Page 33 of The Lies You Love
“Look at you. At a party with her. Does that not make you at least a little nervous? No pussy is worth this hassle. Can’t you find someone else? Chicks dig you.”
I don’t owe him any explanations. Putting my hands on his shoulders, I look at him square in the eye. “I need to know you’ve got Ramsey.” Even as I’m talking, I can tell he’s listening intently to her conversation in his earpiece.
“Yes, fuck yes, of course, but we have a lot to talk about when we’re done with this bullshit tonight. We need to pull the plug, Beck. Too many men, too much danger. We need to get her out of this place.”
“Agree,” I say, even if that means I won’t be near Auden. I know what needs to happen for our world to find homeostasis. He’s right.
“Ramsey’s panicking. She can’t find Auden. She’s asking people standing near her if they’ve seen her.”
I exhale. “What is she saying now?”
Grey flicks me an evil grin. “Thought we weren’t working together, bro?”
Swallowing hard, I try to play it casual. “Did she say where she last saw her?” My stomach drops. The Rifts are everywhere and now they’ve seen Auden more than once. She has to be a target. Even if they’re here tonight to sell blow to rich yuppies, they’re always looking at other business angles. There were two I recognized off the bat, but we know this gang is far more widespread than we once thought. It’s why I know Ramsey has to get the fuck out of this city.
Grey’s sarcastic smile drops, and his face takes on the stern, flat, lifeless version I’m used to seeing when he’s working.
“With a man.” He meets my eye. “They went into the woods together.”
I show no emotion. I’m on autopilot.
“That’s not from Ramsey but from someone who saw Auden go with him. Ramsey seems nervous.” Grey squints his eyes as he listens. “Why would she be nervous about that? That’s their game. Fuck and release.” My chest tightens, and pure rage enters the chat. Grey goes on, “It doesn’t make any sense.”
Auden’s betrayal sinks in. Why would she do this knowing I was on my way? Griffin was supposed to tell her I was running late. Fuck, maybe he forgot. It wouldn’t be the first time he forgot something important. I told her I’d be here. Jesus, this is all Grey’s fault. I glance around the woods surrounding us like maybe she’s nearby. Then I say goodbye to Grey and head for the lawn. A text pings from my pocket, it’s Grey telling me which direction Auden was seen leaving the party and that he’s not bailing me out of jail until the morning. That’s fine. Griffin will come for me tonight. Odds are he owes me for something. I never did like sharing my things as a child. Even with my sister, whom I loved more than anyone else in the world. If it was the last cherry popsicle, and it was mine, it was mine. Even if I didn’t feel like eating it for a month, it was mine. In opposition to me, Maisey shared everything. She’d even defend me when we got older, explaining to people why I didn’t let people borrow my shit. “Oh, he is meticulous about his things.”
I am. The thing I’m feeling the most meticulous about right now? Auden. She’s mine.
As I cut a path through the trees, my phone rings from my pocket, and irritation rises. What does Grey want now? A branch snaps, catching on my sleeve, and I stop to silence the chime. Except it’s not Grey, it’s Auden.
“Hello,” I answer quickly, exasperated from running—from the fury. “Where are you?”
Her breathing is ragged. “Where are you?” she asks, voice trembling. “Beck, I need you.”
My anger turns to ice. She’s in trouble. A noise cuts through the silence, and I hone in on the direction. It’s where I was headed to begin with. She sniffles, “There’s a cabin in the woods. North of the lawn and the pool, and that’s where I started running, but I had to stop,” Auden whispers. “I’m hidden, but there’s a guy. He’s after me.”
I grit my teeth. The details don’t matter. Nothing else matters. “Are you hurt.”
Auden breathes in and out several times, not answering my question. “I heard your phone ring when I called. You’re close,” she finally says.
The trees sway in a light breeze and the dark of night has fully descended. My eyes have adjusted as much as they’re going to, and I set off, taking delicate steps forward. I hang up the call and make the rash decision to call her back. As I suspected, her phone rings, and I sprint in the direction of the familiar sing-song ringtone. Using the glow of my phone, I run quicker, dodging bushes and low-hanging branches. The ringing gets louder, and I see the light of her phone near the ground in front of a large tree.
“You’re here,” Auden says, standing quickly and throwing herself into my arms. Her whole body is hot and trembling.
While relieved she seems to be okay, I’m on alert. “Where is he?” I whisper the words in her ear like a fucking curse.
I keep one arm wrapped around her body as I spin, letting my gaze focus on the shadows that seem to move every time I do. “She’s fucking insane. That bitch attacked me,” one of the shadows hisses. He steps into a rush of moonlight.
Auden whimpers. “That’s him,” she says before turning her head back into my chest. Her terror is so strong that I have to beat back my own fear to handle this.
“Did you touch my girl?”
The man’s dark smile widens, and he opens his arms to the sides. “She touched me. Her knee into my balls, but not before she slammed her fucking shoes across the sides of my head.” He tosses the shoes in question at us, and they land by my feet. I didn’t realize she didn’t have shoes on. “I was merely showing your girl the cabin in the woods because she looked bored. I’m Ronnie,” he says, looking at my size and gathering I’m not going to lose in a fight. “And she lost her fucking mind. No,” he finally says. “I didn’t touch her. Good luck, though. She belongs in a looney bin.”
I swallow hard, weighing my options. I don’t weigh them long because Ramsey rushes in, holding a megawatt flashlight. I knew it was her because of the shrill sound of her voice as she called Auden’s name. “What the hell, Auden?” Ramsey shrieks. “You left. You didn’t tell me.”
“I’m sorry. He’s right. I think I must be going crazy. I don’t know why I came out here with him.” She says the words to her friend, but she’s saying them to both of us.
“You’re not crazy,” I say, and Ramsey echoes the sentiment.
