Cruel Abandon

by S. Massery

  37

  Liam

  We all watch Skylar go.

  A small part of me hopes that she’ll go for the stairs. She’ll be easier to catch that way, cornered in her room, or the attic, or bathroom. Easier to show her that I meant what I just said: she did bewitch me.

  I don’t mean it in a bad way.

  She found the cracks in my armor and maneuvered herself inside my heart.

  Unfortunately, she doesn’t head for the stairs. She goes outside.

  “Is she wearing shoes?” Margo asks.

  I stand. “I think she was.”

  The snow outside is light and powdery, but the day is bitterly cold.

  “No jacket,” Caleb observes. “What the fuck are you waiting for?”

  What, indeed?

  I snatch my coat and one of the other’s, shoving my feet into my boots. By the time I step out onto the porch, she’s gone.

  It takes me a moment to separate her footprints from the rest of ours. She ran down the shoveled path to the driveway, then cut across. I follow as fast as I can, managing not to fall on my ass down the slope between our houses, then around the back. Toward the woods, of course.

  It draws her like a magnet every time.

  She must be aware of it. Must know that the forest is where I found her, where she was brought out of the darkness. Back into the light.

  Half dead.

  I close my eyes, pressing my fingers to the bridge of my nose. That day was traumatic for me, too. The whole world seemed to hover on an axis, and when I realized it was her? I had been dreaming about her for weeks, and then suddenly she was there. Staggering toward me in the forest.

  Bloody.

  Broken.

  Bound hands, wild eyes.

  She fell and wouldn’t move.

  “Sky!” I shout, startling birds from a tree.

  I know where she’s going, the idea shooting through me like ice.

  Back to the clearing, where our story began.

  Because before that, we were nothing. Neighbors. Strangers.

  That moment tied us together.

  I wonder if this one will cut us free.

  I sprint down the trail, barely registering that, yes, her footprints in the snow are here, too. As spread apart as mine. She couldn’t be thinking straight. If she was, she’d realize that this alone is a breakthrough in her memory.

  And then I see her.

  My broken girl, on her knees in the center of the clearing.

  “That isn’t where it happened,” I say.

  She doesn’t lift her head.

  The icy wind whips through me, and I force myself to move, to ignore the creaking in my joints. I haven’t truly run like that in a while—like my life depended on it.

  Carefully, I squat next to her and pick up one arm. Her skin is impossibly cold. I slide her arm into the extra jacket, then the other. She doesn’t move as I reach around her and zip it up, lifting the hood up over her head.

  “Where, then?” she whispers.

  It’s only because my ear is so close to her mouth that I hear her.

  I offer her my hands.

  She takes them, and I help her stand. I keep ahold of one of her hands, maybe just to make sure she can’t run again, and lead her toward the far edge. “You came from this way. Hit one of these trees…”

  My heart is going to beat out of my chest. It thumps painfully, and I keep seeing the thirteen-year-old girl in front of me when I blink. One minute she’s as I know her: silver-haired, pierced, strong. And then she’s as she was: blonde, nearly out of her mind, young. A child. I wasn’t much more than a child, either.

  It’s no wonder she wanted to change everything about herself.

  She stretches out and brushes her fingers along the bark. “I landed on my back. But… why were you out here?”

  I sigh. “I had been fighting with my brother, so I ran to get away from him. A piece of me always wanted to be in the forest, so it just seemed natural to head there. But the trail wasn’t deep enough. I could still see the house, and if my mom yelled, I would’ve heard her. I needed to be lost.”

  “And then you found me.” She tips her head up and bites her lip. “You got a burden you never asked for.”

  I narrow my eyes. “It’s not like you asked for it, either.”

  “But I couldn’t remember it for the longest time. You… you did. You lived with it.”

  I lift one shoulder. “I survived.”

  She wraps her arm around my waist, and it takes me a moment to realize that she’s hugging me. Warmth fills me, and I return her hug, gripping the back of her head.

