Page 78 of Loving Trent
Unbeknownst to all of us, Demon has collected a lot of information about the real Tom and Sandy. He has spoken with people in their past and looked more into the identities they have been using. We still don’t know for sure how they’re getting the money to open these camps or how they’re flying below theradar. We have our theories, but until we can prove it, that is what it will stay.
Demon set up a program to alert him of any movement on Josiah and Eve. It’s been silent for a while, but it finally went off three days ago. The alert was that Josiah was entering the country from the UK. From what Demon gathered, he had been there for three months, but Demon couldn’t find anything more. Instead of heading back to Missouri, Josiah went straight to Florida, where he bought a small plot of land under the name of some shell company. The land isn’t big enough for a camp, but it still doesn’t sit right with us.
To end all of this, I have to do the one thing I never thought I would. It’s time for a family reunion. With everyone–Parker, Emilee, Zak, Sammy, Levi, Tiffani, Adam, and Carly–taking turns heading to Alabama to be with Boe, it’s on the rest of us to do this. Nana and Boe’s mom are taking care of the kids and holding down the fort. I promised Shawn that I would be there as soon as I could. I feel bad for Boe and want to be there for him because I know what he’s going through. Shawn might not have been lying in a hospital, but I’ve felt the desperation of almost losing the love of your life. Watching Shawn bang on the window while fire raced toward him is something I will never forget. I could at least do something to save Shawn. On the other hand, Boe can’t do anything but sit and wait for Bec to wake up.
It doesn’t make things easier, but I’m sure Boe becoming a father helps him a little. Yeah, that’s correct. Bec was pregnant, and Boe had no idea. From what I gathered, only her dad and Nana knew she was having a baby. Unfortunately, the little one had to be delivered early, but she is healthy and thriving. Now we just need Bec to wake up and forgive Boe for being an asshole.
We have all received multiple pictures of Ella’s angelic face over the week. While she is adorable in every picture, it’s theones with Shawn present that are my favorite. This is the longest we have been apart since we got together, and I hate it. Our bed feels massive without him taking up more than half of the space. The house is too quiet, even with Harley’s friends over. She misses him, too, but we both know he is where he needs to be right now. No matter what, we will support him even if it means living without him while he’s there for his best friend.
“And I’m done,” Harley says, accompanied by the sound of her shutting her laptop. I glance in the rearview mirror and catch her gaze. People looking in from the outside might say that I’m a bad parent—the adoption went through right after we got back from St. Louis—for letting her come with us, but they don’t know our story. They don’t understand that she needs to see this end. She needs to have a hand in taking down the people who hurt her. Its closure, and I will be damned if I don’t give it to her.
When we decided to confront Josiah in Florida, she asked if she could come, and I told her I’d make sure she was there. I told the school we had a family emergency, and they didn’t bat an eye. They made a plan for all her teachers to put her work and lectures online. Harley didn’t complain about having to do homework on the road. She has done it with a smile on her face. Every day, she not only surprises me but also makes me proud to be someone who watches her mature and grow.
“I’m proud of you,” I tell her before turning my attention back to the road. We’re getting closer to the house that Leon and a few of his friends have set up for our needs.
“So am I,” Jenna says from behind me.
I slow down, hit my blinker, and pull off the paved road onto the gravel one. We’ve been over the plan a million times, but so much is riding on this that we can’t make one little mistake. When I get to the driveway, I come to a complete stop and focus on my breathing. On instinct, my fingers wrap around the ring nestled under my shirt. I allow it to center and calm me down.
Betty, who is sitting in the passenger seat, places her hand on my thigh and says, “Are you ready for this?”
“As ready as I'll ever be,” I reply before putting my foot back on the gas pedal. I make the turn and pull up right behind a silver Dodge Durango. Without looking behind us, I know that Sonny is there, but he pulls his truck to the left of the driveway. Joe does the same with his, but to the right. They essentially make a capital V with their trucks blocking the only exit. Well, there is another, but the swamp isn’t somewhere anyone wants to get lost in.
I stare out at the unassuming two-story, baby blue house. But before I have the time to worry about what demons this house will hold after today, two individuals emerge around the corner. One is Leon, but it’s the other that steals my attention. It’s been twelve long years since I’ve laid eyes on the man who helped create me, and I wondered how I would feel when this exact moment happened over those years.
Would I be hurt?
Mad?
Pissed off?
I’m in shock that what I’m feeling is nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
I shut off the truck and open my door. Josiah hasn’t noticed that anyone is here, so I take a minute to take him in. He looks the same as he did when I was thirteen, but there are little things that tell me that time has passed. His once dark brown hair is streaked with gray. His eyes—the same shade as mine—have more wrinkles around them. His once-trimmed waist has expanded as well.
“As I said before, our camp—” Hearing that word come out of his mouth forces me to feel something, and it’s rage. I slam the door to my truck louder than I should, but I don’t care. Josiah’s head snaps forward, and the moment he sees me standing here,his eyes grow wide, his mouth drops, and his hands fist at his side.
“Hello, Josiah,” I say calmly as I step out around the truck.
His fists tremble slightly, and I smirk at that. I used to fear this man, and it’s rewarding to know that the tables have turned. The sound of the others stepping out pulls his attention away from me. I’m studying him, so I catch the moment that a plan forms in his eyes and… well, I can’t have that. So, I pull out the pistol that is tucked against my back, cock the hammer, and point it right at him. “I wouldn’t run if I were you. Not only is there no way out, but it would just piss us off more. It’s time to talk.”
Facing the white door hiding one of the monsters from my past, I’m focusing on the feel of my ring once again. I should have texted Shawn that I needed him here, but I didn’t. I don’t want him to feel as if he has to choose between me and his best friend. A hand comes down on my shoulder as Leon says, “You can do this. We’re going to be right there with you. You focus on getting your answers and let us worry about everything else.”
“What if I go too far?” I ask because our plan isn’t one that I came up with. I want to kill the fucker yelling behind the door, but I can’t.
“I will pull you out, but I need you to not fight me if it comes to that,” Sonny says, stepping up beside me.
I look over at the man who has done more for me than Josiah ever thought about. “Thank you…” The words ‘for everything’ get caught in my throat, but Sonny’s eyes tell me he knows what I meant to say. He nods and opens the door.
“You aren’t going to get away with this,” Josiah yells as he struggles against the chains keeping him in place. I glance around the room. It doesn’t look like a master bedroom. There is no bed, dresser, or anything that would be proof that someone lives here.
Instead, a single metal chair is bolted to the floor in the middle of the room. There are two tables, each with anything and everything someone needs to torture someone into giving up their secrets. As I step into the room, the plastic taped to the floor crunches under my shoes. Leon’s fucking friends work fast, and they didn’t leave anything out.
“Unlike you, I know how to cover my tracks. So, I will, in fact, get away with all of this,” I say, spreading my arms out. Sonny, Leon, and Demon enter the room behind me, but I don’t move my gaze away from Josiah.
“What are you going to do? Kill me?” Spit flies from his mouth as he pulls on the chain once more.
