Page 4 of UnWholly Angels (Crestview Cardinals #1)

“Never. By the way, you don’t look like a Riley.

You have a nickname? Most who walk through those doors get one at some point.

So, if you don’t, it’s no big deal.” I stared at him through the grate.

His shoes were now submerged underwater, and if I left him any longer, he would lose them; it wasn’t like that old bitch replaced anything around here.

We’d have to resort to stealing or begging.

Once, I took the shoes right off a checkered blanket at the park while a mother played in the sandbox with her kids.

I’d outgrew them, but they were all I had.

The money that came to the group home always seemed to be ‘gone.’

I wouldn’t tell Riley the harsh truth, only hoping he didn’t face the same difficulties. I’d only asked his name to start a conversation and take his mind off the current situation. I didn’t actually care about a nickname; I really liked the name Riley.

Despite everything, his lips twitched into a small smile. “I normally go by my middle name, but we just met. It’s way too soon to tell you,” he joked.

“Give it to me or I can leave.” I tried to stand, but he refused to let me go, gripping my hand tightly. “Okay, okay. What if I just give you one instead?” I asked hesitantly.

He nodded. “Get me out and you can do whatever you want, Freckles.”

The darkness did nothing to hide my flushed cheeks.

Nobody had ever mentioned my freckles before.

Butterflies fluttered in my stomach, which was weird.

Shaking the feeling away, I focused back on the grate.

I was determined to free him, even if it alerted Rocco. He didn't deserve this. None of us did.

“I’m sorry, it’s been a few days since I’ve eaten. I’m not as strong as usual,” I admitted, repositioning myself to get a better grip. “You push up and I'll pull. On three.”

“One.”

“Two.”

“Three!”

He pushed, and I pulled as hard as I could.

Together, we were able to move the grate, flipping it over onto the dirt beside us.

Reaching for his hand, I helped Riley out and onto his feet.

“I know your legs probably hurt, but we have to get out of here before someone hears us, or we get struck by lightning,” I heaved, pointing toward the trees.

He struggled to catch his breath but nodded, and together we made our way through the woods toward my hideout. It took about ten minutes to get there, and by the time I pushed my way through the thick brush that hid the entrance to the dug-out space, I was completely out of breath.

We crammed our bodies inside the small space, and I tried to smile his way. “I know it’s tight, but I figured anything is better than the hole,” I shrugged.

Moving a few things around, I felt for the stash of peppermint sticks I had buried in the back. If I didn’t eat something soon, I would pass out. My shaky fingers dug through the mud until they ran over the plastic bag. At this point, I'd lick the mud from the candy just to eat.

After I inhaled a few peppermint sticks, Riley cleared his throat. “You seem dangerous. I like that.”

I laughed. “Well, living in this shithole, you kind of have to be. But you don’t seem like you belong here. Why are you here?”

“Why are you?” The hidden warning was thick in his answer, and I backed down.

Should I tell someone I just met my life story? Did he really care?

Never in my life had I wanted to just break down and tell someone everything. It never felt safe to do so. But with his eyes locked on mine, waiting patiently for answers, I felt like I could trust him.

“My mother was…is…an addict. Sh-she got caught trying to sell me to an undercover officer.” The small area started closing in on me, and my chest tightened as panic set in.

“It wasn't the first time, either. It started when I was ten, at least, I think that’s when it started. It could have been earlier, but I don’t remember anything about my life before then.

If she didn’t have money, I was the next best thing to trade for access to her habit.

” Quickly, I wiped at my face, hoping he wouldn’t notice, but it wasn’t good enough.

Surprisingly, he didn't shy away like I’d expected him to.

Instead, he just pulled me into his lap and brought me right to his chest. Even after being beat down and thrown into the hole, his arms were still warm and tight around me.

I hid my face in his shirt, and through the wet fabric I could smell something that reminded me of wood and cologne.

It was comforting. “I love my mom, but it’s been an endless cycle,” I admitted.

“I want to have a family that wants me, that would love me. She just won’t let me go.

She keeps fighting in court to have me back home, but I always end up back here. ”

I could hear Riley’s heartbeat thrum against his chest as he sat in silence, taking in the information. His breathing was hard and forced, like I was making him mad. This was always where I started to feel like a burden to people, and why it was so hard for me to share anything.

There was a long pause, his jaw tightening before he spoke.

“When my dad would get drunk, he would lock me in the closet for hours and tell me there were ghosts. He’d even scratched at the door a few times for good measure,” he gritted out.

“Once I pissed myself, and instead of doing something about it, my mother stayed quiet and made me do laundry at three in the morning on a school night,” he confessed.

