Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 100608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
“No other students were late. Just Cormac and Callan. When Coach Townsend showed up, I almost asked him if he’d seen them in the hall on his way in. Since Zak’s my buddy, and they’re his new friends, they’re my new friends too, I guess. I told Zak I would look after them since Callan and his brother had been getting harassed ever since moving here. But the quiz started and I got distracted.”
I read the statement three more times.
Dread pools in the pit of my stomach. Of course, I don’t have definitive proof, but this is a lead I can’t ignore.
Callan and Cormac weren’t the only ones late to class.
Hank was too.
Fuck.
My mind is whirring as my phone rings. I answer it before checking to see who it is.
“Sheriff speaking,” I bark out.
“Get to the school. Now,” Brandon grinds out. “It’s Zak.”
The breath is knocked from my lungs. “He’s…he’s hurt too?”
“No,” Brandon hisses. “He got into another fight…he….he…”
“He what?” I demand as I stand to yank on my coat.
“Jax, he’s got a gun.”
I fly down the road toward the school, my sirens blaring. When Brandon called, I didn’t have time to wait for Brie to get off the phone. I bolted without glancing back. As I roll into the school parking lot, I shoot her a quick text to get here when she can.
Pulling up to the curb in front of the school, I throw it in park and hop out. Brandon rushes out, his face screwed up with worry.
“We’re on lockdown. The kids are all safe in the classrooms,” Brandon grunts out. “Come on, he’s in the locker room.”
We trot down the hallways. It’s eerily quiet, making the hairs stand up on my arms. The jaunt to the gym is short and soon we’re standing outside the locker room.
I rap on the door before I start to push inside, but Zak screams, “D-Don’t come in or I’ll s-shoot him!”
“Zak, it’s me. It’s your brother.”
“J-Jax?” His voice is small, quaking.
“Yeah, buddy. I’m coming in there so we can talk. Okay?”
“O-Okay. N-No one else.”
“No one else. Just me.” I gently push on the door. “I’m coming in now.”
As soon as I get my body through the door, my theories are confirmed. I’m just wondering how my brother came to the same conclusion. Trapped in Zak’s strong headlock is a purple faced Hank Townsend, blood trickling from his nose and lip.
“Help,” Hank croaks out. “Help me.”
Zak’s cheeks are tearstained and his dark eyes are wild. “I…I…”
“It’s okay,” I urge, “tell me what’s wrong. Can you put the gun down?”
Zak shakes his head back and forth. “N-No. I don’t t-trust him.”
Hank growls, squirming in Zak’s powerful grip. Ignoring Hank, I once again meet my brother’s stare.
“Tell me why you’re doing this, Zak. I can’t fix this unless you help me.”
“Fix this?” Hank snarls. “You can’t fix faggots!”
Zak’s features twist into a furious scowl. Hank is going to get his ass shot if he doesn’t shut the fuck up.
“Don’t listen to him,” I say to Zak. “He’s just like Mom and Dad. They’re crazy in the fucking head, man. Now tell me why you’re doing this. With a gun and at school. I need to understand.”
Zak sniffles and his bottom lip wobbles. “It w-was him.” A sob escapes him. “C-Coach Townsend b-beat…he beat C-Callan with a bat. H-He tried to k-kill him, Jax.”
Hank scowls, his eyes flashing with hatred.
“I know,” I tell my brother, narrowing my gaze at Hank. “And he needs to pay for what he did. The right way. The legal way.”
Zak shakes his head. “He won’t s-stop. He’ll k-keep going until he k-kills Callan.”
“He can’t kill Callan from prison, bud. But I can’t lose my baby brother to prison when his only crime so far is loving his friend. We can undo this, but if you pull that trigger, I can’t bring you back from that.” I take a step closer to my brother. If I can just get to him, I can take the gun from him without anyone getting shot. “How did you know Hank was the one? Where did you get the gun?”
Zak tightens his hold on Hank, digging the barrel into his temple. “I, uh, thought he seemed s-sketchy. C-Cormac was the one who said he thought C-Coach Townsend looked at C-Callan weird. Like he didn’t like him.”
“I don’t like any of you fucking fairies!” Hank roars. “Shoot me, you sonofabitch, or are you a pussy just like them? A little girl in a man’s body!”
Zak smacks Hank in the head with the gun. “Shut. The. Fuck. Up.”
“Calm down,” I say in a soothing voice as I take another step. “Everyone calm down so we can talk about this.” My eyes meet Zak’s. “Tell me the rest.”
Zak’s brows pinch together. “I w-was concerned. When C-Coach stepped out to take a piss, I ran into his office to see if I could find any c-clues.” He shudders as he remembers. “His phone was open on his d-desk. A m-message was open where he’d been t-texting someone. It was f-full of threats. Said if Callan told anyone it was him, he’d p-put a bullet in my head and make it look like C-Cormac did it.”