Last Chance: A Second Chances Novel (32 page)

“O
n your way yet?” Zane asked.

I threw my wallet in the center console of my truck and hopped in. I was hoping Lara would get off work early so she could ride with me, but it wasn’t going to happen. They needed me at the coliseum an hour earlier than scheduled.

“I’m pulling out of my driveway now,” I lied. “You’ll be happy to know I scored a spot in
Physique
magazine.”

He burst out laughing. “No fucking way. You’re joking, right?”

“Nope, it’ll be available this fall. Lara and I are flying out to California for the interview in less than two months.”

“Hell yeah, that’s awesome. Make sure to mention KTM.”

I rolled my eyes. “Planned on it.” My attention caught a car coming down the street, and it was Jason, speeding down the road in a blue Jeep Wrangler. “Zane, I gotta go. I’ll be there soon.” I hung up and slid out of my truck.

Jason jumped out of the Jeep, wearing a pair of black gym shorts, and a Carolina Cougars T-shirt and hat. After all the cases he’d solved involving the players on our local NFL team, hopefully he’d gotten those for free. “Were you getting ready to leave for your race?”

“Yep.” Then I pointed at the Jeep. “When did you get that?”

He shook his head and sighed. “Don’t even get me started. It’s something Aylee wanted. I’m going to surprise her with it. But first, I wanted to stop by and tell you what I’d found. I was hoping to catch you before you left.”

“I’m all ears.” Even though I had to leave for the race, the case was more important to me.

“First off, Skylar admitted to drugging you. The Ambien and Xanax she used belonged to her roommates. She took them without their knowledge. The only one we couldn’t account for was the Secobarbital. She claimed she had no clue what that was, but I don’t believe her.”

“How did it get in my system then?” I wondered.

He shrugged. “Don’t know, but I think there’s more to it than she’s letting on. However, she did say she had no intention of seducing you while you were under the influence. It was simply a ploy to make Lara think you had cheated on her.”

Jaw clenched, I huffed through my teeth. “What a worthless cunt. So what happens now?”

“We find out how Secobarbital got in your system. There’s a missing piece and I want to find it.”

I wanted to know too. Something wasn’t right. I could feel it. “I have an idea,” I said. Jason’s brows lifted and he nodded for me to continue. “Go back to Skylar’s and tell her that if she tells us the whole truth, I won’t press charges against her.”

“Is that really what you want to do?”

“No, but I want answers. If she’s hiding something, we need to know what it is.”

He held out his hand and I shook it. “All right, I’m on it. I’ll call you later.”

Once he got in his Jeep, I jumped back in my truck and headed to the coliseum. I wanted to call Lara and tell her what Jason had said, but she was busy working. She probably wouldn’t like the deal I was giving Skylar, but I felt like it had to be done.

The coliseum parking lot was packed, and the race wasn’t starting for another few hours. I loved it when the seats were full and the sound of my name echoed through the air. When I ventured inside, Zane was right there to greet me.

“You’re late,” he said, tapping his watch.

“I know, but I had something to tend to.”

He waved his hand for me to follow him. “All I need you to do is change into your gear for the photo shoot. Chance will be in it with you.”

I followed him to the KTM dressing room and Chance was already there.

“You have ten minutes,” Zane said, shutting the door.

Chance grabbed my arm, his eyes frantic. “Holy shit, dude, you won’t believe what I just found out. I was two seconds away from calling you.”

“What is it?”

He took a deep breath. “Apparently, Skylar
did
have help getting you to the back bedroom. You’re not going to believe who it was.”

I
t was two o’clock and I was so excited about going to Luke’s race. I kept waiting for Grayson to show up, but thankfully, he didn’t. The last thing I wanted was to get into a verbal fighting match at our restaurant.
Our
restaurant . . . What had I been thinking, getting involved with a friend who was also a business partner? Someone should have warned me.

“Lara, I’m here,” Victoria called out. She was out of breath and rushing toward me. “I know you have to go.”

“Thanks, Victoria. I’m going to head out. Have a great shift!” Turning on my heel, I started toward the back door, when a person came barreling into the front door, straight to the bar. My breath hitched and my veins were on fire. Luckily, the lunch crowd had diminished, and there were only a few people inside the restaurant.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I growled.

Skylar turned around, her gaze frantic. She slammed a small backpack into my chest and cried. “I give up. The cops said he wouldn’t press charges if I confessed.”

“Didn’t you already do that?” I was confused. What the hell was she talking about? She nodded, tears running down her face. I peeked inside the backpack and almost dropped it to the floor. It was filled with a whole bunch of money—at least a few thousand. “Holy shit. Why are you giving this to me?”

“Because it’s his,” she shouted, pointing at the bar. “The redhead who works back there. It’s all his fault. I’m here to give it back to him. I want to be free of it.”

