7

Our fourth day at the event was nothing like the others. Today, the weather is exactly what we need to elevate the horrible heat, but sadly, the sales traffic is nil. Elle is sitting in her folding camping chair looking intently at her phone screen while sheets of rain pummel our tent.

Needing the distraction, I attempt to do the same, but Janelle and Mac are directly next to us. He hasn't been around much during the event to help her but today, he seems invested. Probably due to the rain. He's also not going out of his way to look in my direction. He's consumed by his old lady's frantic voice. I'm annoyed that the sound of the pounding rain isn't drowning out her high-pitched and annoying tone.

Sturgis goers are making their way past our tables to indoor establishments to shield themselves from the shower, disappointing Elle. I guess I can also consider myself upset as I know I'm gonna have to haul all the shit back home once the event has ended. I'm not sure I even want to stay for that long but I haven't voiced it to my friend yet. I'm craving solitude. I need time to reflect on last night and if I want it to happen again. I did enjoy myself but something about our interaction is giving me pause.

"I haven't heard from Max," Elle states. The last place we saw him was at the bar.

"Probably took turkey leg girl back to the motel room," I state, feeling annoyed that I paid for a room for him to pretty much take randoms to fuck. It grosses me out. There's no telling what else is happening while Elle isn't there. "Gross."

"Not turkey leg girl," Elle chuckles and looks at me. "Holden, stop."

"It's fuckin' disgusting. There's no way that chick is an adult."

"And to think she may have sucked meat guy's dick before Max met her." We cringe. Thunder claps loudly, echoing off the jagged peaks of the Black Hills, startling us both.

My heart is pounding. "Holy fuck."

"That was close," Elle states.

As my heart rate begins to slow to a normal pace, it is disrupted by a woman's scream. Massive amounts of water have fallen and pooled in a weak spot of Janelle's tent, causing it to rip, dumping gallons of water all over her leatherwork. Now she's even more frantic, attempting to grab the items. Mac isn't doing his best to help so Elle and I both take charge and run over to help her. Water pours onto both of us as we attempt to grab as much as we can.

"My satchels! Damn it!" she cries in frustration and turns to Mac. "I told you to buy the better tent."

"Leather is meant to get wet," he exclaims. "Chill out."

Elle and I are both standing there, completely drenched and speechless while holding Janelle's random shit. The couple moves their tables deeper under the remnants of their torn tent. Mac is annoyed and avoids eye contact with me, which is probably for the best. What we did the night before was a mistake. I know that now.

"Thank you so much for the help," Janelle states happily as she begins to take the items I'm holding. "Y'all are lifesavers, that's for damn sure."

"Ummm," I stumble, shocked that her gratitude sounded convincing. "Yeah. No problem."

"What are neighbors for?" Elle states with a smile while passing her the items now. That was when Mac took a chance and glanced at me. The mischievous grin he has forced a smirk out of me. Our secret encounter was still on his mind, making me feel slightly relaxed about it. Janelle completely missed our exchange and she's too busy patting the stuff dry with a towel and placing them into a large plastic storage tote.

Elle's cell phone rings. "Here, hold this real quick." She quickly passes her items into my arms. She fucks off to take the call, leaving me with the couple. Mac remains behind Janelle and keeps looking in my direction. It's flattering and infuriating at the same time. I wanted him so badly but on the other hand, I didn't want to take anything further. The guilt only consumed me for a few moments before I became consumed again with lust-filled thoughts. He is a dangerous mystery to me and I shamefully want to see what else he has to offer.

Janelle relieved me of her stuff quickly enough and I attempted to take my leave and get away from temptation. At this point, Mac and I can't keep our eyes off each other. I even caught him licking his lips with a sensual gaze, sending me into another moral internal battle.

Elle approaches, "That was Max. He's fine. He's going to meet us for food later."

"Great," I reply quickly, trying to seem engrossed in my phone.

"I guess our time here is over," Janelle states in a disappointed tone.

"Think again, woman. You might not be able to sell your shit but I have two shows remaining under contract," Mac states.

Elle chimes in quickly, "I can make some room at my tent if you wanna just move some stuff over there. I don't mind sharing."

Her words seemed to brighten Janelle's spirits. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," Elle says happily. "I have plenty of room compared to when it started, leaving plenty of space." I'm not sure if that was a dig into Janelle's sales but Elle came off pretty snarky in my opinion. In the first two days, Elle had earned double the cost of the rental space. "Tomorrow morning, just bring the stuff over."

"Thank you, doll," Jenelle states happily while still drying off her items.

I man's voice interrupts our little chat, pulling our attention. I look over and a police officer holding an umbrella is standing halfway under the torn tent. Another officer is standing next to him. "Have any of you seen this girl in the past couple of days?" the first policeman asks.

We all approach and he's holding an image out for us to see. I recognize her instantly but Elle is the first to speak up. "We saw her last night at the bar-b-q pit up the road. She was hitting on the gross dude in trade for food."

"Never seen her," Mac states and steps back and places his hand on Janelle's shoulder.

"Is everything ok?" I question.

"Well, sadly, no. Her body was discovered this morning by some hikers on the Black Hills trail."

I can't help but gasp, "She's dead?" In the photo, she is dressed similarly to when we saw her, and her makeup presents her much older.

"How old is…," Ell pauses to rephrase. "was she?"

The second officer replies, "Fifteen."

I suddenly felt ill and all the remaining respect I had for Max went out with the wind. I swallow down the bile rising in the back of my throat.

"This is no place for a child," Janelle states obviously. "Too many degenerates running around."

The officer grabs his pen and a notepad from his pocket and clicks the pen to take a note. He looks to Elle, "Do you happen to know which direction she went in after the bar-b-q-pit? Did she leave with anyone?"

She shakes her head, "No." Denying the fact that her adult brother was hooking up with an underage girl.

"Maybe the gross dude?"

"I don't think so but I can't be sure. We didn't hang around to find out."

"It's easy to lose track of people here," Mac states.

"True," Janelle states. "What sort of sick fuck would touch a kid?" Her words made me respect her more.

He's a fuck up druggie but if Max knew any better, he would never mess with a kid. At least, I hope he wouldn't. The police conclude their questions. They take all of our contact information before continuing with their investigation elsewhere. Our group goes silent and part ways on thoughts of the disgusting murder. The thought of Max and the girl continues to turn my stomach.

After packing up all of Elle's stuff into the camper for the day, we sit in silence. The storm outside couldn't touch the raging hurricane going on inside my head. I'm disgusted, to say the least. Elle sits on the edge of the bed lost in her thoughts. I break the silence.

"When is he supposed to meet us?"

"Seven." She takes a deep breath. "He couldn't have done it."

I shake my head. "Max has done some shady shit over the years but I don't believe he would knowingly harm a child."

"Can I get in trouble for not telling the cops about him?" She releases a sob into her hands. I make it to her side quickly and pull into my chest. "I don't want to go to jail."

"Stop. You won't," I assure her by rubbing her back. In reality, they could come after both of us if it's found we were withholding information. "We have to get with Max. Knowing there's someone out there harming girls makes me want to leave even more."