Lies Never Sleep

by Stacy Claflin

  “We’re going to move them. Or let them go. Nobody’s ever going to know they were there! There isn’t any proof.”

  Trevor arched a brow. “What about the videos?”

  “They don’t show anything to prove they’re there. They’re dark, remember?” Brielle’s heart raced. “Wait. You didn’t turn on the location on the videos?”

  “If I did, don’t you think the cops would’ve already been out there?”

  She thought about it. “I suppose.”

  “They would be. There’s no reason for anyone to figure this out. Atlas and Emmett don’t know where they are, so once they’re free, they won’t be able to tell anyone.” Trevor cupped her chin and gazed into her eyes. “Don’t worry about anything. We’ve covered it all. Now it’s just a matter of deciding when to let them go.”

  Brielle frowned. “It better be soon. It seems like things keep going wrong. Something really bad could be around the corner.”

  He brushed his lips across hers. “Nothing will. Everything’s going to be fine. Keep practicing your accent. It’s been jumping around.”

  “So has yours.”

  “Not as much as yours.”

  She sighed. “I really need to get home and think about this. We need to let them go soon.”

  “Whatever you want to do.”

  Brielle nodded, guilt stinging. “The sooner the better.”

  “Just let me know. Did you decide where you want to drop them off?”

  “The asylum. Everyone will think they’ve been there the whole time.”

  “Even though it’s been searched? And people are probably watching it closely now?”

  She rubbed her temples. “I don’t know. I’ll think about it some more.”

  “Sure thing, babe.” He gave her a quick kiss. “Just call me and let me know. I’m keeping my ringer on.”

  Brielle just nodded and watched him walk away. She hated hurting and tricking Atlas and Emmett, but there hadn’t seemed to be another way. As she was their friend, not one person had suspected her involvement. And her distress over the whole situation was real. Nothing faked except her lack of knowledge of where they were.

  Once Trevor was out of sight, she waited a few more minutes before heading down the road to her car and driving home. Part of her wanted to drive back to the cabin and let her friends go. She’d been fighting that urge since all of this had started. But she couldn’t just free them. It would be too easy to link her family’s cabin to everything.

  When she got home, the house was quiet, as usual. Light shone underneath Dad’s and Topaz’s bedroom doors, giving her the space to go to her room unnoticed. Brielle tiptoed to her room and closed the door as quietly as possible.

  She looked in the mirror and hated what she saw. Guilt. Exhaustion. Lies. Deceit. Bags rested under her eyes. Stress lines had formed everywhere. Her skin tone was uneven and she had pimples. Basically, she looked like she’d aged five years in the last week.

  The door flung open behind her. Brielle whipped around to see Topaz.

  “Where have you been? Dad was—” Topaz’s face drained of color.

  “What? Dad was what?”

  “You’re covered in blood.”

  Brielle looked down, and sure enough, blood stained her jeans across the knees. Atlas’s blood.

  “How did you get that much blood on you?” Topaz’s voice grew more shrill with each word.

  “Would you keep your voice down?” Brielle searched her mind for an excuse. A good one. One that was at least believable.

  “What did you do?” Her younger sister stared at her with fear in her eyes.

  Brielle’s hands shook. She took a deep breath to try and calm herself.

  “Brielle?”

  “It’s not what it looks like.”

  Topaz took a step back. “So, it isn’t blood?”

  “Um… Why don’t you let me change, then we can talk? I need to get cleaned up.” Plus that would buy her some time to figure out what to say.

  “Is that blood, Brielle?”

  “I’ll explain everything as soon as I’m in my pajamas.”

  “Why won’t you answer me?” Topaz looked so young as she stared at Brielle.

  “Because I need to clean myself up first. That’s all.”

  “Brielle…”

  She drew in a deep breath. “I’ll tell you everything once I’m cleaned up. Just give me a few minutes.”

  “You’re scaring me.”

