Page 34 of Their Wicked Secrets: Untouched, Vol 5 of 6

Eli turns and walks along the edge of the crater, leaving space between him and the cliff. “And even fewer they could have driven to.”

We fall in step behind him. Luke keeps me close to him, on the inside, away from the edge. We’re only a few feet away from a long drop. Shivers race through me.

I don’t want to think about how my dad might have had an accident out here. It seems easy to just tumble off into nothingness. Luke squeezes my hand.

“My father would have wanted a way to see everything, but have an escape available if he needed it,” Luke says and draws me in closer to him. He wraps his arm around my waist but keeps my hand locked with his. “My dad taught me how he thinks over the years. It’s the one thing that might help us out of this mess.”

“Isn’t this acres of land though?” This quarry was in use fifty years ago. It’s been closed a long time, but they kept a close eye on it so kids wouldn’t hurt themselves here, and teenagers were discouraged from sneaking in here until it’s not really a thing anymore. Everyone knows about the old quarry, but no one goes to explore it.

Maybe my parents explored it when they were younger. Maybe I’m walking in their footsteps. It fills that hollow ache in my chest from my mom’s absence. I don’t know when she’ll contact me next or what she’s running from. But she would have taken me with her if she thought she couldn’t come back here.

“A lot of that acreage is what you see before you,” Eli explains and gestures to the huge hole in the ground. The moonlight bounces off the white stone, revealing everything. It would be hard to hide down there, unless it was an overcast night.

No one has their flood lights on. Eli uses a small flashlight to check the ground as he walks. My heartbeat falls in line with our footfalls. It’s quiet except for our steps and the chirps of frogs.

“They used to do patrols around here.” Jack tosses a rock into the void. It takes a few seconds before we hear it skitter down the rest of the way. I swallow. It’s a long fucking way down. Jack continues, “Checking for parked cars and teenagers trying to throw a party or explore.”

“They aren’t going to check tonight?” I glance back the way we came. What happens if I get taken to jail? My mom isn’t around. Will she answer if I call? I’m technically eighteen, but who would I call to help me out? Bob and Fran?

“Hey.” Luke’s voice is soothing. I turn to meet his eyes, unable to distinguish the color in the dark. “Nothing’s going to happen. We’ve got you.”

I drag in a breath. Trusting Death seems to be my life now. Loving Death felt impossible in the beginning. Even after we started having sex, but those moments kept building up until I understood who he really was. I rest my head on his shoulder.

“They’re not coming tonight.” Caden’s voice is a low rumble. “I made sure to pay the right person to give us time to explore.”

We’re quiet as we move farther down the path, if anyone could call this a path. I feel like I did when I followed Mom into the forest. Except then I didn’t know what to expect at the end or even why we were there.

“There’s a spot up ahead that doesn’t get cell service.” Eli points to a clearing past a hill of stones that looks haphazardly placed.

“How do you know?”

“This isn’t our first time to the quarry, sweetheart.” Jack’s white teeth shine in the moonlight as he flashes me a grin. “We used to party out here before Caden’s parents took off more often.”

I can feel Caden behind me. His mom might be helping us or is she just helping herself? It’s hard to know with the adults around here.

“We’re here.” Eli pauses in front of a large slab of rock. It’s flat and there’s a piece that juts out above the pit and water, which looks even farther down than before.

“This is where we think they might have met.” Jack scratches the back of his head. “Now we just have to figure out where your father would have hidden to watch, and where he would have stashed something.”

They all move like they have a purpose. Like they’ve already decided who is going which way and who will search what area. Luke draws me with him as we head into a small crop of trees.

From here, it would be easy to view and watch what was happening in the clearing while having some cover to stay hidden.

“My father would have liked that area because it doesn’t leave a lot of spaces for someone to hide or ambush you.” Luke’s voice is soft. He hasn’t said much about his father. There hasn’t been a lot of downtime where we could just talk about his living situation.

I miss sleeping with him.

“How has he been since he’s been home?” I press his hand in mine against my side. The moonlight doesn’t reach in here, blanketing us in darkness. “With Penny?”

Luke blows out a breath and pulls out a flashlight from his pocket. He clicks it on and it’s fucking bright. “Uncomfortable.”

I don’t know how to take that. “Elaborate?”

“He forces us to sit with him at dinner. Then he’ll ask how our day was at school. How our grades are? Why Penny can’t get good grades like me? Why she does art instead of going out for cheerleading? Doesn’t she want to be popular? Every little thing he says is to put her down. To show her that she will never be as good as me.”

I don’t know what to say to that. William Foster is an asshole who beats his own child. To know he’s belittling Penny shouldn’t be surprising. But at least he’s not hitting her. “Do you think she’s handling it well?”

Scoffing, he aims the flashlight at the trees. “She was out of there as soon as dinner was over. Tomorrow night is going to be rough. Sidney’s everything our dad wants Penny to be.”