Chapter 54
The Moment with Death
Harper
I’m a little shell-shocked. I have so much to tell the guys. The walk back to the car is quiet. Drugs, sex trafficking, abuse.
My dad is dead.
I keep circling back to that. Like my mind can’t even process it. He left us. He abandoned me and he was a non-factor in my life. Mom was enough. I didn’t ask why he left us or how. I never questioned it.
“Why didn’t you tell me he was dead?” I can’t hold the words back. Even though they make my heart ache. We’re still in the park. Far enough away from anything that might have a bug on it.
Sighing, Mom turns at a boulder. “I couldn’t risk you slipping up. No body’s ever been found, but Sean’s never once contacted me to let me know he’s still alive. Maybe part of me wanted to believe he’s still out there somewhere watching out for us.”
“Do you still help the women?” I twist my ring. What if she hadn’t gone along with William’s offer? What if I was one of those women trapped? I’d want someone like my mom to help me.
“Not for a while. The drugs still go missing, but the women stopped years ago. I never asked William why. I prefer to stay off his radar.” A little shiver races over her, and I can’t help but agree.
He’s a cold, heartless man. I don’t like the way he looks at me, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get Luke away from him.
Starbucks and the car appear as we emerge from the trees.
I press my lips together, remembering her saying everything is probably bugged. Even our cars. “We can’t talk openly anywhere else, can we?”
Mom stops and blows out her breath. “It’s not safe. I thought it would be for a while. That they weren’t looking closely at us, but then you mentioned the evidence Sean left behind.”
I straighten the backpack on my back. It feels heavier than it is.
“If it were just us, I’d run, Harper. You and me. We can find somewhere else. I stayed in the hopes that someday Sean would come back. But I left both of us vulnerable by doing that. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have stayed.” A tear slips down her cheek.
If I thought for a second one of my guys might come back for me, I’d wait forever for them. I step closer and touch her arm.
“I understand why you did it. It might have been easier somewhere else, but I don’t think William Foster would let you go without some sort of fight. You know too much.”
Her brows pinch. “He’s a bully. But he’s wealthy and connected. I don’t know how Luke plans to get away, but I hope for all our sakes that he does.”
I glance at our car and head in that direction. All this information spins around in my head, but I can’t do anything about it until I get home. We’ll sort through what we have and what my father found.
My chest aches and I rub against it. It’s different knowing my father didn’t abandon us willingly. But I can’t help wondering what actually happened to Luke’s mother.
Mom and I get into the car and the ride home is quiet. Not just because of the possible listening devices, but because I can’t stop thinking about everything.
When we get to our street, I see the guys’ cars parked in front of my house and my chest loosens. Tonight we can be together and figure out our next moves. We’ll get through this week and then the next until we graduate and leave this city behind.
Mom stops the car and touches my sleeve. When I turn her way, she puts a finger over her lips. I frown but nod. We can’t say anything in the house.
I release a breath and get out of the car. We have so much to go through. I don’t know that tonight will be enough.
Luke
When Jennifer’s car arrives, we’re all sitting around the living room. Nico has his leg up on the coffee table. It feels like we’ve waited for eternity. None of us talk. I shouldn’t have said anything to Eli, but hopefully it wasn’t loud enough that whatever bugs are here picked it up.
I can’t lose her. Those words give my father all the ammunition he’d ever need to hold me to him. I want to tear this house apart and find whatever he’s left behind, but we’re not doing that. No, we’ve already decided to use the listening devices to our advantage.
Last night we fucked up. I might be able to tell him the I love you was fake. To make Harper trust us. To throw her mom off the plan, but I’m not sure he’ll believe me. But I don’t have to worry about that right now.
Tonight, we’ll be temporarily free. Free from this city and free from our parents.
The door opens and Harper steps inside. I stand immediately. The others turn to watch her. Her eyes flood with tears and without a thought I cross the room to take her into my arms. She holds onto me as she shakes from the quiet sobs.
Jennifer pauses next to me and places her hand on my arm. She looks over at the others. Nico, Eli, Jack, and Caden. We all have somber expressions. She shakes her head.
“I’ll see you later.” She walks toward the stairs. “Have Harper home at a reasonable time.”
“We will,” Eli says.
Jennifer nods and heads up the stairs, disappearing into her room.
I stroke my hand down Harper’s back, and she finally looks up at me. Tears stain her cheeks and swim in her brown eyes. I cup her cheek and lower my lips to press against hers softly.
“Are you ready?” I wipe some of the tears away.
“Yes.” She turns to Jack and hands him her backpack. “Keep this for me.”
He takes it and brushes his lips over her temple. “What else do you need, sweetheart?”
She draws in a breath and rests her cheek over my pounding heart. Having her in my arms, I’m complete. I don’t need anything else.
Just her and my brothers.
That’s all I need.
