This is WAR (23 page)

Lina nodded approvingly. Sloane looked like she might cry.

Madge felt nothing but quivering rage. These were her friends and this was her club; no one was going to shut it down before
she
was ready. “No.” She didn’t need a mint this time, didn’t need to imagine Willa’s funeral or think of her broken family pretending to be normal. “I have a new idea: their cars. I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of it before. It’s perfect.”

The girls remained still, as if they’d just realized they were on the wrong end of the firing squad. A feeling of déjà vu crept up Madge’s spine like clammy fingers. She had seen this look before. She remembered it vividly on Willa’s face after Madge had told Carol she wasn’t going to be a bridesmaid in her ridiculous vow renewal ceremony. More recently she’d seen it on her father’s face when he caught her sleeping in Willa’s bed again; on the same day she’d demanded to know why he let Carol sit in Willa’s chair at the kitchen table. It was a look that said she had problems that were too big for anyone to fix.

But Madge ignored them and barreled onward, fueled by a renewed sense of purpose. “I mean it’s such an obvious solution. They love their stupid cars. There are so many options!” She continued rambling about scratches, dents, slashing tires, and messing with the brothers’ famous drag races, staging a hit-and-run, pulling stop signs. She couldn’t stop. The words tumbled from her mouth, the ideas spewing like the lake
water from around her sister’s blue lips as the EMT pumped her chest.

“Madge!” Lina rasped.

She jumped up and grabbed Madge’s hand, squeezing it in her own. Amazing that Lina’s fingers could be so soft when the rest of her was so hard. Sloane sniffled and stood as well, taking Madge’s other hand. Rose lowered her head. It was as though they were performing a vigil. It made Madge want to kill someone.

“It’s time to go, Madge.” Lina opened the door.

“I’m not leaving.” The truth was Madge had nowhere to go. She wasn’t about to return home. And she had no desire to hang out by the pool, watching people couple off in dark corners. Outside of this attic, Madge had nothing.

Sloane choked back another sob. Clearly Madge was freaking her out. Lina threw a protective arm around Sloane’s shoulder and exchanged a look with Rose. Rose nodded and stood as the other two girls made their way down the stairs.

“So … maybe we could talk? They’re worried about you, you know.” Rose started blowing out the candles one by one.

But Madge ignored her, ignored the concern in her voice, and focused on the search results on her phone. This new plan was real and possible. She had to prove it to them. She had to make it happen tonight before she lost her nerve. “I need you to take me somewhere. It’s important.”

Rose paused for a second, considering her options. “Fine. But only if you promise me you’ll talk to someone about all of this. Deal?”

“Deal.”

Chapter 26

In silence, the two made their way back to the employee lot, far from the shiny Jags and Porsches, where Rose had parked her Dad’s old Ford.

“Where to?”

“The Gregorys’ house.” Madge fastened her seatbelt and stared straight ahead.

Rose’s knuckles went white on the steering wheel. “Madge, it’s late. My parents will freak.”

“I get it,” Madge lied. “I know this has to stop. But they killed my sister, Rose. Either you take me to their house or I’ll find another way. I could really use a friend right now.”

It felt strange to plead with someone like Rose. She had to tread carefully.

Finally Rose sighed and started the car. She hesitated at the entrance to Hawthorne Lake, and Madge could almost hear her negotiating with her conscience. Rose just wanted to drive her home. But as the car idled, Madge knew Rose felt a pull in another direction that she couldn’t ignore. It tugged at
the possibility of a friendship, and Madge knew Rose didn’t want to pass that up. Not when she’d finally found a place where she belonged. Her hand hovered over the blinker but finally fell away. Rose drove straight.

“I’m not getting out,” she said. “Do what you have to do. This is it. You get one last chance to bury this, Madge.” She turned down the private lane, ancient oak trees canopied above them creating a leafy green tunnel. Halfway down the road, she flicked her lights off and slowed in front of the Gregorys’ sprawling estate. “I’ll pull halfway up, but you have to walk the rest of the way. If you’re not back in ten minutes, I’m leaving.” Rose stared straight ahead. Madge wondered if she’d even have the nerve.

“I’ll be back in five.”

She gently opened the door of the car and left it open an inch to avoid a slam, then jogged up the driveway to Trip’s car. Pulling her phone from her pocket, she clicked to review the photo again: BMW brake systems. Her plan was barely thought-through, but sometimes those were the best kind. She’d had all of five minutes in the car to prepare, but as she knelt beside Trip’s shiny car and used her phone to illuminate the underside, she felt confident that she’d complete her mission. How hard could pulling a brake line be? She gripped the closest thing to a brake hose that she could find and pulled gently at first. Nothing happened. She pulled harder and finally had to grip the line with two hands, anchoring her feet to the cement in order to pull with all her strength.

“Madge!” Rose was out of her car and storming up the driveway. “What the hell are you doing?” Even in the darkness, Madge could see the horror and disgust in her eyes.

“I said I’d be back in five minutes. Just give me five
minutes!” Madge felt sweat bead along her forehead and yanked again on the line. Nothing.

And then the driveway was bathed in a light so white and bright and shocking, it might as well have been some tunnel to the afterlife. Madge would have almost welcomed death. Right now, it seemed like a better option than being caught by James Gregory. He cut the lights and the engine and stumbled out of his car. With a strange smile, he narrowed his eyes and cocked his head in front of the garage.

Madge jumped to her feet, wiping her black fingers down the length of her summer dress. His eyes landed first on the greasy streaks and then on her face as though he couldn’t quite connect the two together. Then he turned to Rose. Madge swore she saw something inside him break. His lips quivered; he blinked rapidly. She catalogued the expression in her mind and focused on retaining every detail so she could call it up when she needed it the most.

