Hold On - Part Three (The Hold On Series Book 3) by Tabitha Levin Page B

them his badge.
    “We got a call about fifteen minutes ago.”
    Fifteen minutes ago? Fifteen minutes ago only Lili and I were in the room. I hadn’t even fired a gun yet. Who called them fifteen minutes ago?
    “Good timing,” says Alex.
    “It’s a set-up,” yells Lili. “They attacked me!”
    “We’ll take your statement at the station, ma’am,” says the police officer, as he leads her outside.
    Ethan groans and attempts to stand. Alex walks over to him and helps him to his feet. He grabs a pillowcase off the bed and wraps it around Ethan’s arm. “He’s losing too much blood,” he says. “We have to get him to a hospital.”
    “I’m fine,” says Ethan. It’s clear that he’s not. “It’s just a scratch.” He groans again.
    “Is she going to get away with it?” I ask Alex.
    He furrows his brow. “We don’t have a strong case, not for the murder of Winona. But we are lucky that backup came quickly. Did you call them?”
    I shake my head. “No, I thought you must have before you got here.”
    “I didn’t have time.”
    “Then who did?”
     
     
     

Chapter 15
     
    I need to fetch my things before we leave Ethan’s shack and take him to the hospital. I imagine the police will have a lot of questions.
    I walk back inside the darkened room. It’s a mess of knocked over furniture, holes in the walls and dust and debris on the ground. If it was bad before, it’s nothing compared to how it looks now.
    My bag is next to the bed and I start in that direction but remember my phone. I glance over to where I left it. It’s lying on the ground. I had forgotten all about it, it must have been knocked there some time tonight, but I couldn’t pinpoint when that might be. Who knows? A lot of stuff happened.
    I pick it up and I’m surprised that it’s still on. “Hello?” I say into the receiver.
    “I always miss the fun,” says Lauren’s voice.
    “Lauren? You’ve been on the phone all this time?” I blink into the darkness.
    “Are you fucking kidding me? I was so worried! I’m pulling my hair out here.”
    I sit down on the bed, the mattress squeaks underneath me. “Why are you still on the phone?”
    “We were talking, remember?”
    “Yes.” I was asking her to pick me up when Lili arrived. I mustn’t have hung up. I can’t remember now.
    “As soon as I heard that bitch’s voice, I called the cops from the landline.”
    So Lauren called the police. She knew the address because she’d dropped me here earlier. I’m stunned. Maybe I’m still in shock. I’m definitely still in shock.
    “Then I recorded the rest of the conversation. Jezzus fucking Christ, Sarah! You were right, she’s one evil piece of shit. You should have let Ethan crush her throat.”
    “You recorded the conversation?”
    “Yep. I’m a journo, remember? I know a good story when I hear one. I’m so going to kill it with this scoop.”
    “You got her confession about killing Winona?”
    I can almost hear her bursting through the phone. “I can’t guarantee the quality of the audio; I haven’t played it back yet. But yes, I would have got it.”
    I stand up like I’m in a dream and walk out of the shack. The phone is still in my hand as I walk over to Alex and stand in front of him.
    “Where are your things?” asks Alex. I look over his shoulder to see Ethan in the front seat of a police car. “We need to get moving.”
    “Lauren recorded the whole thing,” I say. “She got Lili confessing to the crime.”
    His eyes widen but his expression doesn’t change. “That’s very good news. But we have to get Ethan to hospital right now.”
    “Yes, yes of course.”
    I hurry to the car and hop in the back seat. Alex gets into the driver’s side and backs out of the dirt driveway, flinging up dust as the tires slide down the straight.
    I glance down to see that my phone is still on and lift it to my ear. “I have to go, Lauren,” I say. “But you’ve saved us. Calling the police and recording the