End of Lies

by Sara Dailey

  Gavin let out a deep breath and looked away before he ran his hand though his hair and snapped, “Fuck, Kendall! I’d finally almost gotten the hell out of this Godforsaken place and now you’re blackmailing me into staying?”

  Wait! What? I knew for sure Gavin was involved somehow with Cami. His scent was all over the place, and the look on that bitch’s face before I left her house confirmed everything I’d been suspecting. It was time to get to the bottom of whatever the hell had been going on between the two of them.

  “Come on; let’s go for a walk. We need to talk,” I insisted as I linked my arm through his. Gavin didn’t argue, so I headed down to the pier, so we could sit and talk in private. We walked in silence the whole way there, and as the pier came into view, I realized I hadn’t stepped foot near that thing since I found Cade and Allison there hooking up. Without meaning to, I shuddered.

  “You okay?” Gavin asked, and in that moment, I realized why I needed him around so much. No one else around here, not Crescent Hills, not Red Ridge, gave a damn about me. But Gavin, whether he realized it or not, cared. He felt something. I knew he did, and if it weren’t for Drew, Gavin wouldn’t be so adamant about keeping his distance.

  I looked over at him and smiled. “Yeah, I’m fine.” I led him over to the swing, and we sat down before I began asking all the questions that had been floating around in my head. I needed answers. “You said you were trying to get out of here, right? Why don’t we start with what you were doing here in the first place? Why were you at Cami’s?”

  Gavin turned his body toward mine and placed his arm over the back of the swing. It wasn’t exactly around me, per say, but close enough. “If I tell you this, Kendall, you have to promise it stays between me and you. I could be in some serious trouble if anyone finds out about what I’m about to tell you.”

  More than anything, I wanted to reach out to him, to touch him in any way I could, but I resisted and just nodded instead. “Yeah, you can trust me. You know I don’t want to see you hurt.”

  He gave me a small smile before he began. “The truth is that before the ambush, I was worried about Scarlett. I hadn’t heard from her in a couple of days, and I thought that someone may have found out about her involvement here or that we had Phillip or something, so I drugged Phillip and brought him here to trade. Phillip for Scarlett.”

  Oh my God. What a stupid thing to do! But so brave. And for his sister…No wonder I was practically obsessed with this guy. I fought the urge to tell him what an idiot he was. That they’d kill him if they found out it was him who helped Phillip escape, but I didn’t want him to stop talking, so I just nodded again and said, “Okay…”

  “Anyway, once Phillip came to, he convinced me to stay, that he would protect me from my father while Cade and the rest of them went to get his mother back. I agreed because I wasn’t sure what else to do until Scarlett got back and we had a chance to talk. I should have never let her go with them…”

  He trailed off, and this time I did reach out. I placed my hand on his knee and assured him, “I’m sure she’s fine. Don’t worry. We’ll find her.”

  “So when all hell broke loose around here, Phillip pawned me off on Cami and told her to keep me hidden. And well, I’ve been stuck there ever since. That is until I finally tried to escape and you caught me and dragged me here. Guess you’ve figured out by now that I wasn’t sneaking in. I was trying to sneak out.”

  Why the hell would Phillip make Cami hide Gavin? That part didn’t make sense. I wanted to believe him, really I did, but it just didn’t add up.

  “So what’s going on between you and Cami? And don’t lie to me.”

  He raised his eyebrows as if he was shocked and then chuckled like I’d just said the funniest thing in the world. “You’ve got to be kidding me, Kendall. Me and Cami? No way. That girl is a bossy, know-it-all brat. I can’t believe I survived being there as long as I did. She was driving me crazy. I had to get out of there before I strangled her. Seriously, tell me you weren’t friends with that girl.”

  He laughed again, but this time when he did, the hand that was resting on the back of the swing moved and his fingers swept my hair away from my shoulder. Suddenly, his eyes were serious again as they met mine. The moment his hand landed on the top of my back while his fingers gently ran up and down my neck, he had me. Right where he wanted me. I didn’t want to believe him, but how could I not when he looked at me like that?