  “Fuck, Sky. You survived, too. Okay? We’ll figure out what happened to you—but whatever it was, you survived it.”

  She nods against my chest.

  “Let’s go home,” she whispers.

  I know she’s not talking about either of our parents’ houses.

  I couldn’t agree more.

  We said our goodbyes to my friends, and I couldn’t help but notice how Margo and Riley swarmed Sky. They cupped her cold cheeks, stroked her hair.

  Her mom appeared from the kitchen and hugged her, and it seemed… final.

  I slapped Caleb’s hand, and he pulled me close. He and I had never been on the same level as he and Eli. We fought too much in high school. In that way, we were a good pair. Both of us had too much anger, it was always exploding from us.

  “I’m going to be a dad,” he says in my ear. “But keep it quiet, yeah? Margo doesn’t think I know.”

  I snort. “How’d you discover that?”

  He grins. “You think I don’t notice when she misses a period? Then stews on it for a week before acting ridiculously shady?”

  “Oh my god, you stalk your own wife.” I smile back, because… yeah, I want that. The wife and the baby—maybe even babies—and I want that with Sky.

  I couldn’t imagine any other way to live.

  “Go to your girl, asshole,” he says, patting my arm.

  I nod once, then seek out Theo at the window. “You coming back to Boston?”

  He narrows his eyes. “Not quite yet.”

  I tilt my head, and he gestures to my driveway.

  It takes me a minute to realize what he probably noticed right away: his fucking car is gone.

  “I…”

  He sighs and hands me the keys to another car. “It’s fine.”

  “What?” I stare at him. “Someone took your car and you’re saying it’s fine?”

  “I know who did it, and I know where to find her.” His voice is dark.

  If there’s one thing you don’t come between, it’s Theo and his precious cars. The guy probably has at least three. And yet…

  “How many times has she done this?” I ask him.

  I’ve got to know. He might be ready to kill her at this point.

  He shrugs. “Lux loves to try and get my attention. I wonder what she wants this time.”

  “Wants…?”

  He tears his gaze away from the window and focuses on me. “Don’t worry about it.”

  I raise my hands. “Hey, man. If you’re gonna kill her, at least tell me before I drive all the way back to Boston.”

  Theo cracks a smile. I didn’t think it was possible, but… he seems eager by this.

  While Caleb and I have our issues with anger, Theo treats it as his lover. He cultivates it, tends to it. He’s the one I’d never want to cross—and yet, Lucy Page continually does it. Crosses him, pushes his buttons. They’ve done this since middle school, on and off, but it’s becoming more… just more. More violent, maybe? More dangerous?

  Why?

  “Liam,” Sky calls. “Should we go?”

  I nod and reluctantly step away from Theo. Eli’s waiting for me, and he hugs me goodbye. The girls both grin at me, and I take Sky’s hand. In the other, I pick up her bag and mine. This morning, intercepting her nightmare was pure luck. I was already over here to warn her that my friends—our friends, now, I t
hink—were coming over.

  The car we’re driving now is black, average-looking, and surprisingly mundane. It might be the only car of Theo’s that Lucy wouldn’t steal. That is, if she’s in it for the glitz and glamour of being a car thief.

  But somehow, I don’t think that’s it.

  “Where’s the other one?” Sky asks me.

  I start the engine and grin. “Lucy stole it, I think.”

  “Game on,” she murmurs.

  That’s probably the exact sentiment Theo’s thinking.

  I navigate onto the street, and Sky’s phone rings. She answers it quickly.

  “Hi, Detective McAdams. Oh, um, we’re still out of town. With the school—” She pauses, glancing at me and rolling her eyes. “Right. No, I haven’t heard anything. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help…”

  I tighten my grip on the wheel.

  “Okay, I’ll let you know.” She hangs up and sighs. “She wants to ask me some questions when we get back.”

