I turn away before the desire crawling through me becomes something I have to act on.I leave the room, lock the door, and walk toward our war room under the old jailhouse lights.
Oaks is pacing like a man ready to set the world on fire.Vandal is cleaning his gun with the concentration of a preacher cleansing sin.
“What’s the word?”I ask.
Oaks spits on the floor.“Another girl gone.Twenty.No girl.Last seen outside choir practice.”
My stomach turns.
I don’t ask which church.
I already know.
Pearly Gates.
It is always Pearly Gates.
“That bastard is hiding something,” I say.
“He has been hiding something for years,” Oaks snaps.“We just don’t know what the hell it is.”
Vandal scoffs.“And locking up his daughter is gonna magically make the truth fall out?”
“Maybe,” I mutter.“She knows more than she pretends.”
Vandal smirks.“Careful.Girls like that sink their claws in deep.”
Too late.
I grab a water bottle and protein bar and head back.I unlock the door and step inside.
Becki sits cross-legged, posture straight as a queen on a throne made of chains.Her hair is wild.Her eyes are bright with challenge.
“You didn’t bring me pancakes?”she mocks.
I toss the bar at her.“Eat.Don’t pass out.I ain’t carrying you again.”
Her expression shifts.Something soft.Something dangerous.
“Did you carry me before?”she asks quietly.
I say nothing.
“You were there,” she whispers.“The crash.The woods.That was you.”
Silence answers her.
It is the only answer she needs.
“You let me think it was Legend.I let you...”
Her voice ain’t accusing.
It is something hotter.
Something that reaches into me like a hand closing around my throat.
“Yeah right.I didn’t touch you.”I grind out, denying it.
