He grunts, chopping another log in one mighty swing.
“They were waiting for you.” His voice stays low, but it leaks with renewed anger.
“There were hoses attached to each cabin; I wanted to wash my legs and arms off…cool down.” Bringing my legs up onto the chair, I wrap my arms around bent knees and lean my chin on top, staring off into the distance. Frost rises from the lake in the middle of the cabins. “I’d just picked it up when I felt a hand around my mouth as I was dragged back into a hard body. I kicked and scratched and fought with all my might. I tried so hard to get away.” Tears tighten my throat, and I vie to maintain control of myself.
With my eyes firmly shut, I grapple with the memories that flood back. The pain of twigs digging into the bottom of my feet, slicing the skin open. The way I was thrown to the ground and held like a hostage.
Saint’s firm hands grip my face, and he shakes me a little while barking out my name until I open my eyelids to meet his furious stare. “You’re safe. They can’t hurt you. I’ll never allow anyone to get near enough to cause you harm.” It’s not something he’s just saying, either; it’s a vow being forged in blood and steel.
“They took everything from me,” I sob into his hands, his thumbs wiping each teardrop away as they fall. “I can feel the way their fingers dug into my skin as they held me down. Forcing themselves on me. The smell of their cologne lingers in my nostrils. Their eyes lit up every time I screamed and cried for help.”
“Tell me their names.” His tortured demand echoes around us, bouncing off the outside walls of the cabin and the porch overhang.
Brokenly crying into the chilly air, our breath billows like steam. “It rained after they were done. It was like a cleansing, washing away their filth. But, still, I was left to rot, tied between trees like an offering to the creatures of the night. Only they were the true monsters. They took everything they wanted from me.”
Saint tugs me into his chest, holding me as I sob and scream. My body aches from long-standing pain, from the renewed memories I had always hoped would fade into nothingness. Unfortunately, it never goes away. Everything lingers like a rotten smell, and I can’t escape it.
“Please, Saint, please.” I cry out, begging for reprieve.
Standing me on my feet, he strips me down to my shirt and shorts before lifting and carrying me into a heaping pile of snow. Shocking me back into the moment and forcing my mind and body to remain present.
“I’m giving you until we go home to tell me their names, Lake. After that, I will dig until I find them. And I will find out who they are. But I want you to be the one to speak their reckoning into existence.”
Shivering, I stare up at him, nearly a foot taller than me, and I see the meaning in his eyes.
Saint plans to murder and maim my tormentors.
The only question is: Can I live with that on my conscience?
CHAPTER 7
Saint
Lake is finally…finally, talking about what happened, but she’s still hesitant to reveal the names I need so I can hunt down these dead men walking.
When we first learned that something happened, Holden, Nolan, Damien, and I compiled a list of every male on the property—campers, organizers, counselors, maintenance staff. Everyone. The problem was that we couldn’t narrow down who hurt her because nobody stood out. The only missing pieces now are the specific names. And until Lake is ready to share them, I’m helpless to slay her demons.
Searching her eyes as she tries to come to terms with what will happen to them, it’s apparent that she’s done talking for now. I let go of her face and slide my hands along her arms, rubbing up and down to warm her up.
“Another time, sweet haven, when you’re ready.” Which may never be. A fact I’ll have to live with.
“Will it ever stop?” The quiet vulnerability in her tone causes me to breathe deeply to control my anger so she doesn’t think it’s aimed at her.
“I wish I had the answer you deserve, Lake.” Her head lifts slightly in understanding. She knows I can’t possibly tell her what she wants to hear. The healing and learning to cope is on her; I can only help where she asks me to.
“I think I’ll go lie down.” Frustration eats at me as I hear her defeat, and allowing Lake to go inside is difficult. It’s only a matter of time before she gives up completely.
Death wraps around her like a cloak, and I have a startling moment of clarity, wondering if that’s not why she came here without telling anyone. Is this where she intended to die? Did I interrupt her plans?
Fuck.
The signs have been there for years, especially for me. Being so coated in death, she’s begged me for years to end her suffering. I’ve always said no; I would never be the reason for her departing this earth. Not when I need her so much. It’s unfathomable living in a world without Lake.
Discovering a reason for her to gain the will to live will be tough, but I’m damn determined to make it happen. And if I’m not part of that reason, I’ll learn to live with that suffering.
With the sun bright in the sky, I decide to take a stroll around the property in an effort to calm my racing pulse. Snatching my coat off the post it’s hung on, I head out around the side of the cabin, spotting rabbit prints in the fresh snow, followed by leaping deer near the tree line, where it’s obvious they were feeding from them.
Lake would love to watch the wildlife out here. She’s a down-to-earth kind of woman, and I know she’d find a sense of peace witnessing the best Mother Nature has to offer.
