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“Well, unfucking complicate it, Evander. What did this fucking woman see?” Zig snaps.
I blow out a breath, searching for patience but coming up empty. “She’s not a woman, and she doesn’t understand most of what she sees because she’s a six-year-old girl, Zig. Six! And she’s being kept and trained to perform like a fucking monkey!”
Zig’s eyes close in defeat.
And I take a moment to calm down before I continue.
“The girl saw two boys with the same face looking sad.” I look between Oz and Zig so that they understand the reference.
“When Avery pushed her, the girl told her they were sad because the man hurt the baby in her tummy. She couldn’t get a description of the woman from the girl, so she has no clue if it’s Salem or not.”
“But it’s easy to deduce because she’s the only one pregnant.” Greg sighs.
“How did that lead Avery here, though?” Jagger frowns.
“Because the girl said it happens at the house called Apex, and Avery doesn’t believe in coincidences.”
“We need to talk to Avery. Find out everything she knows.”
Greg looks at me. “I’ll come to the hospital with you. Between the two of us, I think we can convince her to come, especially with Creed and Hawk being gone for the next few weeks.”
“Shouldn’t we call them and let them know what’s going on?” Wilder, who has been pretty quiet up until now, asks.
I look at Zig, who is staring at Greg, who shakes his head.
“Hawk was brutal with her, Zig. If he were here, no way would Avery agree to come.”
Slade whistles. “Fuck, Zig, you can’t not tell them. They’ll lose their fucking minds if they find out after the fact.”
“Maybe. But they haven’t really given me much choice now, have they? Besides, this is not about them anymore. It’s about Salem and Astrid and a bunch of fucking kids who have already been through enough. Avery might have come to warn us about an attack on Salem, but the way she’s been talking to Ev, it sounds like she needs help. We can’t turn our backs on these kids any more than she can. Avery has risked her life by coming here and telling us all this. Hell, she already took a bullet for Creed.”
“We should get Avery here first. That’s our top priority. Everything else can wait for now.” Greg stands.
“Agreed.” I get to my feet and toss the clicker on the table.
“Just… She’s been through a lot. She didn’t have to come here. She doesn’t owe any of us anything, but she came anyway. Try to remember that.”
“We’re not complete assholes, E.” Slade scowls. Everyone turns to look at him, making him sigh. “Fine. I’m mostly an asshole, but I think we’ve learned our lesson with Astrid. I’d like to hear both sides of the story before I blame someone for something.”
Well, that’s something, I guess. Though, something tells me that Avery’s version of events will be wildly different than Hawk and Creed’s version. And the truth… Well, that might lie somewhere in the middle.
* * *
“She’s going to be dead set against this, but I think we’ll win her over with the promise of trying to help these kids,” Greg says as he climbs in the driver’s seat.
“That’s what I was thinking too,” I agree from the passenger seat.
Greg starts the car and pulls out of the garage.
“Having Hawk and Creed away right now might just be for the best. Their lashing out is causing more harm than good.”
“You don’t need to convince me of that. I was there when Hawk tore strips off Avery. I was ready to knock the fucker out myself. I was so fucking angry on Avery’s behalf that it wasn’t until Hawk had left and I’d calmed down a little that I realized underneath all his rage, there was a whole hell of a lot of hurt.”
“I know, and I get it. But being hurt doesn’t give him permission to be a dick. If we all acted like that, the world would be in chaos. He’s a grown-ass man. He needs to do better.”
Greg turns to look at me briefly as we pass under the Apex sign. “You’re awfully protective of someone you just met,” he says carefully, but something in his tone rubs me the wrong way.
“Look—”
