Fuck.
I flip through everything he’s done.Not just to us but to all his victims.Mina flashes in my mind, then Evie, Rebecca, Lily and Mum, and yeah, that fucker needs to die.I know if we don’t do this, it will never end.I think everyone knows that too.
What the hell is wrong with me?Killing him will be easy once he’s in front of us.It’s not actually that, that is bothering me.Yet I can’t pinpoint what exactly is.
“There’s an old funeral home where they do cremations not far from here.A friend’s family used to run it, but it went out of business so it sits empty.Mostly.They let people use it for occasions like this.And sometimes the council use them to cremate bodies without families or loved ones.”
“You are asking us to put trust in a stranger,” Jaxon points out.“We cannot go to prison for this.”
“Not when we are doing the world a favour,” I mutter.
Malia sighs and sits up straighter.“This stays between us.Obviously.But, um, this friend, she has a problem with certain types of men.This wouldn’t be her first time doing this kind of thing for someone.”
“That doesn’t guarantee us her silence.She could try to blackmail us.Or go to the police,” Jaxon explains, and I know even talking to Malia about this is a risk for him.It’s how he’s wired.Don’t trust anyone but family.
Malia eyes me, like she’s at war in her mind about whether or not to trust me.I know exactly what is running through her mind.“You want me to keep what you’re about to say to myself, and not tell Summer, don’t you?”
Reluctantly, her chin jerks down.“Summer isn’t like us.It’s why she’s always been special to us.She’s the middle child in her family.I should be closer to Faye, her older sister, but I’m not.We just never bonded, not the way we all did with Summer.Summer never judged us.She never gave up on us once.And she also grew up in a home where there were years between her and her two siblings.Summer wanted what I had with my sisters, and instead of building it with her own siblings, she chose to do it with us.I can give you a million reasons as to why she’s special, but it would be pointless.You’ve seen them in her yourself.She’s fucking light.I don’t want that to change.And knowing certain thingswillchange her.Fuck, Reid, she thought she had cancer once, and the entire time she was waiting for her results, she didn’t colour her hair because of how fucking sad she was.It was like colour had left her life.”
I knew about her cancer scare, but hearing that still has a pang shoot up through my chest.“I get it.But I’m sorry.I won’t keep anything from her if she asks me.I don’t want to lie to her.Trust me when I tell you, if you tell her it’s in her best interest not knowing, she won’t push.She won’t resent you for keeping it from her either.Her love doesn’t come with strings.”
Her hands shake as she rubs them down her thighs.“This friend, she isn’t originally from here, and she definitely wasn’t raised how any of us were.I cannot go into details about how I met her, who she is, or what she does, but she owes me a favour.Or favours.Some might say she isn’t all there, but if they knew what she had been through, they’d understand.If I tell her what Andrew Black has done, I won’t even need proof.She will take me at my word because it’s me.But...You won’t all be able to go in there.It will set her off, and I’m assuming you’ll want proof that the evidence is gone.Personally, I think you should call Max and ask him to go in.”
I watch as questions flitter across Liam’s face.If the situation wasn’t so dire, I would tease him because he actually looks horrified by her entire speech.He shakes his head as if to clear his thoughts.“Wait, Max?Really?Are you sure?”
“They kind of have a similar personality.Maybe?”she suggests on a shrug.“I don’t know.He acts like a kid high on ADHD medication.He has no brain filter.He could tell you about how he dismembered a body like he’s listing off a shopping list.Come to think of it, the dumb shit that comes out of his mouth is similar to how she is with creepy stuff.The first time I met her, she was slurping on super noodles over a dead body.To me, I feel like she’ll find a kindred spirit in him.And then maybe Jaxon or you Liam could go with him.So she doesn’t keep him.”
“Keep him?”I question and wish to God I hadn’t.
She nods, and by the look of her expression, she is done with this conversation.“She likes to keep people she bonds with.”
Jesus fucking Christ.
The car falls silent as Jaxon hits a back road.“We need to find him first,” he replies quietly.“Set it up.Just in case.”
Malia furiously types on her phone, whilst it pains me to ignore mine.I desperately want to message Paisley, check in about Mum, but I’m scared of the answer.She would want me to concentrate on Milly.She loves the little girl like she loves her two granddaughters.It would kill her if we didn’t find her.
“Where is he going?”Liam murmurs, messing with the tablet in his hand.
Malia unclips her belt, sitting so her head sticks between the two seats.“That is an old private airport,” she announces, and I’m pretty sure her voice shakes slightly as she points to the screen.“He’s definitely taking her there.That road is the only way in.The other lane wouldn’t even be suitable for a bike.”
“How do you know it’s an airport?”Liam asks.
“Because I’ve been there.It’s mostly overgrown with weeds, trees and junk from fly tippers before it was chained up and locked.He’s going to take her out of this country,” she shakily gets out.
“We will get her,” I promise.
“Plus, there’s probably not a useable runway there,” Liam reassures her.
“Yeah, there is,” she whispers, falling back, her gaze out the window.
“How do you know?”Liam asks.
For a minute she doesn’t answer, so when she does, it sounds loud in the car.“Because I used it to bring back the man I killed so my friend could hide the evidence.”
I knew it.I fucking knew it.
I reach over, poking her in the thigh instead of making a big deal out of it.“We will get Milly back.”
