16. The Picket
The Picket
Harper
A chill creeps along my spine as we get farther from the road. I glance over my shoulder. I don’t even know if I could get back to where we were.
This is where trust comes in. I trust Kenz. She’s my ride or die. The guys just don’t know her like I do. She wouldn’t hurt me. There’s a reason she’s being ambiguous.
She’s implying my mom sent her, which makes sense. Who else could my mom contact that I would willingly go anywhere with? No one. Maybe one of the guys, but she knows all of us are being watched.
Kenz isn’t probably being watched as closely as we are, if she’s being watched at all. She might be being tracked since I’m with her sometimes. But I’m not with her all that much.
For now, she has my trust until she betrays it. Maybe it’s stupid of me to trust her. Maybe it’s stupid of me to trust the horsemen too. But I have to trust someone.
Kenz has a paper map out and a compass. When we step onto a dirt path, she releases a breath. I glance at the map, but I have no idea what kind of map it is. It doesn’t have roads on it.
“Thank fuck.” She grins at me.
“What?”
“So once we reach this path, there’s a jammer of sorts in this area.”
I swallow and touch my lifeline to my guys. The guys won’t know where I am. They’ll go fucking nuts, but Kenz keeps talking.
“No signals can get out or in. So if we still have a bug somewhere on us, we’re safe to continue.” Kenz turns the map and looks in both directions like she’s trying to decide which way to go.
“My mom sent you?” I have to ask. I love Kenz, but too much is happening right now. Too many spinning plates are ready to topple to trust I have the right information.
Kenz puts the map down and meets my eyes. Her eyes are completely serious. “My mom is in contact with yours. Apparently, whatever secret stuff your mom is involved in, my mom helps her. It’s like a network of nurses or something.”
That knot in my stomach loosens a little. That makes sense. But I need clarity. “How did you know about my secret word?”
“Jennifer figured it would be the only way to convince you to come with me, but she told me never to say it out loud in front of anyone or any device.” Kenz grins and gestures for us to walk to the left.
“I meant it when I said this was some cloak and dagger shit. I kept worrying you were going to go full Bourne on me. Like you were keeping this kickass secret identity.”
“I’m not a spy. I’m still just me.” Sighing, I twist my ring. Do the guys know where I am? Are they worried about me? I never showed up at Nico’s.
Fuck. I never showed up at Nico’s. He must be going out of his mind.
“Nico?” I grab Kenz’s arm. “He has to be worried about me by now.”
“My mom texted his mom to tell him we’ve got a flat, but we’ll be there as soon as the truck comes to fix it.” Kenz grins.
“I know how to change a tire. The guys know that.” Maybe Nico doesn’t? But still if he sounds the alert. He can’t drive. What if he hurts himself more to try to protect me?
Her smile falls. “It should be fine. They know you’re with me.”
I blow out a breath. “With everything going on, they don’t trust anyone outside the six of us.”
She glances my way and shrugs. “So I’ll deal with them when we get back. This is important shit that couldn’t wait, H. Your mom needs to see you.”
The only way past is through. I nod and pick up the pace with her. “Fine, let’s get this done and hope Nico didn’t get the guys out of practice to try to find me.”
Kenz winces. “Yeah, that’s not good, but I did turn your phone off in the school, so they’ll start there.”
I twist my ring. “I’ll protect you when they find us.”
Kenz wraps her arm around my shoulder and smiles. “Good. Let’s worry about that later.”
To keep it from spinning in my head, I need to hear something else. “Tell me about you and Brandon. What’s been going on?”
“Girl,” she says with a serious expression.
We walk and she tells me all about Brandon.
Apparently, they’re back in the honeymoon phase again.
They had a good talk about what they both wanted and decided they wanted to stay together and see how things went.
They’ll deal with college and long-distance next summer when it comes around.
By the time she finishes telling me way too much detail about one of the places they found to fuck, we’re approaching a small cabin. Even though it’s not the same cabin as my father’s, this all feels eerily familiar.
When the door opens, Mom steps out onto the porch. My heart stops, and then my feet are racing me into her arms. She catches me in a fierce hug and kisses the top of my head.
“I’m missed you, kid.” She holds me tight and part of me settles.
My heart pounds so hard it aches, and my throat clogs with tears. Then they start pouring down my cheeks.
“Hey, Harper,” Mom says softly. “I’m here. You’re safe. I’m safe.”
I nod, but the tears won’t stop. I was so fucking worried. She left me. She’s never left me. I didn’t know how much that cut me until this moment. I never considered she could leave me. My dad’s always been gone, but she’s been my constant.
“Come on.” She walks me into the cabin, and we sit down on a couch.
She grabs a tissue out of the box and hands it to me. I dab at my tears and blow my nose before I take in the sparse interior.
Across from us, there are a couple of armchairs. To the side, a small table with a couple of chairs. A kitchenette sits to one side, and a couple doors are on the wall on the other side.
“You don’t think they’re going to believe my mom.” Kenz sits on the edge of the chair across from us. “They’re going to kill me for this, aren’t they?”
Her worried gaze meets mine as I wipe away the rest of my tears. She means my guys. She must have been worried about that on the way here.
“I won’t let them. But we should have come up with a better plan to make sure they didn’t freak out.” I drag in a breath.
Mom stands and goes to the fridge, grabbing us both a bottle of water. From the looks of the fridge, it appears well-stocked.
“Is this where you’ve been since Sunday?” I ask. It’s been two days since she told me she was safe.
