so clean it’s actually sore. Only then do I step out. Mykel has already removed my clothes, cleaned the sink, and has some fresh items for me on the counter top.
Nobody would ever know I just defiled his bathroom with the blood of another man.
“Get changed. Zariah is here; she’s goin’ to want to talk to you. You up for that?”
I nod.
I have to tell them what happened. I have to go out there and explain exactly what went down. How Dax killed Bennett, how I promised to help him, how I made sure to carefully mark the way to where we buried him. I got as much information as I possibly could, and I think it may just be enough to end this.
But I’m scared.
I’m scared because my DNA is now all over the crime scene.
I’m scared somehow, some way, I’m going to be linked to all of this.
A dead body was never in the plan.
Never.
I dry off, and Mykel leaves the room so I can get dressed. When I’m done, I stare at myself in the mirror and the woman staring back at me makes me cringe and turn away. When I was going into this, if I had known that I’d feel this way, I would have said no. I would have run in the opposite direction.
I don’t want to be this woman.
Yet, I don’t want to be the woman who stands back and lets all those other girls suffer.
Either way, I’m a damned mess.
I take a deep breath and walk out into the living area where everyone is sitting, patiently waiting for me to tell them what happened. Waiting for me to share all the details on an event that’s going to change absolutely everything. None of this is going to plan. Nothing is working out how it should, and I’m not sure yet if that’s a good or a bad thing.
All I know is it’s time for it to end, because I can’t take a whole lot more.
Zariah leaps up as soon as I enter the room and comes running over, throwing her arms around me. She hangs onto me tightly for longer than a few minutes. I let her, because I need it. I need her reassurance; I need her to tell me everything is going to be okay and that I’m not going to get into trouble for what happened tonight.
“I’m not going to let anyone harm you, or put you away. I swear it to you, Waverly. I’ll make sure this doesn’t touch you.”
I take those words in, letting them sink into my soul because I really needed to hear them. I close my eyes, take a deep breath and stand back. Alarick walks over, putting a hand on my shoulder and meeting my eyes. “You good?”
“I’m not . . . No, no, I’m not.”
I was going to say I’m not sure, but the truth is I am sure. I’m not okay, and I need them to step in now and make it better, because I can’t seem to get myself on the right side of things at this current point.
Alarick squeezes my shoulder and then asks, in a careful tone, “What happened tonight?”
I glance at Mykel, who is standing by the kitchen counter, leaning against it, his eyes never leaving mine. My heart swells and I find myself wanting to go over there and let him make me feel better, just like he did when we were in the bathroom. I don’t do that, though. I stand, trying to look like I’m not as terrified as I feel, and then I tell them what happened.
“I arrived and Bennett was on the ground, dead. It was . . . horrific. Dax had just hit him so many times, stabbed him. Absolutely horrible, and I never want to see anything like that again in my life. I had to keep calm, so I asked him what happened. He was freaking out—said they got into a fight because Bennett had told him there was a change of plans. Then, he said he just lost it.”
“Do you know what plans he wanted to change?” Zariah asks.
I shake my head. “I just had him tell me what he was doing, and he did. He told me that he sells girls, but he didn’t tell me he sells them to monsters. He left that part out, but he told me enough. He’s freaking out, because he knows Peter is going to bring down the thunder, and not