Page 67 of Behind These Four Walls

“Isla.” The sudden voice when there had been silence was startling as James became more visible in the beam of a streetlight as he approached. He had his hands out to let her know he meant no harm. “It’s me,” he said.

“I know,” she replied, annoyed at being scared like that. “What’s up? You said come, and I came. Are you ready to tell me what happened?”

He looked like he was giving himself a pep talk. He nodded. “I’ll do you one better. I’ll show you.”

That made her nervous. “Where are we going? Can I follow you?”

“It’s better if I drive. The road out there can be rough, and I know how to drive it.” He pointed at the mud-splattered 4x4 taking up two parking spots. He started walking there, not seeming to care if she followed or not. Isla made a quick and maybe bad decision to follow.

James kept his eyes on the road, which became bumpier as they climbed into what looked like more mountain, woods, and trees. Isla couldn’t tell any of them apart, and that probably wasn’t a good thing. She had the Find app activated on her phone, so if James had other plans for her, Rey and Nat would know where to start. She just hoped her signal would hold out all the way up here.

“I’ve been thinking about what you said and what happened to Edie.” His eyes darted around like he expected someone to leap from the shadows. “You know Bennett and Danny think you ratted them out to Mr. Corrigan—about the LA situation.”

Was he fishing for info? “What makes them think that?”

“Apparently you were leaving his dad’s office right before his dad tore them new assholes. He made Bennett and Danny quietly step down from the LA offices, you know. So Bennett’s pissed.”

“I can imagine,” she said. “But pissed enough to try and scare or hurt me at the hunting party?” Isla asked. “That’s extreme.”

He glanced over at her, then back at the desolate road that disappeared into the forest that closed in around them. Everything felt suffocating.

“Yeah, well, those two can be extreme. You have no idea. And with Mrs. Corrigan and her lawyer always backing him, he thinks he can do whatever he wants. You should stay clear of them.”

They kept climbing up and up, and Isla asked him where they were going.

“To the old Abbott farm.”

James drove with a white-knuckle grip on the wheel, his nerves palpable in the confined space of the truck. Her heart beat in time with his.

“She wanted money to run away,” he said suddenly, his voice strained. “She was going to blackmail us. Said she’d tell everyone about the accident.”

“The accident with the four out-of-town family members?” Isla asked.

James didn’t answer right away. Instead, he turned onto a dirt path that led deeper into the woods. The towering trees closed in more, the path becoming narrower, the darkness becoming heavier with each passing mile.

“The accident was our fault. When she came back, Edie wanted us to admit what we’d done. She wanted Bennett to give her enough money to leave for good and never come back. At least that’s what Bennett told us. Danny was pissed, calling it blackmail. Roger wasn’t taking it too seriously because he’s a dumbass. Nothing’s real—everything’s a joke. But that accident, that family. It was all our fault.”

“That’s not what it said in the paper.” The one clipping she’d managed to find. The Corrigans had done a remarkable job killing any press about it.

“Of course not. It had to do with the Corrigans, and Danny’s family, and even mine. Our parents ensured that we weren’t known to be involved. We were just innocent kids who happened upon a horrible accident and called the cops.”

Dread was growing in the pit of Isla’s stomach. “But you weren’t.”

“We weren’t innocent. Edie tried to make us tell the truth. That it was a bad prank gone wrong. But Bennett said no way. He guilted her into believing she would ruin the family. He said we’d go to prison. I was terrified, and I went along with them and pressured Edie to keep quiet. After that, she didn’t want anything to do with me. And then a little while later she left.”

“But then she came back.” Isla had to keep the conversation going. They were slowing down now, pulling to a stop. Ahead, the top of some kind of structure peeked up from over the hill.

“This is where we get out,” James said.

As they trudged up the hill, Isla was thankful she was wearing the proper shoes, but her ankle was hurting just the same.

James continued, “She wanted to meet at her old stomping ground. We picked her up from a motel.”

Isla’s memory took over from here. The taillights. The yellow Jeep. Eden telling her that she’d be back.

“Danny and Bennett didn’t want to talk about it.” James’s words came out haltingly. “No use bringing up old shit, they said. But peopledied, Isla. We did that.Bennettdid that.”

Isla’s stomach churned. What could she say? How could they have done that? How could Eden? She let out a slow breath.