Page 7

Chapter Six

S he doesn’t speak for the rest of the drive, but her silence is loud. It’s in the way her fingers twitch on the steering wheel, the way her jaw clenches like she’s barely holding herself together.

When the car rolls to a stop near the trailhead, she kills the engine. "Let's get this over with."

"Look at us being a team now," I say, voice smooth. "You and me, partners in petty revenge."

She glares at me so I open the door and step out into the cold. "Come on. Let’s go digging."

I watch her leave the car, my infatuation with her growing to new heights.

I have no idea why I keep pestering her like I do, no one usually holds my interest for more than fifteen minutes.

But there's something about the way she blows me off or bites back.

I like it. I want to play with her more and see just how much of a fight she'll put up when I shove her over the edge.

I get out of the car, noticing the woods are quiet and covered in fog. Trees loom over us and it's pretty fucking eerie. Avery leads the way, her flashlight cutting through the darkness.

I trail a few feet behind, hands in my pockets, watching her move and keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. "So," I say, voice low and even. "You bring all your dates out here, or am I just special?"

"Shut up, Sebastian."

I smirk, wanting to see if I can make her smile just a little bit. "I’m just saying…woods, dead of night, you and me."

She glances over her shoulder, eyes gleaming in the light of the moon. "If this is your idea of foreplay, you’re worse than I thought."

"You think this is foreplay?" I drawl, grin widening. "Baby, we haven’t even started."

She huffs and picks up her pace before suddenly stopping with a gasp.

Her breath fogs the air and I rush to her side.

Her hand trembles, the flashlight she was holding falls, landing on the post hammered into the ground with a red ribbon tied to it.

A note hangs there, fluttering lightly in the wind.

"Someone is always watching"

Avery shakes off the shock quickly, not touching anything and I feel oddly proud of her for that. I pull a black glove out of my pocket along with a plastic baggie because you can never be too prepared. Being an Ice Lord has taught me to never underestimate the people around me.

"This is it," she whispers, looking down at the ground and ignoring me as I seal the note. With her heel to her toes, she starts counting her steps. Once she's there, she drops to her knees and starts ripping into the soil like she’s angry with it.

I lean back against the nearest tree, arms crossed, watching her dig like she’s trying to claw down to hell itself.

The red ribbon flutters weakly from the post, and my gut twists. Something feels off, like we’re being watched even now.

Fuck! Why didn’t I think of this sooner?

I pull out my phone, thumb hovering over the screen. I tap into the locked folder, the one we all agreed we’d never need.

The video loads and I press play, watching the grainy, shaky footage. Avery is alone, crying and digging with the box sitting beside her.

"What the hell are you doing?" Avery demands. Her face is red, fingers covered in dirt as she stares at me.

Ignoring her, I keep watching, making sure I have something definitive before I bring it to her attention. She was so fucking pissed about this video and showing her without reason would just send her on another rampage.

Suddenly, something flickers on the far left of the screen.

I rewind and pause, then zoom in.

There, on the video from weeks ago, is a figure standing just inside the trees, watching Avery while wearing a white hockey mask and a black cloak.

My stomach drops.

The faint sound of her sobs from the video bleed into the air again, just loud enough for her to hear.

She stops digging and her head snaps toward me.

"Come here," I say, sharper than I mean to. "Now."

She wipes the back of her arm across her face and stalks over, breath shaky. "If this is about that stupid?—"

"It’s the video," I cut in. "The one from the night you buried the box. I was watching it and there’s something you need to see."

She freezes, the fight draining from her expression before she gets closer.

Her lips part. "Show me."

I turn the screen her way, then, without warning, she snatches the phone out of my hand . Her muddy fingers smudge across the screen as she grips it tightly, eyes glued to the footage.

"I saw something on there proving you weren't alone that night."

"No shit I wasn't alone." She gestures to the phone. "Your minions were out here recording me."

"I'm not talking about one of us. At least, I don't think it is. I was the one recording you; we haven’t gotten the others involved."

I reach for her, steadying her hand so the phone doesn’t slip, then rewind and pause, zooming in on the masked figure. "Look."

Her breath shudders and she shoves the phone back into my chest. "Who the hell is that?"

She grabs my jacket, fisting the fabric. "They were there, Sebastian. Watching me—they were fucking watching me. You were here and didn’t notice anything?"

