End of Lies

by Sara Dailey

  Our alpha gave a Cliff’s Notes version of what was to come, telling Red Ridge that housing arrangements would be made over the next few days and that CH would be taking over the business end of their pack, but who knows if anyone from Red Ridge heard a thing he had said. Tears flowed, heads were in hands, faces were either completely blank or overcome with anguish.

  Finally, Nathaniel began to wrap up his speech. He picked up the gavel and announced, “One more thing.” Everyone’s head popped up like they were expecting even more bad news. What they heard brought angry scowls and hateful glares toward the alpha. “Until the next meeting, you are not allowed to leave your homes. At that time, we will have plans of how we wish to proceed from here on out. In the meantime, you will be given one hour of guarded recreation time each day beginning tomorrow, and you will receive further instructions via the intercom system. Thank you for your patience. This meeting is adjourned.”

  CHAPTER 12

  Kendall

  Immediately following the meeting, all of the members of the Red Ridge Pack were sent back to their homes with the exception of Phillip and Cami’s parents. Apparently, they didn’t feel comfortable having the enforcer loose on the premises; and well, Cami’s parents, I would have to guess they just wanted to teach them a lesson for their outbursts toward Noel. So, instead of sending them home with everyone else, the three of them were sent back to the cell.

  Nathaniel called a brief meeting in the lodge with our pack where he handed out assignments. Mostly, he directed which men were to guard what and where, but Drew was instructed to gather a small group of people to conduct random searches of homes and to map out the estate to look for weaknesses in their security. Noel was told to draw up temporary living arrangements for our pack members who were here on the estate. She proceeded to ask some of the other women to help but intentionally left me out. Shocker!

  In the end, I was left standing there with nothing to do. I was supposed to be a leader here. I knew this land just as well as Noel, and I was the one who would be leading by Drew’s side soon, yet I was left out of everything. That was so not okay, but I decided it would be best to keep my mouth shut, and I promised myself to continue to do so, at least until I got Drew alone.

  I waited patiently until everyone dispersed and went about their business and then tried to grab Drew’s attention before he ran off with his men, but it was like he was deliberately ignoring me. Before I knew it, I was hanging around in the middle of the lodge alone, so I gathered my purse and stormed off toward the house we were staying in.

  On my way out the door, Noel, who was off in a corner with her little helpers, caught my eye and smiled. Fucking smiled. That bitch! She was so going to regret that shit. Screw these people. Just to prove that being left out didn’t bother me, I smiled back, waved, and said as sweetly as possible, “You all have a good night. I’m headed home to take a nice, long bath. Don’t work too hard now.”

  To my surprise, I hadn’t been home long when Drew showed up. As soon as he walked in, he saw me on the couch and headed my way. He leaned down, slid his hand up my shirt, and tried to kiss me.

  When I turned my head, he moaned. “Come on, baby. What’s wrong? I don’t have much time, and I want to taste you so bad. Don’t hold out on me.”

  He continued to feel me up, not caring in the least that I was pissed off. Well, two could play that game. I pulled him down on the couch and crawled over to straddle him. He leaned up for a kiss, but I pulled back and flashed him a wicked grin as I rocked my core against him until I felt him harden beneath me. His hands grabbed my hips, and he guided my body to grind harder back and forth against his length. His eyes rolled back in his head as he whispered, “Baby, I want you so bad.”

  I leaned in and sucked on his earlobe until I felt him shudder, and then I replied, “Go fuck yourself, Drew.” Then, I got up and wandered into the kitchen to make myself some tea. He was so stunned that he didn’t even try to stop me, but that only lasted for a moment. He jumped up off the couch and followed me. “What the hell was that, Kendall?”

  Turning to face Drew, I shrugged and replied, “I don’t know. I guess I’m just not that into it. Maybe I just have too much going on right now…Oh wait! That can’t be it because I have nothing going on! Nothing! I’m supposed to be the alpha female soon and no one has bothered to include me in anything!”

