Page 18

Sixteen

DIMITRI

I stare at Coach’s unconscious body, his chest rising and falling with shallow breaths. Knox follows my gaze, his jaw tightening.

“What about him?” Knox asks gruffly, nodding towards Coach.

I rub a hand over my face, exhaustion and adrenaline warring within me.

“I never thought I would agree with Jaxon on something like this, but I think he’s right.

Coach’s life is done. It ends here.” I sigh and trace my fingers over the gun tucked in the back of my jeans.

“But first we need to help Hope get some closure. She deserves a chance to say goodbye to her mom.”

Knox is quiet for a moment, then he nods. “You’re right. We’ll figure out what to do with that bastard after.”

“Come on, he’ll be out for a few hours,” I say and we head back inside the cabin. Hope is sitting on the edge of the couch, staring blankly at the wall, her arms wrapped around herself. She looks up as we enter, her eyes glassy and distant.

“Hope,” I say gently, kneeling down in front of her. “We were thinking… we wanted you to have a chance to say goodbye… to your mom. Would you want that?”

Hope blinks, her brow furrowing as she processes my words. Then, slowly, she nods. “Yes,” she whispers hoarsely. “I’d like that.”

“Give us a few minutes to get everything ready,” Knox says and I nod.

“Jaxon can take you,” I say and glance briefly at Jaxon.

“Okay,” she whispers.

I swallow hard, staring at the bones. “We need to cover her up.”

Knox nods, dark circles under his eyes. “Yeah,” he says hoarsely. “She can’t see it like this.”

We work in silence, pushing dirt back into the hole with our hands. The soil is damp and clings to my skin, embedding itself under my nails. I don’t care. I keep digging, making sure that every bone is covered, that nothing is left exposed.

Finished, I wipe a filthy hand across my forehead. “She really loved her,” I whisper, more to myself than to Knox.

Knox clears his throat, a harsh sound in the quiet. “I don’t think she stopped,” he says. “Even after…”

He trails off but I know what he means. Even after her mom disappeared, even after everything, Hope still clung to the idea she was out there, that she might come back. Finding her like this… it must have shattered something inside her.

Knox stands, brushes dirt from his jeans, and looks around. “These flowers,” he says, pointing to the white blossoms scattered around the tree. “That what she would want?”

“Yeah,” I say, remembering Hope’s shaky voice as she whispered about the flowers her mom loved. I gather a handful and scatter them on the grave while Knox does the same.

When the grave is covered and the flowers lay in a heap against the dirt, we step back.

“Do you think anyone else saw it?” Knox asks softly.

“The videos about Hope’s… stay here?”

“Is there a way we can know?”

I shake my head. “Not sure. But we can find out.”

Knox seems lost in his own thoughts, his eyes dark as he stares straight ahead.

I can’t tell if he’s pissed at me.

At himself.

At all of this.

At Coach.

“We’ll trace the IP,” I say.

“Yeah,” Knox says and scratches his jaw.

I sigh. “We found a lot of shit on it. I was able to make out a few entries. I couldn’t get through all of it,” I tell him.

“I want it gone,” Hope’s voice startles me and she slowly stands beside me. “I can’t live knowing it’s out there. That there are more people like me, being used, beaten, and… killed.”

Hope kneels at the edge of the grave, tears streaming silently down her face. She reaches out with a trembling hand, gently touching the flowers. “Goodbye, Mom,” she chokes out. “I’m so sorry. I love you.”

Knox, Jaxon, and I stand back, giving her space to grieve. After a few minutes, Hope rises unsteadily to her feet and I move to her side and carefully put an arm around her. She leans into me, clinging to my shirt as she lets the tears fall freely.

No more pretend.

“It’s going to be okay,” I murmur, rubbing her back. “We’re here for you. We’ll get through this together.”

She wipes her tears from her skin with her sleeve. “Thank you,” she says softly, glancing between Knox and Jaxon. “For everything.”

I nod, then stare at the grave as I can never truly accept her thanks, not after everything.

Hope gathers more flowers to lay over the grave, covering every inch with blossoms. The white petals stand out starkly against the dark soil, but the sight seems to calm Hope.

Knox shifts and tilts his head back to the cabin. “Ready?” he asks.

“Yes.” She licks her cracked lips and her gaze flicks between us, her expression softening. I see trust there now, small but real. It makes every bruise on my knuckles worth it.

