Page 82 of Loving Trent
It’s been three days since Sonny tortured everything out of Josiah, but those of us who weren’t there still don’t know what happened or what was said. It hasn’t been for the lack of trying to figure everything out. Believe me, we all have tried, but Demon, Leon, and Sonny are staying tight-lipped about it. Shawn called me the moment he woke up the next day, and I told him everything I knew. I told him he needed to stay where he was because Boe still needed him. Bec had woken up, but everyone was walking around on eggshells, and I knew it would all come to a head.
“Do you think Daddio would like the beach?” Harley asks as she opens the truck door.
“Probably. We’ll have to come back one day with him,” I say, doing the same. Over the last three days, we have filled our days with exploring and enjoying ourselves. My nights have been spent trying to worm my way into the office to help with the plan, but I’ve never gotten past the door.
“I wish he were here.”
“Me too, but I’m glad we got to do this,” I say, throwing my arm over her shoulders.
The front door opens, and when I glance up to see who is coming out, I stop dead in my tracks. The beach bag I’m holding in my hand drops to the ground as deep, forest green eyes pull me in. He’s here. Holy shit! Harley screams and takes off across the yard. Shawn opens his arms and catches her. “You’re here.”
“Yeah, I’m here,” he says, his eyes never leaving me. I tip my head back and let out a huge breath. All the weight crushing me lifts, and I know that whatever is about to come will be okay. I’m going to make it through it all because of him.
“Love.” Big hands grab my face and pull it down. Everything around us disappears as I stare into the eyes of the man that I love. “I’m so sorry it has taken me three days to get here.”
Wrapping my hands around his waist, I pull his body flush with mine. “It doesn’t matter. You’re here now, and that’s all I care about.” I lean forward and capture his lips with mine. The kiss is slow and sweet. We never move to deepen it, but we say everything we need to. The missing piece that has always been him slides into place. “I love you,” I whisper against his lips when I pull back to catch my breath.
“I love you, too.”
“If you two are done, it’s time to explain everything and get this over with,” Leon says from the front door. Looking up, I find everyone standing on the front porch with smiles on their faces.
We all pile around the dining table, and while there are enough seats for all of us, I pull Shawn onto my lap. Sonny laughs but quickly stops when Demon clears his throat.
“I’ve given Shawn a little recap of what has happened to the point of us making Trent leave. So, I’ll just pick up there. After some negotiations, Josiah told us everything.” Demon holds uphis hand as I open my mouth. “And no, I won’t tell you what we did.” His eyes briefly move to Harley, who is sitting to my right, before returning to me.
“He confirmed what you suspected. While at the camp in Arkansas, he took advantage of a young girl.” My grip on Shawn tightens, but he doesn’t complain. His hands grip my arms as if he, too, is struggling to control his anger. “When he found your journal, he called Stanley once again because he said that Stanley was the lesser of the two evils he was facing.”
“Which is fucking bullshit, but we all know that,” Sonny says, and it’s clear that he doesn’t believe Josiah.
“Be that as it may, that’s not important. What is important is that Stanley told him it would cost him five grand for you to attend the camp. Josiah said that he paid the price after taking out a loan. He made it sound like it was from the bank, but he soon told us it was from a loan shark because the bank wouldn’t give him one based on his salary. The night you tried to kill yourself, Stanley called him frantic. He told Josiah what happened and demanded that he help him move the operation. Josiah agreed and took out more money. He didn’t get into business with Stanley until a member of the church he was a guest preacher at came to him for help, and he saw that he could pay back the loan shark faster.
“He told the father that it cost eight grand and took the additional two grand for himself. Since then, he has traveled all over for ‘work’ and recruited more kids for Stanley.” Demon’s eyes finally move from me, but stop at Harley. My stomach dips and rolls as I reach over and pull her into my side. “I’m sorry, Harley, but Josiah is the one who talked your parents into sending you to the last camp.”
“I thought he looked familiar. He was a traveling preacher who stayed with us for a week before I was taken away,” Harley says, sounding strong and so fucking brave.
“That’s how they can move so much, by charging the parents. But they also get paid from the ‘counselors and teachers’ who ‘work’ there. Turns out they charge a price for people who are sick and twisted to have free rein over innocent kids. They also dabbled in the selling of child pornography.” Demon’s already black eyes darken.
“And not one agency has caught on to them?” Jenna asks. I look over and find her staring at Leon, waiting for him to answer.
“Trouble, I don’t know what to say. The fact that no one knew about any of this is making me sick, but no, they were never on anyone’s radar, who did a damn thing about them,” Leon says, throwing his arm around her.
“Why did they kidnap Jarred?” I ask.
“He stumbled across the camp, and they feared he would tell someone. Henry didn’t see what happened at the camp, so that is why they were okay letting him go,” Sonny says, leaning back in his chair.
“Did Josiah say anything about Eve?” Betty asks quietly from my other side.
“That’s why it took so long for us to talk to you. We wanted to make sure that we told you the truth,” Demon says, looking at Sonny, who looks at his phone. “Josiah said that he killed her by crushing up sleeping pills and putting them in her evening tea.”
“Why?” Shawn growls and digs his nails into my arm, but I need the hit of pain to keep me here in the present, not drowning in my anger.
“Because she was going to tell Betty the truth and try to get Betty to go to the police with her,” Demon says.
“What truth?” Betty asks.
“Everything…” The sound of doors slamming outside pulls all of our attention away from Demon, who stops talking. No one moves, and because of that, I stay in my seat. If Sonny, Demon,or Leon jumped up, I would have too. The door opens, and I stop breathing.
“Eve,” Betty says, sounding as shocked as I am. Eve Anderson looks like she has been through hell and back. She was always on the bigger side, but now she’s tiny. The sweater she is wearing hangs off her. Her long ash-blond hair is cut short and dull, but what is worse is that her once vibrant green eyes are lifeless. Her hand is gripping Steve’s huge arm as he helps her inside.
