Emma That is Dead (FREE!)

Chapter Forty-Seven

The cornfield where Emma's truck was found. The blood in the backseat. The clumps of hair, and torn letterman jacket. The police warned us, they said the outcome didn't look good and not to expect a miracle.

They were right.

Grief closes my throat, and my voice doesn't work. I try to force it out, but it leaks between my lips like air from a punctured balloon.

"Shhhh, Hayes, don't try to talk. There's nothing left to say. Emma wanted out of Menteuse and she got her wish. This godforsaken town is no longer making her miserable. That's a public service, if you think about it."

"You killed my best friend."

Her expression darkens. "That's not fair—it was in self-defense. Emma went nuts. If she'd kept her cool and let things play out the way they were supposed to, she'd still be alive."

Anger rages through me. I crane my neck forward as far as I can and yell in her face. "Do you think living would have been any better? What you had planned would have killed her, even if it was only on the inside. You're a monster—you and everyone you work with. You're going to rot in hell for what you did!"

Stef's grip tightens around my wrists, and her lips curl into a snarl. "I already paid for my sins. And now I've risen from the flames."

A torrent of emotions pummel through me, and I take a deep, shaky breath to clear my head. I can feel her desperation. Desperate people do desperate things.

Emma figured out what was going on. That she'd made a terrible mistake and trusted the wrong person. She tried to save herself, but couldn't. I'm afraid to know what happened next—but more than that, I'm afraid I'll never know.

"How did you do it?" I ask, my voice catching as it leaves my mouth.

Dark hair falls like a curtain alongside her face. She flips it out of the way. "Are you seriously asking me for details?"

"I need to know what happened."

"Some things are better left a mystery."

"Just tell me! You already said you're getting rid of me. What's the harm in coming clean?"

Stef eyes me somberly. "The only thing you need to know is that I never intended to kill her. The plan was to get her to Benicio and he'd take care of the rest."

"Why did you keep her driver's license?"

She shakes her head. Shrugs in exasperation. "I don't know. Why does anyone hold on to something that doesn't belong to them? Sentimental value, I guess."

What would she know about sentiment? I'll bet she doesn't have a nostalgic bone in her body. It's more likely a souvenir. A badge of honor for a job well done. But instead of saying that to her face, I swallow back the bitterness creeping across my tongue. "Did you bury her in the woods where they found her shoe?"

Stef laughs, a low, guttural cackle from somewhere deep inside her chest. "I had no idea how easy it would be to throw off law enforcement. Just goes to show that people will believe whatever they want to believe. It's the same way Emma's parents were so willing to accept a complete stranger as their child. If you wish for something hard enough, it's bound to come true—even if it defies logic. I'm living proof.

"Never in a million years would I have thought I could pull something like this off. But I had to try." She bites her lip, her front teeth sinking into the bloody flesh. "We'd seen the news reports about the missing soccer princess from Ohio, but up until that point, Benicio and I were the only ones who knew what had happened. So when that fat fuck dropped dead from a heart attack a couple of months later, it was the miracle I'd been waiting for."