by A. M. Brooks
I glance up, and for the first time, I notice the look of protectiveness and anger that lingers on my friend’s face. My brow lifts. “Our? Us?”
She looks away, her cheeks flaming red. “You know I mentioned wanting to stay here.”
“Yeah, you mentioned it. I didn’t think you were serious. Like for how long? Ciaran is leaving for the military soon.” I edge closer to her. My heart beats wildly in my chest and any dreams of us tearing up New York together are slowly disappearing.
“I’m really serious,” she answers, her voice shaking, “I plan to go to school here and I want to help with Rogue when I am able to. And before you say anything about ‘Girl Power,’ it’s not only because of Ciaran. My family is here now. Mila. I just found out Jason is my dad and Silas is my brother. I want to have relationships with them too. My mom...if she’s alive, they’ll all be here.”
My eyes skate over my friend and the very serious expression on her face. I can feel the change happening between us. This is where we start to go our separate ways. Because just like she is now attached here, to Minnesota, I am forever attached to New York. Except for Kai. I don’t know what I will do about Kai. My naive notion that he would choose to follow me to NYU instead of joining the military burns bitterly in my gut. I never stood a chance of him choosing me. I start to pull my hand away before Saylor holds it tighter.
“I can’t speak for Kai. All I can tell you is that you were happy, Oak. But I can also see that you aren’t ready to give up NYU to follow him wherever he will be. And I think he knew that. You guys need to talk. You need to let the secrets be buried. If I was under pressure not to tell you, then he was under twice as much. The fact that he even went against Matt as much as he did for you already...I’m surprised he is still a part of their future. He’s crazy about you,” Saylor tells me, and I have to fight the heat blooming in my chest. Being faced with your own issues is never comfortable. Realizing that Kai isn’t the only one who’s been keeping things secret is the reality check I needed.
“I know,” I manage to get out before my throat wells up and tears sting my eyes. “It’s just so much more complicated now than I thought it was.”
Saylor doesn’t say anything else and neither do I. We sit on the bed, my hand in hers, both of us lost in our thoughts and the uncertainty of our futures. It doesn’t take long for my mom to find us, though.
“I was wondering where you were,” she says from the doorway. Saylor gives me a sympathetic smile before she slides out of the room. “Are you still not going to talk to me?”
“Are we done keeping secrets?” I volley back at her. She huffs, her lips pursing, while her arms cross over her chest. For the first time, I notice the designer pant suit is gone. Instead, she is wearing jeans and a blue off-the-shoulder shirt. Still designer labels but more casual than I’ve ever seen her.
“Your dad and I had a conversation about this last night. He’s agreed that it’s my story to share, so it’s up to me to tell,” she starts, but I hold up my hand to stop her. She gapes at me, and I shock her further when I pat the bed, wanting her to join me. My mom’s eyes widen, but she takes the steps farther into the room and finally perches herself on the edge of the mattress.
“I’d like to know if you’ll share.”
Her shoulders slouch and her eyes close. “I’ve tried many years to bury this, to not relive every moment of what I went through. I didn’t have a great start to my childhood. I ended up in Rogue and became best friends with Kell. We were inseparable. Exactly like you and Saylor. I was with her through all of it, Jason and their breakup. When she left for New York with Calvin, she was different. Broken. We lost touch for many years until that one day we ran into them. When the news reported that they had vanished, I figured she finally called Matt. I waited and waited. Every time you and Ollie or Nash came to me, wanting me to do more, I couldn’t. I had to wait and see. Finally, Matt called me about the fake funeral, the girls, and I couldn’t say no. Old habits die hard. Suddenly I was reliving the days when all we talked about was Rogue and the plans for the future. I just never thought it was going to be my future. In the event of her death, Kelly left the girls to Matt, so even though I offered for Saylor and Mila to stay with us, they chose to stay with Matt in the end. Matt asked if we’d ever want back in as a safe house, and that was how we got Lux.”
“Yeah,” I snort, “our exchange student.”
“I know it wasn’t right to keep that from you, Oaklynn. We just thought with everything going on, you’d be in less danger if you didn’t know anything. Matt had planned for some complications over the summer, but no one could have foreseen what actually happened. I never meant for that violence to touch you or your brother,” she explains, and I try to see it from her perspective.
