Haunted by Secrets (Shadowed Souls #3)

Chapter Thirty One

The water glistens like molten glass, only broken by the steady rhythm of Huxley’s arms slicing through the surface. Stroke after stroke, he moves with precision, his body cutting through the pool as though he’s trying to outrun something invisible. Something I implanted into his head. He’s been at this for a while. Long enough that his muscles must be screaming, but he doesn’t stop. He doesn’t even pause. The water surges around him, each lap more determined than the last.

I watch from the shadowed edge, my arms wrapped tightly around myself, my nails digging into my sleeves. I did this to him. Filled him with shame because I couldn’t face my own fear. I ran from it, hid from it beneath layers of misdirected anger. The images of last night are still burned into my mind. The auction, the Lots, the way Sharon laughed and paraded them like trophies. And Huxley becoming entangled in it.

I squeeze my arms tighter around myself. I came to the underground pool room in search for him, needing to offer the apology that Wyatt rightly instructed me to give. But the longer Hux swims, the more I feel like I’m intruding. Maybe it would be better to wait until later, once he’s worked through his thoughts, but I can’t leave. Not after the way I yelled at him, the way I let my anger take over when all he was trying to do was help.

Hux reaches the end of the pool, flips effortlessly, and pushes off the wall for another lap. His body is a blur of motion, his muscles taut under the sheen of water. Every movement is deliberate and controlled, yet I see the cracks. The desperation in the way he powers forward, the way his strokes become just a fraction less fluid as exhaustion creeps in.

He’s running himself into the ground.

Kicking off my sneakers, I pull down my leggings and tug the sweater over my head. Wyatt’s cum is still seeping out of me, soaking through my knickers. I leave them and my sports bra in place and slowly step into the pool as if Hux might suddenly sense my presence. He remains oblivious as I descend the side steps, lowering myself to sit in the warm water and draw my knees up to my chest. Huxley doesn’t notice. He’s too consumed by whatever storm is raging inside him, too focused on the next stroke, the next lap. The water laps gently against my shoulders, my chin resting on my knees.

Huxley was right to find solace down here. There’s a peacefulness within the whitewashed walls, a simplicity that helps to forget about the mansion upstairs. Fluorescent bulbs make up for the lack of windows, chlorine, and cleaning products tainting the air. Alongside one wall, there’s a wooden bench, a few towel hooks, and that’s it. One door permits entry via a staircase just beyond, another remains tightly closed and presumably locked.

Water ripples around my body in a small wave, the clash on movement recentering my focus. At the far end of the pool, Hux dips beneath the water to spin and push himself off the wall to lap back towards me. His movements are slower now and less refined. He’s slapping the water rather than gliding through it, an obvious tension in his shoulders. He begins to falter ever so slightly, his body giving out, but his mind refuses to stop.

“Hux?” I finally say, my voice barely louder than a whisper, swallowed up by the soft echo of water against tile. I try again, louder this time. “Huxley?” He hesitates mid-stroke, his head turning toward the sound of my voice. Our eyes connect, and everything I wanted to say goes straight out of my head.

For a moment, he just treads water, his chest heaving as he takes me in. Droplets cling to his hair and his eyelashes before they slide down his face like tiny rivers. He doesn’t say anything, working hard to regulate his breathing to an even pace. I hug my knees tighter, searching for the resolve I came in here with. After what feels like forever, Hux swims over me, his strokes lazier now, until he’s close enough to sit on the ledge beside me.

Pressing my lips together, I watch the water shifting around us. My cheeks feel hot, my ears prickling under the weight of his stare. I know I’m in the wrong and that I need to apologize, but saying sorry doesn’t feel like enough. Hux nudges closer, bumping my shoulder.

“This is a new look I haven’t seen on you before. What is it?” He leans forward, cocking his head and studying me. The blush on my cheeks turns to an inferno.

“I’m… embarrassed.” I scrunch my eyes shut. Suddenly, large hands spin my legs, dislodging my arms banded around them. I fall clumsily against Huxley’s front, forced to look up at his smug expression.

“What are you embarrassed about, Swan?”

I toy with my tongue between my teeth before speaking quietly.

“That Wyatt had to reprimand me.”

Huxley’s entire face lights up, a smile breaking free and his eyebrows rising.

“Embarrassed?” he chuckles to himself. “That sounds mortifying.” I laugh too, relieved to have the rigid atmosphere burst wide open. I finally feel like I can breathe again, straightening my spine and squaring my shoulders. Offering his hand, Hux waits for me to accept it before pulling me into the safety of his body. His chin is on my head, his biceps caging me in. “Take me through what’s happening in that beautiful mind of yours.”

“That I love you.” Hux’s arms tense, his entire body going stiff beneath me as he inhales sharply. It isn’t the apology he was expecting, but it’s the truth, so I keep going with that. “I know it’s unfair to hold you each to a different standard, and if Garrett had offered himself up last night, I wouldn’t have been so angry. Actually, I probably would have expected it, and I’d have rolled my eyes and cursed him out in the morning.” I wriggle free to look into Hux’s patient brown eyes.

