Page 71 of Behind the Shadows

Just the mention of the Pied Piper’s name set us all on edge. He was dangerous, manipulative. We were simply pawns in his elaborate game.

I leaned my head back and groaned. “Fuck. My. Life.” I looked over at Dope, his gaze narrowing, deep in thought. “Jesus. He’s been in your life since the beginning, and you had no idea.”

I shot off the couch, my anger rising to the surface. “Which also means that he might know Holland. As in he was there that night I killed someone. A young girl my age. With red hair and blue eyes.”

Dope swung around in his chair, his mouth gaping open and closed like a fish out of water. “Okay, this shit is getting more insane. You thought you killed a girl when we were teenagers and never said a fucking thing about it?”

“Mother kept me supplied with drugs to ensure I kept my mouth shut, remember?”

“Fuck. That woman has to go. Like I get that we don’t hurt females, but she’s a fucking monster, so in my book the bitch doesn’t count.”

She’s a monster, but so am I.

Dope returned to his computer, his fingers flying over the keys on the keyboard.

“Lily Lytton aka Lily Clemmons aka Lily Harrison.” He grew silent again and leaned closer to his screen. “It’s interesting what pictures people put on the dark web.” He glanced at me sideways. “Oh. Fucking. Hell.”

Death and I crowded around our friend, peering over his shoulder.

Dope smirked while he typed. “Old chat logs about girl after girl for sale. I can’t believe they thought this shit was safe. But guess what? Some dumbass admin kept nightly backups, and they’re still sitting on an unsecured network attached storage. It’s referred to as NAS for short. It only took me five minutes to find.”

A chat log flickered on the screen with dozens of usernames. Threads about “new shipments.” And one photo.

My attention landed on the words and image from years ago, and my heart skidded to a fucking stop.

Her.

“They didn’t post her like they did the other girls—like a product,” Dope muttered, his focus on the screen. “They kept her hidden, passed around like some twisted secret.” He continued to scroll, his jaw tight.

Death leaned over his shoulder, reading aloud, “Love a sweet little redhead? Contact the Pied Piper.” He pinned me with a sharp look. “That’s Holland. Only younger. What the fuck is this, Kip?”

My vision blurred, pulse pounding in my ears as I stared at the image. Trying to convince myself what I was seeing wasn’t real, I blinked hard, but the screen stayed the same.

“It’s Holland,” I rasped. “We met once, but she was introduced as Samantha. That was the night I thought I killed her. I killed someone, but it wasn’t her.”

Dope let out a low whistle, leaning back in his chair, still zoned in on the chat logs.

“The Pied Piper was trafficking? Should’ve figured. But I’m shocked he didn’t cover his damn tracks.”

“Me too,” Death said. “But it’s in our favor.”

Dope frowned, his forehead creasing as if he was deep in thought. “Wait. Let me get this straight. Lily, your mother, dated the Pied Piper? And they ran in the same college circle with those other psychos.”

“Yeah.” I wasn’t sure what he was getting at.

Dope froze. His mouth opened and closed before he finally spoke. “Shit. Kip … you’re sleeping with Holland?”

A sour, burning knot twisted in my gut.

“She’s gorgeous,” I said, piecing together what he was getting at. “Wouldn’t you?”

Death’s hand dropped heavily on my shoulder, his words sharp as they landed. “Let’s hope she’s not blood, man.”

I stiffened, my goddamn heart stopped before it stuttered to life again. Dope sat forward again, tension crackling in the room.

“Think about it. If Lily and PP were swapping more than favors back then … then Holland could be more than just some girl caught in your mother’s shit. Dude, what if Lily is her mom too?”

The air felt thin, suffocating. I yanked my phone from my back pocket, thumbs fumbling across the screen. I didn’t even know what I was typing, just that I had to reach her.