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“Quit the fuckin’ lying, I don’t appreciate it,” he grinds out.
Dammit.
I hate this.
I look to him and exhale. “I’m not trying to lie to you, Lake. I swear it. I’m just...scared.”
“What about? Aaron?”
I swallow.
His eyes narrow. “What has he done? I swear to god if you don’t tell me...”
“We know he killed Vic,” I blurt.
Lake’s eyes narrow, and for a second, I think he might actually deny what I’m saying, but he doesn’t. He thinks on it, his lips tight, and then he responds. “Yeah, he did. It’s not what you think, though. Vic wasn’t doin’ a good thing, and the situation is bigger than you could imagine.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about, Lake,” I say. “I know there are people out there who do bad shit and get involved in things like that. I’m not really interested in worrying about that, my problem is Aaron knows we know, and he isn’t going to just let us walk away with that information.”
Lake’s face tightens. “He threaten you?”
“Basically, yes. He doesn’t trust that we’re not going to say something, and, well, that’s why I’ve been by your side since yesterday. I’m not certain what exactly he’ll do to keep things quiet, and that’s scary because I really don’t know how deep this goes.”
“You did the right thing tellin’ me, Willa. I’ll sort it out, and Aaron won’t lay a finger on you. I promise you that.”
“I wasn’t sure telling you was the best idea, I’m not sure I trust him, and I don’t want this to blow up and make things worse.”
Lake leans forward, cupping my jaw in his hand. “You’re ever in trouble, you tell me. You hear?”
I nod.
My heart skips a beat.
“We’ll get this sorted, I promise you. Until we do, I’ll make sure you and Fallon aren’t left alone. Does anyone else know?”
I shake my head.
He nods. “Good. Let’s keep it that way.”
We finish up at the stream and take the horses back to the barn and wash them off, taking their saddles off and giving them some food. When they’re back in the stables, Lake and I make our way to the restaurant where we’re all meeting for lunch. Fallon would have come back with the other guys and will hopefully be safe if she stayed with them.
When we arrive, I see her right away and sigh with relief.
Waylen and Aaron are both here, sitting at the end of the table, and I avoid Aaron’s gaze as I go and sit down beside Fallon. Lake goes over to Rhett and then the two of them leave. Aaron’s glare turns to me after he watches them go, and I swallow the thick lump forming in my throat as I wait for hell to be unleashed.
“Where’s Ember?” Fallon asks, her eyes travelling around the room.
I realize Ember isn’t here yet. Perhaps she is napping after her massage.
“She’s probably asleep, you know she loves her naps,” I say.
Fallon laughs. “Yeah, she certainly does.”
We eat lunch, and I avoid any further eye contact with Aaron. Lake and Rhett return and act as if nothing is up, which is probably a good thing. I have no idea what Aaron is capable of and I’m sure they’re thinking the same thing. They probably don’t want this to blow up and effect what they’re building here, which is understandable.
Fallon and I make our way back to the cabin with Lake trailing behind us, and when we arrive I go into Ember’s room to bring her some lunch I saved just in case she was hungry, but she’s not there. Frowning, I walk out and let my eyes travel around the cabin. “Ember isn’t in her room.”
Fallon narrows her eyes, and then yells out Ember’s name. No response.
Something inside me prickles as I rush to the bathroom, banging on the door.
No answer.
Where the hell is Ember?
I look to Lake, who is glancing around, his expression tight.
“Maybe she went looking for us,” he offers. “Let’s not get worked up yet.”
“I’ll go and check,” Fallon says.
“We’ll come with you, we can’t let you walk alone,” Lake says, and we all rush out the door.
We search the main house, the barn, the lake, and everywhere else we can think of, but Ember is nowhere to be found. Something inside of me tells me this involves Aaron and the longer we go without finding Ember, the worse I feel inside. He’s done something to her, I just know it.
“Aaron has done something,” I say to Lake when we return to the main house. “He’s done something because I told you.”
“He has no idea we know, Willa. Why would he do something to Ember?”
“Because he doesn’t want us to talk, and he’s going to make sure we don’t.”
Fallon’s eyes dart around and then she looks to Lake, her face worried. “He’s crazy, there is something wrong with that man. You need to do something. He could have hurt her, or worse ...”
