28. Max
Max
K eep it together.
The truck wavers beneath my hands, and I put my foot down.
Beside me, Oscar is grim and silent, his arms crossed. Theo and Jake don’t speak. I can almost taste it on my tongue. Heartbreak. Rage.
She ran. Ran from him, and she didn’t stop. She stayed hidden for three days before anyone found her, keeping herself safe.
My heart. I can’t fucking take it, can’t think of her like that. Not when I’m driving and need to get to her.
Not ever.
She should never have had to.
Jake’s broken mutter comes from the back seat. “She just graduated high school.”
None of us respond.
This wasn’t supposed to be our life. We were supposed to grow together. To find our way through life, stumbling and learning and building something, all of us together. As a pack.
We were supposed to grow old together.
Fuck . I blink moisture out of my eyes. For once, I wish my parents were here, instead of taking off the second they thought I was self-sufficient enough to travel the world.
And Brett—
“Careful.” Oscar throws his hand out to the wheel as we swerve. “You good?”
I focus on the road. “Yeah.”
Fucker should be grateful he’s dead. My eyes flicker up, checking the rearview mirror. Theo stares out of the window, his jaw like granite.
He’s torn a hole straight through our pack. Through our pack, and our mate , and every plan we thought we had for our futures. It all lies in ruins, smoking embers and scraps of possibility.
Oscar clears his throat. He looks as shattered as the rest of us, but he’s trying so hard to hold us together. “We’ll bring her back to the house. And then we’ll look at the medical records. See if there’s anything we can do. There has to be a specialist out there. Someone who knows more about this than her current team.”
It’s a plan, at least. I grip onto it, nodding as we approach the trailer and I pull up. Kenny’s bike is still laying on the ground where we left it.
It looks quiet, but it’s not even dawn. “You reckon Rick’s been helping her?”
“She was washing dishes in the fucking diner,” Jake mutters. “What do you think?”
Every piece that slots into place ruins me a little more.
“Leave it here,” Oscar says sharply as we reach for the doors. “All of that anger. She doesn’t see it. Doesn’t need it.”
Anger is the last thing I’m going to feel when I see her. But I nod anyway, same as everyone else.
Oscar strides up and bangs on the door. Frowning, he steps closer. “It’s open.”
The four of us exchange glances for barely a half second, before he’s yanking it open and disappearing inside. “Kenny?”
There’s barely any space with the four of us. I split apart from them, ducking into the tiny living area. Only a small couch fits, their television set switched off. My lips press together.
Oscar’s voice filters through. “I don’t think anyone’s here.”
Frowning, I retrace my steps. “It feels empty.”
Empty and cold. Oscar raps on her door, before carefully pushing it open.
That fucking scent – sweet cherry and warm chocolate – floods over us. And now we know why it smells so off.
The signs were there all along. A big fucking beacon above her head, screaming for our help. My fists close, but I crane my head to see inside her room as Oz shakes his head, crouching to feel her rumpled sheets. “Her bed was slept in. But it’s cold.”
“What are those?” I stare at the cases, reaching for one. “This is full.”
“You should see this.” Theo’s low voice filters through. We follow the sound past her bathroom to the other small room that Rick always used.
Except… not anymore, apparently.
“That fucking asshole ,” I hiss. Because it’s obvious that Rick Traylor has cleared out. Taken his fucking stuff and left. And he left his fucking sick daughter behind. “Or… maybe he took Kenny with him?”
Is there anyone in her life that hasn’t failed her?
“No.” Jake is staring in at the empty space. “Her cases are still here.”
“So where is she?” Theo’s body is stiff. His eyes are wary. “What if she’s wandered off again? Like she did before?”
When Oscar found her, feverish and talking to Brett’s statue. Oscar appears from the bathroom, gripping small bottles between whitened knuckles. “Her medication is still here.”
And there’s so fucking much of it.
Oh, baby. Where are you?
“My kit is in the back of the truck.” They all turn to me. “I’ll find her. If she’s in these woods.”
I told her I wasn’t much good for her, before. But I’ll find her now. If there’s one thing I know better than anything else, it’s how to move in these woods. I taught her how to do the same, as much as I could.
I’m coming for you, Kenny.