Air scrapes into her lungs as she looks around in a panic, twisting and turning as she slowly begins to hyperventilate.

"They could be here right now. With the fog. Oh God."

She grabs for me again, pressing her body to mine before her head snaps back to her car. "I need to get my bow. I need…I..."

Avery’s hand goes to her chest and I take her by the shoulders, forcing her eyes to meet mine.

"Avery, breathe."

She shakes her head, frantic. "Why didn’t I see them? Why didn’t I feel it? I was so fucking…" Her voice cracks. "I was so fucking stupid."

"Stop," I snap, grabbing her tighter. "Don’t do that."

"Don’t do what? " she snarls. "Lose it? Because that’s all I’ve got left, Sebastian."

Her hand flies out as she takes a step back. "I’m caught up in this web of lies and crime when all I wanted was to become a psychologist and help other people not to feel like they were drowning in their lives."

Her muddy hands run through her hair, dirtying it in a way that has her looking equal parts unhinged and savage. And for some unknown fucking reason, my dick twitches in my pants at the sight.

"I was so stupid to get involved in any of this, stupid enough not to be paying attention to my surroundings when I was burying evidence."

I step toward her and she tries to move back, but I catch her in my grip, pinching her chin in my fingers. "You’re not stupid. Whoever that was, they wanted to send a message and they just did."

Her chest heaves, ragged and uneven. She tries to close her eyes, but I pinch her harder. "Look at me," I say quietly.

She hesitates, but when she obeys, her eyes are shining, cheeks streaked with dirt and tears.

"You’re not alone in this," I say softly. "Not anymore."

She swallows hard. For a moment, something flickers behind her eyes—fear, grief, sadness. Then, as fast as it came, it’s gone and replaced with steel.

"Good," she whispers. "Because next time they’re watching, I want them to see me coming."

Ripping herself from my grip, she turns into the night, cups her hands around her mouth and shouts. "You hear me, asshole? I’m onto you. If you weren’t such a chicken shit, you’d show your face. Come and get me!"

A slow, feral grin tugs at my mouth. Damn, this girl is such a badass.

"There’s my little lamb."

She doesn’t glare this time; she just exhales sharply and turns back toward the shallow hole.

"We finish this," she says, voice flat. "Then we find out who the fuck is hunting us."

Avery drops back to her knees without a word, hands diving into the soil again.

I watch her for a beat, then I crouch beside her and dig in too, yanking away roots and damp dirt.

She doesn’t stop me, which means she might finally realize she can’t do this alone.

And for once, I’m not about to rub that in.

Normally, I’d throw it in her face and twist the knife just to watch her scowl and fire back.

But not this time. Because something about the way she’s been crumbling makes me want to steady her. I want her to rely on us—rely on me.

Not because I think she’s weak, but because I know how strong she’s been trying to be. She carries everything like it’s hers alone to fix. And maybe that used to be true, but not anymore.

And if I’m being honest with myself for once, part of me needs her to need me because somewhere along the line, she stopped being just another complication.

The air’s colder down here in the valley, and my gut tightens with every inch we uncover.

Then my fingers hit something hard. I brush the dirt away, revealing a hockey puck.

It's cracked and painted black and red, but that's not what sends my heart into my throat.

Avery turns the flashlight on it, showing Callan's number painted on the surface—#11.

Avery's hand flies to her mouth, a ragged sound breaking loose. "No. No…"

I pick the puck up and slide it into my pocket. Underneath it is a folded, soaked note. I peel it open, mud smearing the edges and read the words out loud, "Who's next?"

Avery staggers back like she’s been shot. "Oh my God. Oh my fucking God?—"

I grab her wrist before she falls. "Hey. Look at me."

She shakes her head, panic rising fast. "They know. They know we’re digging. They know we’re here. They know?—"

"Avery." I grip her shoulders. "Stop."

Her whole body shakes.

I pull her closer, arms locking around her before she can fight me. She stiffens, but only for a second before she crumbles against me.

I lower my head beside hers. "There’s something you need to know."

She tenses. "What?"

"I saw them," I say quietly. "At the crash. The same cloak and mask. It was running into the woods when we pulled up."

Her breath catches, and she jerks back just enough to meet my eyes. "And you didn’t fucking say anything?" Her voice cracks, raw with betrayal.