To the Stars
Page 74
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“Wait, you think this is Collin?”
All the guys looked at me for a few seconds before Deacon asked slowly, “Yeah, what’d you think we were talking about?”
“Not Collin! I thought this was normal, nosy neighborhood talk. Why would you think he’d know where to find me? I’m not even sure if he does know about Knox, and he doesn’t know about either of you. I’ve never even mentioned knowing anyone in Thatch.”
“Because he has cops working for him, and if he’s found you running away before, he can find you now,” Knox explained.
“But I was driving my car that time. This time I walked, and took different cars, and . . .” I trailed off as dread spread through my stomach. “And it was too easy.” My head snapped up and I held Knox’s worried stare. “I told you it didn’t make sense that he’d just not be there, or that I’d be able to leave. It didn’t make sense; he could’ve followed me. Oh my God. I can’t stay here, I can’t put you in danger like this.”
Knox squeezed my hand reassuringly and glanced at Graham for a second. “Do you have any idea what kind of BM—”
“One of the X’s,” Graham said with a snap. “The SUV ones.”
I exhaled so quickly, it sounded like I was in pain.
“Is it his?”
“No,” Knox answered Graham so I wouldn’t have to. “But he does have a dark BMW.” Knox bent close to me. “What kind of cars do his parents have?”
“The exact same, just different colors.”
Knox rolled his eyes, because I also had the same car in another color as well. “Isn’t that cute,” he sneered.
I took a calming breath and asked, “How would you know a car doesn’t belong here?”
This time Deacon answered. “Thatch is small. Everyone here knows everyone and their business. During the summer we have visitors out by the lake, or the center of town, but it’s rare when you don’t know a car in one of the neighborhoods—especially your own neighborhood. We know everyone who lives around us, know their cars, and know the cars that are usually there visiting. It’s hard not to when we’ve all grown up together. So when there’s a different car on a street, people start talking.” He shrugged and grinned widely. “People don’t think twice about random cars here, because too many girls come in and out of—” He broke off quickly when Knox and Graham shot him a look, and my stomach fell. “Regardless, we don’t know that car, and it caught enough attention that a woman down the street asked if it I knew whose it was when I saw her walking her dog this morning.”
“Where is it?” Knox asked.
“Three houses that way,” Deacon said, and pointed in the direction behind Knox and me.
“Back to your earlier question,” Graham said, and his eyes darted to me. “There were two cars in the driveway when I drove past at one this morning. Two BMWs.”
It took me a second to understand what he was saying, and then all the blood drained from my face. “You went—you went. Why!”
Knox squeezed my hand as Graham continued. “I already knew what those two cars looked like, but I didn’t know if maybe the car on our street was some other—anyway, you already answered about that. But all the lights were on in the house, and I mean all of the lights. It was lit up bright and the blinds were open. It was weird for how late it was.”
“I never opened the curtains or blinds yesterday,” I mumbled. “That was dangerous going there.”
“I didn’t even slow down as I passed your house,” he assured me.
“Deacon?” Knox murmured.
“Is Collin’s dad like this, too? I don’t just mean with the abuse, but with the money and paying people off.”
“No,” I responded, at first surprised he would ask, but then I understood and continued. “No, he’s just a very rich man who thinks his son can do no wrong. He thinks he and Collin can rule the world, and that’s his only downfall. Everything Flynn does is by the book, other than pulling a few strings to get Collin into the treasury office. Collin’s parents are the nicest people, but they both came from money, grew into even more of it after they married, and I think it’s intoxicating to them and they might be insecure without it. They want the best because they want people to think they are the best, so they made sure Collin grew up that way, too. And it shows; we have everything he wants and thinks I could ever want. But I don’t know how my monster came from those people. Still, I think Flynn would do anything to keep Collin out of trouble, no matter what Collin did.”
The guys accepted that answer.
Deacon took a deep breath and looked to Knox, his expression somber. “Okay. You need to take Harlow somewhere safe while you do this. There’s no way around it. With who Collin is . . . who his dad is—even if he is an okay guy—and knowing that Collin has police receiving kickbacks from him, that means they could have people pretty much anywhere. Once you get her somewhere we’re all positive is safe, then we’ll start working on a way to expose Collin and get him arrested,” he said, gesturing to the guys.
I shot up from my chair, but Knox quickly pulled me into his lap. “No,” I said sternly. “No, absolutely not.”
“Low,” Knox growled.
I twisted in his lap to look at him. “I’m not letting you put all of your lives on the line because of this!”
“Babe, what do you think we were planning on doing? Nothing?”
“No, of course not. I know you’d be there—but just to keep me safe, not to be the ones who put everything they have in danger.” I leaned closer to him so it felt like it was a conversation between only us, though I was sure the others could still hear. “Do you remember how hard I tried to push you away? How I constantly told you not to help me? I knew that coming to you last night was me giving that up and letting you help, but that’s all it is, Knox. Help. Not do everything for me while I hide away.”
His dark eyes glistened with unshed tears. “I can’t let you near him.”
“Do you think I can stomach the thought of you near him?”
