Page 74 of He Sees You

He musses my hair more, tears my shirt more strategically.

Has me scratch my own neck to leave marks.

Rubs dirt and blood under my fingernails like I fought hard.

When he's done, I look like a woman who barely survived an attack, not like someone who helped kill someone.

"Now," he says, handing me my phone. "Call your father. Cry. Be hysterical. Tell him Jake broke in, tried to rape you, and your boyfriend saved you. Don't say my name until he asks."

I dial, and when Dad answers, I become the actress this moment requires.

"Daddy?" My voice breaks perfectly. "I need you to come home. Something happened. Jake—Jake's dead."

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Cain

The sirens are getting closer.

Three minutes, maybe four, before they arrive.

I stand outside the Sterling house, calculating options.

Jake's blood is still under my fingernails despite my quick cleanup.

Celeste is inside, playing her part perfectly—the traumatized victim who barely survived.

And I'm about to become either her savior or Sterling's prime suspect.

Leaving would be smarter.

I could disappear into the woods, let her handle this alone.

She's strong enough now, transformed enough.

But leaving would raise questions.

Why was I here?

Why did I run?

And more importantly—it would leave her vulnerable to her father's questions, questions she's not ready to answer alone.

The blood on my shirt is a problem.

Jake's blood, sprayed in an arterial pattern that any competent forensic analyst will recognize.

I strip it off, turn it inside out, and put it back on. Not perfect, but better. The darkness will hide the rest.

So I stay, knowing what's coming.

Sterling already suspects me.

Finding me here, with his deputy dead and mutilated, will confirm every instinct he has.

But he won't be able to prove it.

I've made sure of that.