  Drew took a step toward me and threw his hands up in air. “Seriously? That’s what this is about? You’re throwing a little tantrum because you feel left out. Get a freakin’ grip, would ya? I don’t have time for this shit!”

  “A tantrum? What do you think I am? A fucking toddler? And don’t tell me to get a grip. I’d be a major asset if you’d let me. You could have easily stepped in and given me a role here. This is my pack, and I know more about these people and this land than anyone!”

  In two large strides, Drew was right up in my face, his nose practically touching mine. He yanked my hair, forcing my head back to look up at him. “Did I hear you right? Did you just say that Red Ridge is your pack?”

  My eyes went wide as I realized my mistake. “No! Baby, that’s not what I meant. I promise. I didn’t mean it like that!”

  Drew didn’t let go of my hair and had me pinned against the counter with his body. With his free hand, he ran his fingers over my hips and then down the front of my pants. “That’s what I thought. Now if you’re finished throwing your little fit, turn around and bend over so we can finish what you started in there.”

  *****

  It wasn’t long before I’d locked myself in the bathroom and hopped in the oversized bathtub for a nice, long soak. I needed to clear my head. When Drew had finished with me, he zipped up and walked away, leaving me standing in the kitchen all alone. No goodbye, no kiss, no assurance that he’d be back. I shouldn’t have been surprised.

  I knew what I’d gotten myself into when we’d made our relationship official. He could be rough and mean and would most likely never be faithful, but if I wanted to lead this pack, sacrifices would have to be made. Besides, I should have known better than to tease him in the first place.

  My eyes were closed and I lay back in the bubbly water, relaxing and enjoying the silence. But no matter how hard I tried, one face refused to stay out of my mind. I’d tried to ignore my feelings since I’d first laid eyes on him, but he never strayed far from my thoughts, and I couldn’t stop wondering where he was and why he wasn’t here…couldn’t stop wishing he was here with me now.

  I dried my hand with the towel near the tub and grabbed my phone. I scrolled down to find his name and pushed send before I had the chance to talk myself out of it. After a few rings, it went to voicemail, but I didn’t hang up. I needed to hear his voice even if it was just a recording.

  “This is Gavin. You know what to do. But I don’t check this shit, so text me. Laters.”

  CHAPTER 13

  Cami

  My mind was in one big cloudy haze of FML. I needed to talk to my parents and Phillip, all of whom were shipped right back down to the underground cell immediately following the bullshit meeting. And of course, I needed to get to the Wrights too. They all needed to know that their children were alive and safe outside of Red Ridge, but yeah, that didn’t happen. And poor Teagan. She and the Wrights were almost instantly lost in the crowd on the way out, and I was shoved off in the other direction by a couple of the CH guards.

  I wandered around after the meeting for a lot longer than I should have and knew I was asking for trouble, but I just couldn’t go back to that house yet. Everything was so screwed up, and my brain was somehow in overdrive and lost in a tangled mess of what-ifs. I’d managed to avoid the CH guards for a while until I stumbled over some debris on an overgrown path and ran smack dab into one of them, who caught me by the arm to steady me. “You okay, Miss?”

  I looked up at him and shrugged out of his grasp. “Yeah, sure. I’m just what-the-fuck-ever, you know?”

  His eyes danced as he laughed at my r
esponse. Surprisingly, they were kind eyes, but he was the enemy, so I kept walking. He said something else, but I didn’t bother listening and didn’t turn back. After that, my head stayed down until I arrived at my front door. Before I opened it, I made sure to make plenty of noise in case Gavin was dumb enough to be out in the house in broad daylight. The last thing we needed was for me to swing open the door and have someone passing by see him inside.

  For once, Gavin was nowhere in sight, so I figured he might actually be in the safe room where he was supposed to be. I almost plopped down on the couch in the living room but had a strong suspicion that it would only draw Gavin out of the safe room and piss me off, so instead, I headed straight there to talk to him about the meeting.