She takes my hand and leads me upstairs like she doesn’t want to let me go. Caden follows us. Once in her room, she releases me and steps into Caden’s arms. He holds her against him and whispers something against her hair.
I’m grateful for the others. The jealousy that used to ride me early on is gone. I could never be what she needs me to be, what she deserves. But maybe we can fit our broken pieces together to be the whole heart she deserves.
“What do you need, princess?” I ask.
She sighs and steps away from Caden. His hand lingers on her hip.
“I’m good. I just needed a moment.” She touches his jaw. “Could you grab me comfy clothes?”
He nods and disappears into her closet. I follow her into the bathroom. She squats to dig in her cabinet while I grab what I know she uses every day. When she sees what I did, she smiles up at me like I gave her the moon and opens the bag from me to put everything in.
“Who knew Death had a heart?” She smirks and straightens.
I catch the back of her neck and rest my forehead against hers. “I didn’t until you gave me yours.”
She draws in a breath like she’s savoring this moment. When her eyes meet mine, she says softly, “I love you.”
I take one more moment to savor her before stepping away and letting her lead the way back in to her room. Caden holds her bag open, and she drops her toiletries in it.
“Thank you.” She’s distracted, so I grab her laptop and add it to the bag. Caden’s worried eyes follow her as she goes to her dresser and pulls out something. When she turns, she holds up her collar.
Caden chuckles as she adds it to the bag. But we know things aren’t going to be all fun and games tonight. It’s just after noon, but Eli’s family cabin is about an hour and a half from the city.
There are risks even going there, but we decided to pick Jack’s and Eli’s cars to take us since they are the least likely to be tracked by parents. Jack showed me his texts with Caden. Caden’s face when he came in, told me how well he took the video camera planted in his room.
We can’t be sure we all aren’t being tracked, but Jack’s dad doesn’t seem to be involved that we know of. The only ones mentioned in the phone call Nico overheard were Caden and mine.
We head down the stairs and silently the others join us to head to the cars. All our stuff is already split between the two cars. I draw Harper to Eli’s. Jack and Caden help Nico into Jack’s.
I’m tempted to be a dick and sit in the back next to Harper the whole way, but I get in the front next to Eli. He probably would have understood, but she’s with us and that’s enough for now.
“Can we talk about something?” Harper asks when she’s settled in the back.
“What do you want to talk about, kitten?” Eli glances in the rearview mirror at her.
She shrugs and looks out the window. “Something unimportant. Something stupid. Anything, really.”
“When we were fourteen, we decided to go biking up in the hills.” I start the story about the time Jack, Caden, Eli, and I got lost in the winding trails above the city. Eli interjects every now and then.
Harper relaxes into the seat, but she twists our ring on her finger. Her brow is furrowed. I long to smooth it out with my thumbs. Her gaze remains out the window, but I keep the story going. How we figured out the way back and managed to get home before dark.
How worried Jack’s dad had been. She doesn’t ask about the other parents. She’s well-versed in the amount of attention they give us. But she lets out a little huff of air.
When we hit the interstate, she falls asleep.
“It’s creepy to watch a woman sleep,” Eli says softly with a mocking tone.
“You’re just jealous you can’t see her from where you are.” I turn back to face the front, but part of me wants to keep an eye on Harper, like she’ll disappear if we don’t.
Eli grunts, but glances in the rearview mirror. She’s tucked into a corner. We slept some last night. I was worried about getting her back to her bed before her mom found out she was in mine.
I don’t regret a moment though. Part of me just wants this part of our lives over so we can always be together, but we have to get to the next leg of our journey first.
“She’s safe for now.” Eli’s voice is low. “We can protect her from Zach.”
“Probably, but what about the others?” Our fathers and whatever their plan is hangs over our heads like a guillotine waiting to drop.
Eli shakes his head. “Maybe it’s time to bring adults into it.”
I run a hand through my hair. “Which adults do you want to trust? The ones in my father’s pocket? The only reason we gained power is because of who our fathers are.”
It drives me crazy to think they set us up for all of this. What if Jennifer was right about our fathers pushing us toward Harper? What if everything we have is because of their machinations?
Who are we without the power they wield?
“We can’t do all of this on our own, Luke. We can’t always have eyes on Harper. Not trustworthy ones.” Eli stares at the road stretching ahead of us. “We can’t let anyone get to her. Homecoming is coming up.”
This week is going to be a fucking mess. There’s a fair and a parade plus alumni back from all over the place. We’ll be put into the spotlight over and over again and Harper will be forced to take the arm of her would-be rapist. That asshole we should have dealt with from the start.
“Zach.” I turn and Eli meets my gaze, his eyes burn. “It’s time. Whatever it takes. No matter the consequences, I want him gone.”
I glance back at Harper, who’s still asleep.
“The sooner the better.”