  CHAPTER 40

  Cami

  I locked myself in the safe room and sat down in front of the surveillance screen. I messed around with the buttons until I remembered how to review older footage. I needed to see for myself what had really happened.

  After what seemed like forever, I finally found what I needed. From what I could tell, Gavin left the house to follow me. For a moment, I thought, maybe he really did just get caught when he was just trying to make sure I was safe. But then out of nowhere, he left the path that I had traveled and walked right out to the main road like he was waiting for someone. My heart clenched in my chest, because I knew before she showed up on the screen the person for whom he was looking. And just as I’d suspected, Kendall arrived.

  Tears welled up in my eyes again, but I swallowed back the urge to break down. There was no time for that now. I pulled up the camera view of my front door so that I could keep an eye out for unwanted visitors. I had a call to make that couldn’t wait, and I didn’t want to take any chances.

  After Kendall’s little visit, I couldn’t ignore the panic bubbling up inside of me. I had to talk to Cade now. My fingers trembled over the keys as I dialed his number, and while I listened to ring after ring, my heart drummed wildly in my chest. To make matters worse, my breathing wouldn’t slow no matter how hard I focused on not sounding like a manic crazy person when he finally answered. I needed to keep my cool, but I was fighting a losing battle.

  Finally, he answered, and I couldn’t control the word vomit from spewing out of my mouth. “Cade, he’s gone. Gavin is gone. He went back to his pack. He’s flipped sides, and somehow Kendall knows that he’s been here. She showed up here today and—”

  “Cami, slow down. What do you mean he’s flipped sides?”

  “Gavin, he’s betrayed us! And Kendall was here snooping around as if she was looking for something, and then when she left, she made sure to tell me that Gavin was here and that he’s finally decided to take his place at the table, whatever the hell that means. He’s a traitor, and I have no idea what he’s told them. They could know you are all alive and that we’re planning something. We have to do something! We can’t wait any longer!”

  By the time I was finished, I was huffing and puffing as if I’d just run a marathon. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one because I heard Cade take a few deep breaths as well before he spoke. “Okay, Cami, listen. I need to you calm down and tell me exactly what happened with Gavin.”

  I started to explain but then heard Scarlett panicking in the background. After a bit of commotion, I heard her say, “What do you mean what happened with Gavin? Is he okay? Let me talk to her, Cade!”

  Cade must have shaken her off because she continued. “No, Cade! I need to hear it. Is she saying he flipped sides? There is no way he would betray us. Something must have gone wrong. He would never turn his back on me. Never!”

  Cade told her to calm down as well, that he was sure there was some explanation, and that he needed a minute to hear me out. With his attention back to me, he said again, “Cami, tell me what happened.”

  I told him how Gavin didn’t want me to go meet them and that we had gotten into a fight and how when I got back, he wasn’t here. That he was with Kendall. That I’d seen it with my own two eyes. He was a traitor!

  Again, I was trying to catch my breath and somewhere along the way, tears had begun streaming down my face, so I fiercely wiped them away.

  Then I heard Scarlett shout, “He’s not a traitor, Cami! Take it back! You’re wrong! You have to be.”

&nbs
p; It sounded like Luke was trying to console her, and I couldn’t risk Cade believing her, so I warned him again. “It’s true, Cade. I promise.” And even though it killed me to say it, I admitted, “I’ve seen him with Kendall, and they looked a little too friendly. I watched last night’s footage, and he took off after I went to meet you. He left to go meet up with Kendall. He lied to us all. We can’t sit around any longer. We have to do something. Who knows what Gavin’s told them?”

  “But we aren’t ready yet. We haven’t reviewed all the footage. We haven’t gotten in contact with everyone. We have to have a plan, Cami. It’s the only way this will work. It has to be a well-planned sneak attack or there’s no way we can defeat them with so few people. We need more time,” Cade explained.

  Then it was over. What was the point in trying now? We’d been played. I’d been played. Gavin had used me, and now it was over. When I didn’t respond, Cade asked, “Cami, are you there?”

