Page 58 of Pin-up Girl

“No use, Elise. We’re about forty miles away from civilization. This is also private land.” Milo grunted as he tripped, righting himself before we both faceplanted.

A flashlight beam shone on a small, square structure made out of gray stones on the bottom, and maybe wood on top, but it was too dark to really tell.

This was the fire tower they mentioned. Their secluded hangout.

Fun.

Jules tugged on a chain to turn a light on as we passed through the door. The room was sparse, a few futons, a couple of quilts, and a built-in kitchenette in the corner. It was a fairly small space, but the walls were solid wood panels, like they’d been done in the last few years. I hoped there was a bathroom around here somewhere. If they planned on holding me hostage, we’d need one.

Hysterical giggles climbed up my throat. Milo glared at me, but I couldn’t help it. Shit had literally hit the fan in the worst way, and I was worried about a bathroom.

I took a deep breath as Emmett closed and locked the door, and Milo set me down gently. It gave me hope. Maybe some of his anger burned away on the drive.

“Why are you laughing?” Emmett stalked forward and shook me by my tied forearms. The perpetual smirk that was always present on his face was completely gone, leaving behind something hard and hateful.

“Because I’m fucking scared!” The shock I thought I was feeling evaporated, and uncontrollable tremors wracked my body.

“And you think we’re murderers? Think we’ll have fun torturing you?” Milo yelled back. A mixture of confusion and hurt flashing across his face.

“Isn’t that what you brought me here for? To get rid of me? Your fucking father even told you not to leave any evidence behind.” Emmett showed a flicker of guilt. “But no, I’m not scared of you. I have a sister. I’m the only one who cares if she lives or dies. If she’s happy…” My lip trembled on the last, and I spun away from them.

They didn’t get to see my tears. They hadn’t earned them. If they wanted to feel betrayed and butt hurt, fine. But I wasn’t even sorry. There was no room for guilt in survival.

Jules appeared in front of me, and his hands flew through signs too quickly to even try and catch a few stray ones the guys had tried to teach me.

Milo was his voice.Was it fun? Did you get off on ratting us out and collecting orgasms at the same time? You must have had yourself a good laugh at us, the kings. Did you tell your little friend you fucked the Mute?

His body was strung so tight, I didn’t know if he wanted to strangle me or plow holes in the brick walls. The harsh grimace on his face said it was a combination of both.

Fuck them. Fuck them for scaring me. I wanted to turn my fear into a lethal blade and slice them up any way I could to make myself feel better. But…what Jules said, with so much vulnerability, I couldn’t.

“No. It wasn’t like that,” I whispered. “I tried to tell you every way I knew how. I tried to give you so many warning signs.”

“How?” Emmett barked, swiping his hand violently through his messy black hair. “How did you try to tell us? Did you whisper your secrets in our ears while we slept? Write notes in the fog of the mirrors after showers?”

“I gave you every sign I was bad for you without actually telling you. Do you think I actually had a choice? That I was helping those bastards for fun? They have my sister! I need to save her, but it literally made me sick to my stomach to go through with this. I tried to draw you a map!” I bent over and grabbed my head, screaming my frustration at the floor.

“You’re sister?” Milo asked, but Emmett pushed him out the way to get in my face, yanking me back up. The green specks in his hazel eyes were completely gone, leaving behind a fiery brown. His gaze moved between each of my eyes, as if he didn’t know where to focus.

“How Elise? I need to hear it. How did you try to tell us?”

I bit my lip, denying the urge to reach out to him. I was a taciturn person by nature, or maybe I was trained that way by my childhood, but these men created an addiction inside me.

“You asked my favorite flower, remember? Do you remember what I told you?” I looked up into his face, letting him see everything, wearing my heart on my sleeve.

He ground his jaw as he stared at me, hopefully thinking back to that day. “Hydrangeas, that’s what you said. I don’t get how that was supposed to make me realize that you were alying bitch.”

I smiled, but it was sad and ugly. “Wasn’t it? All the flowers I listed for you, bleeding hearts, naked ladies, morning glories, and hydrangeas? They’re all poisonous flowers. Beautiful, but deadly, or at least can make someone violently ill. I was trying to tell you I wasbadfor you.”

Emmett lost it. “You think that’s a sign? I’m not a fucking botanist, what was I supposed to do with that? Do I need to research every fucking thing you’ve ever said to me?” He pulled at his hair until it stood up on end, his eyes wild. For a second, I thought he was going to lunge at me, but Jules caught him by the back of the shirt.

He signed, and Milo once again spoke. “What about me? Did you try to give me a sign?”

“The movies. My favorite movies wereInceptionandShutter Island. You asked me why, and I said—” He started signing.

They were your favorites because you didn’t know what was real, what wasn’t, what was right, or wrong.

He remembered? That was pretty close to my exact words. “Right. And how I loved Edgar Allen Poe because you just never know who to trust and who not to. I was trying to tell you not to trust me.”

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