Page 64 of The Secrets We Bury

He’s evil, but everyone only ever sees the mask.

Principal Long is around the desk in a heartbeat and for the first time since before my dad was arrested—probably for the first time since I was a child—someone pulls me into their arms for a hug that feels maternal and actually caring. A savage part of me, a fearful part, urges me to shove her away, to refuse the act of kindness, but I can’t.

I can’t do it anymore.

I’m tired.

I’m fucking scared.

Everything is falling apart and the monster is coming for me.

Long’s arms squeeze me against her breasts and instead of pushing back, I let my head sink down to her shoulder. I let my arms come up around her. This is inappropriate, I know, to seek comfort from this woman whose authority is supposed to dictate my punishment. When the hug is over, she’s going to sit me down and I’ll know just how much trouble I’m in, but for right now… none of that exists and I’m grateful to her for knowing exactly what I need even if she can’t give it to me.

24

NOLAN

Control is more than something a man can possess. Control is about what you let others see, what they perceive of you. Whether or not you’re powerful to them or weak. It all comes down to control.

Right now, Lex has very little of that control, which means I must have an abundance to make up for his lack. He strides back and forth across the floor, his long legs eating up the distance as he waits for Viks to appear. We skipped meeting Viks at the place he’s been staying at on the north side and instead called in a few favors to a bar outside of town—one that isn’t normally open during the day.

The grime on the front windows dims the sunlight pouring in over the empty interior of Bar and Bass. Most of the chairs are flipped up on the tables from whoever closed the night before and the front door has a sliding metal cover pulled down to show that the building is not open to customers. The back door echoes with the sound of knocking as the man we’ve been waiting for finally arrives.

Lex stops his constant moving shifts, turning towards the back door with narrowed eyes. I roll mine and get up from the stool that I’d pulled down earlier. Lex watches me move past himto the door. I press down on the bar across the middle, popping the door open and allowing Viks to pass inside. A moment later, a smaller, though no less well-built man, steps inside, following him.

“You brought someone?” Lex’s voice is all annoyance and aggression.

I shoot him a warning look as I let the door swing shut and I double-check to make sure it’s locked again before returning to the main part of the bar. “Can I get you gentlemen a drink?” I offer, moving behind the bar.

“Water,” Viks says. I nod and bend down, removing a glass from the racks below the counter, and fill it with ice. All the while, I watch the newcomer with a sharp gaze.

He’s younger than Viks, more slender, but he carries himself with the ease of a man who’s used to working with his body. His hair is a shock of blond on top, longer and drooping over one side of his forehead, but when he turns to take a chair from one of the tables and sets it on the ground, I note that the underside where his hair is shaved closer to his scalp is dark.

Once I’ve finished filling the glass of water, I round the counter and move to the table that Viks and his friend are setting up at. Lex is still watching the two with barely restrained glares. I set the glass before Viks and turn to the man next to him.

“For you?” I tilt my head.

He waves me away. “Didn’t answer you the first time, kid. I’m good.”

“Abel.” Viks’ tone is chiding and the man, Abel, I presume, rolls his eyes.

“Fine,” Abel says, looking at me. There are tattoos peeking out of the sleeve of his loose t-shirt, but aside from those, he looks like any other preppy dude in his late twenties. “I’ll take a beer. Bottled—I don’t care what brand.”

I glance at Lex and nod towards the bar. Lex scowls at me, but he follows my silent request. Minutes later, the four of us are all sitting around the table, each with a drink in front of us. When Lex grabbed Abel’s beer, he’d snagged a couple of sodas for each of us as well and I’m thankful that it’s given him something to focus on as he twists the metal tab on the top back and forth until it snaps off.

Viks speaks first. “So, I contacted a friend who was able to do some more digging into the dark web.”

“A friend?” I sit up straighter. “Who is this friend?” I frown. “How do you know he can be trusted?”

“Sheis loyal,” Abel says. “Don’t worry about that.”

“And him?” Lex snaps back, gesturing to the new man. “You didn’t tell us you were bringing someone with you.”

“He’s our contact with the hacker,” Viks states.

Abel grins and leans back in his seat, letting the front two legs pop off the floor as he balances with the ease of a man used to controlling his body. “Yup,” he says, popping the word from his lips with a smirk. “You don’t get to her unless it’s through me.”

“We don’t need another hacker,” I say. “We have the Scorpion.”