She hands Kenz a bottle and then me before sitting beside me. She sighs.
“A few places really. It’s better to move around.” Mom looks at me and then at Kenz. “Harper knows about what your mother and I do, but you don’t.”
Kenz swallows her water and sets it to the side. “Mom didn’t tell me much. Just that you two have a network of nurses.”
“Girls were being trafficked through our area.” Mom pauses and looks at me.
Is she worried I’m going to jump in and tell the whole story? About the guys’ fathers’ involvement? Or is she looking at me to ask me how much to tell Kenz? I shrug. No matter what the question is, I don’t know the answer.
She returns her gaze to Kenz. “Occasionally, I was able to get one or two out when they came into the hospital.”
“Fuck,” Kenz says. “Really? Traffickers? As if our town wasn’t already fucked up.”
Mom nods. “We set up safe houses. We were able to move them around until we could find a place where they could start over. Give them support and therapy along the way. There were other women we helped too. Abused women who needed out. That’s where the other nurses came into play.”
Mom takes my hand and holds it. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you got home. I didn’t want you to have to run with me while I figured things out.”
“What happened that night?” I hold my breath, not sure what to expect. The guys sheltered me from whatever happened in my room, but it couldn’t have been good.
“I went out to get dinner through a drive through.” Mom takes a breath. “When I came back, a guy was coming out of your room, so I ran.”
“Why didn’t you take your car?”
“I ate in the car and was washing my hands when he appeared. I didn’t think. I just took off. Besides, we didn’t know if my car was being tracked.” She runs her hand through her hair. “I went to Heather.”
Kenz’s mom.
“We’ve done this for years. The underground system I built helped me.
” Mom’s brown eyes meet mine. “I built it in case I ever had to get you out. When I told you we might have to run, this is what I meant. We help women start over. We give them a chance at a new life. But for us, that would have meant cutting all ties with our old life.”
The guys. I can’t lose them. I hate that she had to build this, but I’m so proud of her for what she’s accomplished. For all those women she helped.
“Any idea who it was in my room?” With everyone looking for shit on us, who knows if it was a student or someone William hired.
Mom shakes her head. “He wore all black. Athletic build.”
My eyes meet Kenz’s and hers widen. She opens her mouth and glances at my mom before she shuts it. We lied about the guy being in the house, saying he was outside, but I told Mom when I told her everything.
“Mom knows about the guy in my room.”
Kenz blows out a breath. “Do we think it was Zach or Tanner?”
I shake my head. “We thought Zach, but it could have been Tanner. When they set the trap, it was someone else, because Zach and Tanner were at other places. Boys suck.”
Mom touches my hair. “How have you been? Are the guys taking care of you?”
Fuck. “I’ve been staying with Caden because he can hide me best, but his mom found me there last night. She said she owed you for something you did for her in high school. She seemed worried her husband would find me there.”
“Emily.” Mom smiles softly. “She always had a soft spot for Bruce. He wasn’t the worst of them, just power hungry.”
“What did you do for her?” I ask, wanting to know why Emily was willing to take Bruce away to keep him from finding me. But maybe she just didn’t want him caught up in whatever William is planning. It might have nothing to do with me.
Mom chuckles softly. “Megan Roberts. Emily and Bruce had just started seeing each other. Megan didn’t like that, pretty much wanted Bruce to herself, so she cornered Emily in the girls’ bathroom. I came in while Megan was beating Emily up and punched Megan before hauling Emily out of the bathroom.”
Mom’s eyes clear when she focuses on me. “Megan got expelled after we went to the principal with the story. Emily got Bruce. The end.”
“I always knew you’d throw down in a fight, Mrs. D.” Kenz grins and thumbs her nose like a boxer.
Mom shakes her head and blows out a breath. “I have to come back.”
My heart picks up pace and I smile. It’s like a weight lifts off me.
“But it’s not going to be safe.” She grabs my hands and searches my eyes. “You shouldn’t be alone in the house. Neither of us really should be alone.”
Her brow wrinkles.
“Why don’t you stay with me at Caden’s?” I think of all those empty rooms. “They have a staff, but there are so many unused rooms. Mrs. Ross said she and Mr. Ross were leaving on a trip.”
Mom shakes her head and gives me a sad smile. “I don’t think that will work, but I do have one person I can ask and I’m sure she’ll say yes. But that means you’ll have to come with me. It wouldn’t make sense for you to stay somewhere else.”
“Is it safe?” I glance at Kenz. She can’t mean Kenz’s house. They’re overflowing with people already. I don’t know how the guys will feel about me staying somewhere else. Somewhere they might not have access to.
Mom brushes my hair behind my ear and smiles. “I’m sure you’ll approve, but let me check with her first.”
“So, what happens next?” I draw in a breath.
“We deal with everything that’s coming at us and find a way to make sure we’re both safe to go back to our house.” Mom squeezes my hands. “But right now, you go to Nico’s and check on him. I have work tonight, but I’ll let you know where we’ll be tomorrow.”
“How? Text isn’t safe. Phone isn’t safe.” This is too complicated.
Mom smiles. “I’ll have someone you trust tell you.”
When I glance at Kenz, she gives me a smile.
For a second, I think about telling my mom about the trail cam, but I don’t want to get her hope up if all that’s on it are leaves and squirrels.
Besides, Kenz doesn’t know anything about the fathers’ involvement.
I just can’t wait to have Mom back, so I can tell her everything.