Page 5 of Six for Gold (The Magpie Rhyme #6)

R omeo didn’t sleep that night.

He paced round the house before that got tedious and he paced outside of it, circling their house at first before expanding his relentless march to include the outhouse. The raven didn’t appear, but his nape itched like it watched him from somewhere.

Mercutio walked at his side, whimpering softly.

Romeo resisted the urge to smash the phone in his grip.

His calls and texts to Josh were going unanswered.

He tried to convince himself Josh was asleep or had turned his phone to silent, but he knew better than that, Josh was ignoring him, had possibly blocked him.

Romeo stopped.

Mercutio kept going before noticing and scuttling backwards to Romeo’s side. If it was a trap, they had the means of finding Romeo. He held it in his hand. But no police cars had screeched up the dirt track that night and there were none on the horizon.

Which meant truth.

Which meant Chad was hurt in the hospital and Romeo couldn’t go to him.

He didn’t go to him.

Chad had been right there, and he’d walked away.

He’d left him.

“No,” Romeo growled at himself. “It was foolish.”

He’d let emotion get the better of him and it had gifted Josh their car.

Chad was a survivor—he had been since Romeo had trapped him on his farm all those years ago. He would be okay. Romeo believed it, but he had to make sure he stayed okay.

He had to make sure Chad had a life to come back to, and forcing his way into his hospital room was a sure way of destroying him and Chad in the long run.

It was his job to make sure Chad had a life to come back to.

“Come on,” Romeo said. His voice came out gravelly. “Let’s get you breakfast.”

The sun had started to appear on the horizon, hitting the fog lingering on the fields, making it look as if he was surrounded by pools of gold.

Romeo didn’t feel its warmth on his back when he went inside the house.

He led Mercutio into the kitchen and filled up his bowl. He collapsed down on a kitchen chair, propping his head up with his hand, and closed his eyes.

He swore to himself he only shut them for a few seconds, but his arm slipped, his head jolted, and he blinked back into the present. Mercutio had curled up in his bed, and orange shone through the slats of the kitchen blind.

The need to text and call Josh itched at him, but he couldn’t handle being ignored again. He couldn’t risk blowing up and leaving Josh a threatening voicemail.

Mercutio’s ears pricked, and he lifted his head. Romeo frowned, then ten seconds later, he heard it too. A car. Romeo’s heart picked up, and out of nowhere he thought of Chad, like he was the one driving up the track road. It was impossible and stupid, but Romeo was beginning to learn that about having a heart, it wasn’t always rational.

Romeo snatched up his phone about to check the cameras, but it was dead.

“Shit,” he hissed, getting to his feet.

He shut Mercutio in the kitchen and went upstairs, not risking even a glance out of the window.

He’d already compromised them enough.

Romeo narrowed his eyes at the sound of a car door opening, crunched steps across the gravel, the scratch of a key, then the front door flew open, striking the wall.

“I’m sorry, bud!”

Romeo stiffened at Josh’s voice, so different to the tone he’d used on the phone to Romeo. He rushed into the house, flinging the door to the kitchen open too.

Mercutio yipped and yapped, and there was the distinct sound of the mutt knocking into things as he greeted Josh.

Chad had told Romeo Mercutio adored Josh, and the feeling was mutual.

It was quiet for a moment, then Romeo picked out the sound of dog food being poured into a bowl. Romeo snorted softly. Mercutio was enjoying a double helping of breakfast with the soundtrack of apologies from a breathless Josh.

“I’ll be right back.” Josh said.

Romeo backed away from the stairs, stepping as quietly as he could, but the floorboards creaked. He hurried into his and Chad’s bedroom before slipping into the bathroom. Josh’s feet pounded the stairs, taking two at a time, he was suddenly there, on the other side of the door.

Romeo listened as drawers were pulled open, and he managed to peek through the gap in the ajar door. Josh was packing a bag, presumable for Chad. Which was at the least, some kind of positive. Romeo clung to it, grounding himself for a moment.

“I haven’t gone anywhere, bud,” Josh shouted as he packed, flinging in underwear and socks. Romeo’s gaze darted towards the sink in the bathroom.

Chad’s toothbrush and deodorant spray were there.

He didn’t have a convenient shower curtain to hide behind.

If Josh came into the bathroom...

Something sharp prickled the back of Romeo’s skull.

He almost gasped.

The monstrous part of him had stirred. It sunk its teeth in and filled Romeo’s brain with a static buzz. He dug his nails into his palms as his fists shook.

If Josh stepped into the bathroom, if Josh saw him, Romeo would have to kill him.

Have to ... like it was forced upon him, but the reality was different.

The monster wanted Josh to open the bathroom door.

Under his breath, he encouraged him to.

Romeo’s eyelids fluttered with just the thought of it.

He wanted that moment where their gazes would lock, and Romeo would be on him in a heartbeat.

If Josh ventured inside, he’d be able to justify it to Chad.

He had to kill him.

It was them or him, the same way it had been them or Lucinda Hastings.

Chad would understand.

