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“And if that was such a big problem, they’d have killed you already. You need to figure this out.”
“Either way, I can’t let them take her from me,” Gael said. “I won’t.”
The sudden pounding on the door had us all freezing into place. Some of what we’d threatened could get us killed.
“It’s me, guys. Come on, let me in.”
It was Ashley.
“What the fuck do you want?” Gael asked, shoving me out of the way to get to the door. He tugged it open with some force.
Ashley’s face had lost color. “Er, I think you guys need to go and find Emily. I saw her making for the tree line. She looked upset.”
“What?”
“Some guy was talking to her. I don’t know his name, but it seemed pretty intimate. I tried to follow her, but I lost sight of her and well, I don’t know this area and I figured you guys would know.”
“Fuck!” Vadik said. “Earl’s talked to her. I bet it’s him.”
“Split up,” I said.
None of us waited. We left the beach house and Ashley followed me.
“No, you stay here.”
“I want to help.”
“You’ve helped by letting us know where to look, but you’ve got to stay here in case anyone asks for us.”
“What do I tell them?”
“Lie, think of something.”
“But I’m a really bad liar.”
“Just fucking do it.” I was tired. The others had already started to look, and I was left behind to deal with our current little problem. I got that Emily had taken her under her wing, but seriously, this girl was so far out of place, it was hilarious.
Heading into the woods, I glanced around. There was only so much light provided from the party.
My father had once said the woods or any forest was a good place to have an accident. A lot of damage could occur and it was all by nature’s design. I wasn’t interested in what nature could do.
Walking around the trees, I followed the path, not going too deep, but enough for some privacy. If Earl had finally confronted Emily, then there was a chance he’d told her what her father has done, and I didn’t think that would have gone down well.
I paused as I heard a sniffle and I turned, catching sight of the purple.
I stepped closer and saw it was Emily and she was hitting the trunk of a tree.
“Emily,” I said, capturing her attention.
“Don’t you dare,” she said.
She pulled away from the tree just as Vadik, Gael, and River arrived. She stormed up to me and I didn’t try to stop her as she slapped me hard across the face. I must have deserved it if she was dishing it out.
“You knew, didn’t you? All of you.” She spun around in a circle. I noticed her hands were bloody from punching the trunk of a tree. I tried to reach for her, but she pulled away. “No,” she said. “Don’t you touch me.”
“Damn it, Emily. Your hand.”
“I don’t care. You all knew, didn’t you? None of you were going to tell me!” She looked at each of us, but we didn’t respond. What was there to say? It was the truth. None of us had any intention of telling her everything we knew. It made us the Monsters, but it was the truth.
She shook her head. “Why? Why wouldn’t you tell me? Is this your game? A joke? I’m the punch line?”
“No, you’re not.”
“Then why wouldn’t you warn me?” She laughed. “That’s why you never went too far, isn’t it? You couldn’t. You weren’t allowed because daddy told you not to.” She shook her head. “The fierce Monsters’ Crew. The ones who bring death and pain, kept in line by their daddy.”
“Emily?”
“No. You’re not going to make this better. None of this can ever get any better. This is my life. It’s not yours. It’s mine. I can’t believe…” She stopped and took several deep breaths. “I don’t know why I’m surprised. This was way too good to be true. Even your parents are waiting to see if this deal is worth it.”
She shook her head. “I can’t do this.” Her gaze landed on Gael. “You could have at least told me. I saved your life.”
She grabbed her dress and took off, heading toward the party. I watched her go, about to follow her.
“I’ll go,” Vadik said. “She’s… I’ll make sure she’s okay. You’ve got to find out what shit is going down, and you, keep Earl away from her,” he said, pointing at Gael.
“No fucking problem. Do I get to break bones?”
“No, you get to bore the living shit out of him,” Vadik said. “And you, tail Crane, see what the fuck is going on.”
“Tell her I love her,” I said. “I never wanted her to go through this. Never.”
Vadik nodded and I had no choice but to watch him leave.
