“SLOW DOWN,” Riley huffs as I move quickly down the trail. It’s been almost two hours since Maddox called and there’s no saying what might have happened between then and now. It was a shitshow getting here. Cell service is sketchy as fuck. Not to mention the gates to The Academy were locked, so we had to drive around the backside of the property, and so far, we’ve walked two miles through the woods, with about a quarter mile to go.
Riley’s been in a mood. She’s pissed that Maddox snuck off and did this shit without us after we all agreed we’re in this together and there will be no more secrets. I told her that this was something he had to do for himself. I get it. I probably would’ve done the same thing.
Fortunately, she fell asleep halfway and was able to get a little bit of shut-eye. She’s only been sleeping for a few hours here and there and you can tell her body needs more rest. Lucky for me, it was with her head on my lap. And yes, I was in the back seat with her while Lev drove. I couldn’t let her sit back here all alone. I don’t think there’s a man on this planet who would pass up the opportunity to have this girl’s head on his lap.
The loud snap of a branch in the distance has Riley practically jumping into my arms. “What was that?” she whispers into the sleeve of my hoodie.
“It’s okay, Angel. I’ve got you. It was probably just a squirrel, or a raccoon.”
Lev takes her other hand, sticking close by. In the last twenty-four hours, something changed with the two of them. I was worried it might take Riley a bit to get past some of the shit he did, but surprisingly, she forgave him quickly. I suppose she did the same for me when she found out what I’d done. I’m just glad all four of us are on the same page now. We’re a team—a family. A fucked-up one. But family, nonetheless.
Another branch snaps, followed by the sound of crunching leaves. Lev and I share a look when we all stop walking. I click my flashlight off then nod at his, my way of silently telling him to kill the light.
“What’s going on?” Riley shivers at my side. “Is someone out there?”
“Nah. We’re good,” Lev tells her. “Just playing it safe.”
“Shhh,” I murmur, listening keenly to any and all sounds, aside from Riley’s heavy breathing.
The sound of footsteps comes closer and closer and I wrap my arm around Riley’s waist, pulling her close. “Who’s there?” I call out. “Show your fucking face, coward.” I pat the pocket of my leather jacket where my knife is, making sure it’s there if needed.
“Hey,” Lev hollers. “If you’re there, come out. Otherwise, we’ll come find you and it won’t be pretty when we do.”
The sounds stop completely. We wait a minute, and still nothing.
“I think they left,” Riley whispers.
“Probably,” I grumble. “Fucking pussies.” It’s possible no one was even there, but I say it just to voice my opinion if they were.
I click my light back on and Lev does the same. Riley opted to keep hers off since she’s holding on to both me and Lev.
We take a left and I keep my wits about me, knowing that there is a good chance we’re being followed. Lev knows it, too. I can tell by the way his eyes keep darting around the woods. Every now and then, he looks at me, eyebrows raised. We don’t say anything, though. It would scare the hell out of Riley and that’s the last thing either of us want.
“You guys,” Riley says softly, “there’s something you both should know.”
My eyes snap to her and I stop walking, forcing her to stop with me. “What?”
I watch intently as her throat bobs when she swallows and it causes my blood to pump faster because I know it’s something serious. All I can think of is, who am I killing next and how the fuck will I cover it up this time?
“Let’s walk and talk,” she says. “We can’t waste any time.” I nod in response and we all start moving again. “When I left Maddox in that room, I ran into some people out here.”
“What people?” I grit out. “Guys? Did they fucking touch you? Did they hurt you?”
Riley crosses her arms over her chest and her lips purse into a white line. “Can I talk, please?”
“Well, who the hell was it?”
My skin is crawling in anticipation. I swear to everything if someone laid a finger on her…
“Three guys.”
“That’s it,” I snap as I drop Riley’s hand and reach into my pocket for my notepad and pen. “They’re fucking dead. Give me names.”
“Dude,” Lev scoffs. “Let her finish. Jesus Christ.”
I release the notepad, letting it settle back in my pocket, then I take Riley’s hand again. “Sorry. Go on,” I tell her, attempting to gain some sort of composure, even though my body is ready to go into kill-or-flight mode at the moment.
“I don’t know who they were, but they didn’t hurt me. They tried, but someone helped me. She was like this dark angel that appeared out of nowhere.”
I don’t give a damn about the girl. I need to know who these guys are. “Does she know who they were? Can she tell us their names?”
“I’m sure she does. They all go to BCA together. But Ridge, this girl—”
Her words are cut off by the sudden sound of someone running…right toward us. In a knee-jerk reaction, I grab my knife out of my pocket and flip the blade open. “Come get some, fucker!” I howl with the blade pointed outward.
“It’s me.” Maddox steps into the beam of light, hands up in surrender. “Put the knife down.”
We all exhale a sigh of relief, and I put my knife away. “What the fuck are you doing out here? Where’s your dad? Don’t tell me he escaped.”
“Or that you let him go,” Lev chimes in. “I have plans for that fucker.”
“He’s there. Slightly unconscious. Can’t walk. Can barely talk. But it doesn’t matter.” Maddox curls over to catch his breath as he digs something out of his coat pocket. “I’ve got it all on here.” He holds up a recorder, waving it in the air with one hand while the other remains pressed to his knee.
Riley steps forward and grabs it from him. “This is the same recorder he had when he kidnapped me. I bet my voice is on here.”
Maddox straightens his back and looks at Lev while I shine the light on him. “I’m sorry, man,” he says, his tone laced with empathy. “It was him. He confessed to it all.”
Riley hits Play on the recorder and the sound of Maddox’s voice rings in our ears. It’s not Maddox’s typical soft tone. No. He’s fucking pissed. I’m actually pretty proud of the way he stood up to his dad. I’m proud of him for taking all of this in his own hands. Maddox is a good guy, but even good guys need to be bad sometimes. And this is one of those times.
I watch Lev as we await the confession. For that one pivotal moment we’ve all been waiting for when Maddox’s dad says, “I didn’t wanna hurt those little girls. His family was in the wrong place at the wrong time and it will haunt me for the rest of my life.”
There it is. The truth. And while it hurts now, I’m hopeful one day it will set Lev free.
“Keep listening,” Maddox says, his eyes now on me.
I listen intently to Maddox’s dad. “Not your mother. I love her dearly, but our love was no match for what I had with Helen.”
I snatch the recorder from Riley and hit Stop. “Helen?” I spit out. “Tell me he’s not talking about my mom.”
“It’s true,” Maddox tells me. “They were having an affair. It was a revenge tactic because Lev’s dad killed your mom. Then, Governor Saint found out and blackmailed him into killing his wife.”
“Neo’s mom?” Riley’s eyes shoot wide open as she looks at Maddox. “Your dad is the one who hit her?” She drops her shaking head. “This is too much.”
“I don’t even know what to say.” My hands fly in the air. “This is unreal.”
We all stand there for a few moments in shock as we try to process everything. When suddenly, I notice one of us is missing. “Where’s Lev?”
All eyes skim the area around us, but he’s nowhere in sight. With my hands cupped around my mouth, I holler, “Lev!”
“Fuck.” Maddox scoffs. “We need to get to the cabin before he kills him. Get my mom on the phone,” he tells me, before turning his attention to Riley. “Your parents, too. It’s time.”
