31. July 5th

31

July 5th

" V eronica?" I'm not sure who I expect to see, but it's not her.

She crosses her arms over her chest. "Sunday," she acknowledges me. "I need to get going soon, before anyone starts questioning my absence."

"Thank you." Darius stands and offers her a quick hug. "We know this could have gotten you into deep shit, but we appreciate it."

"I won't let those fuckers kill anybody else if I can help it, but there's not much more I can do. This is bigger than any of us." Veronica offers me a wary smile. "Be careful, okay? I don't know what they plan on doing next."

She grabs her bag I hadn't seen before off the ground and leaves, shutting the door behind her.

I shift anxiously, forgetting that I am in Axel's lap.

"Cut it out." He bites the words out and his sturdy hands find my waist holding me in place.

"I think it's time you both told me what's going on."

Darius retakes his place next to us. "We need to," he speaks the words to Axel.

"No, we fucking don't."

"Julia isn't on vacation." Those aren't the words I expect Darius to say.

Axel's hold on my waist tightens, his fingertips digging into my skin. I can feel their heat through the thin material of my shirt.

"What do you mean?" It feels as if bugs are scattering across my skin.

"She's gone." Axel's words are cruel. "And it is best you accept that."

"She's not gone. She's on vacation with her parents." My tone turns harsh. Julia is the last tether I have to my life before Auggie and Tripp's deaths.

"No, her parents are on that vacation. All expenses paid by their employers, the Thornes." Axel's voice thunders against my back.

I no longer want to be in his lap. Darius, who has been watching the entire interaction, attempts to tear me from Axel's arms.

Axel growls, "Fuck off."

"Give her to me, she needs to feel safe and you're not good at that." The words have their desired affect and Axel's hold loosens enough for Darius to pull me into his embrace.

He cradles me against him, the way he holds me is reminiscent of how one might hold a baby.

I guess that's what I am, a blubbering baby. "What happened?" The words are barely audible.

Darius squeezes me comfortingly. He checks over his shoulder to ensure the door is shut before he begins.

The ventilator's steady beeping in the background has ramped up the chaos swirling in my brain. What does he mean Julia is gone? That doesn't make any sense.

"I'm guessing you saw the pictures of the girls and the men holding the drinks?" The question is rhetoric. Before I can ask how he knows he continues, "Auggie and Tripp showed us. We all long since knew that this town is a cesspool of evil, but we had never guessed at its depths."

"So girls are just getting assaulted left and right? It's fucking horrible, but what makes that any different than any other place in the fucking world?"

"Because that's not all it is, you stupid girl!" Axel leans forward, his scorching breath fanning my lips. "That's just the first step. Creating victims. If you have been victimized once. It's easier for it to happen again and again!"

If it weren't for Darius's hold on me, I would have fallen to the ground.

My mouth opens and closes a few times. I'm not sure what to say. "What exactly does that mean?"

The ventilator whooshes and beeps.

It reminds me of an accordion.

"Axel." Darius's rough fingers begin to stroke my skin. His tone is warning.

"Oh, now this is too much? Well, what were you going to fucking tell her? That bad men do bad things? Well, news flash, that never works. She's a grown ass adult."

"She's a teenager!" Darius yells. I flinch away from his anger, but his strong grip holds me in place.

"We're all teenagers! Tripp and Auggie were teenagers! All the girls they kidnap are teenagers!"

"Stop yelling," I whisper out hoarsely. I can't handle it. It's too much.

Axel's bright eyes flicker to mine. They are a prism of indeterminate pain.

"Wildflower, they're targeting victims. They have the younger generation do their dirty work. Assault the girls, set them up for desperation, depression. And then—" Darius stutters.

"And then when they're at their lowest? They lure the girls into an offer they can't refuse, but that offer? It's the last step. The last step until they're sold."

I choke on my own spit, I cough a few times. Sold? That happened to Julia? To countless others we know? "But that's not possible. We would notice girls going missing. There would be an uproar, they couldn't keep it hidden."

"Oh, really? And how many stories have you heard of people here leaving town and cutting all ties? About all of these wonderful scholarships to places far, far away?" Axel's voice is sharp.

