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“It’s just water.” I shrugged. “It really isn’t that fun.”
If I could go back to those days, I would go into the water no matter how far.
“One night, Carson, Angel, and Logan’s girlfriend went out to this party. On their way back…" I exhaled the hot air building asI struggled to get through the story. I sat up, Audry falling off of me.
She moved closer, hanging onto my back.
“I was supposed to pick them up that night, but I was running late. I don’t know what kept me or why, if I’m honest. I have gone over that night for years…and I can’t remember.” I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to keep my head straight.
“A group of men attacked them, singling out Carson, or so I’m told. One of them…uh…wrapped this chicken wire around her neck. Angel, the spitfire girl she was, jumped onto the man’s back. She put up a hell of a fight, scratching and kicking and punching whatever she connected with.”
My vision blurred as tears filled my eyes. Was I going to admit to Audry what happened? My doing in this whole fucked up situation. I glanced at my hands, clenching them into fists. “I was a stupid kid, you know. And I rounded the corner, their screams so loud. As I did, this man about twice her size threw her to the floor…her head it, uh, hit the ground hard.”
Audry tightened her hold around me.
I could stop the story there, end it without going into any more details. She would think Angel just passed away from a brain injury and not by my hands.
“It’s okay,” she whispered into my ear. I squeezed my eyes shut. I had to tell her that with the number of secrets and lies we had between us, I didn’t want any more.
“I, uh. When I got there, the two other men saw me and took off, releasing Carson and Logan’s girl. But this man…he wanted to teach Angel a lesson. The sinister look on his face said it all. And…the world slowed down as I watched. Stood there and watched him get on top of her. She screamed and screamed…the screams…they still…I can still hear them.” I paused for a moment, struggling to maintain my composure. “I carried a gun back then, and I thought I had the shot. I fired three rounds.”
Audry twisted herself into my lap, wrapping her legs around my waist. I rested my forehead against hers, trying to match her breaths. “I don’t want you to look at me differently,” I whispered, although it was more of a beg. A plea for whatever was developing between us would stay—through it all.
“I won’t.” She shook her head. “I promise.” She held her pinky out to me, a childlike gesture that cut through the sadness ever so slightly.
I twisted my pinky into hers before taking her entire hand in mine.
“Three rounds that I fired…only two hit him. The other hit Angel.” I rolled my lips into my mouth, biting down hard to keep from crying. My jaw was tight as the memory captured me in its claws. “I didn’t save her that night.” I shook my head, not wanting to see her.
But Audry grabbed my chin tight, forcing me to meet her stare. “It sounds like two young girls, including one downstairs, are still alive because of you,” she said, a certainty glimmering in her wide eyes. “By the sounds of it, I don’t think Angel would want it any other way.”
I sniffled, her words breaking me. I wrapped my arms tightly around her, not wanting to let her go.
Chapter 33
Audry
We laid there quietly, wrapped in one another. The only sound was the soft breaths escaping from each of our lips. Kai’s breath would catch in his chest every few beats as he stifled a cry. I wanted to make things better for him, to fix all the bad.
There were so many secrets about his life I wished to learn, and as they unraveled before me, I couldn’t lie. It did change the way I saw him. The warmth I felt around him increased, the certainty I had in his character strengthened more than I ever thought it could, and the utter admiration increased to something more.
Kai softly snored, finally falling asleep. His face relaxed, and a soft sigh of relief floated from him. I dragged my fingers along his cheek, tracing the curves of his jaw. The coarse stubble along his chin tickled my hand. I wanted him to stay this way. He was always filled with worry. There was a looming monster waiting to attack. He always tried to protect me, but perhaps it was my turn to protect him.
I kept my feet light on the wooden floor, tip-toeing out of bed. Kai shifted slightly but remained asleep. I held my breath as I walked out the door and toward the kitchen.
Carson’s sleep schedule was more accustomed to a vampire who was forced to entertain the mortals. Over the past few days, I found her awake at odd hours, painting the walls or engulfed in her phone. But it wasn’t her I wanted to talk to, and I hoped with Kai back, she would return to her own place. I feared she would talk me out of what I wanted if she spotted me.
I peeked around the kitchen entryway, my heart racing. Carson wasn’t there, but her brother was. Logan sat up on the counter, chewing on a piece of toast and scrolling on his phone. We hadn’t talked much, but at the moments I did hear him and Kai, they were opposites.
“You might as well take a photo,” he grumbled, not looking up.
Was he talking to me?I pressed my back against the wall, trying to keep my breathing under control. My entire plan was collapsing in on itself as I stood there like an idiot. How did one ask a scary,allegedcriminal who knew how to hide bodies any questions?
“Come on, little mouse,” he prodded. “I know you’re there.”
I scrunched my nose at his little nickname and moved around the corner.
“Did you come for the real attraction now you’ve tried the discount rides?” Logan said, taking a large bite from his toast. The corner of his lips turned up in a smirk as he locked his stare with mine. There was a darkness in it that he didn’t try to hide. In fact, there was a sense of pride in it.
