Rebel Princess - Book 2 (The Hope Saga) Read online

  “Her what?”

  “Don’t play dumb, Daryl.”

  “I’m not playing anything! They’re gonna can me, and meanwhile, the real stalker will be out there somewhere, getting away with it,” Daryl said, stepping closer. “Deep down, you gotta know I’d never do anything to scare or hurt you. I saw how freaked out you were about the flowers in lockup. I’d never do that to you.”

  I felt bad for him, especially since he seemed to have an innocent crush on me that had simply gotten out of hand. I knew he needed to stay down there in the bubble, for his family’s sake; his mother was getting sicker every day, and she and her other children counted on him. “This ends now, Daryl. No more flowers, no more following me, stalking me, or digging through my clothes.”

  “I can’t end it because I’m not the one who’s doing it!” he retorted.

  “Quit denying it. If you promise me it’s over, I won’t call Mr. Tams. In fact, I won’t tell anybody. It’ll stay between us.”

  “But, Sky…” Rachel began to protest.

  I turned to face her. “His mom and siblings need him,” I said.

  “What if he’s the strangler?” she said under her breath.

  Daryl laughed. “Great. So in thirteen seconds, I’ve gone from pathetic, obsessive crush to psychotic strangler? You two are so off basis that it’s not even funny. If I was the strangler, surely I’d be wringing your necks right now for breaking in here like this.”

  Rachel blinked. “Well, if you are Sky’s stalker, you must love her. Your obsession is why you’re not killing us.”

  “And where did I grow all those flowers she’s been getting?” he asked.

  “Those keys give you access to anyplace down here. Who knows where your secret garden is?” Rachel said.

  “While we’re on the subject of keys, can I have mine back? I about flipped when I thought I lost them. I figured I’d locked myself out.”

  Rachel handed his keys back to him. “I’m sorry I took them. We just had to—”

  “Oh, so now you’re apologizing? How nice that even a whack-job killer earns your common courtesy,” he snapped.

  “So…tell me, Daryl, what are you saving me from?” I asked.

  He cocked a brow in confusion. “Huh? Look, I don’t know what all this suspicion is coming from, but—”

  “We’ve got proof now, buddy,” Rachel said, nodding toward the Polaroid. “You’re a couple miles past suspicion on this little guilt trip.”

  I cleared my throat. “In the notes, you mentioned something about saving me from going over a cliff. You said Rachel, Brett, and I were doomed but that you’re gonna save me.”

  He shot me a smug look. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Sky. I don’t fantasize about you like you think. In fact, right about now, you’re the last person I’d wanna save from a death fall. At the moment, given the choice, I’d probably save Brett. He seems to be the only sane one among you.”

  Rachel crossed her arms. “My, my. Candid much, Mr. Stalker-Maybe-Strangler?”

  He shifted his stance, then looked at me. “I’m like you. I don’t sugarcoat things, and I personally think you two are delusional, comin’ in here and accusing me of things like that. It hurts, because we were friends, but even more than that, it downright pisses me off!”

  “You’re only mad because you got caught.”

  “I’ve had enough of this bullshit. Get the hell outta here, both of you! If you report me, fine. I won’t beg you not to. You know what’s at stake, what’s on the line for me and my family. If you go flappin’ your lips to Tams with these ridiculous accusations, my mom and brothers and sisters are screwed, so think long and hard about your decision.” With that, he turned to walk out.

  “Wait!” Rachel called out. “Aren’t you gonna lock your door?”

  “Nah. Feel free to ransack my place. Have fun. Maybe you’ll find more planted evidence.” And with that, he stormed off.

  “I can’t say I’m feelin’ the love from your stalker,” Rachel said. “If he does have feelings for you, he’s sure keeping a tight lid on them.” She let out a long sigh. “You’re a better judge of character than I am though. What kind of vibes are you getting?”

