Page 38 of Shadow and Skulls

When I get to Jesse and Dirk’s room, I press my back against the door, struggling to pull air into my lungs.Everything is okay, I tell myself as I count backward from ten. My gaze roams the room for something to ground me. I stare at a wind chime hanging in the window. The moonlight glints off the crystals.

Charlotte is okay. Kat is … I’m sure she’ll be okay. A few bumps and bruises won’t get her down.

I drop my gaze to the bag hanging from my hand. I’m sure it’s filled with everything I’ll need for the night. My mom keeps bug out bags everywhere. Here, her store, Dad’s shop, our house …

But Charlotte could have been hurt … kidnapped even …

The door pushes against my back, making me stumble farther into the dark room. “My mom said …” I begin to explain, thinking it’s Dirk. My sentence ends abruptly as Tank’s presence sucks the oxygen from the room.

He reaches for me, tugging me into the warmth of his body. His big hands cradle my head firmly against his chest. I wiggle in his grip, but he doesn’t release me.

“Charlotte is okay,” he says quietly.

She looked so scared when Petey brought her home.

“Say it,” Tank orders, pressing his lips to the top of my head.

“She’s okay.”

“Say it again.”

“She’s okay,” my voice cracks. “I should have been there.”

“This isn’t your fault,” he assures me. “If you would have been there, you would have been in danger too. It’s probably better that you weren’t.”

After a few seconds, he walks us over to the window. “Whydidyou leave school today?” he asks as we stare down at the lake.

“I had to talk to JD.”

When club members begin to gather on the lawn below, he backs us into the shadows.

“He said he’s going to tell my dad about you if I don’t.”

“I’ll talk to JD. We’ll tell your parents about us when the time is right.”

“You don’t understand.”

He steps in front of me, making me look at him. “No one gets to force you into anything. Not even JD.”

“But …”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle it.” He steps away from me. “I’ll go run you a shower.”

He disappears into the bathroom, the light spilling over the bedroom carpet when he turns it on.

“There is nous,” I tell him, bouncing on my toes nervously.

He appears in the doorway, wiping his hand on a towel. He laughs. “Oh, there is definitely anus. We’ve been destined to cross paths. Do you remember that ice cream shop back home in Iowa? You know, the one across from the EconoFirst Motel?”

My heart slows, and I take a step back.

“We’ll have to take a road trip there sometime. Have you had one of their hot fudge sundaes?” he asks, resting his hands above the doorframe.

He knows I’m from Iowa?

My heart begins to race right before I scurry across the bed. We both look at the door when I stumble off the other side. There is no way I’ll reach it before him.

“Why did he send you?” I begin to panic, wondering why Dr. Williams sent him. I didn’t tell anyone about his part in my being trafficked.

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