“But with you, you’ve worked so hard to build yourself back up after the shooting. Both physically and mentally, and when you offered yourself up last night… I wasn’t upset. I was terrified. I saw you at Warren’s table, offering yourself up like it didn’t matter, like you didn’t matter, and it… it broke something in me. The lengths you’ll go to protect me and to save Meg,” I shake my head, my throat tightening. “I’m terrified that I’m going to lose you again in the process. Every way that I picture us getting out of this situation, I lose someone. And instead of dealing with that, I lashed out at you. I made you feel guilty when you were just trying to protect me. I’m truly sorry.”

Hux’s expression shifts, a flicker of pain crossing his face before he looks away, his gaze dropping to the water.

“I wasn’t only trying to protect you,” he says quietly. “I was trying to do something, anything, because I felt so fucking useless just sitting there while Sharon paraded those kids around like cattle. The whole game she’s playing, the money she’s making, and they’re all encouraging her. Every single person in that room. I’d kinda hoped by attending the auction, we’d see a way to shut it down for Axel’s sanity. So that he can finally move on. But it was apparent there’s no stopping her, and that was eating me alive.”

The raw honesty in his voice cuts through me like a knife, and I reach up to push his wet hair back from his sharp jawline.

“You’re not useless, Hux,” I say, staring into his eyes so he might actually hear me. “You’ve never been useless. You’ve always been the one who holds the Souls together without them even realizing it. Wyatt might be the leader, but you silently protect them all. And now, you’re doing it for me and Meg too.”

“You shouldn’t put me on a pedestal, Swan. I’m just… me,” he exhales sharply, dragging a hand through his wet hair. I raise a brow and tilt my lips. Exactly. He’s just Huxley, and that’s all anyone needs him to be. “I just wanted to make it stop. All of it. I thought if I put myself out there, maybe I could get some sort of win for us. I’d sacrifice anything for you.”

His sentiment strikes my heart, smashing through my reserves. I’m not going to be able to explain to Hux just how incredible he is today, not when I’ve spent the morning bringing him down. I hate myself for that, but he’s still here. Right here in front of me, so I start with pushing up and touching my lips to his.

Huxley lets out a quiet breath, his shoulders relaxing for the first time since I walked in. He holds me like I’m delicate, his mouth slanting across mine. He tastes like chlorine, a metallic hint twinged with salt. The water around us stills, the strain easing with it. The knot in my chest loosens just a little, and I pull back with a faint smile .

“I love you,” I say again, making sure he sees and hears my sincerity this time. His chocolate brown gaze flicks between my eyes, searching for something. Reassurance, maybe. I brush my thumbs over his cheeks, feeling the weight of his head push against my palms. His lips part, ready to return the sentiment.

“Cannonball!” A yell slices through the quiet, reverberating off the tiled walls.

“Garrett, don’t you dare—” Hux shouts. But it’s already too late. Garrett has launched himself into the air, tucked into a ball. Hux throws up a futile arm, but the impact sends a massive wave crashing toward us, soaking my hair, face, and even the dry steps behind me. I gasp, sputtering as I wipe water from my eyes, my laughter bubbling up despite myself.

“Now that’s how you make an entrance!” Garrett cheers triumphantly, grinning like a mischievous child as he shakes water out of his messy, dark hair like a wet dog. A black T-shirt clings to his broad chest, and his boxers fluorescent neon green flash beneath the surface.

“For the record,” Dax says smoothly as he steps into the pool area, settling on the step behind me, “I did try to convince him to wait until you two were done with your moment.”

Despite Hux’s arms wrapped around my waist, Dax casually kneads my shoulders, one more firmly than the other. I gasp, twisting to see that both of his hands are on me rather than just one. “Doc Marcus approved me for no more bandages. I just have to be careful.” He gives me a small wiggle of his fingers. I can’t help my beaming smile at the relief that one of our issues has finally worked itself out.

Oblivious to the joy Dax and I are currently sharing, Garrett hollers across the pool. “Freezing my nuts off on the stairs while these two eye-fuck each other? Not my idea of a Saturday night!” He dips beneath the water, the outline of his silhouette gracefully gliding through the water to resurface at the base of the stairs. His dark eyes dazzle with mischief.

“You’re insufferable,” Hux mutters, although his annoyance is tainted by a trickle of humor. Like me, he’s probably thinking it’s nice to have the old Garrett back for a little while, although Hux would never admit to such a thing. Garrett kneels on the lowest step for his shoulders to leave the water and plants a hand on his chest.

“Me?! You guys are the ones who didn’t invite us to your pool party. I found Dax moping around the kitchen, eating peanut butter straight out of the jar.”

“That was you,” Dax deadpans. “I was doing recon with Thiago on the other party guests.”

“Exactly. We all needed a break,” Garrett flips onto his back and floats, spreading his arms wide like a starfish. Dax’s tentative hands leave my shoulders to pull my soaking hair back and tie it in a ponytail for me.

“Wait,” I frown, “who’s with Axel?” Garrett rolls his head my way, only one ear out of the water.