  I took a deep breath and tried to speak, but a sob escaped instead. When I finally found my voice, it didn’t even sound like me. “But they know…It’s really over, Cade.”

  Cade sounded far away when he spoke again. “Scarlett, you said Gavin wouldn’t betray us. How sure are you? And before you answer, remember the safety of us all, the livelihood of my pack, depends on it.”

  Scarlett swore that he’d never go against us. She pleaded with Cade to believe her, to believe that there had to be some other explanation. “Cami, can you hear her?”

  “Yeah, but she didn’t see him. Why would he be with Kendall?”

  “I don’t know, but Scarlett’s right. There may be a good reason. Either way, we aren’t ready. We need at least another day to make this work. I need you to keep an eye on Gavin. See if he does anything else that makes you think he’s really flipped sides. Watch the others and see if they are preparing for a battle. Any sign that they know we are coming, you let me know.”

  I agreed, but I didn’t know what to think anymore. Everything inside of me just felt so defeated, so hurt, so wronged. I trusted Gavin, and he turned on me. Everything I thought we had was all a lie. As I hit the end button on the phone, I laid my head down on the table and cried.

  After a long while, when my tears had finally dried up, and I looked back up at the screen and toggled through camera views until I landed on Gavin and Kendall walking into the lodge, arm-in-arm. As I watched the door shut behind them, it felt as if my heart was being ripped from my chest, and I knew right then that there was no misunderstanding of what I was seeing. It was over, and I was the fool who let it happen.

  CHAPTER 41

  Gavin

  “Shit—this was a complete waste of time,” I thought to myself as I sat and listened to Nathaniel go over the guard schedule for the day. I leaned back in my chair and looked around the table. My father was there, of course, along with Noel.

  A hand snaking across my thigh caused my thoughts to scatter. I should have known better than to sit next to Kendall at the huge conference table. Her hand kept wandering over to my leg throughout the meeting, and every time I had to remove it without anyone noticing. Oddly enough, she seemed to like my refusal. Her relentless pursuit of me was obviously a game to her.

  Trying to block her out, I listened for anything that would be of any help to Cami, but I learned absolutely nothing. I should have skipped the meeting altogether and used the time alone to get a hold of Cade. He needed to know that Kendall was really close to figuring things out, and I had to find a way to protect Cami without anyone knowing the truth about us.

  I should have known that Nathaniel wouldn’t reveal anything important with so many of us “regular members” in the room. But I was surprised when he told us that things would start moving fast, so we needed to keep our ears open for further instructions. That didn’t sound good.

  They were planning to end this charade, and it was happening soon. I needed to call Cade and tell him to figure something out ASAP. After only a half hour, Nathaniel excused most of us and asked only a select few to stay behind. Of course, I wasn’t all that surprised that I didn’t make the cut for his little inside circle, but that was just fine by me. At least now, I would have some time alone without my dad around so I could make some calls. I hurried out of the room, passing Kendall, who looked like she was ready to spit nails. When she hung back to speak privately with Drew, I took the opportunity to get the hell out of there.

  “Gavin, wait up!” Kendall yelled as she jogged to catch up with me. Shit! I shouldn’t have led Kendall on at the lake. It only seemed to encourage her, but I needed her to believe me. Why the hell was this girl so hung up on me? Apparently, Kendall Avery Stuart wasn’t used to the word ‘no.’ Somehow, she was going to have to get it through her thick skull that there was no way in hell I’d ever touch her, and not just because she was with Drew. Besides, Cami was the one I wanted—the only one. Not that I could tell Kendall that.

  “I need to get back to my dad’s, Kendall,” I said, hoping that she would get the hint.

  “I’ll walk with you,” she replied as she linked her arm through mine and then pushed open the door to the lodge. We walked in silence for a while, but I knew that wouldn’t last. Kendall wasn’t the type to keep anything bottled up, and I knew something was bothering her. As we approached my dad’s place, I tried again to get rid of her, but, big surprise, she ignored the hint.