"I…I…" I think about it, about Tiffany. A lot of people from high school did go off to college, and most of them never came back. I always thought they hated this town like I did, but what if it was something more? "Still. Someone had to have noticed."

"They do." Darius presses his lips to my earlobe, he snuggles against it for a moment. "Then they go missing too. Or they end up in jail."

Axel laughs humorlessly.

"Or they die—" Darius pauses "—in accidents ."

The accordion of the ventilator echoes around the room. An eerie tune. Another beep. Grayson's chest rising and falling.

"Are they going to kill us?" I mutter the words turning into Darius's chest, burying myself in his shirt, breathing him in. He still has me cradled in his arms. It's the only thing holding me together at all. Keeping me from a meltdown.

"No," Axel barks the word. "But you can't be stupid anymore. You can't walk right into their traps."

"Why do I feel like there's more?" I pull my face from Darius's shirt and watch him carefully.

He leans down pressing his forehead to mine. "There is, but can you please trust us when we say we're just trying to keep you safe?"

I hate that fucking word. Safe. But I don't want to argue anymore. Not here. Not now.

"Okay, but isn't there something we can do? Where are they taken? What about Julia? I need to get her back, to save her."

"There is. There are still good people in this town. Parents are growing suspicious. Why are all the kids in this town suddenly cutting ties and leaving when they graduate? They think it's a cult." Darius's voice is careful, he closes his eyes, breathing in and out slowly. I inexplicably know he isn't telling me everything, but he's right.

I need to trust them.

"What do we do now?" I finally untangle myself from Darius's hold. He helps me to my feet, and I lean over Grayson.

Laying in the bed like this he looks so vulnerable. His presence always takes up so much more space than his body, and right now, he looks too small. It is incredibly jarring.

I place a chaste kiss on his forehead. I turn back around.

"We lay low. We work at the marina. We go about our day-to-day lives. We wait for Grayson to wake up." Axel stands up and jerks forward, grabbing my hand. He places a soft delicate kiss on the back of it before rubbing it against his face. "There's one more thing you need to know."

"Don't," Darius orders.

This time Axel listens and lowers my hand. Electricity tingles in his wake. "You heard Dare-Bear. Guess I'll have to keep a few things close to the chest." The words are sarcastic. Mocking .

"Come on, let's go." Darius stands to his full height, stretching.

"We can't leave him here alone," I argue.

"I'll be staying with him, Little Lamb. He'll be awake and out of here soon enough. Keep the marina's kitchen running for me would you?" Axel asks before swooping forward, capturing my lips with his.

I barely react. His mouth is hot, sharp, strong. He reaches up, tangling in my curls, his other hand going to the back of my neck. He devours me.

His tongue is a flame as it pushes into my mouth assaulting me with a vengeance. I can't tell if it is passion or concern that pushes the kiss deeper. It swirls through my nerves, my core clenches around nothing, I moan into his mouth.

He groans back, squeezing my neck tightly, tugging us even closer together.

"Axel." Darius's voice is annoyed. Exasperated.

I try to pull back, but Axel holds me in place. He offers one more peck and then bites down on my bottom lip.

"Mmm. I'm going to miss you while I'm here." He lets me go and Darius is there to steady me. My knees are weak and if it weren't for Darius's hold, I would fall to the ground. "Take care of her," he directs over my shoulder.

"Always," Darius promises. "We'll see you soon."

"Yeah in two wee—"

I can't hear the rest of what Axel says because Darius wrenches me out the door.

I hear Axel let out a loud enraged growl before the door slinks shut behind us.

My lips are still tingling from his kiss.

My guilt is ever present, forming a knot in my stomach. My heart is weighed down with the horror that makes up this town. My mind is swirling with concern for Julia, for all the girls.

But most of all? I am angry. Enraged.

How dare the Thornes hurt my brother? How dare the sheriff help them?

I will be listening to the O'Briens. I will not put them in harm's way, but the second I see a way that I can? I will be exacting my revenge.

Because if justice can't be served, I will have to create my own.