Everyone keeps saying the same things. It was for my protection. It was to keep me safe. I understand their hearts were in the right place, but all it did was leave me a little broken. “Even Ollie knew.”
“Ollie didn’t know about my past or what was happening with Kelly. He knew Lux was being protected and that Nash was involved as well as his family. Which, don’t worry, your dad and I plan on having a conversation with him about this too. Matt needs to hear it, though.” Her voice trails off. I know she’s worried about him and I am too. Matt isn’t biologically related to Saylor and Mila, but he is as close as any blood relative. Now knowing he is Kai’s boss and mentor, I have even more reason to pray he comes home safely.
“So what do we do now?” I glance up and notice she is watching me carefully.
“We get through this. Rogue needs our help and I have too many people here I care about to abandon them. You and Ollie don’t have to stay, though. It’s dangerous. Your dad and I have already been planning on how he could take you and your brother if needed.”
“I don’t want to leave.” The words spill out of my mouth before I really have time to think about it. That can’t be a rational thought, right? I actually want to stay where there is going to be danger and, let’s not forget, a serial killer on the loose?
My mom hums under her breath and gives me a knowing look that I choose to ignore. She thinks I want to stay because of Kai. He and I have many things to talk about and knowing what I do, I’m not sure what our future looks like. What I do know is that Saylor and Mila are my family. Their family is here and they are in trouble, so I’m staying.
“Well, we could use your help in the basement when you are ready. Mike got all the old files over to us, so we’re splitting the work while the guys are out setting up security.” My mom stands from the bed and turns to face me from the doorway.
“I’ll be down soon,” I respond. Eventually, she is satisfied and leaves. I glance around the room, still not sure how the perfect summer turned into this mess, or why there is this pulling sensation in my heart when I think about Rogue needing my help.
Sighing, I get up and grab some clean clothes before finding a bathroom to brush my teeth. The house is quiet, a complete contrast to last night. I tiptoe through the rooms until I find the door leading to the basement. When my feet touch the bottom, I gasp. The whole room looks like it’s straight out of a spy movie. I spin around, taking it all in, before my eyes clash with Saylor’s. Her expression is one of understanding and humor. “No, Dorothy, we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
Kai
Everything hurts, and I’m exhausted. We’ve spent the last eighteen hours setting up security and a perimeter around Savage Lakes. Quickly and efficiently, because that’s how Ciaran likes it. At least having Reed around to do our technology work, so the three of us can be out here, has been helpful.
“I’m so hungry,” I grumble again, getting into Ciaran’s truck. He shoots me a look and I lift my shoulders. “What? I’m sorry I like food and my stomach isn’t made of lead like yours.”
“He’s hungry too,” Silas clips. “That’s why he’s so pissy right now.”
I laugh while Ciaran scoffs. The three of us manage to hobble
into the truck, too exhausted to manage anything else. No one has heard from Matt yet or Jason, making the outcome seem grim. Instead of stopping in town, Ciaran drives us right back to Matt’s. We pass the auto repair building on our way, and it feels weird to bypass it. Randy has stayed stationed there for appearances, but we couldn’t chance someone connecting it to us.
By the time we get back to Matt’s, everyone is feeling relieved. Silas’s shoulders relax and Ciaran finally unclenches his hands. None of us have hassled each other all day about our tells showing; for once, we are on the same page with our emotions and fears. We each have someone we can’t live without.
I trudge through the front door behind them, noticing the silence right away. Ciaran glances at us and draws his gun immediately. Silas and I both grab for ours at the same time. Ciaran motions us to different parts of the house. I check the kitchen and find it empty. All that remains is a bowl of fruit from this morning and a half-eaten sandwich platter that was left out. Knives clutter up the sink, but there is nothing that resembles that a fight or struggle took place. I round back to the entryway, right as Silas is coming back from the living room and Ciaran from the upstairs. With his hand held up, Ciaran leads us to the basement, the only door left. Silas counts to three before flinging the door open. The minute it’s cracked, I hear Lux laugh and Molly answer her. The girls go on chatting as if my heart isn’t lodged in my throat, my pulse beating rapidly in my ears.