Romeo would be apologetic, downplay how good it felt to spare Chad’s feelings.

Even if it hurt him, he’d understand, and Romeo would finally get to quench his thirst.

Josh was on the other side of the door, completely unaware Romeo was there, falling into a trap set by the monster, because the monster’s voice was loud, and it nipped away at Romeo’s barely there control.

It had been so long since he killed anyone.

And there was someone right there.

Alone.

Unaware.

And it would be so easy.

Josh didn’t need to open the door.

Josh didn’t even need to lock eyes with him.

Romeo could step into the bedroom and do it.

Josh was keeping things from him about Chad. He was refusing to answer Romeo’s calls and texts, and if Romeo wanted an update on Chad’s condition, he could get it.

He could make Josh tell him all he knew before killing him.

But Chad loved Josh.

Romeo knew he did, also knew it was different from the way he loved Romeo, there was no competition there, yet Romeo still hated that he wasn’t Chad’s everything.

The monster taunted Romeo with thoughts that he could be if he took out the people closest to Chad.

He could be Chad’s everything.

Chad wouldn’t have to know how it went down. Romeo would just tell him he had no choice. Josh found him. Josh realized who he was. Josh was about to ruin everything.

Except Chad would ask what happened, and Romeo had sworn not to lie to him.

They weren’t to lie to each other.

He’d have to admit to Chad he didn’t have to kill Josh, but the want had just been too much.

Romeo exhaled a slow breath through pursed lips and pushed the monster away.

His need faded but didn’t go all together.

“We’re done,” Josh said, zipping up the bag on the bed.

Paws clattered up the stairs.

“You’re staying with me,” Josh told Mercutio. “Until your dad’s better.”

Josh left the bedroom, clacking his tongue for Mercutio to follow. Mercutio waddled towards the bathroom door until Romeo opened it enough to shoo him away.

“Bud!” Josh called.

Mercutio went, and a minute later the front door slammed.

“Fuck,” Romeo hissed, dropping down to a crouch.

He stared at one of his open hands. His palms bled from where he’d dug his nails in, trying so hard not to give in and strangle Josh, but he’d resisted temptation, even with the opportunity to kill, he resisted for Chad.

Because it was the two of them against the world, and he wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize what they had.

****

U pdates on Chad’s condition were slow.

Josh never called or texted Romeo again.

But Romeo found another way, using his charm on a hospital receptionist to get updates. She couldn’t go into any details over the phone, but he’d explained that he was a concerned former colleague of Chad’s from Canster and needed to know if he was all right.

Serious but stable.

When he asked for details of his condition or what led to him being there, she shut down, hurried to end the call.

Romeo was no closer to finding out what had happened that day.

Why had Chad parked up at the side of the road?

Why had he been at the fishing lake and how had he come to be in the water?

His eyes stalled on Mercutio’s bed.

Five days had passed since Josh had come to collect him, and although he wasn’t as fond of the mutt as Chad, he did miss the distraction of having him around. The house was unnervingly quiet, except the living room, where the TV was on the news channel in case there was a report about what happened.

The TV had arrived the day Josh took Mercutio, along with a food order Romeo had made. Both had been left outside for him to get once the delivery drivers had gone. He put all the food away then flipped through the recipe book to find one of Chad’s favorites as if his return home was imminent.

Stupid, irrational heart, Romeo thought, snapping the book shut.

The advantage of having a house in the middle of nowhere was no one questioned the lights being on, no one was in a position to see them. Romeo didn’t advertise he was there, but he cooked, he cleaned, he worked out, he tried to do all the things he usually did when he would wait for Chad to return, but this wasn’t a day, he didn’t know how long it would take before Chad walked back through the front door.

The sun rose outside, but not for Romeo. His existence was dark, and bleak, shrouded in uncertainty.

He tried to make himself believe Chad was coming home to him soon, but each day without him felt like a lifetime.

Seven days after Chad hadn’t come home, his car did, driven by an unknown man.

Another car followed behind him.

The driver of Chad’s car parked in front of the house, climbed out, then locked the door. He strolled out of range of the cameras, but Romeo’s heard the snap of the letterbox and the clang of keys hitting the mat.

The man came back into view, strolling over to the car with its engine running. He climbed into the passenger seat, and it reversed violently, flinging up gravel as it turned around to leave.

Romeo hurried downstairs and snatched the keys off the mat. The key itself wasn’t damaged, but Chad’s keyring, some video game beaver that reminded Josh of Chad, was ruined. Water had gotten inside of the plastic and made the ink run.

Chad must’ve had the keys on him when he was in the water.

Romeo headed out to Chad’s car, unlocking the driver’s side and slipping inside. It was still warm from the driver, and he grimaced.

Chad’s phone was no longer on the passenger seat but had dropped into the footwell.

Romeo grabbed it. Predictably, it was dead.

He pocketed the phone, then glanced around the car for clues.

They’d driven home from their getaway before lunch. The sun visors were both still drawn in the back to hide Romeo’s identity.

Nothing was out of the ordinary.

He sighed and leaned over to open the glove box.