  I had barely taken a step inside before Gavin was practically on top of me. “Whoa, big guy. Back it up, would ya?” I tried to play it off, but every time the boy was near, my heart raced, and I had the urge to throw myself into his arms and wrap myself around his slender waist. And considering the just-going-through-the-motions mood I was in, being near Gavin could be dangerous.

  He took one step back, just enough space to allow me to step inside, turn around, and lock the door. However, when I turned back around, he was right there towering over me, looking down at me with those deep, dark eyes and a cocky little smirk on his perfectly kissable lips. He was so freaking frustrating!

  I huffed and pushed past him as I asked, “So did you hear everything? What’d you think?”

  He followed me over to the tiny love seat and flopped down next to me, but this time, he threw his arm around the back of the couch, resting it on the cushions, not touching me but still too close for comfort. His scent, a mix of manly body wash and some unidentifiable yumminess, drifted my way, and before I realized what I was doing, I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply.

  But my eyes shot open when I felt his fingers wrap around my shoulder and pull me ever so slightly toward him. In my peripheral vision, I could tell he was looking my way, but my eyes stayed focused straight ahead, too chicken-shit to look anywhere else.

  His head fell back against the wall behind us when he finally decided to speak. “Yeah, I heard it all. And it’s all bullshit. All of it. Do you really think they’re just going to let you all just walk out of here? If so, you people are more naïve than I thought.”

  I jerked away from him as if his words had stung me and turned toward him. “Excuse me? You people? Are you freaking kidding me right now? Who the hell do you think you’re calling naïve?”

  Gavin actually had the nerve to reach for my hand, but I stood up and took a step back. He let out a frustrated sigh and ran his hands over his head. “No, that’s not what I meant, Cami. Gah, everything I say just comes out all wrong. I’m just pissed they’re actually feeding you that line of bullshit.”

  “And what, you’re just worried we’re all stupid enough to believe it? Is that it?”

  “No…I don’t know. I just don’t know what to do, and I feel like I’m just stuck here, and I can’t do anything about it. I want to kill my dad for what he did to Scarlett and for what he’s doing now, but I can’t, and it’s driving me insane.”

  Gavin was up now and pacing back and forth, rage brewing in his eyes. I couldn’t help but feel bad for him. He was kind of like a caged dog, but there was nothing I could do about it either. We were all stuck in a holding pattern until somebody figured out what to do, and our situation seemed more and more hopeless by the second. I mean, how long did we really have? What was his pack going to do? Line us all in front of a firing squad? Gun us down? They sure as shit weren’t going to just let us walk away. Were they?

  I walked over to the surveillance monitors and began navigating through the screens. “Look, I have to sneak out of here tonight and get to the Wrights’ house. I can’t get to Phillip, but at least I can talk to Lilly and Paul and Teagan. They need to know that Aiden, Allison, and the rest of them are safe. I can also check out the perimeter and see if and how I can get out of here so I can meet up with them. We have to do something. Who knows how much time we have?”

  Gavin stopped in mid-stride and said, “What? Have you lost your mind? You’re going to get yourself killed! You can’t just sneak around out there. You certainly can’t just sneak off the estate!”

  “Well, I can’t just sit here and do nothing. According to you, that’s what’s going to get us all killed! Besides, I’ve spent the last four years sneaking out of this house right under my psycho-Nazi parents’ noses, and I know every secret path, hiding place, and escape route this estate has to offer. If anyone can do this, I can.”

  I didn’t look away from the screen, but I heard Gavin’s pounding footsteps heading my way. A second later, my chair was being spun around and I was facing him. He squatted down before me, his eyes pleading as he said, “You can’t do this, Cami. It’s too dangerous. Let’s just wait for Cade. He’ll call soon. He’ll know what to do.”

  His hands held on to each of the armrests, caging me in. If I leaned in just the slightest bit, our lips would be only a breath apart, and if he met me halfway, I’d finally know what it would be like to taste him, to have his lips against mine, his tongue exploring my mouth, mine exploring his.

