Page 4 of Depraved Desires

There were plenty of rumors circulating around about Foster’s crew. How they were unhinged and ruthless. That they didn’t contain morals and killed for sport. At the time, I thought it was just bullshit to make them sound harder than they were. Now…I wasn’t so sure.

I watched with bated breath as they made their way through the soccer field. Their movements were quick as they walked, but that wasn’t a surprise. I’d be panicking too if I was holding a girl hostage and had a body to dispose of.

When they finally entered the woods, I took off on a silent jog. It was too risky to sprint considering I didn’t know what awaited me as soon as I slipped through those trees. Despite the situation at hand, I needed to think rationally about this.

My heart pounded against my ribcage as I reached the opening of the woods, but I didn’t let that deter me. Darkness enveloped me as I stepped through the trees, halting behind a big oak. Breathing heavily, my head spun. There were only so many places they could take her. The cellar, which was only a few yards away, and the pond. It was unlikely they’d drop a body off at the cellar where it would quickly begin smelling. That left one other place.

Right on cue, the sound of twigs snapping, and leaves crunching captured my attention. They were close, but not that close. Sucking in a mouthful of air, I sought after them, making sure my steps were careful and that I was hidden at all times. If I was caught, I would be as good as dead. There was zero chance of surviving a one on four fight when they were all experienced fighters.

It didn’t take too long to near the pond, and when my destination was reached, I stood idly by and waited. Aspen’s sobbing had my gut churning, but I couldn’t just go running out there. Not yet. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too late when I finally had a chance to make my move.

Voices followed her pleading and then a strangled scream pierced the air followed by a loud splash. My fingers itched to do something, to go after her. Drowning happened quickly and when in a panic, it would be nearly impossible to figure out how to get out of that damn pond. Luckily I’d been around here enough to know it like the back of my hand. Another splash soon followed and before I knew it, the guys were leaving the scene. They tossed them like they were nothing but trash. It had my blood boiling.

“What the fuck did we just do?” Collin’s voice rang out as they entered my line of sight. At least one of them had somewhat of a conscience.

“What we had to do.” Was Foster’s only reply.

I didn’t wait around to hear the last of their conversation. The clock was ticking and if I wanted to get her out of here alive, it was now or never. Keeping to the trees, I snuck past them without them even noticing.

Amateurs.

I wasted no time, peeling my jacket from my body and kicking my shoes off. Without another thought, I made a gentle dive into the water. Needles pricked my skin as it engulfed me,and it felt like the air had been knocked from my body. The water froze my eyes as I opened them, nothing but black surrounding me.

Swiping my hands through the water, I swam, hoping to find her. She couldn’t have gone too deep. At least not yet.

Aspen didn’t deserve to die. Especially not at the hands of those pieces of shits. The girl might have had an attitude like no other, but I could tell that she’s been through some shit. We all have. That didn’t warrant her death. My body trembled from the cold and fear started to overtake me. I’d considered a lot of things before jumping in, but I hadn’t considered going into anaphylactic shock. Not until now.

Shoving that thought to the back of my mind, I kept moving through the water. When my hand brushed up against something, I latched onto it, silently praying it was her. Threading my fingers through theirs, I tugged the body against me.

Relief flooded my system when my eyes met her closed ones. There wasn’t any time to waste, so I quickly started moving us toward the surface, gasping in a lungful of air as we breached. The icy wind attacked my exposed face, making it that much harder to keep going. But I didn’t have a choice. It was life or death now for the both of us.

Blinking away the water, I took off in the direction of the stones lining the far end of the pond where we’d both jumped. She was lucky she didn’t bust her head from being pushed. It felt like hours, but I finally made it and grasped onto a big ass bolder, hoisting the two of us up with one arm. Planting my knee on the hard edge of the rock, a pained grunt left me. My muscles screamed at me despite being in shape, and the vein in my forehead bulged as I exerted myself. Once I got my footing, I wrapped my newly freed hand around her as well and stood. Her cold skin met mine as I cradled her in my arms and laid herdown on the grass a foot above me before pulling myself up to join her.

Kneeling on my hands and knees, a series of coughs tore from my chest, but it was short lived when I remembered there was another life here at play too. Crawling over to the naked girl, I placed my two fingers against her pulse and waited. When I felt the slow rise and fall of her neck.

No one needed to know what had taken place here tonight. Keeping her safe was the most important thing.

Reaching for my jacket, I snatched my phone out of the pocket and slipped it on her, making sure the hood was over her head and that it was zipped. Considering that I was much bigger than her, it fit like a dress. At least it provided her with more warmth.

Taking a few deep breaths, I shivered excessively and unlocked my phone. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t take her back to her room in fear of them attempting to kill her again. So, I pulled up my contact list and dialed the only person I knew would keep a secret like this. Someone I knew who would help protect her.

After a few rings, he answered.

“What?” he growled into the device.

“I didn’t know who else to call. I need your help.”

CHAPTER TWO

Collin

The light streamed in through the window, illuminating the entire room. I wasn’t sure what time it was, but I’d been up for hours. All I could think about was what we did and if we’d get caught for it. My stomach twisted with unease as her scream bounced around in my head, reminding me of one of the worst nights of my pathetic existence. When Foster made up his mind about something, it was set in stone. There was no talking him out of it, granted, I didn’t even really try to.

Why didn’t I try to?

That question has been one I’ve uttered constantly over the last few days. I wasn’t a murderer, or a rapist. So how the hell did I get sucked into this shit? I’ve done things I’d never even considered doing before. Now two girls were dead, and it was my fault as much as it was Myles’ and Foster’s. Hell, even Hunter stood by and let it happen. He fuckingenjoyedit.

It was officially Wednesday and if people haven’t grown suspicious of Raven and Aspen missing, it was only a matter of time before they did. That thought had my stomach twistingonce more. Maybe they’d just assume they ran off, but that was hard to believe when all their stuff was still in their bedrooms.

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