  “I’m not going to hurt you.”

  Topaz shook her head. “That’s not what I mean.”

  Brielle took a deep breath and stepped toward her little sister. “What do you mean, then?”

  Her eyes widened. “I don’t know what’s going on. There’s never a good reason to be covered in blood. Those are your favorite pants.”

  Brielle glanced down and noticed they were. “You mean, they used to be. And besides, this stuff will come out.”

  Topaz lifted a brow. “So, it isn’t blood?”

  Brielle swallowed. “Like I said, I’ll tell you everything if you just give me a few minutes.”

  “Why can’t you tell me now?” Topaz looked between Brielle and her jeans.

  “Because I have a headache.” That much wasn’t a lie. Pain squeezed between her eyes and temples, particularly on the left side. Brielle rubbed her temples again. “Just let me change and take some medicine.”

  “Or tell me, then I’ll go to the bathroom and get some ibuprofen for you.”

  “I really need a shower, Topaz. Can you just let me by?”

  “When do you ever keep things from me? And not only that, but with blood all over your legs?”

  It took every ounce of Brielle’s self-control not to lash out at her little sister. After all, she’d done all of this in part for her. But she also wanted to keep her out of it. The less she knew, the better—for her own good.

  “Brielle…” Topaz’s voice wavered and tears shone in her eyes.

  “Please, just trust me.” Brielle embraced her sister. “I would never do anything to hurt you. Ever. I’ll always protect you.”

  Topaz stood taller and stepped back. “I don’t need you to protect me. I just need you to tell me what’s going on. If you care about me at all, you’ll tell me what’s going on. Right now!”

  Knock, knock!

  “Girls,” came Dad’s voice. “Is everything okay?”

  Topaz stared at Brielle and drew her eyebrows together. She mouthed, “Tell me everything.”

  Brielle swallowed and nodded. “We’re fine, Dad! Just talking through some girl stuff.”

  “Okay. Keep it down in there. I’m trying to get some work done.”

  “Sorry, Dad.” Brielle waited for his footsteps to fade away before she turned to Topaz.

  “I’m serious. Tell me everything, or I’m going straight to Dad.”

  Brielle’s heart felt like it was going to burst through her chest. “I really didn’t want to get you involved.”

  “I can handle it, even though you think I’m a baby. I’m not! Do you realize how close to fifteen I am? That’s practically old enough to drive. I can deal with anything you tell me.”

  Tears blurred Brielle’s vision. Everything was spiraling out of control. Trevor had hurt Atlas far worse than he was supposed to. Though if she was being honest with herself, she should’ve seen that coming. They were archenemies, but that was why she’d approached him to help her pull off the kidnapping. Who else would be willing to do such a thing other than someone who so obviously hated Atlas?

  “Brielle.” Topaz’s voice brought her back to the present.

  “Sit on the bed.” Brielle licked her lips and tried to figure out how much to tell her sister. She and Topaz had always been tight. Topaz would have her back without a doubt, but if they got caught, Brielle didn’t want her sister anywhere near the mess. She would take responsibility for everything. The whole thing had been her idea. She’d spent countless hours preparing and planning. Years,
actually, though the actual plans had only been figured out recently.

  Brielle pulled off the pants and shoved them under her bed, out of sight. Then she pulled on some plaid pajama bottoms and sat on the other side of the queen-size bed as her sister.

  Topaz glanced at Brielle’s dark gray tee. “How’d you get blood all over the pants, but not the shirt?”

  “I was wearing a coat. A thick one.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s cold outside.”

  Topaz frowned. “Whose blood is it?”

  “I’d rather not start there.”

  “Seriously?” Topaz folded her arms. “I’d ask if you got into another fight with Josie Calloway, but I’m guessing you wouldn’t be acting this weird if that was all this was.”

  Brielle wished she’d thought of that when Topaz started questioning her. She shook her head. “That was a long time ago. It’s not Josie’s.”