“Wyatt’s on the graveyard shift.” Garrett drawls lazily, waving a hand back and forth in the air. I gasp, looking to Dax for clarity.

“Axel’s asleep, and yeah, Wyatt’s with him.” The tremor in my chest settles, but I twist back, sharply splashing water at Garrett with as much force as I can muster. The wave hits him square in the face, but he only laughs harder, spitting water like a fountain.

“Don’t call it that!” I narrow my eyes. Given just how serious Axel’s injuries were, I won’t be accepting death jokes anytime soon. Garrett doesn’t care either way, his grin splitting all the way across his face.

“Or what, Peach?” Garrett flips onto his stomach and paddles toward me like a crocodile stalking its prey. I let him do his taunting until he’s close enough that I launch myself out of Huxley’s hold and shove Garrett’s head beneath the water. I hold him there for only a second, knowing I don’t have the strength to beat him, but I do have the agility to escape.

Pushing through the water, I propel myself by sheer force to reach the other side of the pool. If I can just reach the side, I’ll shoot up onto the edge and be gone before Garrett’s even recovered. But I don’t make it more than a foot away from him.

Hands grab my ankles, dragging me backward. I twist my body to fight against it, kicking wildly within the water. Garrett’s grip is relentless, but I manage to wriggle free for a moment, only to be caught again, his laughter vibrating through the water as he drags me closer.

Breaching the surface, I only manage to gasp a singular breath down before Garrett’s back on me, his arms around my middle. He drags me to the bottom, taking every rogue elbow and missed kick. Spinning me around, he winds his legs around my waist and grabs my face in his hands. A few precious air bubbles leak from my lips just before his mouth crashes against mine. I still, no longer fighting but finding myself kissing back. Although I won’t last much longer without air.

Wrenching back, I tap Garrett’s shoulder insistently and point to the surface. His dark eyes flick upwards, his hair floating around him like a black halo. He uses his grip on my face to drag me back to him. His mouth covers mine, and as Garrett brings his hands forward to squeeze my cheeks, he breathes into my parted lips. I inhale him all the way into my lungs, and his satisfied smile is everything. Without the jokes and the stress of the world above, I feel like I’m seeing Garrett’s true self, and it’s surprisingly calming.

Unwrapping his legs from my waist and replacing them with his arms, Garrett kicks off the floor and propels us to the surface. I come up sputtering, my hair plastered to my face, but Garrett is already retreating, his arms slicing through the water as he swims away as if nothing happened. Or perhaps he has another prey in mind now.

Garrett turns his attention to Huxley, who is already launching himself at Garrett like a torpedo, knocking them both under. Garrett resurfaces almost instantly, but before he can retaliate, a cascade of water smacks him square in the face. One that came from Dax’s stronger hand. The pool explodes into chaos.

I use the distraction to dart away, but apparently, I’m not safe from anyone. Dax is already on the move, closing in with a mischievous grin. Before I can make it to the edge, he uses his good arm to collect water and send it crashing towards me. I retaliate, cupping water in my hands and flinging it back at him. Totally pointless, considering we’re all soaking and flinging ourselves around the pool in our underwear, but we dissolve into laughter regardless. Water and curses fly all around whilst Hux and Garrett are busy trying to drown each other, and Dax descends on me.

“I thought you were supposed to be taking it easy!” I yell, still splashing regardless. Dax chuckles.

“I am,” he confirms by only using his stronger hand to splash and keeping the other one firmly beneath the water. I relax and let the smile grow once more.

For a fraction of time, there are no worries, no whispers of the outside world. I indulge in the chaos, reveling in it. Eventually, Dax leans against the side of the pool, having exhausted himself. Garrett swims to the edge, planting his hands firmly on the tile to hoist himself out of the water. The movement is so effortless. Water drips from him, pooling at his feet as he quickly wraps his top half in a towel.

“Okay, I admit that was long overdue.” Dax chuckles softly.

“I aim to please,” Garrett quips, using two fingers to give Dax a salute.

Huxley mutters something that sounds suspiciously like ‘aim for silence instead’ before splashing Garrett one last time, setting off a ripple of laughter that echoes through the pool room. Gare offers Dax his hand and hoists him out of the water, helping to pin a towel around Dax’s waist. It’s a simple gesture, and yet my heart is fit to explode from the sentiment. These wonderful boys have been looking after each other long before they started looking after me.

Before I can head out too, Huxley catches my waist. It’s all too easy to move me in the water, gliding me wherever his large hands see fit. Right now, it’s against his expansive chest. His smile softens, and he leans in close enough to murmur in my ear.

“I love you too, Swan,” he answers finally, barely more than a whisper but full of quiet certainty. I press my forehead to his, letting the world shrink down to just the two of us, the gentle sway of the water around us mirroring the steady rhythm of my heart.

My eyes sting, and at long last, the tears that well up in them are for a good reason. Because this introverted girl who was scared to let anyone in will never be alone again. I have a team of men ready to fight and die for me, to do whatever it takes to bring my twin home. This is what love feels like. It’s messy and imperfect, yet so achingly beautiful that I wouldn’t have it any other way.