Every second of doubt. Every hesitation. Every lie we told ourselves.

“Come on,” I say, guiding her back towards the cabin.

Knox lags behind, lingering by the grave. I know what he’s thinking, the guilt he hasn’t quite let go of.

“You coming?” I call back to him.

He nods, his gaze lingering on the flowers. One more deep breath and he’s with us, his shoulders straightening as he falls into step beside me.

KNOX

My eyes are fixed on her as she walks between Jaxon and Dimitri. A weak sway in her steps but her strength is seeping back. She’s stronger than I’ve ever been. I know what I have to do now. I know how to make it right. I have to be the one to end this, to cut the last tie.

I watch her as she curls up on the couch. She doesn’t flinch away when I sit next to her. She doesn’t pull back as I graze my fingers over her side.

“Here,” Jaxon hands me a water bottle and nods towards Hope. “She needs to drink.”

I open the cap and press it against Hope’s lips, careful not to hurt her. She takes a sip, then slumps against me.

“We can’t stay long,” Dimitri says, pacing. His eyes flick to me and I know he’s waiting for my answer, my decision. “Whoever called Coach must realize we’re here.”

“Pack up,” I agree. “Then we’re gone.”

Hope shifts slightly, her head resting in my lap. Her trust feels like a second chance, one I don’t deserve but will take. One I’m not going to waste.

Dimitri’s unease prickles my skin. His hands flex at his sides and I roll my shoulders. “I’ll do it.”

He stops and stares at me but it’s Jaxon that speaks. “Can you, though?”

I scoff. “Why couldn’t I?”

“You were his golden boy, his freaking poodle.”

I pause for the anger, the lash out, but it doesn’t come. Probably too exhausted to truly respond to it, other than, “Did you just call me a poodle?”

He shrugs. “You know what I mean.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose with a sigh. “Right…”

I peek down at Hope, memorizing every spot on her skin, every mark Coach gave her.

“Give it,” I tell Dimitri and without hesitation, he hands me the gun. “Be ready to leave,” I add, sliding from under Hope’s head and standing up. She gazes up at me, blinks away the sleep in her eyes.

“What are you doing?” she asks.

“Ending it all,” I say, a weak smile tilting on my lips.

Jaxon blinks at me. “Need help?”

I shake my head. “He made me. I’m doing this alone.”

I look at Hope, searching for something in her eyes. A sign that she gets it. That she understands. All I see is fear and pain.

I walk out before I can change my mind.

The air is colder. The light is fading. Coach leans against the tree, his head lolling forward. Blood stains his shirt, his face. Hope’s marks on him are clear and brutal. She did more damage than any of us expected.

I stand over him, letting memories flood back. The first time he saw the marks on my arms, the way he promised to make me strong enough to never be hurt again. The way I believed him.

I wonder if he knew, even then, how much damage he would do. How he would twist me into something I couldn’t recognize. I wonder if he planned it.

I crouch down, my shadow falling over his battered face. He stirs, lifting his head and giving me a bloody sneer.

He laughs weakly, blood bubbling at the corner of his mouth. “She’s a slut. Just like her mom.”

“Not going to let you hurt her again,” I say as I edge back.

I square my shoulders and cock the gun, the sound loud in the stillness.

I swallow, my grip tightening on the gun.

“Go on,” he taunts, his eyes glinting. “You know you want to.”

My hand trembles. I hesitate. Fuck.

The crunch of footsteps behind me makes me flinch. I glance over my shoulder and see them—Hope, Jaxon, and Dimitri, all watching me with unreadable expressions.

“We can’t risk him getting away,” Jaxon grits as he stops beside me, his eyes flicking to Hope.

I look at them—at Hope, her hands raw and her spirit unbroken. At Dimitri, his jaw set in grim resolve. At Jaxon, his face hard but his eyes fierce with loyalty. I raise the gun on Coach, my fingers clenching around it.

“Do it,” Jaxon urges, his voice low.

My stare meets Coach’s and my hand quivers.

He deserves to die.

We deserve to be free.

My finger tightens on the trigger and yet my grip isn’t as strong as I thought as Hope slips in front of me, pushes me aside, and takes the gun from me.

Her small frame moves quick and she lifts the gun, aiming it at her dad’s forehead.

“Hope, no, you shouldn’t carry this.” Dimitri tries to reach her but her hold is unyielding.

Strong.

Powerful.

Hope.

To be continued…