Page 8 of Better Hide

Cole’s gaze narrows. “Fine. C’mon, little one.”

“Wait, where are we going?” I step back.

Neither of them answer me. Cole’s gaze softens. “Punishment later, obedience now. We’ll keep you safe.”

“Safe?” I don’t like the way they look fully serious now. “Safe from what? What’s going on?” Aren’t they the ones I need to be safe from?

Cole walks over to me. I straighten and stare him down. He snatches my hand. “Jay thinks the cops are after us.”

My stomach clenches. For what? For kidnapping me? For Sage? I know they know she’s missing. I’d stalked her family religiously in the last six months. Listened to them talk about how Sage missed work, and that same day, they’d found her home empty – except for her dog. The news had thrown Jayden’s name out there, but everything had died down besides some outraged posts on social media.

Cole’s warm hand grabs mine. “C’mon. Wanna learn how to hotwire a car?”

5

JAYDEN

8 yearsold

“Suck my dick,”Cole says, smashing the keys on the Gameboy.

A cold feeling fills me, and I smack his hand. “Where did you learn to talk like that?”

“Fuck, Jay, don’t make me mess up.” Cole focuses intently on the screen and leans into the game, missing a stack of blocks on the lineup. His blonde hair flops into his eyes. It’s always long and untrimmed, bleached from the summer sun. The screen flashes, and Cole’s score fills the background.

“Son of a crack whore.” Cole throws his arms back dramatically. “You’re beating me every time.”

I swallow roughly.

I know Cole is losing on purpose. He asked me why I’d been so quiet recently and if I wanted to play. He also asked about my black eye. I told him it came from a kid at school. He’s in the grade below me, so he doesn’t know any better.

“You gonna play?” Cole asks, looking at me hopefully.

I manage a smile. I’ll try to play along. I can’t stand to see him upset.

I play the next round and get more points than him. Cole throws himself against the couch dramatically again. Despite myself, I crack a tiny smirk, which only encourages Cole more. He gets more and more dramatic, drawing more of a reaction from me.

I never laugh. Not recently, anyway.

A rich voice rips through the house. “Why in the hell is it so loud in here?”

I jump, my stomach immediately in my throat. Pat stands in the doorway, and instantly, I stop playing.

Pat stalks in. He looks happy, which is never a good thing.

“Who the fuck left the back door open?”

Silence. I see Cole’s face fall from the corner of my eye.

Before he can say anything, I say, “I did.”

Cole sucks in a breath, and I reach my hand down to pinch his thigh. I’ve done everything I can to keep Pat away from him recently. I’ve seen him watching Cole with the same eyes he gives me.

I feel sick.

“Really,” Pat says dryly.

“I’m sorry,” I say.

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