Page 63 of Twisted Truths

Kicking off my shoes, I lie back, resting one hand behind my head and the other on my stomach as I stare up at the ceiling. Nothing about today has gone according to plan. Kissing Hadley in the church. Dalton showing up at the funeral. Shane giving me the keys. Finding Hadley and Gabriel here.

I need time. Space. But I don’t have either.

Gabriel fucking Solomon is in my house.

Guilt churns in my stomach. Eight years of hatred doesn’t fade in a day, especially with the memories that have been dredged up tonight. Tom Keeland was my best mate, yet I haven’t contacted Jess in almost three years. It hurt too much knowing he wasn’t getting any better.

He endured years of his father’s abuse, and the Circle broke him in under four days. He’s nothing but a shell of his former self, and with no evidence, the police put it down to drugs; they said he took something which addled his state of mind.They didn’t care he had no history of drug use, that he was serious about his basketball.

Tom might not have had a scholarship to a D1 college in the States like me, but he had plans to leave Barrenridge, to make it onto an NBL list. Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, he didn’t care. He only wanted to get away from here.

The Sunfire Circle took that away from him.

Gabriel claims he had no idea what happened to Tom or about his family’s involvement, but Tom wouldn’t have been there if it weren’t for Gabriel.

How the fuck am I supposed to forgive him for that?

Madeline.

Tom.

Ziggy.

Gabriel is the common denominator. It can’t be a coincidence. He may not have been directly involved in what happened to them, but if he hadn’t introduced them all to his family’s cult, maybe they’d still be here.

Mum, Paul, and Rylan were only collateral damage.

And while it’s looking more like I’m going to have to get in bed with the devil in order to find out who really murdered my family, it doesn’t mean I have to like it. I don’t have to like him.

But getting justice for Ziggy is no longer my only motivation.

Hadley’s face flashes behind my closed eyes. There’s something about her that pulls at me in a way I’m not sure I’m ready to admit. Maybe it’s the sadness in her eyes that mirrors mine. Or maybe it’s the fact that for the first time in days, I don’t feel completely alone when she looks at me.

Whatever it is, it’s dangerous. Because I’ll do whatever it takes to keep Hadley safe.

I’m not losing anyone else.

Not if I can help it.

Chapter Twenty-Three

HADLEY

Ijolt awake, my heart hammering against my ribs like it’s trying to escape. Panic claws at my throat, and it takes me a moment to work out where I am. Then I remember.

The farm. Nash and Zara’s childhood home. His guest bedroom.

The sheets pool around my waist as I sit up slowly. The room is quiet, the kind of quiet that only exists this far from town. Like out at the Circle. It doesn’t explain the goosebumps that have erupted all over my skin. Something isn’t right.

Holding my breath, I focus on the sounds of the old house settling around me. Something woke me up. Then I hear it again and my pulse spikes.

A thud.

A muffled shout.

I freeze, my ears straining as my mind spirals instantly to the worst place.They found us. Whoever killed Nash’s family is back to finish the job. Was he right? Were Guardian Solomon and Seraphina responsible?

Unwilling to sit here and wait for them to find me,my feet hit the carpet before I can think twice. I creep to the door, my heart in my throat as I reach for the handle with trembling fingers. Opening it a crack, I listen carefully, trying to discern where they are in the house.