Bile rose to the back of my throat and I stumbled into the bar. I didn’t want to believe she was referring to Grayson, but he was the only redhead who worked behind the bar. The room spun, and I had to hold onto the bar to keep my balance.

Skylar stood there and cried, causing everyone in the place to stare at her. Grabbing her arm, I pulled her into the back, my heartbeat pounding in my ears. Once we were in Summer’s office, I let her go.

“You’re trying to say this was
Grayson’s
doing?” I hissed. My whole body trembled in rage.

She nodded and lowered her head. “I was upset because Luke wouldn’t pay attention to me anymore, and he heard me complaining. He said if I was willing to do whatever it took, he’d give me Luke. That’s why we drugged him, hoping you’d get rid of him. That way Grayson could have you back and I’d have Luke.”

“What about the money? Where does that play into all of this?”

Lips trembling, she burst out in sobs. “To keep quiet. He didn’t want anyone to know he was involved. At the party, he was there. He’s the one who helped me get Luke to the back room.”

“And the pills? Was that you?” I snapped angrily.

She shook her head. “Not all of them. He gave me the Sec–secobarb . . . whatever the hell that shit was. Luke told the cops he wouldn’t press charges if I told the truth, and now I have. I thought you should hear it first. Luke’s not the only one who was deceived.”

The whole thing made me sick, and I couldn’t think straight. My mind was a jumbled mess. Gripping the bag of money, I slammed open the door.

She gasped and followed me out. “Where are you going?”

“To end this, once and for all.” I blocked her out and went straight to my car.

Grayson was going to pay for what he did. How could he betray me like that? He could have
killed
Luke, and for what . . . a chance with me again? I wanted to call Luke and Summer, to tell them what Grayson had done, but I wanted at him first. South Point Road was coming up and I looked out at the light, blaring green. A vision flashed in my mind.

I was going down the road at night and holding my phone in my hand, talking to Luke. Passing under the stop light, a set of headlights appeared at my left. The crash was instant, and the pain was unimaginable. I screamed and dropped my phone as the car flipped into the air.

Slamming on the brakes, I covered my face and screamed. It was as if a switch had been turned on inside my mind. A knock pounded on my window and I opened my eyes to see a young woman, sweaty from running, with a look of concern on her face.

I lowered the window. “Hey,” I murmured breathlessly.

“Are you okay? I heard you screaming.” Horns blared from behind me and I sucked in a breath when I realized where I was. I was in the exact same spot where the accident had occurred. I remembered everything.

Taking a deep breath, I looked around and clasped my chest. “I’m fine. Thank you for checking on me.”

“You’re welcome.” She hurried off and I started back down the road, only now, I wasn’t the lost Lara. I knew
everything
, from the beginning to the end. My memories were back, and with that, I knew the truth.

Gripping the steering wheel with renewed purpose, I tried not to break it off with my tight grip. I was so furious, my hands were shaking. Grayson’s house came into view and I zoomed into his driveway, squealing the tires as I came to a stop. Storming up to his door, I was determined to break it down if it was locked. Luckily, it was open and I marched right on in.

“Grayson!” I shouted venomously, finding him in the kitchen, shirtless, just like he had been the night I gave him back his ring. It was déjà vu all over again.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, opening up a beer.

I threw the backpack at his face, his beer dropping to the floor. “What the fuck?” He looked inside and froze.

“What the fuck is right,” I hissed. “How could you do this to me?” Unwanted tears flooded my eyes. “You’ve
lied
to me, the entire time. I broke up with you that night, and you tried to make me believe I didn’t. You made Luke think we slept together the other day. And worst of all, you helped Skylar drug him to make me think they slept together. You could’ve killed him!”

The Secobarbital he had was from when he suffered from insomnia, after his brother was killed in an illegal MMA fight in Las Vegas. His death took a toll on all of us. I knew that was how Skylar got it.

Sighing, Grayson lowered his head. “I lost my way. I’m sorry. I dug myself in deep, I just wanted you back so goddamn bad. I was determined to do anything and everything I could to make it so. Luke doesn’t deserve you.”

“Neither do you.” His head lifted, eyes full of pain. “Were you hoping I wouldn’t remember?” It was hard to imagine my sweet Grayson doing all those despicable things to get me back.

He stared right at me, his shoulders slumped in defeat. “It was the only way I’d have a chance with you.”

Tears streamed down my cheeks and when he tried to approach me, I held up my hand. “You don’t get to touch me anymore. I loved you, Grayson. Your betrayal hurts worse than anything anyone’s ever done to me.”

“I’m so sorry, baby. I never wanted to hurt you.”

“You did,” I murmured. Two cop cars charged down the street and pulled into Grayson’s driveway. Jason rushed out and saw me standing inside. I met Grayson’s green gaze one last time and walked away. “Goodbye, Grayson.”