Page 26 of Tell No Lies

The only energy I had was wasted by flinging out one arm to turn it off.

Something fell to the floor.

I rolled over to the edge of the bed and saw an envelope that I didn’t recognize. As carefully as I could, I slid out of bed and sat on the floor.

Turning the envelope over, I saw my name written across the center. No address, just my name. That didn’t make sense. Had one of the girls dropped this off last night? I carefully opened it and pulled out the contents.

Picture after picture of me from last weekend fell to the floor. Getting on the yacht, sitting with the girls in the room, sitting on Tucker’s lap, me in my bikini before snorkeling, lying out on the beach next to Mckayla, riding a bike through the town. They had all been snapped from a distance, not something a friend would take.

My breathing became shallow, and my heart raced. Not again. This couldn’t be happening!

I screamed out in frustration. Morgan was locked up! He wasn’t anywhere near me! There hadn’t been anything since the night of the formal. Why was this happening now?

Brandon burst into my room, calling my name. I sat up and looked at him from across my bed. He ran over and threw his arms around me.

“What’s wrong? Why did you scream?” He was searching my face for the answer.

I held up my hand, showing him the photos. I couldn’t speak; I could barely breathe. He took them from me and looked down, then back at me. He knew what was happening without having to ask.

This couldn’t be real. Not again. I barely managed to survive the first time. This was supposed to be a new start. No more threats. No more lies. I was supposed to be safe.

My body shook with sobs, and I looked at Brandon in desperation. His arms caught me as I fell over. He laid me down and took my face in his hands.

“Aubrey, you need to calm down. Please, just take a deep breath in.”

I tried to listen to him but ended up gasping repeatedly. Realizing this wasn’t working, Brandon pulled me into his arms and held me against his chest. He rubbed circles on my back as he pleaded with me to breathe.

After several minutes that felt like hours, I began to calm down. Brandon was on his phone, telling Mckayla I was going to miss school today. He hung up and made another call.

I was in a daze as he walked me into the bathroom. He started the shower and set out a new towel. Turning back to me, he put his hands on my shoulders and leaned forward to meet my eyes.

“Listen to me, Aubrey. I want you to shower and get dressed. The detectives we spoke to last time are on their way over. We are going to talk to them again, but I need you back. You need to calm down. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

He dropped his hands and waited for a response. The most I could give was a slight nod. How could he promise nothing would happen?

Someone had been in my room last night while I was sleeping.

Someone was taking pictures of me again.

I was being followed, and whoever it was knew how to get to me.

I showered and toweled off, each step taking longer and longer. I didn’t bother drying my hair or fussing with makeup before slipping into sweats and a big T-shirt. Then my time was up.

Brandon was sitting across from the detectives, talking to them from the ottoman. He straightened when he saw me and made room for me to sit next to him. I saw the photographs sitting between the detectives and was happy they were no longer in my possession.

The older-looking man caught my eye and nodded once. “Ms. Tate, I’m sorry to see you again under these circumstances.”

Speech still seemed too difficult, so I shrugged in response.

“We’re going to do everything we can to figure out what’s going on. My partner called the facility in Chicago and confirmed that Mr. Carrington remains in maximum security and has no contact outside of his family.”

What does this mean?

Brandon voiced my concerns for me. “If it’s not Morgan, then who is doing this? I have an alarm system, and it was set last night. I asked the security guards, and they said no unauthorized person entered. Explain this to me.” His voice revealed his desperation.

The younger detective spoke this time. “We understand your frustration, Mr. Tate, but I can assure you that we will do everything we can. Although there has been a violation of your sense of security, there isn’t necessarily a crime to report. The note could have been placed by one of your friends, or even by your sister. A cry for attention, maybe?”

Brandon tensed next to me, but the senior detective held up a hand. “I don’t think that is the case here. There has been no harm done yet, but I want to figure this out before someone gets hurt.” He shot his partner a look that seemed to set him in his place.