many other girls have you raped, Drew? They must have people who love them, or want revenge all on their own.”
He actually paused for a moment, as though thinking about it. How many girls had he hurt? “You bastard.”
He swung at me, and I easily dodged it. “Not such a tough guy without your friends to hold me still,” I taunted. “You can do better than that, can’t you? I’m just a girl.” And then, to insult him further, I punched him in the sternum.
“Bitch,” he gasped, taking another swing. I wasn’t fast enough this time, and his leather-wrapped fist connected hard with the side of my head.
I shook it off and kicked him in the knee. I thought it would take him to the floor. What I didn’t anticipate was that he’d grab me and take me down with him.
I hit the floor on my back. Carpet softened the fall, but my head still bounced, messing up my vision for a second. I’d smashed my hip on the side of the bed on the way down. God, it hurt.
Drew was on top of me. He pinned my arms above my head. With strength and gravity on his side, I couldn’t move. He pressed himself against me. He got off on overpowering me—the evidence was hard against my thigh. I swallowed the urge to puke.
“It was you I really wanted that night,” he told me. “But your little friend was just so pathetic, batting her eyelashes at me.”
I whipped my knee up, but he snapped his legs shut, angling himself across me so I couldn’t slam him in the junk.
“Do that again,” he warned, “and I’ll head butt you in the nose.”
I went still. My nose was barely healed, and I did not want it broken again.
“Good girl.” He grinned. “So, here’s how this is going to go. I’m going to fuck you, and if you’re good, I’ll let you live.”
“And if I’m not good?”
Suddenly, there was a gun in my face. I hadn’t even felt him reach for it. Where had it come from? I went completely still as Drew smirked at me. “You’ve really pissed me off these last couple of months.”
“You’re not going to shoot me. Even you can’t get away with murder.”
“I can if I tell them I took the gun from you when you barged in here and tried to kill me.”
“If I was the Vigilante, no one would believe that I tried to shoot you. She only uses her fists and feet.”
“But I broke your nose. And we both know I’m the one you really want. Aren’t I?”
He made it sound sexual. It was sick. My stomach roiled as he ground his hips against me. Then, he came up on his knees, straddling me. “Take off your shirt.”
“No.”
He pointed the gun at me. “Do it.”
Where there had been fear before, now there was only calm. My arms were free, and I used my left to shove his gun arm away, while I lunged up and punched him hard with my right fist. He didn’t drop the gun, but he fell backward. I tried to crawl away, but he punched me in the kidney and then grabbed me by the hair, hauling me back. My eyes watered. I kicked at him, but he managed to avoid my feet. He punched me in the jaw and then higher up on my cheek. He punched me two more times before I got another jab in at him. His fingers ripped free of my hair. God, that hurt!
I got to my knees and lunged at the door. Drew grabbed the top of my costume. I heard the loud rip as the shoulder seam gave—he tore the sleeve so that it hung down my arm. Then he bounced my head off the door frame. Stars burst in the darkness before my eyes. He dragged me away from the door, slammed me down onto my back. He forced my mouth open, and something hit my teeth, forcing itself between. I tasted metal.
He’d put the gun in my mouth.
I froze. As my vision cleared, I found myself staring up into his glittering eyes. He grinned down at me.
Drew shoved his hand down the top of my costume, his cruel fingers biting into my flesh. He grabbed my breast and pinched it. He kept pinching—harder and harder—until I cried out. He laughed.
Then he shoved his hand down my pants. I was going to be sick when he tried to cram his fingers between my legs. “Open them,” he commanded.
I did. Tears leaked from my eyes as he violated me. “Lick the gun,” he commanded, easing the barrel out of my mouth. “Lick it like you want it.”
I hated him. And that hate blossomed inside me like a mushroom cloud. I was not going to be another one of his victims. I ran my tongue along the barrel of the gun, staring into his eyes as I did so. I could tell he got off on it from the way his gaze changed. I knew the exact moment he stopped paying attention to what the rest of me was doing. His focus was just on my mouth. “That’s it,” he murmured. “Take it.”