  “Lucky for us, you didn’t tell her when you’d be returning.” I put my hand on her thigh. “That gives us a few days, probably.”

  “How is it already Friday? Only the weekend left and we’ll be back in class like nothing happened.” She frowns. “I don’t know how we’re supposed to do this.”

  I hesitate. I highly doubt that what Detective Masters told Sky’s mother got passed along to Sky… which leaves me.

  “I have to tell you something.”

  She sits up, her hand landing on top of mine. “What is it?”

  “Detective Masters came along while you were sleeping.”

  “Unconscious,” she interrupts. “I mean, I fell unconscious from… the memories, or whatever. I was overwhelmed.”

  “I thought sleeping was a delicate way to put it.”

  She smiles. “Yeah, okay. What did he want?”

  “He was hoping to speak to you but ended up talking to your mom. Did you know?”

  She twists in her seat to stare at me. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see she’s shocked. Mouth open, eyebrows raised.

  “He came to tell us that he heard something about Whitney.”

  “Tell me,” she demands.

  “Her parents received a ransom note.”

  “Holy shit,” she whispers. “They…”

  I glance at her, but she’s gone completely still.

  “Skylar?”

  She shakes her head.

  A bad feeling takes root in my stomach. I was fourteen when she went missing. Old enough to know that there was an investigation, and that, after a week of her being gone, she was probably dead. I lived with that. I thought the girl next door would turn up in a body bag.

  “My parents never struggled with money before,” she whispers. “And then I came back, and I had to stay in the hospital, I think? And Dr. Penn’s visits were only half covered by insurance. They were always arguing about money, and savings, and…”

  “What are you saying?” I’ve got a death grip on the wheel now.

  “I’m saying… I think my parents received a ransom demand.” She’s white as a ghost.

  I pull the car over, slamming it into ‘park.’ A ransom would mean…

  Of course she was taken.

  There was never a question of it. She was missing, and not of her own free will.

  Just as fast, she hops out and takes a few steps into the snow, then bends over and vomits. I jump out and race around, catching her before her knees give out. She pushes her hair back and wipes her mouth.

  “Sorry,” she says. “Wasn’t ready for that realization.”

  I help her back into the car and hand her the water bottle from my bag. She swishes and spits it out onto the asphalt, then closes her door. She shoves a piece of gum in her mouth and chews furiously.

  I join her back in the car, and we both face forward. “So, a ransom.”

  “It makes sense,” she says. “Why I was let go so close to home. Maybe they thought I could find my way.”

  I nod slowly, but inside, my stomach twists. “They knew where you lived?”

  She picks at her fingernails. “I don’t know.”

  “Okay. It’s okay. I mean…”

  She glances up. “Is that why McAdams was so interested in talking to me? Because I had been abducted?” Terror fills her expression. “Who took me?”

  I grab her hands and guide her toward me. “I don’t know why she wanted to question you, but there was a note in your file… Eli’s dad made sure they knew you wouldn’t be questioned. He called the precinct and spoke to the police captain personally. It’s why he was so mad when McAdams tried to talk to you.”

  She nods, gripping my fingers. “You all knew.”

  “We knew what was at stake.” I bow my head. “Your mom has been trying to keep things as normal for you as possible.”

  “I’m remembering,” she says slowly. “What if that puts me in danger?”

  “No,” I say automatically.

  I think of any boy who’s ever tried to touch her. Colt’s mini-abduction, drugging her. Old fury mixed with new fear rises through me swiftly, and I have to close my eyes to prevent it from leaking out. There would be no hesitation in me: if someone tries to hurt her, I’ll kill them.

  Something soft touches my lips. Everything in me goes hot when my brain registers the feel of her lips against mine. She pulls back slightly, then kisses me again. Firmer.

  My dick stiffens.

  I release her hands, and she slides hers up my arms, to the back of my neck. Her fingers dig into my scalp.

  This is her exploration, so I keep still. I don’t try to haul her onto my lap and grind my cock against her, as much as I would want that. She’d probably want that, too.