  “Then whose?”

  Brielle took a deep breath and prepared to admit the whole thing to her sister. “You promise not to tell anyone?”

  “You know better than to ask.”

  “Okay.” Brielle’s body temperature dropped and she shook. She hated dragging in Topaz, but there was no other choice. Not when she was threatening to go to Dad. It would all fall apart if he started piecing everything together.

  Ding-dong!

  Brielle jumped from the bed and released a string of profanities.

  Topaz looked at her like she was crazy. “What the hell, Bri?”

  Brielle didn’t respond, but ran into the hall and stood near the top of the stairs, out of sight from the front door.

  The door downstairs squeaked open.

  “Morgan?” said Dad. “Is everything all right?”

  “I don’t think so. We need to talk about your shed.”

  “My shed?”

  Brielle’s knees gave out. She pressed her palms on the wall and tried to weed through her racing thoughts. How did Morgan know about the shed? There was no way it was a coincidence.

  Topaz stared at her, wide-eyed.

  The door downstairs slammed shut, and the two men’s voices trailed toward the kitchen.

  “What’s going on?” Topaz whispered.

  Brielle gasped. “I have to go. No time to explain anything. Tell Dad I already went to bed. That I had a headache and not to wake me for anything.”

  “You’re not going to tell me what’s going on?”

  “Later. If I don’t go now I could get arrested.”

  Topaz shook her head with a glassy stare.

  “Will you tell Dad I’m sleeping?”

  Topaz nodded, rocking back and forth on her heels.

  “And not to wake me. If you really want to help, make my bed look like I’m in there.”

  “Okay.”

  “Thank you.” Brielle gave her a quick hug before grabbing her purse and heading for the back door.

  Once she was inside her car, she called Trevor. “We have a problem. A big one. We need to get them out of there now!”

  “I can’t! My dad’s pissed at me for flunking that social studies test.”

  “You’re going to be in a lot worse trouble if we don’t deal with this now. Atlas’s dad figured everything out.”

  “What?” Trevor yelled. “How?”

  Maybe Morgan hadn’t figured out everything, but the fact that he knew about the shed was close enough. “I don’t know how, but somehow he did. We need to move them.”

  Trevor swore. “I’ll have to jump out my bedroom window.”

  “On the second floor?”

  “I’ve done it before. Where do you want to meet?”

  “At the cabin. There’s no time to hide one of our cars and go together!”

  “Okay, calm down. We’ll take care of this. See you in a few.”

  “I hope you’re right.” Brielle ended the call.

  If Trevor wasn’t right, she might not see her sister again without bars between them.

  37

  Zion Powell

  * * *

  Zion stared at the piles of his son’s belongings spread out all over his bedroom. He’d gone through everything at least three times, searching for any other clues. Anything. Even one small, seemingly insignificant item that could point them in the right direction.

  Unfortunately, he’d found nothing. The only thing that had been even slightly helpful had been the prescription bottle. There was nothing new. Nothing.

  “What’s going on in here?”

  He turned to see Rowena in workout clothes and glistening with sweat. They definitely had starkly different ways of dealing with stress.

  Zion frowned. “I haven’t found anything to indicate where Emmett might’ve gone.”

  She wiped her forehead. “It’s pretty obvious they were taken and didn’t leave on their own accord.”

  “Even so, there might be a clue about that. Someone who would want to harm them. Something.”

  Rowena sipped a bottle of water and frowned. “There’s another video.”

  Pain squeezed Zion’s chest, thinking of what he’d seen. “They beat the crap out of poor Atlas.”

  “And Emmett’s probably next.” She closed her eyes. “Have you heard anything from the police? Any new leads?”

  Zion shook his head. “If they have anything, they haven’t told me.”

  “Me, neither.”

  How could there be no clues? He rubbed his eyes. “Somebody knows something, but they aren’t talking.”

  “Of course not,” she snapped. “They’re guilty.”