I moved fast, swiping the gun hand aside as my other fist struck him in the balls. He fell to the side, and again, I lunged for the door. I almost made it before he threw himself on me.
“You fucking bitch!” he shouted. “I’m going to kill you!”
This time I was ready for him, and I managed to use his own momentum against him to put myself on top. I felt the gun pressed against my ribs. I wrapped my fingers around it, nails digging into his hand as I tried to wrestle it away. Our fingers tangled around the trigger as I pushed with all my strength.
The gun went off.
Drew stared up at me. I stared down at him. We were both perfectly still. Then, his hands fell away, leaving me holding the gun. Blood soaked the front of his shirt.
* * *
Drew was already dead by the time the police arrived.
I just sat there and watched the life leave his eyes. That’s how Zoe, Anna and Caitlin—and everyone else who heard the shot—found me. I was sitting between his body and the bed, the unconscious girl’s hand resting on my shoulder. Apparently I told Zoe to call Diane, but I didn’t remember saying anything.
It was like a dream. Everything seemed fuzzy and far off, even though I could see it all happening around me. Diane got there just before the uniformed police did. She asked me what happened, and I told her. I even told her about Drew shoving his fingers inside me, and how he’d put the gun in my mouth. She hugged me.
“The girl,” I said. “Is she okay? He drugged her.”
Diane nodded. “She’s gone to the hospital. She’ll be fine. You saved her.”
I looked into her concerned eyes. “He said he’d wanted me, not Magda. I couldn’t save her. The Vigilante couldn’t save her.” I looked down at my bloody hands. I needed to wash. Wash off his blood, wash off his touch.
Diane shushed me and wrapped a blanket around my shoulders.
When they led me out of the house, my friends were behind me. The party had been brought to a stop, and I felt the stares of dozens of my peers. They stared at me, their masks and makeup lending an absurd touch to their shocked stares. When I walked past a girl dressed as the Pink Vigilante, I took one look at her pink ski mask and burst into tears.
Gabe was outside. I didn’t know who called him, but I ran to him the second I saw him. Diane came after me, but I didn’t care. I threw myself into his arms. He held me tightly, his warmth fighting off the chill that seemed to have me right down to the bone.
“Can I come with her?” he asked.
Diane nodded. “I’m taking her to the hospital to get checked out.”
My head was on his sh
oulder. “Did he hurt her?”
“I’m not sure,” Diane replied. Gabe’s arms tightened around me.
Next thing I knew I was in the backseat of Diane’s car. Gabe held me all the way to the hospital, but they made him wait in another room at the hospital. They did a rape kit, even though I told them Drew hadn’t raped me. I heard the doctor tell Diane that I had “abrasions that suggest sexual assault.”
“It was just his fingers,” I said, like it was nothing.
Diane looked like she wanted to cry.
“I’m okay,” I told her. “I’m going to be okay.”
She nodded. “I know you are. You’re tough.”
I held up my hands. “I just need to get him off me. Now.” Suddenly, I knew that if I didn’t get clean at that moment, I never would. “Now!” I heard screaming echoing in my head. It was my own voice.
Something sharp poked my arm, followed by a rush of calm that sucked me out of my body, up into a corner of the ceiling. I felt light and free. Safe. My eyelids drooped, obliterating the offensive brightness of the hospital and shoving all the noise far, far away.
CHAPTER 26
“Did you go into that room planning to kill Drew Carson?”
“Are you the Pink Vigilante?”
“Did you attack Jason Bentley in his home?”
“Did you attack Brody Henry?”
“Did you physically assault Adam Weeks?”
No. No. No. No. No. I kept repeating the word—in my head and out loud. My mother was with me as the police questioned me, and so was our lawyer. I didn’t even know we had a lawyer. Apparently my father did. The one thing I would remember my father doing for me was getting me a lawyer while the police tried to decide if I’d murdered Drew Carson, or it was self-defense. Or an accident.
I didn’t care what they decided; I just wanted it over.
They got a warrant to search our house. I waited for them to find the ski mask in my room, but they didn’t. The thing was, when I went looking for it later, I couldn’t find it, either. It wasn’t where I’d left it.