  “I don’t really think it’s him, but how the heck did that picture get in that box under his bed…and why? If somebody wanted to frame him, it’d be pretty dumb to hide it that well, in his private living space, where I would likely never come across it. To frame somebody, you’ve gotta make sure they’re gonna get caught.”

  “I don’t know. Maybe they thought Mr. Tams would find it in a room-to-room search. Daryl is a security guard, with keys to every lock in this place, and that makes him a prime suspect. It’s why I put him on my suspect list.”

  “So do we rule him out or leave him at the top of the list?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. I think we’re right back to square one. Maybe he’s just a really good liar, and he was putting on an act to weasel out of it. He’s got a brilliant, built-in excuse. And what if he really is the strangler? We can’t just ignore it and let a killer keep on killing.”

  “I know, but what if he’s not the killer? If we blame him, he could get nailed for it and sent up top to serve a prison sentence.”

  “But what if he is the killer and we do nothing and someone else dies?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t think he’s got it in him, Rachel. I really don’t.”

  “He’s our friend, and we’ve known him our entire lives. I don’t wanna label him like that either, but the evidence doesn’t lie. Think long and hard about this. Why would he have a picture of you sleeping? Nobody planted that. I mean, maybe, but it’s highly unlikely.”

  “If the real killer does get caught, he could always blame it on Daryl, since he has keys to every room, along with the fact that the photograph was here. It’d be a perfect cover up.”

  “Yeah, in one of those mystery movies we love to watch so much, but this is real life. We just caught Daryl red-handed. Think about it. Who else has access to all those keys?”

  “All the security detail,” I said.

  “Yeah, but they’re all married old farts, and most of them don’t even know you exist. Your stalker obviously knows you well enough to know that you can sleep through anything. I think it’s best to stick to the suspects on my list, So let’s stick to the people on my list, comprende?”

  “Let me see that list again,” I said. She handed it to me, and I studied it hard. “What about Jeremy, Carla’s brother?”

  “Now that I think about it, do we really need to look any further?” she asked. “Everything with Daryl just…adds up.”

  “He deserves to be innocent till proven guilty, so we have to rule out the others. That’s only fair, and it’s what we’d want if we were being accused of something so serious.”

  “Well, he won’t get a fair trial, since you’re not gonna rat him out.”

  “I’m not telling anybody about this until I’m convinced it’s him.”

  “Okay. I’m on the fence about it though. I mean, I kinda believe him, but I kinda don’t. I want to think he’s a good guy though. Let’s look for more clues and see if we can figure this out.”

  “We might also catch our strangler in the process, though we don’t know if it’s the same person or not. I can’t believe you put Jeremy on this list.”

  “Why not? His sister hates you, and he has the hots for you. You set him up with me, but it didn’t work out because he couldn’t stop staring at you like a freaking dog looking at a sirloin. Not even my big melons could hold his attention,” she said, pushing out her chest. “I can totally see him leaving you flowers and being a secret admirer.”

  “I guess I can see that, but I’m sure he isn’t the type to sneak into my room and take pictures of me sleeping. It has to be someone far more…disturbed.”

  “Don’t you dare scratch him off that list.”

  “He’s also innocent until proven guilty.”

  “He�
��s Carla’s brother, so I’m sure he’s just as devious as her.”

  “Please don’t jump to any conclusions. We’ll just have to rule him out.”

  “Yeah? Well, then we’d better get to work.”

  Chapter 8

  I woke up the next morning and quickly got dressed for the day.

  “Hey, Sky!” Maggie called. “You got flowers again.”

  I hurried out of my room. “More? Great. Just what I need.”

  “Here,” she said, handing me a huge pot of white lilies.

  My fingers nervously fumbled for the red envelope tucked inside the flowers. I opened the envelope and found several verses scribbled on the matching notecard in black ink.

  “Well? What does it say?” Maggie asked curiously.

  I plastered on a fake smile. “It’s a poem.”

  “And?”

  “It’s nothing important,” I said, shooing her away.

