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HIM
“What happened to not drinking?” I asked, watching as she grabbed a bottle of whiskey off the shelf.
It had been a few weeks since the day we spent at my parents’ house, and she hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol since. To say she was cranky for the first week would be an understatement. Sex helped. I kept her occupied whenever I could. But when Alex came home, it was obvious she was more standoffish with him. She hid her emotions well, but even Alex caught on enough to question her about it. She blamed it on her period, and he dropped the conversation in a heartbeat.
“It’s not for me,” she stated, placing it in the cart. “It’s Alex’s favorite. I’m trying to be nicer.”
“By trying to get him drunk?” I asked with a frown.
She rolled her eyes. “No. I’m trying to show him I still care.”
A burn settled in my chest at the image of him touching her. I fucking hated that he was the one to share a bed with her every night. Even though I had no reason to feel that way. I was the one sleeping with the girl Alex thought loved him. Although I wasn’t even sure he loved her. He seemed more focused on making it work so the group stayed off his back about it.
I pushed the cart down the aisle as she walked next to me. My questions were on the tip of my tongue, but I held them back. Determination had come back into her eyes ever since she had stopped drinking, and I had a feeling she was up to something. She wanted to go to the store more often. A little over a week ago, she bought sleeping pills. She claimed it was for nights she couldn’t sleep. I was calling bullshit, seeing as how she’d put them in the medicine cabinet and hadn’t touched them. There was another reason she’d gotten them.
I also researched the number I had taken from her phone back in Chicago. And when I found out who she was, I stayed up all damn night, unwilling to do what I should have. Kiara Jones. A woman who was connected with a woman who had been chosen. I remembered Valerie’s ceremony. It was only a few years ago. Sage was tracking down people connected to everything. And Kiara was a cop. If anything was a threat to the group, this would be it. Yet, I hadn’t told a soul. Or admitted to Sage what I knew. I had a feeling she’d push me away if I confronted her about it.
Everything added up to Sage planning something other than just running away. It was going to get her killed. I should put a stop to it. But I sat back and did nothing. Because I didn’t want to lose her.
“Is that all we need?” she asked as we got to the front of the store.
I nodded, once again deciding to stay quiet instead of voicing my thoughts. We paid for the groceries and headed back out to my truck. She seemed lost in thought as I drove home, and I didn’t interrupt her. There was a reason she wasn’t telling me anything. Hell, I’d given her the reason. She’d left it up to me to kiss her on the lips, and I still hadn’t.
I could admit to myself it wasn’t about protecting the group anymore. It was about saving her. Even if she tried to expose our chapter of the group, there were more out there. All over the world. It would be impossible to even get close to the elders before someone silenced it. There were members in the group that held important jobs. Judges. Governors. All that would happen was that Sage would disappear, and nothing would change.
My grip on the steering wheel tightened. She needed to stay here. With Alex. At least that way she’d survive.
“If I told you that I could help you leave and disappear, would you go?” I blurted out the question that had been haunting me for weeks.
Silence. I peeked at her after turning on the dirt road, and she was staring at me in shock. I shook my head, looking back at the road. I never should have brought it up.
“You told me they’re everywhere,” she said slowly, not understanding why I was asking.
“They are,” I muttered. “You’d have to go deep, Sage. Completely disappear.”
I had money in savings that could keep her afloat for a while. If she went west, she could most likely live without getting caught. I knew where most of the houses were in the country. Some states had none. I could find her a place where she’d have a near zero chance of being found.
“They’d hurt my dad.”
I took a deep breath. “No, they wouldn’t. Alex only said that to scare you into staying. Your dad’s safe.”
Her jaw clenched as she processed that new information.
“I’d have to hide forever,” she murmured.
“Yeah, you would.”
“I wouldn’t be able to visit my dad.”
“You wouldn’t come back to Michigan. Ever.”
Nerves pierced my heart as she looked away from me and stared out the window. If she told me she wanted to go, I’d get everything ready by the end of the week.
“Would you come with me?” she whispered so softly I almost missed it.
I hesitated. “I can’t.”
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to. It would be more dangerous for her if I came too. It was one thing for someone to disappear who was aware of the group. It was a completely different situation when a member of the group was a threat. All Sage had was her voice. I knew where the evidence was buried. They’d never stop looking for me.
Even with all the knowledge I had, it wasn’t enough to bring down the entire group. It was too large. Too spread out. I’d have to get to the elders, and that was next to impossible. Pulling into the driveway, I ran a hand down my face. What the fuck was I thinking? These thoughts shouldn’t even be on my radar. I turned in the group and people went to prison. People I grew up with. My family. Me.
“No,” she said loudly, turning toward me after I parked. “I don’t want to leave my dad. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Okay.”
That was the end of the conversation. She hopped out of the truck and grabbed a couple of bags, leaving the rest for me. I stared at her as she walked into the house. It wasn’t just about her dad. She was planning something.
