TEASE ( A Stepbrother Romance ) By Caitlin Daire

21

Chapter Twenty-One

Charlotte

Bzz. Bzz.

My alarm clock told me that it was eight o’clock, but I already knew that from checking my phone a few minutes ago. I’d barely slept a wink all night. I couldn’t, not with all the thoughts clouding my mind after what I’d come to realize last night. I’d been desperate to tell someone what I was worried about, but I knew I would sound crazy.

Maybe I was crazy.

But I was sure of myself right now; I was onto something. With a heavy sigh, I got out of bed, my legs shaky from a combination of nervousness and exhaustion. If anyone would listen to me, it would be Cade, so I quietly padded down the hallway and let myself into his bedroom, being careful not to make any noise that might alert anyone else in the house to what I was doing.

Cade was still asleep, but he woke up when he heard me enter the room, and he sat up in bed, a lazy grin spreading across his face. “Hey, didn’t see you last night. Was kinda hoping you’d sneak in here so we could continue our little texting session in person.”

I arched an eyebrow in confusion before remembering what he was talking about. It felt like our sexting session had happened a hundred years ago, even though it was only yesterday afternoon.

Cade saw the expression on my face, and before I could say anything, he sat up straighter. “What’s up? Everything okay?”

I nodded and sat down on his bed. “Yes. I mean no. I mean, I don’t know.”

A puzzled expression crossed his face. “You’re not really making any sense.”

“I know. Just….promise me you won’t think I’m insane. Or horrible. Or both.”

“What’s going on, Charlotte? You’re worrying me.”

I took a deep breath. “I want to talk about your Dad.”

“My Dad?” he repeated. “Erm….okay.”

“You’re going to think this sounds completely insane, and I’m aware that it probably is, but something’s been bothering me for a while now.”

I recounted the article I’d read yesterday to him, and he shook his head. “I don’t get it. A psychologist thinks Adamson faked the breakdown….but so what? If he is, he’s probably just trying to avoid a long prison sentence by claiming insanity.”

“Yes, I thought that too, but it doesn’t explain why he was so clumsy in his aim at the wedding. I mean, we all heard him say he was there to kill your father. If it’s true that he was faking the breakdown and was totally lucid, then he should have aimed better. I mean, thank god he didn’t manage to kill anyone, but the guy was practically a trained sniper. If he wasn’t in the throes of some sort of mental breakdown, why did he fail so badly in achieving what he went to the wedding to do?”

Cade shrugged. “Maybe he didn’t really want to kill anyone? Just wanted attention, or something, so he purposely aimed shoddily, knowing he’d only graze someone.”

I nodded impatiently. “I thought the same thing. But as morbid as it is, people who kill get way more attention, for years and years. So if he was really looking for attention for his own cause, why fail so badly?”

Cade was silent for a moment as he stared down at his duvet, and then he looked up at me. “Charlotte, what are you getting at?”

I was silent for a long moment, daring myself to speak the words. Finally, I opened my mouth and managed to get them out. “I just think a lot of the events surrounding the whole wedding shooting are really suspicious. And convenient.”