  When she scurried off to brush her teeth, I looked at the notecard again. After the cheesy poem was a note that I read in a whisper: “Your heart is pure like these lilies, and that’s why I will save your life. You don’t deserve the fate that’s been handed to you. I can’t save Rachel or Brett, but I will save you, Sky, because you’re worth saving.”

  I pondered his words carefully. The man was predicting the deaths of me and my two closest friends, but I couldn’t understand who would want us dead or why. It can’t be the strangler, I thought again, because he doesn’t go after guys. Whoever my stalker was, he had knowledge we didn’t have; at the very least, he knew we were being targeted, and he probably knew why and by whom. Either that, or he was just some lunatic who was suffering from delusions and hallucinations. There was no denying, though, that we had a killer in our midst, because two girls were dead already, and our grand leader, Dante Marcellus, had no problem ordering the abduction of anyone who dared to speak out in opposition of him or his policies.

  I grabbed my bookbag, slung it over my shoulder, then picked up the white lilies to drop off in the spacious lobby. When I got there, Rachel waved to me.

  “What’s this?” she said, pointing to the plant.

  I set it down on the coffee table. “Another gift from my stalker.”

  “Geez. When will this guy finally come out of the freaking closet and just admit he’s got the hots for you?”

  I looked at the white lilies that reminded me of my mother. “He knows me,” I said. “That’s why he always sends flowers.”

  “Because of your love of horticulture?” she asked.

  “Yeah. He knows I’d appreciate them more than jewelry or fancy gifts.”

  Rachel glanced around. “Yeah, but everyone sees you working in the greenhouse. That really doesn’t narrow it down much.”

  “Um, Rachel,” I began, “there’s more. He sent another note, longer this time.”

  “Really? What did it say?”

  “Well, corny as it is, there was a poem, and then he wrote something about my heart being pure, like these white lilies. He says that’s why he wants to save me but that he still can’t save you or Brett. He said I’m worth saving.”

  “And we’re not? Gee, it’s sorta insulting that someone’s predicting my death but really doesn’t care to do anything to stop it. What did I ever do to anybody?”

  “Nothing. But neither has Brett. He and his family are pillars of this community. It doesn’t make sense,” I said, shaking my head.

  “Yeah, that’s why I don’t think Dante has anything to do with it. Brett and his relatives are the biggest sheep I know. They just follow him blindly, do whatever he tells them.”

  I met her gaze. “And you don’t?”

  “Well, I may not agree with all of the methods to his madness, but unlike you, I don’t think he’s some controlling dictator who’s out to get us.”

  I blinked. “Excuse me? Look around, Rachel. We’re still locked down here, aren’t we?”

  “Yes, but it’s only temporary. It’ll be different on the surface.”

  “You keep telling yourself that, but what makes you think it’s true? A leopard doesn’t change its spots, and neither will Dante.”

  Suddenly, Brett’s dad towered over me. “Sky, may I have a word with you?”

  “Um…s-sure,” I stuttered. I looked at Rachel. “I’ll be right back.”

  She nodded. “I’ll be here,” she said.

  Brett’s dad escorted me to one of the empty offices and asked me to take a seat.

  I sat down, and he sat across from me.

  His gaze narrowed. “I brought you in here because I need a moment alone with you.”

  I swallowed hard. “Okay…”

  “Sky, you’re a nice girl, a smart one, so I’m just gonna cut to the chase.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Panders. Please do.”

  “I want you to end things with my son.”

  It took a moment for his words to register, and when they finally did, my jaw almost dropped to the floor. “But I-I don’t understand…”

  “You’re trouble, Sky. You have been since the day you were born, and I don’t want my son associated with you. We’ve worked hard to gain the respect of Dante and everyone in this community.”

  “You’ve never liked me, and you never will,” I said. “Are you afraid I’ll break his heart? Because I won’t. I love Brett with all my heart. My feelings are genuine and true, and—”

  “I know you care about him, but you’re just…not a good match.”