  “But someone else has to know something.”

  “If they do, they’re covering up for the guilty party.”

  He took a deep breath. “I’m going to keep looking through Emmett’s things. There’s something I’m missing. All I need to do is find it.”

  “Have at it, but I don’t think it’s going to do any good. You’ve gone through everything, what, five times?”

  “I don’t know. I’m not counting.” Zion stepped toward the pile of things he’d pulled from the closet and picked up a hoodie. He dug through the pockets and pulled out a piece of paper.

  “Did you find something?”

  “I don’t know.” He unfolded the note and read it. “No. Just a love note from Violet.”

  “At least he chose her over that awful Layne.”

  Zion glanced between the note and Rowena. “That gives me an idea. Maybe we should question the twins. They’re clearly closer to Emmett than we thought.”

  “Or at least Violet is. Not sure you can lump Scarlet in with her on this, even though those two are usually inseparable.”

  “Right, but they might know something. Maybe even something they don’t realize is a clue.”

  “Maybe.” Rowena nodded. “Let me change first, then we can head across the street.”

  “Okay.” Zion picked up another hoodie and checked the pockets.

  Nothing. He went through every item, careful to look through every pocket. Other than some notes from Violet and some candy wrappers, there wasn’t anything else. Certainly nothing useful.

  What if Rowena was right? He might need to start looking somewhere else. Emmett had things spread out all over the house. Something in another room might be the clue they needed.

  Rowena popped her head in the room. “I’m ready. Let’s go across the street.”

  He rose and stretched. “Let’s do this.”

  As soon as they reached the kitchen, sirens sounded outside.

  They exchanged a curious glance, then raced for the door.

  Police cruisers pulled up to the Harrison’s house with lights flashing and sirens blaring.

  Rowena turned to him. “What’s going on at Brielle’s?”

  His stomach knotted. “I’m not sure I want to know.”

  “We have to find out! What if it’s related?”

  “She’s their best friend. The kidnappers could’ve come for her.”

  Rowen
a grabbed his arm and dragged him toward the street.

  Zion could barely think as wild thoughts vied for his attention. Had Brielle been abducted, also? Or was this something else altogether, like Ellen showing up and shooting at him and Morgan?

  With all the drama, it was enough to make him want to move to a different neighborhood. Or even another state.

  Other neighbors were making their way to the Harrison’s house. An officer was telling people to stay back.

  “Is this a crime scene?” Zion demanded.

  “We can’t say anything.” She held her palms out.

  “After everything that’s gone on around here this week, I’d say we deserve to know!”

  “Sir, please stand back.”

  Rowena stepped forward. “We know them. Our children are best friends. Can you at least let us know the Harrison girls are safe?”

  The officer took a deep breath. “To my knowledge, nobody who lives here is hurt. Please step back.”

  “Thank you.” Rowena looped her arm through Zion’s and took a step backwards.

  Other neighbors crowded around, bombarding the officer with questions.

  Rowena clung to Zion. “Do you think this has anything to do with Emmett?”

  “I don’t know what to think. I’m under-slept and over-stressed. All I want is to have our son back, but at the same time, I don’t want it to be at the expense of Brielle or Topaz. I want them to be safe. I don’t think I can handle another missing child.”

  She leaned her head against his shoulder. “Neither can I.”

  He kissed her cheek. “I’m going to head over to the James’s, like we originally planned. Do you want to come with me?”

  Rowena shook her head. “Divide and conquer. I’ll find out what I can here.”

  “Good thinking.” He gave her a quick squeeze before weaving his way through the crowd to the house next door.

  He rang the doorbell and waited. After a minute, he was about to ring it again when the door opened a crack.

  Lila peeked out. Her eyes were red and makeup was smeared across her face.

  “Are you okay?” Zion asked.

  She shook her head. “Come in. You need to know what Morgan found.”

  Terror ripped through him. “Are the boys okay?”