Page 113 of Darkness Falls

We stopped at Mary's farm so Callie and Natasha could speak with the women. It was mutually agreed upon that Kyler,Barrett, and I would stay in the car while they talked. We were there for support if needed, but for once, I agreed that it wasn't our place to be involved in the conversation.

The women welcomed Natasha's return. They embraced her with nothing but love and support. From what we were told, they agreed Natasha is the perfect person for them to lean on moving forward.

They discussed a few of the semantics and spent hours making a log of everyone's requests and needs going forward. Their husbands' deaths were discussed before wrapping things up as well. Some of the women will be reporting them missing now that we have a plan in place. You can't exactly have a Supreme Court Justice disappear with no answers, so they weren’t left with much of a choice.

They’re all planning to tell the police the same story if they’re asked why they waited so long to report the disappearances.‘Their husbands often took trips where they would leave for several days at a time. They didn’t think it was necessarily a red flag at first, but they began to worry after not hearing back from them.’The website should be up and running any minute with the names of all the men to dissuade further investigation.

Natasha plans to formally launch The Maxton Foundation as soon as possible, giving anyone affected by cults an open resource. We will do our best to ensure word spreads to the people who need it. Some may be weary at first, but our hope is that with time and a positive track record, the foundation will only grow. The women and children who survived Rogue arethe first of many that The Maxton Foundation will aid; I’m sure of it.

Some of the women have already packed up their campers to go back to their homes. They chose to sever ties with the community completely and were given an emergency number should they ever need assistance or change their minds. Others have opted for the assistance we’ve offered, with some getting new homes and others monthly payments to keep them on track.

A few of the women asked that we not include their husbands' names on the website. They wish to simply report them missing without the possibility of them being linked back to the compound fire.

Everything is on a play-by-ear basis right now, and we plan to take it one day at a time. It's going to be a lot of work, but it seems like Callie is dedicated to helping her mother make sure everything is handled. As long as Callie wants to stay here, we will.

What my brothers and I do for a living is flexible. We are free to accept or decline jobs as we see fit. Our reputation will still precede us if we take a step back from the criminal world. We always intended to retire at some point, and while this may not be permanent retirement, it's as good of a reason as any to step away.

As much as I like to believe we were fine before meeting Callie, the truth is our lives were stagnant. We were mindlessly working and stuck on our struggles from early on in our lives.Callie healed each of us. I can see the way my brothers have changed because of her, and I'd be lying if I said she didn't change me, too.

The moment I first heard her sing the song in my bedroom, the vivid memories of my mother have been flooding back at the strangest times. She opened the gates and unlocked this part of myself I had buried for so long. It was a time when I felt loved and accepted before it was all ripped from me with my mother's death.

Callie is the first person I’ve genuinely opened my heart to since losing my mother, and I think it’s finally time for me to admit my feelings to her. I've been putting it off for too long. She needs to know she has the entirety of my heart if she wants it.

I feel someone touch my arm, pulling me from my thoughts, and I look down to see the girl I can't seem to get off my mind. She smiles and rests her head on my arm before glancing up at me.

"What are you doing out here by yourself?"

"I have to talk to you," I say, ignoring her question.

"Okay, but before you do, there's something I want to do. My mom told me about a place nearby that she used to go to when she was a kid. It has this big tree in the middle. Will you go with me?"

"Of course I'll go with you. Do you want to grab everyone else?"

"No, this is just for us."

She grabs my hand and leads me toward the trees. It takes about five minutes for us to walk to the spot she described, and as it comes to view, I'm mesmerized. In the middle of the woods, there is a thirty-foot circle with small rocks lining the outer edge, and the largest tree I've ever seen is planted right in the middle. The center of the circle is covered with dirt, and you can’t help the way your eyes are drawn right to the tree in the middle.

It seems peaceful here; as if anyone who came here could work out their troubles just by sitting in the silence of the circle. I look down at Callie and see tears in her eyes, which immediately has me concerned.

"What's going on? Why are we here?" I ask as gently as possible, even though it's not my usual nature.

"I thought we could have a memorial for Maxton," she says, rubbing her arms nervously. "If you want to, that is. We don't have to, but I just thought it would be a nice way-"

"I would love that," I say, cutting her off.

"You would?"

"Absolutely. Thank you for thinking of this."

"Having a special place to honor him feels like the right thing to do," she says with pain-filled eyes.

A tear falls down her cheek, and when I reach out to wipe it away, she leans into my touch. I pull her into an embrace, holding her tightly as she wraps her arms around my waist and loses herself in the sorrowful feelings. We stay like this for a few moments, and when she finally pulls back, she looks toward the tree with wet eyes.

"Maxton never got to have a burial place. He deserves to have somewhere he can be remembered."

"This is the perfect place for something like that. I know I never got to meet him, but I'm hoping that through you, I can get to know him more."

"I'll tell you anything you want if you're willing to listen. He was one of the best people I've ever known." She smiles.

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