“Riley, I'm sorry.” I moved my hand to wipe the tears from his face, but he only moved his head to the side and sniffed, putting up his guard. An invisible mask I was all too familiar with.

“When he was sober, he was a really great dad. My mom was beautiful and so strong. Over time, though, after my dad lost his job, she started getting quiet, more reserved. I saw the way he broke her down. I won’t be like that ever.

One day, I'll be an amazing husband and wear a ‘number one dad’ hat and have a sexy dad bod. The whole nine yards. My family will always know how loved they are.”

It was extremely brave of him to share these things with me.

It must have been hard to admit, just as it was for me.

After the day he’d had, I was glad to be the person who stumbled across him and gave him that safe space.

Riley seemed just as conflicted as I was, unable to choose the life handed to him.

The people who are supposed to love us most, repeatedly letting us down.

We sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, neither of us moving away from each other. “You never told me how you ended up finding me,” he said after a minute.

I thought about my answer, wondering how much I should tell him. “I needed to get some air,” I answered, trying to act as if that was all that had happened.

He leaned back, trying to see my face in the darkness. “And they just let you walk outside?”

I shrugged. “Not really? Rocco told me to get out, so Lorenzo let me come outside.”

He was quiet, like he was trying to figure out how that made sense. Trying to get more comfortable, he moved his hands from my lower back to my arms, and I hissed. His hand landed on the space Rocco had grabbed, where a bruise had already started to form.

Instantly, I felt his eyes lock onto me. His breath caught in his throat as he gently placed his hand over my slightly raised skin. I couldn’t stop the whimper from escaping my lips, and to my surprise, a growl burst from Riley’s mouth. “Did he do that to you?”

I didn’t answer him. It wouldn’t have made a difference; it wasn’t like I could try and lie. He didn’t need me to tell him something he already knew.

We were both silent after that, and the knot in my stomach grew with each passing second. What was going to happen now that he knew the truth? He couldn’t do anything to stop it, and trying to help would probably get him killed. I opened my mouth after a while to speak, but he beat me to it.

“I’ll protect you. He will never hurt you again,” he whispered.

“You really do have a death wish, don’t you?” I huffed.

He chuckled. “Maybe. But that’s a conversation for another day.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “Whatever you say. How do you think you’ll protect me, tough guy?”

“As much as I hate this…you have to put me back in the hole. But once they bring me back, you tell me any time someone puts their hands on you.”

I shivered, knowing how hard this would be for him. “I don’t want to.”

“I know. Trust me, I don’t want you to. But it’s the only way,” he explained.

I nodded against his chest. “Okay.”

After a few more minutes, he gently pushed me off his lap, and together we made our way out of the cave.

The rain had stopped, and the crisp night air chilled my skin.

Taking his hand, I silently led us back down the hill and stopped just before we were out of the trees.

Turning to face him, I chuckled as I ran my hand along his shoulder to wipe some of the dirt away.

“Thanks for hiding with me,” I whispered.

He smirked. “Thanks for trying to rescue me, Maya.”

Looking up at him, my gaze locked with his in the moonlight, and the soft glow reflected off his green eyes.

They had a brownish tint to them, reminding me of the earth right before the leaves dropped from the trees.

I couldn’t help but stare, and it was probably making him feel awkward. Suddenly, it hit me.

“King,” I muttered as his fingers ran through my matted hair. “That's your nickname.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“You ask a lot of questions, Riley, but I'll give you this one. Your nickname is King because that's what I came up with,” I teased. When he stared blankly at me, I laughed and added, “Because maybe one day we’ll get out of here and have a kingdom all our own.”

Once he was shoved painfully back where I found him, I sat there and held his hand through the grate, waiting for the sun to come up.

He wasn't going to be left alone in the dark, not anymore. When the light finally peeked through the horizon, turning the once dark sky into a beautiful hue of purple and orange, I bit my lip. I knew I had to go back, but I didn’t want to leave.

Riley spoke up first. “It’s time for you to go. I’ll be okay. Go start sketching.”

“Sketching?” I laughed, nervously picking at the skin on my wrinkled fingers.

He smiled. “That's right. We need a castle. What's a king without his queen, right?”

I rose, my lips twitching into a small smile.

Even though I didn’t choose this life, there were moments that forced me to see what I had.

The sky had wept for Riley and me last night—the forgotten ones, struggling for freedom just out of reach.

The truth was, we would never leave this place.

The abuse, the memories, and the nightmares would always plague us.

It couldn’t hurt to pretend for just a little while, though.

As I turned to leave, I heard his voice ring out from beneath the grate. “See you soon, Freckles,” he called.

“See you soon, King.”