  Desire rushed through me, and as if I wasn’t in control of myself, my body began to lean forward ever so slowly. My eyes trained on his, I watched as Gavin did the same. The intensity in his eyes was scorching, and my entire body was on fire. But when his hand moved from the armrest to my thigh, something in my brain snapped.

  Shit! I can’t do this! What the hell am I thinking?

  I jumped up out of the chair and asked, “You hungry? I’m starving! I’ll go make us something to eat. You stay here. It’s still light out. I’ll bring it to you.”

  My sudden launch out of the chair had knocked Gavin on his ass. He just sat there, wide-eyed with his arms wrapped around his knees and watched as I fled from the room. Could I have made more of a fool of myself? I think not.

  *****

  I’d gone straight to the kitchen and made us both some sandwiches and chips, grabbed a couple of Cokes from the fridge, and then froze before I headed back to the safe room. I set my own drink and food down on the kitchen table and decided to just drop his off. I didn’t need to be near him. In fact, I needed some serious distance from that guy. He made me crazy, and the last thing I needed right then was to lose my mind.

  So, I opened the safe room door, walked in, and handed Gavin his dinner. Without another word, I turned and walked out. I grabbed my food from the table and headed up the stairs to my room. For the rest of the evening, I sat in my spot and watched from the window as the CH guards paced back and forth along the main road.

  The sun had been down for hours, and I’d spent the entire time watching the guards: their path, their shift change, who was lazy and who was distracted easily. I perked up as soon as I saw a guard I recognized, the one with kind eyes. Then, I noticed a girl around my own age tiptoe over and hide near a tree. She caught his attention and waved him over. A broad smile broke out across his face, and I recognized that look immediately. He gestured for her to move toward the tree line and within a few seconds they had both disappeared. It was time to make my move.

  CHAPTER 14

  Gavin

  “Goddamn her. What the hell is she doing?” I muttered to myself as I watched the screen showing Cami scaling her way down the tree outside her bedroom window. Ever since she mentioned sneaking out, I’d shamelessly been glued to every camera angle I could find that had a view of her home.

  She was going to get caught and get herself killed. I briefly considered going after her, but what would that accomplish? Besides, she was obviously committed to being a complete moron since she was already out of the house and running off into the night. If I chased her down now, it wouldn’t stop her. She would just be even more pissed off at me. Then, it would cause a scene and get us caught for sure. Damn her stubborn ass!

  I hurried over to the surv
eillance screens and tried to find her on the cameras. If I couldn’t go after her, at least I could watch and make sure she was as good at sneaking around as she claimed to be. As soon as I found her on one camera, she would disappear only to turn up on another screen a moment later. I wanted to strangle her for putting herself in such danger, but as I watched her make her way around the estate, my anger began to fade, and I was just flat-out worried.

  Every time I lost her on the TV, I held my breath until I found her again. The very thought of her being caught made my stomach roll. If one of those guards dared lay a finger on her, he would have hell to pay. I’d always been the protective type, but the way I felt in that moment verged on obsessed…crazed even. I didn’t want to watch the screen, but I couldn’t look away either. With my eyes glued to the screen, I toggled through the cameras, trying to keep up with her.

  But then my view was blocked for two freaking seconds, and she was gone. I’d started sweating, and in the time it took for me to pull my shirt over my head, she had vanished. My heart pounded in my chest as I searched camera after camera for any signs of Cami. It was complete torture to watch her purposely put herself in danger, but the not knowing, the not seeing her, was another kind of pain entirely.

  The longer she remained hidden from sight, the worry I felt quickly shifted back to fury. Why did she have to be so freaking stupid? She could have waited until tomorrow. She would have had the perfect opportunity during their recreation time to speak with Aiden’s family. It could have waited. She was just being reckless.

  Frantically I searched camera view after camera view for any sign of her, for who knew how long before finally giving up and forcing myself to leave the screen focused on the Wrights’ home and sit back in the chair to wait.