For a moment she thought about declining it.Tripp had probably reached out to Mae to check on her.But she desperately needed to talk to a friend.
“Hi.”There was no way to hide that she’d been crying.
“Honey, what’s going on?Tripp called me, all frantic.Where are you?”
“Driving.”
“What happened?”
“Tripp’s been lying to me.For the past two fucking years, he’s been lying to me and my family.He’s the reason Peyton didn’t come home.”Her voice cracked.She pressed her lips together, unable to go on.
A heavy silence filled the line.“Did he tell you what happened?”
“No, but he didn’t deny it,” she spat.“I can’t believe he?—”
“Now you listen to me, young lady.”The uncharacteristic sternness in Mae’s voice made Willow blink.“I know you’re hurting, and I don’t know what happened in Syria, but I do know that boy has been through hell, and that there’s not a single day goes by that he doesn’t wish he’d died in your brother’s place.”
Willow winced.“So you knew too?”she asked, unable to conceal the bitterness eating at her.
“Yes,” Mae admitted.
Willow ended the call before Mae could say another word, shaking her head in fury and disgust.She’d trusted her and Tripp, and they’d both hidden the truth from her this whole time.
Mae’s betrayal hurt, but Tripp’s was unforgiveable.
On some level she realized she wasn’t thinking clearly at the moment, but didn’t give a shit with the rage riding her.At this point she never wanted to see him again.
Compared to shock and helplessness, the fury whipping through her felt good.It fueled her across the island to the parking area near the hiking trails at Shipwreck Cove.
Rufus sat politely in the backseat, ears cocked as he watched her, the tip of the right one flopping over.
Hewould never betray her.Dogs were so much better than people.
“Come on, buddy, let’s go.”She let him out, wound the strap of the leash around her wrist and locked the car before heading across the parking lot to the trail entrance at the edge of the forest.
There was still plenty of daylight left.She had several hours to burn off this unbearable load of rage, hurt, and grief with Rufus with a brisk hike before it got dark.
Her phone kept buzzing with incoming calls and texts.She took it out and silenced it without looking at any messages or alerts, went to shove it into her coat pocket and stopped.
Bronwyn.She needed to talk to her bestie immediately.
Zipping up her thin coat to give her some protection from the mosquitoes, she dialed Bronwyn’s number and started up the trail with Rufus.
Darren set the nearlyempty glass of bourbon down next to the open bottle on his desk and gripped the phone harder, staring at the video feed playing on his screen.It was from one of the cameras near another cache he’d helped dig up and move last night.He and the others hadn’t had time to remove the cameras yet, but now he was glad.
Willow was walking through that area of the woods with her dog.And as far as he could tell, she was alone.
He drew in an unsteady breath as hatred pumped through him, partly fueled by the half-finished bottle next to him.This fucking bitch had exposed his entire operation and threatened not only his financial future, but his life.She was the reason the cops were sniffing around, investigating him and the other members.
Her interference might get him fucking killed.And even if he managed to save his own skin, she was a potential key witness if he were ever prosecuted for the caches or involvement with the militia and his case went to trial.
Watching her wander through his sights, oblivious that she was on camera, he became aware that his heart slammed so hard against his chest it felt bruised.
Self-preservation shot him from his chair.He went straight to the basement, accessed the gun safe in a hidden panel beneath a rug on the floor, and took out a pistol plus two full mags.
He hurried back upstairs, tucking the weapon away out of sight under his shirt.From the kitchen, his wife looked over at him from the stove where she stirred whatever she was making for dinner.Their kids were coming over.
She eyed him, her expression tightened.“What are you doing?”