“That’s not even the right one,” he said.

Rose and Madge exchanged a glance. She looked as sick and scared as Madge felt. James nodded to his brother’s car. But something about the way he said the words made it clear he’d given up, surrendered. If Madge were being honest, she knew he hadn’t even bothered fighting to begin with.

“If you want me dead so bad, you should at least do your research.”

“James …” Rose whispered his name, but by the time it left her lips, he’d disappeared into the house.

Movement in one of the upstairs windows caught Madge’s eye. The Captain? Trip? Did it even matter? She turned back to the expensive car, the brake line intact. It took all she had not to bend down and continue what she’d started. She knew it was Trip’s car. He was the one she was
really after. The one she really wanted to hurt. And as hard as she tried to tell herself it was truly over, she couldn’t stop her brain from reeling, planning. She wasn’t sure anything would ever be enough.

“Get off the damn table, Willa.”

Madge yanked her sister’s leg. At this point she didn’t care if Willa bit it in front of their entire group of friends. Enough was enough
.

Sloane shrugged. There was nothing she could do, either. Her soft voice could never be heard over the music
.

“Now!” Madge barked
.

“Not until you come and get me!” Willa giggled and spun around next to Trip Gregory. She looked like a spoiled child, like an idiot. She was head over heels in love with her life. Madge swallowed back jealousy, wondering if she’d ever look that free or feel that happy. And then Willa stopped dancing. She might as well have had stars in her eyes. “James!” she cried
.

Willa jumped down from the table, stopping only to whisper to Sloane and then flew right out of their grasp like a hummingbird
.

James kept a polite distance from Willa, the same way he did whenever any girl threw themselves at him. But she never grew discouraged. Madge knew why: Willa believed in that trashy crap she read. If James was a character in one of the romance novels she devoured on a daily basis, he’d come around. He’d stop drinking, breaking things, and otherwise behaving badly, and he’d fall in love with Willa. It wasn’t a matter of
if;
it was a matter of
when.
Boys like James fell in love with girls like Willa. It was practically a law
.

Madge watched her sister across the room, could see the sweet flush on her cheeks from where she stood. She watched as Willa lifted onto her tiptoes and slung her arms around James’s strong shoulders. Willa appeared oblivious to his awkwardness, his resistance. Madge knew this would be one of those nights where Willa would sneak into her room and climb into her bed like she used to do all those years ago. Back when the two girls had first become a family
.

Yes, tonight she’d be all nerves and excitement. Tonight she’d whisper into the dark about her dreams and ask her sister if she’d seen the look on James’s face, if she’d felt it, too. Madge would roll her eyes, but at the same time relish every second. If that was what closeness with Willa meant these days, she’d take it. Like all the best things in life, it never lasted long enough
.

Willa’s laugh rose above the music. James barely even cracked a smile
.

Madge saw through all of his bullshit. Why couldn’t Willa? He was just another entitled brat living some kind of fantasy. But his fantasy was real life: he’d not only hit the genetic jackpot but was also filthy rich. Willa was too good for him. It was so easy to see what her future would look like with
a boy like James. He’d never laugh at her goofy jokes; he’d probably force her to stop reading all of her trashy romance novels; there was no way he’d encourage her to follow her dream of writing a grown-up version of
My Only Home
or doing celebrity interviews for
Teen Vogue.
No, if Willa fell in love with a guy like James she’d end up just like her mother. Bitter, sad, and destitute after her third husband gambled the family into a pit
.

No way would Madge let that happen to Willa. No way would Willa end up a forgotten trophy wife. So she marched over to her sister and decided to end this stupidity once and for all
.

“Can I talk to you?” Madge stood with her back to James, refusing to even acknowledge his existence
.

“ ’Course you can!” Willa chirped but didn’t stop swaying to the beat
.

“In private. I need to talk to you in private.”

But Willa just kept dancing. Madge grabbed her arm and yanked her out onto the deck of the boat. Maybe some fresh air would do her good
.

“You’ve had too much to drink. We should go.”

“I’m not going anywhere. James and I are finally talking. I want to stay.” She sang the words like a toddler, still swaying on her feet, even though there was no music. Her eyes were bleary and her words were slurred. This was worse than Madge thought
.

“Come on, I’ve got to get you home.”

“No way. You’re not going to ruin this for me. Not tonight.” Willa slithered out of Madge’s grasp and started walking back toward the party. “You’re just jealous. You hate seeing me happy. Well, sorry, Madge, I’m not going to spend the best years of my life moping around. I’d rather love and
lose or live and love.” She paused and giggled. “Whatever. You know what I mean.”

Madge knew exactly what she meant. She’d heard the same accusations out of Willa every time she tried to steer her away from James. And some of it was true. She was jealous. But she was also afraid of the way her stepmother encouraged Willa. She was afraid that on some twisted level, Carol was pulling the strings, coaxing her beautiful daughter to chase after the heir to the Hawthorne Lake empire
.

“You are throwing yourself at some jackass,” Madge spat. “Who isn’t the least bit interested, for the record, all because you think it’s what you’re
supposed
to do.” Her voice rose, but she couldn’t stop the words from pouring out. “You’re such a stereotype, Willa. Blonde, beautiful princess who thinks she’s in love with a dark, handsome asshole, but really she’s been manipulated and raised to think she
should
fall in love. Give it up. You reek of desperation. Or maybe it’s
eau de gold
digger. Just like your mother.”

Too far. She’d gone too far. Madge expected her sister to burst into tears. To slap her. To run away
.

What she did not expect was for Willa to laugh in her face
.