  Her tongue sweeps along the seam of my mouth. When I part my lips for her, she lets out a soft moan. She tastes minty, although there’s no sign of the gum she was just chewing. She catches my lower lip in her teeth, a quick nip and then release.

  Fuck. It’s harder now to keep still, until…

  Her hands go to the button of my jeans. She frees my erection, meeting my gaze. Then, shyly, she flicks her gaze down to my lap.

  “Sky…”

  “Shut up,” she whispers.

  She bends down and grips my cock, then licks me.

  Stars burst behind my eyelids. “Ah, fuck, Sky.”

  Her warm breath hits me, and then her lips close over me. I hiss. She bobs up and down, her tongue working magic, and my balls tighten.

  I put my hand on the back of her head, the need taking over my good graces. I lift my hips and hold her still, pumping into her. I come with a groan, spilling into her mouth. Her fingers tighten around the base of my cock, and my orgasm seems to roll on and on.

  After, she rises and meets my gaze, carefully licking her lips.

  Oh my fucking god.

  “Damn, angel,” I say. “That was…”

  She grins. “I’ve always wanted to try that.”

  I raise my eyebrow. “You have, huh? Well, feel free to do it whenever the urge strikes.” And then her deeper meaning clicks. “You haven’t given head before?”

  Her cheeks turn a pretty shade of pink. “No.”

  I smirk, while on the inside my heart gives a possessive lurch. “You could’ve fooled me.”

  She wipes her mouth again.

  “I don’t think you understand what you do to me,” I murmur, facing forward again.

  We’re on the side of the road, and I’m just glad no one came along to witness that. We get going again, headed for the highway.

  It’s several minutes later when she whispers, “I think I might.”

  38

  Sky

  I burst into awareness. It’s sort of like the ripcord of a parachute being pulled, going from free fall to sudden floating.

  There’s pressure on my legs, my shoulder, my mouth.

  In the dark, it takes me a moment too long to realize Liam is draped over me, his hand on my mouth. My body i
s strung tight, and I have to fight the urge to run. Muscle by muscle, I relax.

  Liam lifts his head from my shoulder, meeting my stare. He releases my mouth.

  “Are you awake?” he asks.

  I nod once. “What did I do?”

  He winces. “You wouldn’t stop screaming. I couldn’t wake you up.”

  I rub at my neck.

  “And then you started thrashing. What were you dreaming about?”

  “I can’t remember,” I say.

  Lie.

  I don’t want to remember.

  Tell me how I can imagine the prick of a needle into my neck with such clarity? The arm binding across my chest, holding me up when my legs fail. When darkness blots in.

  I was drugged. I know it in my bones.

  But… so were they.

  Amber was, anyway. I should ask Detective McAdams if Natalie was, too.

  “I need water,” I say.

  He doesn’t stop me from going to the kitchen and leaning against the counter. When I close my eyes, I picture the sharp burn of… a sedative? Is that it? It was like being drugged by Colt, except worse. Colder.

  “Sky.”

  I gasp. The glass slips free of my grip, smashing on the tile. I freeze and register the fragments spread out across the floor.

  “It’s okay,” he says. “Hop up on the counter?”

  “Sorry,” I whisper. I do as he asks.

  I stay there as he turns on the lights and grabs a broom. His cleaning is methodical, sweeping the larger chunks into a pile and then concentrating on the little pieces.

  “Just did this with Mom,” he says. “She dropped her glass when Detective Masters came by to talk to you.”

  I reach out and touch his shoulder. “That was when he mentioned the ransom, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  I squint. “Was he trying to help me remember something? The two cases can’t be related.”

  He stops.

  I stop.

  Time stops.

  “They aren’t related, right, Liam?”

  He sets aside the broom and steps closer. I part my knees, allowing him further access.

  “I don’t know,” he says. “I don’t remember anything like this happening… and you came back alive. Right?”