Page 23 of They Will Fall

I shake my head in disbelief. “This is all too much. How the fuck do I get myself out of this, Maddox?”

“You hide. Just like we’re doing right now. You keep a low profile, and when suspicion is shifted elsewhere—because it will be. Ridge will make sure of it—then you can come out of hiding as an innocent person.”

My cheeks inflate with air and I blow it all out in one sharp exhale. “I had no idea your dad was so hell-bent on proving I killed the governor.” My eyes lock on his. “This is fucking scary, Maddox.”

“No shit. Now do you understand?”

“I…I guess so. I think I was just in defense mode and thought I needed to do everything possible to protect my reputation. Now, I just want to hide away to protect my life.”

Maddox wraps his arms around me, and while normally I would break down in tears, I don’t. It’s proof that I’m stronger than I imagined. It gives me hope that I will make it out of all this alive. Until then, I suppose I’ll just hide.

There’s just one thing I have to do before I get too comfortable down here.

CHAPTER9

RIDGE

By the timeLev got to the cabin last night, I was passed out. I didn't realize how tired I was until I sat on the couch to wait for him.

It’s morning now, and I’ve been filling him in on everything I heard yesterday.

“No.” Lev sighs. His hands are pressed to the kitchen counter in the cabin, his head hung low. “Just fucking no. There isn’t a chance in hell my dad would ever hurt your mom. They have to be wrong.”

“Heard it with my own ears, man. Why would all three of them make this shit up when they didn’t even know anyone was listening.”

His head shoots up. “Hell if I know, but there has to be a reason. Sure, my dad was aPunisher, but I just can’t imagine him hurting anyone, let alone killing someone.”

“There’s a lot our parents did when we were kids before we knew about the roles of The Society. They hid that part of themselves. It was a job and he had an assignment. Believe it or not, but according to your uncle and Maddox’s father, he killed my mom.”

I’m not surprised Lev is having such a hard time wrapping his head around this. No one wants to think their parents committed heinous acts of violence, let alone murder. Since we were kids, we knew there was a dark side of The Society, but it doesn’t make it any easier for us to accept that now. I remember us eavesdropping to find out some of the secrets, but we never heard anything too incriminating. Still to this day, there is likely so much we don’t know.

“We can’t be like them,” Lev quips. “You’re still in this fight, right?

"Of course I am! That's exactly why we've been fighting since we were fucking teenagers. That's the whole point of everything we've done. The only way we can take these fuckers down is from the inside, and in order to do that, we have to play their game for a while. We get our assignments and we fulfill them. We become Elders and we move the chess pieces around so that, in time, we can destroy those fuckers."

Lev drags a chair across the dingy floor, then lowers himself into it. Leaned forward, his elbows rest on the splintered tabletop and he drops his face in his hands as he speaks.“You took an assignment at the start of the school year to find out who killed the governor, but you never had any intention of completing that assignment, did you?”

“At first I did…until I saw her. The second I laid eyes on Riley, I knew I would not only fail, but I would do everything in my power to keep her secret from The Elders.”

“But they know now. It was all for nothing.”

“Nah.” I sweep the air with my hand. “They’ve got nothing. The only evidence is the stuff you stacked against her and any good Sleuth or Elder would be able to recognize planted evidence. The only reason they're pushing this is because one of The Elders wants it to be pushed. I’m certain I know who that person is. I just can’t figure out why.”

“Who do you think it is?”

I’m still pissed the fuck off. He’s the last person I ever would have suspected until today.

“Stanley Crane,” I stammer.

Lev’s eyes shoot up. “Maddox’s dad? No fucking way.”

“I don’t make jokes about this shit, Lev.”

He chuckles. “You’re telling me the same guy who drove three hours to rescue a box of puppies is the one who wants a sweet girl like Riley to be punished? I’m not buying it. It’s my uncle Austin. I can promise you that.”

“Nope.” I shake my head. “Your uncle wantsyou.” Pointing a stern finger at him, I make it clear. “Stanley wants Riley. I’m telling you, man. I heard it all.”

A heady growl escapes him. “What the fuck did he say about me?”

---