“The hell?” Silas mutters and holsters his weapon. I tuck my Glock back in my waistband and follow Ciaran, who’s shaking his head, down the steps to the basement.
“Having a party down here, Ma?” Ci asks Molly, who turns to him sharply.
“Oh, you’re back!”
“Just,” he manages to get out before Saylor is barreling into him, her arms wrapping around his waist.
“And we have great news,” Lux offers from where she is stationed at a computer next to Reed.
I lift my brow. “What’s that?”
“There was a file that was deleted from 1974. An incident that took place in Toronto. Reed is attempting to find all the old files that were logged into the system when the family business went paperless. And I’m searching for any newspapers from Canada at that time that might mention anything that sticks out or is a red flag.” Lux catches my eye and I chuckle at the smug look on her face.
“Nice catch,” I compliment her.
“It wasn’t actually me. Oaklynn noticed the date in the computer didn’t match the log.”
I flick my gaze to Oaklynn, but she refuses to meet my eyes. Not that I’m surprised. I’ve been aware of her since I walked into the basement and noticed right away that she grew rigid the minute my feet hit the bottom step. Regardless, I’m impressed at her ability to spot that, and it’s killing me that I can’t praise or touch her.
“You know what that indicates?” Ciaran looks to us and we both nod in response. Someone in Rogue purposely deleted that file.
“I’ll help Reed,” Silas offers. With his magic brain, he’ll be better at noticing anything else out of place now that we know what we are looking for.
“Everything secure in town?” Molly asks, helping to diffuse the tension in the room. My own thoughts zone out, too caught up in finding out about this new betrayal.
“We’re locked up tight,” Ciaran mutters, his own concentration fixed on the computer Lux is working on.
Oaklynn gets up and wanders over to the other stack of files. I follow her slowly, pretending to be looking as well.
“You really helped us by finding that information,” I manage to say, enjoying it when her eyes lift to mine. Pink tinges her cheeks, but she doesn’t say anything.
“Come on, Oak, are we never going to talk again?”
“We said everything we had to say last night.” She huffs and sets a stack of files down.
I bite my lip and glance around, but everyone seems engrossed in their tasks. “That wasn’t everything I had to say. It’s just crazy right now. Life in Rogue is like this, busy all the time.”
“You should get back to work then.” She raises her eyebrow at me in a challenge. I hate it, but I love it at the same time, because at least we’re communicating.
“Can you just give me a few minutes? I’m really sorry, babe. I want to settle everything. You are important to me, and I know I didn’t handle any of this how I should have.”
Oaklynn stops shuffling papers, and I see her shoulders cave in, her body growing softer. She glances at me with her big, blue eyes and gives me a nod. I want to cheer and finally take a breath, but mostly, I want to just grab her and kiss her.
“Boys, there are sandwiches upstairs and chips in the pantry. Why don’t you guys go eat and take a small break. There is nothing we can do yet until Reed can get the file back,” Molly says, using her mom tone, and both Oaklynn and I glance at her. My stomach rumbles again.
“Go eat first,” Oaklynn mumbles, her lips turning into a frown, but I don’t miss the concern in her eyes.
“After?” I ask, hoping we can have our talk and I can figure out what I need to do to give her some confidence in us. Thankfully, she nods her head yes.
With some reluctance, I follow the guys upstairs to eat. It feels weird, leaving the girls with the tasks of looking through all those files, but clearly, they’re already better at it than we are.
“I can’t believe this happened.” I shake my head, my words cutting through the silence. The last few months of revelations and truths, as well as almost dying, play over in my head along with the crushing reality that it was all just a matter of time. Having Saylor here was just the tipping point to a plan already in motion.
“We need to find out who is behind this, so we can crush them.” Silas speaks the words we’re all thinking.
“Maybe if we find out who deleted the file, they’ll lead us to where we need to go,” I muse.
Ciaran is zoned-out, his mind working overtime, trying to figure out how we end this. My brain is already looking to the future and trying to figure out how we prevent it from ever happening again. With this new information, it’s difficult to say how long this has been planned.