Romeo froze at the rattle. He blinked, reaching inside and pulled out a box.

He stroked his thumb over the label as his breath caught.

Temazepam.

“What the fuck?”

He yanked out his phone, and googled the medication, blinking when he found it was a drug for insomnia. Romeo scrolled down, eyes widening at the list of side effects.

Dizziness, clumsiness, diminished awareness, high temperature.

There was no direction of use from the doctor stuck to the side of the box, nor was there a receipt from the pharmacy where Chad had signed for the prescription.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Romeo whispered.

The blister pack inside had four missing capsules.

He shook his head, checked the glove box again, then under the seats just in case Chad had kept something else from him.

There was nothing else in the car, and Romeo climbed out, stalking back towards the house.

He placed the box in the center of the kitchen table, flaring his nostrils slightly as he plugged Chad’s phone into the charger.

Chad was taking sleep medication, and he’d kept it from Romeo.

He needed answers, and Romeo hoped Chad’s phone held them.

As soon as it had enough charge, he was on it, kneeling on the floor to keep the wire connected, he tapped in the code for Chad’s phone.

He checked the messages first, and at the top there was Frank, followed by Josh, Ally, Keeley, Faye, and then came the random numbers that had gotten hold of Chad’s number.

The threats, the insults. Chad blocked the numbers but hadn’t deleted the messages.

His call log was full of unknown numbers, too, but they were red, suggesting he hadn’t answered. Romeo grew cold at the sheer number of them. Thirty minutes didn’t go by without Chad getting a call, and his voicemail had backed up with messages.

He knew they’d be the same as the texts—threats and insults.

Chad knew better than to listen to them.

Romeo took a deep breath, swiping the call log away. He tapped Chad’s phone against his chin, wondering where next to check before opening up the internet and finding out what Chad had been looking at.

There were articles about him. Holly Stevenson’s damning exposé was the first page that opened, but it wasn’t the only one. Chad had tabs upon tabs of articles about himself open, tearing into him, shaming him, and there was that word again. Monster .

“Is that what you did,” Romeo shook his head. “Did you park at the side of the road and read all these ... did you walk around the lake? Did someone see you, recognize you, attack you?” Romeo shivered.

He had to push away thoughts of Chad being forcibly dragged into the water, a gang of people surrounding him, shouting and screaming.

He opened Chad’s photos and there were pictures of the cottage they stayed in, the beach, and Mercutio. There were no pictures of Romeo. Chad knew he had to be careful, but there were pictures that indicated he wasn’t alone on the trip, that Frank was there with him.

Two coffee cups.

Two pairs of trainers on the mat.

Their hands entwined when they’d been snuggling on the sofa.

Romeo’s chest ached.

There were no clues when Romeo logged into maps, no sign he had searched for the lake. He hadn’t needed a navigation app to get to Josh’s place, he could drive there in his sleep.

There was nothing other than evil articles, evil messages and evil voicemails.

Why did he stop?

Why did he get out of the car?

How did he end up in the water?

Romeo was about to give up, but a folder on Chad’s home screen caught his eye. He hadn’t named it as such, it just had a question mark beneath the brown folder icon.

Romeo frowned and pressed his thumb against it.

There were two pictures.

One of a man.

It was a headshot that had been cropped from a bigger image. He was smiling. He had long hair, some of it tucked behind an ear. His eyes were brown, and his cheeks were round with his smile. He was leaning back slightly, and the image had blurred, like he’d been moving, like he was mid-laugh. He wore a football shirt and held a can of lager in his hand.

Romeo didn’t recognize him.

He swiped his image away and looked at the other picture.

It was of a woman.

Again, it had been cropped from a bigger image.

She had long brown hair, smoky eyes, and pale pink lipstick. She wore a black V-neck top, sparkly earrings, and had an expensive looking bag hooked over her shoulder.

Like the man, she smiled at the camera, but there was no blur.

She was crystal clear, and the lighting was different.

Whoever the people were, they hadn’t been cropped from the same picture.

Romeo didn’t recognize her either.

There was no other information in the folder, just the faces of a man and woman.

Romeo exhaled in frustration, clicking on the images for the details.

It didn’t say where Chad had gotten the images from, but it did say when they’d been added to the folder.

The man had been added four months ago, and the woman, six weeks ago.

Romeo slumped. Whoever these people were, he doubted they had anything to do with Chad ending up in hospital.

They weren’t anything to do with Harriet Hastings, that much Romeo knew, which meant they were most likely part of a case Chad would never get the chance to solve.

He frowned when Chad’s phone began to ring with an unknown number.

Romeo bit his lip, then answered.

“You’re going to hell for what you did!”

Romeo didn’t get a chance to reply, the caller hung up.

He turned the phone off and drummed his chin into his knee as he stared into space.

He was no closer to finding out what had happened to Chad.

His own phone buzzed with a message from Josh.

If you cared about him, you would’ve dropped everything the moment I called you and been here for him.

The words cut, and although he wanted to bite back, he didn’t.

Romeo switched off his phone.