  “What makes you think that? He makes me smile, even on my worst days. He makes me laugh and cheers me up, and he laughs at my jokes like I’m the funniest person in the world.”

  “I know. I heard you laughing and talking Friday night in the living room.”

  “Are you mad because we stayed up late on Friday watching movies? If that’s what this is all about, I promise it’ll never happen again.”

  “It’s not about that.”

  Suddenly, it was as if that whole watery world crashed in around me. Brett was the love of my life, and I couldn’t stand the thought of his family—or anything—tearing us apart. “Then what is it?” I asked.

  “On top of what I’ve already mentioned, you being a bit of a…rabble-rouser, you spent a day in lockup recently, and that wasn’t the first time. That is not fitting behavior for any girl who wants to date my son.”

  Just like that, they’d deemed me unworthy, and that news hit me hard. “Are you saying he deserves better?”

  He crossed his hands and leaned forward. “I’m worried you’re a bad influence on Brett. My son deserves the best, not a trouble maker like you.”

  Trouble maker? The insult stung, and my heart dropped into my shoes. It took a minute to gather my thoughts and composure before I met his gaze straight on and said, “You call me names just because I’m a little…out of control? The truth is that you wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for my grandparents. I don’t like playing that card, and I seldom ever bring it up, but I wonder how my grandparents would feel about you calling their granddaughter trash.”

  “Sky, you will break up with my son, and you will do it as soon as we leave this room. It ends today.”

  I shook my head and screamed vehemently, “I won’t!”

  “You’ve always wanted to go to the surface. If you don’t do as I say and let my son go, you’ll be going sooner than you bargained for. I’ll see to it that you’re outta here tonight.”

  I swallowed hard. “What do you mean?”

  His eyes pierced mine. “I have video footage of you on the dock, your little sweet sixteen escape with your friend Rachel.”

  I gasped.

  Chapter 9

  Brett’s dad glared at me for a moment, then pointed to a monitor sitting in the corner. He pushed a few buttons and pulled up the footage. Sure enough, I was busted.

  No words would come out of my mouth; I just stood there, dumbfounded.

  “Does my son know about this?” he asked.

  “Yes,” I said
, seeing no point in lying to the man.

  “So he covered for you?”

  “Yes.”

  “That could land him in serious trouble.” He let out a long breath. “You know I’m the head of security here. How would that look for me?”

  I nodded. “You’re right. I guess I didn’t think about it that way. I’m so sorry. Are you gonna turn me in?” I asked tentatively. My hands began to tremble as I waited on his answer.

  “If anyone found out, you, Rachel, and Brett would all be taken.”

  “Rachel and I won’t say anything about Brett’s involvement. I swear, even if we do get caught.”

  “You do love my son, don’t you?”

  “Yes, very much. He’s my world, my life.”

  “You’re troubled, but I really do like you,” he said. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have even told you about this. I would’ve just gone to the authorities with this footage, and you would have been sent to the surface for imprisonment. I’m hoping you’ll be willing to compromise with me here. You dump my son, and I’ll erase this tape. Nobody will ever know you went up there.”

  “I just wanted to see the sky,” I said. “It isn’t fair that we can only see it through surveillance cameras, and even then, we have to sneak a peek when we can.”

  “So you risked everything just to look at the sky?” he asked.

  “Yes, sir.”

  He shook his head. “And was it worth it?”

  I blinked. “I’d do it again if given the chance.”

  “And that’s exactly why I don’t want you to date my son. That kind of thinking will get you in trouble, and you’ll drag him down right along with you.”

  I wanted to scream, shout, and pull my hair out. Anger flooded through me in the wake of his ultimatum.

  “What’s the matter, Sky?” he asked. “You’ve been dying to see the surface, and you’ll get to see your blue sky again, if you don’t comply with my wishes.”

  “You know Dante will throw me in the slammer. There will be no blue sky for me.”

  “Then I suggest you choose wisely.”