  “You’re not mad at me for making you stay, are you?” she asked, pushing me up against the front door and pressing her entire body against mine. I fought the urge to shove her away and tell her exactly how I felt about her. I wanted to see her face as I told her how much she repulsed me, how her touch made my skin crawl, and her scent made my stomach turn. But if I did that, Cami would be the one to suffer. So, I held my breath and reached behind me to open the front door. With the door open, I could back away from her.

  “I get it, Kendall. I know that you’re lonely here, but you’re only thinking of yourself. And yes, I’m a little mad that you’re blackmailing me into staying here. You know this is the last place I want to be.”

  Unfortunately, my frankness didn’t deter her. Instead, she followed me into the house, pushed the door shut, and locked it. As she turned my way, her face had softened a bit. I couldn’t lie. Kendall was one of the prettiest girls I had ever seen, and in that moment, I knew why she was used to getting exactly what she wanted. She was gorgeous, and tempting, and she never hesitated to go after what she wanted. Most men would do anything she asked of them, but I was not most men.

  “I’m sorry, Gavin. Don’t be mad. Trust me, I can make you very happy again. Let me make it up to you,” she said as she reached out and slid my coat off my shoulders. I couldn’t keep backing away from this chick. Every time I did, it seemed to encourage her as if she just thought I was playing hard to get or something.

  I put my hands on her shoulders and gently moved her back. “It’s fine, Kendall. Really, I mean it. You should probably get back to Drew.”

  “You are so clueless,” Kendall said before grabbing me by the back of my neck and pulling my lips to hers. It took a second to realize just what she was doing. When I didn’t kiss her back, she jumped into my arms and wrapped her legs around my waist. I turned my face, breaking her lips from mine, but that didn’t stop her. She had the audacity to continue her assault on my neck.

  With her body still firmly attached to mine, I walked her over to the couch, unwrapped her legs from my waist and her arms from my neck, and put her down. “Dammit, Kendall! Why did you do that? Are you trying to get me killed?”

  She avoided eye contact as she sat there still and silent. “Kendall, I like you, but we can’t do this. You’re Drew’s girl. You’re going to be the next alpha female, so this is never going to happen,” I tried again.

  I left out the part about me belonging to another, or how much Kendall disgusted me. She was blackmailing me after all. I needed to play it safe.

  “I know. I’m sorry, but I don’t love
Drew. Drew doesn’t make me feel the way you do,” she admitted, looking up at me through her eyelashes. I sat down on the other end of the sofa and leaned my head back. How the hell did this happen? As soon as I rubbed my hands over my face, Kendall pounced. She was straddled on my lap, her hands in my hair, and her face only inches from mine as she whispered in my ear, “The last time Drew and I were together, it was you I was thinking about. Only you.”

  “Oh, holy hell,” I muttered.

  “Oh yeah, Gavin. You are the one I want, the one I need. I have to be with Drew, but you are the one I love,” Kendall said holding my face in her hands. I had to get away and figure out what to do with this wolf in heat.

  I lifted Kendall off my lap and stood up. “Kendall, will you give me a minute? This is just a lot to take in.” To ensure her cooperation, I reluctantly leaned down and pressed my lips to her forehead, and thankfully, I felt her relax under my touch. This girl really did have it bad.

  “Sure, baby. How about I wait for you in the guest bedroom? But you better hurry. I want you so bad it hurts,” she said as she slipped her jacket off and headed for the stairs.

  As I walked off, an idea hit me. As the Fixer, my dad always traveled with a supply of drugs and hypodermic needles. I hurried to my dad’s bathroom and began rummaging around for something that I could use to knock Kendall’s crazy ass out. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

  CHAPTER 42

  Kendall

  Perfect! With Gavin out of the room, I had just enough time to make this one memory he wouldn’t soon forget. I hurried to make sure all the curtains were drawn, dimmed the lights, and got out my phone to turn on my love-song playlist. Then I stripped down to my black lacy bra and matching panties. When I heard his footsteps coming up the stairs, I stretched out on the bed in my most seductive pose. Yeah, good luck resisting this.