“Do you think we didn’t vet people thoroughly enough? Or, do enough check-ins?” Ci asks, glancing at both of us.
“I don’t know. I mean, we don’t know everything about how Matt and Jason recruited. And we have better technology now than even ten years ago. We also don’t know how long this infiltration plan goes back,” I answer.
Ci opens his mouth, right as the basement door slams open against the wall.
“Boys!” Molly yells. We’re up and out of our chairs, sprinting toward her.
“It’s Matt! They’re almost to the county line, but they’re being tailed,” Molly explains, while we head back downstairs. Reed has the live images up that he pulled from various traffic cameras as Matt heads into the state. I immediately notice Erika is next to him in the passenger seat. She holds up a sign in one image that reads, in all bold letters, ‘BEING FOLLOWED’ and ‘MEET US’ is in the next image. The last one visibly shows Matt handing Erika a gun.
“We need to go!” Ci yells and motions for us to follow him. Running over to the storage room, I open the cage and hand each of them a Kevlar vest. We all grab a rifle and bullets, before charging back up the stairs.
“Reed, keep us updated on their progress!” Silas yells over his shoulder.
I can hear the girls following us and shouts of be safe, be smart, echo behind us. I appreciate their worry, but my adrenaline is already pumping, and I can’t focus on anything else but the task at hand. Get to Matt and get them here safely, without giving away Rogue’s location.
Silas hands me an earpiece that crackles the minute I put it on, and then we’re all hearing Reed’s monotone voice, giving off clipped but precise coordinates for where Matt and Erika are. Ci guns down on the gas and we drive across the yard, making our own shortcut, until we hit the main road.
“If we
take the back roads, we can get parallel to the highway they will be traveling on,” I say to Silas, who has his map app pulled up on his phone.
“We can intercept whoever is following them best, if we can meet them here. There is less traffic and a grassy area.” Silas points and enlarges the image. Two seconds later, his fingers are flying over the screen and he sends the images to Reed.
“How long until Matt and Erika will be at this location?”
“The rate he’s traveling at, he can be there in ten minutes. You might want to accelerate a little more there, Ciaran, or you’ll miss your opportunity.” Reed’s voice is abrupt when he answers.
“Opportunity for what?” I hear Oaklynn’s voice over the speaker, and my body jolts in response. Usually this would be where I would change the subject for her or take the truth and sugarcoat it. Now she knows everything and there is no hiding what really happens anymore. I pull the earpiece out and let my forehead rest against the front seat. My two lives are now intertwined, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to separate them again or even if I want to continue to feel so incomplete. I wasn’t completely myself with Oaklynn, always hiding the darker parts of who I am. Now those parts are exposed and either she will accept them or I’ll lose her. I’m honestly not sure which is the better decision for her to make.
Ciaran steps on the gas, accelerating toward our target. I can feel the tires and the thrum of the engine as his truck moves faster, weaving in and out of traffic. Silas finally reaches over and grabs his seatbelt, securing himself in the seat.
“They should be on your left in one mile.” Reed’s voice can be heard from their earpieces. I lean back, grabbing my own seatbelt and buckle in as well. My right hand reaches up and grips the grab handle.
“I see them,” Ci announces.
I follow his line of vision, and, sure enough, the blue truck is in the north-bound lane, heading our way. Ciaran pushes down on the gas even more and I watch the speedometer climb. The blue truck passes us right as Ciaran jerks the wheel, driving us over the median and directly toward the smaller SUV that was following them. The driver turns his wheel to avoid a head-on collision, while the tires smoke and screech against the asphalt. Before they can come to a complete stop, we’re already out of the truck, weapons drawn and advancing on them. More doors slam in the background, but I don’t pay attention, focusing on the man who is now coming toward me. Recognition soon flashes in my memory. Scott Pollard. Last location was the safe house he ran on the outskirts of Pennsylvania. I pull the trigger and watch him collapse. The other two who were in the SUV fall to the ground next. One of them manages to get a shot off, though, and I feel a burning sensation in my left shoulder. I push through the pain and glance around, making sure we got everyone.
