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I rear back, feeling the phantom touch of his fingers against my skin.
“Seriously?” I gasp, absolutely outraged.
He smiles. “A bite for a bite, baby Lake.” Headlights appear behind me, and I glance over my shoulder, seeing Kyler’s BMW pull up behind Eloise’s car. He steps out, his face blank as he grabs an armful of shovels from the back seat.
My stomach twists.
Archer walks up to Kyler, his body stiff as he takes a shovel from him. Turning around, his eyes connect with mine, no longer playful, no longer threatening, but closed off. The mask may have dripped from his face, but he replaced one that covers his soul.
“You know I’ll do anything to keep you safe, Lakyn, and that includes burying your fuck buddy. Now grab a shovel, help me dig a fucking hole, and let’s forget this night ever happened,” Archer snaps.
Archer grabs another shovel from Kyler, pushing it against my chest, and I instinctively grab it.
Kyler passes around the rest, and the severity of what we’ve done hits us hard. We’re silent as we walk to a clear, flat landing in the thickly pebbled sand. The ground here is hard, not the soft, beachy sand we just came from; it won’t be easy to dig.
No one comes over here. The waters are too rocky, the sand too rough and grainy, filled with seaweed and pricklies that hurt your feet.
Creed and Kyler do most of the digging, while Archer grabs the body from the trunk. Eloise, Vienna, Posie, and I shovel at first, but eventually we just stand off to the side, shock on our faces as they dig the perfect hole, seven feet by three feet, as if they’ve done this a million times in their lives.
“Someone help me with the body,” Archer says once they’re finished digging.
Creed tosses the shovel aside, wiping his forehead with his forearm. He snaps his gaze to mine, most of the makeup gone from his face, but he lasers me with a lethal, exhausted stare. “You should’ve never brought him around here, Lakyn.You know the fucking rules.”
My eyes widen. “Are you fucking kidding me? We might not be here if you guys didn’t bring him down to the docks!”
Creed shakes his head, walking to Zane’s feet, his fingers wrapping around his ankles as he lifts him into the air. Zane’s body bounces slightly before swinging back and forth. Archer grips him under the shoulders, and walking him to the edge of the hole, they swing him once, twice, three times before they let go, dropping him into the pit of rocky dirt. A plume of sand flies up around him before settling slowly back to the ground.
We stand around the circle in different states of disarray. I don’t even know how I feel at this moment as I stare into the darkened hole, Zane’s limbs twisted awkwardly, his face pushed up against the sand-packed wall.
My eyes snap toward Archer when he bends down, grabbing a stray shovel as he stares at Zane’s body. “Let’s bury his ass and be done with him.”
And we do, all of us picking up our shovels and tossing the pile of dirt into the hole. The guys finish it off, making the surface look natural and undisturbed.
Slowly, we head back to our cars, all of us silent, though our thoughts are blaring in the silence.
I’m drained, both physically and emotionally. My body aches, my eyes dry and burning, my head throbbing… but I know I won’t sleep tonight.
Archer looks up at us, his face filled with dirt and sweat. “No one says a word about this, got it?”
“Got it,” Vienna says, stepping closer to Creed.
“Yeah,” Kyler mumbles, grabbing the shovels from us and walking toward his car.
He turns toward Posie.
“I won’t say anything, Arch,” she mumbles.
“Me neither,” Eloise whispers.
Finally, he turns toward me, his eyes blank. “Lakyn? You fucking hear me?”
I take a breath, not at all feeling confident.
He steps closer, his fingers wrapping around my arm and squeezing tight. “Tell me you fucking hear me, Lakyn.”
His fingers hurt, and they bruise. “I fucking hear you, Archer,” I growl, ripping my arm out of his hold.
“Good.” He licks his lips, staring down at me, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes, and I shiver when I realize why.