“I have spent the past two weeks dying every day thinking of what you could be going through while I paced around here doing nothing,” he said. “Only to find out my fears didn’t skim the surface of what you’d actually been enduring. And then last night? I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if he ever got close enough to touch you again.”
All the guys looked at me for a few seconds before Deacon asked slowly, “Yeah, what’d you think we were talking about?”
“Not Collin! I thought this was normal, nosy neighborhood talk. Why would you think he’d know where to find me? I’m not even sure if he does know about Knox, and he doesn’t know about either of you. I’ve never even mentioned knowing anyone in Thatch.”
“Because he has cops working for him, and if he’s found you running away before, he can find you now,” Knox explained.
“But I was driving my car that time. This time I walked, and took different cars, and . . .” I trailed off as dread spread through my stomach. “And it was too easy.” My head snapped up and I held Knox’s worried stare. “I told you it didn’t make sense that he’d just not be there, or that I’d be able to leave. It didn’t make sense; he could’ve followed me. Oh my God. I can’t stay here, I can’t put you in danger like this.”
Knox squeezed my hand reassuringly and glanced at Graham for a second. “Do you have any idea what kind of BM—”
“One of the X’s,” Graham said with a snap. “The SUV ones.”
I exhaled so quickly, it sounded like I was in pain.
“Is it his?”
“No,” Knox answered Graham so I wouldn’t have to. “But he does have a dark BMW.” Knox bent close to me. “What kind of cars do his parents have?”
“The exact same, just different colors.”
Knox rolled his eyes, because I also had the same car in another color as well. “Isn’t that cute,” he sneered.
I took a calming breath and asked, “How would you know a car doesn’t belong here?”
This time Deacon answered. “Thatch is small. Everyone here knows everyone and their business. During the summer we have visitors out by the lake, or the center of town, but it’s rare when you don’t know a car in one of the neighborhoods—especially your own neighborhood. We know everyone who lives around us, know their cars, and know the cars that are usually there visiting. It’s hard not to when we’ve all grown up together. So when there’s a different car on a street, people start talking.” He shrugged and grinned widely. “People don’t think twice about random cars here, because too many girls come in and out of—” He broke off quickly when Knox and Graham shot him a look, and my stomach fell. “Regardless, we don’t know that car, and it caught enough attention that a woman down the street asked if it I knew whose it was when I saw her walking her dog this morning.”
“Where is it?” Knox asked.
“Three houses that way,” Deacon said, and pointed in the direction behind Knox and me.
“Back to your earlier question,” Graham said, and his eyes darted to me. “There were two cars in the driveway when I drove past at one this morning. Two BMWs.”
It took me a second to understand what he was saying, and then all the blood drained from my face. “You went—you went. Why!”
Knox squeezed my hand as Graham continued. “I already knew what those two cars looked like, but I didn’t know if maybe the car on our street was some other—anyway, you already answered about that. But all the lights were on in the house, and I mean all of the lights. It was lit up bright and the blinds were open. It was weird for how late it was.”
“I never opened the curtains or blinds yesterday,” I mumbled. “That was dangerous going there.”
“I didn’t even slow down as I passed your house,” he assured me.
“Deacon?” Knox murmured.
“Is Collin’s dad like this, too? I don’t just mean with the abuse, but with the money and paying people off.”
“No,” I responded, at first surprised he would ask, but then I understood and continued. “No, he’s just a very rich man who thinks his son can do no wrong. He thinks he and Collin can rule the world, and that’s his only downfall. Everything Flynn does is by the book, other than pulling a few strings to get Collin into the treasury office. Collin’s parents are the nicest people, but they both came from money, grew into even more of it after they married, and I think it’s intoxicating to them and they might be insecure without it. They want the best because they want people to think they are the best, so they made sure Collin grew up that way, too. And it shows; we have everything he wants and thinks I could ever want. But I don’t know how my monster came from those people. Still, I think Flynn would do anything to keep Collin out of trouble, no matter what Collin did.”
The guys accepted that answer.
Deacon took a deep breath and looked to Knox, his expression somber. “Okay. You need to take Harlow somewhere safe while you do this. There’s no way around it. With who Collin is . . . who his dad is—even if he is an okay guy—and knowing that Collin has police receiving kickbacks from him, that means they could have people pretty much anywhere. Once you get her somewhere we’re all positive is safe, then we’ll start working on a way to expose Collin and get him arrested,” he said, gesturing to the guys.
I shot up from my chair, but Knox quickly pulled me into his lap. “No,” I said sternly. “No, absolutely not.”
“Low,” Knox growled.
I twisted in his lap to look at him. “I’m not letting you put all of your lives on the line because of this!”
“Babe, what do you think we were planning on doing? Nothing?”
“No, of course not. I know you’d be there—but just to keep me safe, not to be the ones who put everything they have in danger.” I leaned closer to him so it felt like it was a conversation between only us, though I was sure the others could still hear. “Do you remember how hard I tried to push you away? How I constantly told you not to help me? I knew that coming to you last night was me giving that up and letting you help, but that’s all it is, Knox. Help. Not do everything for me while I hide away.”
His dark eyes glistened with unshed tears. “I can’t let you near him.”
“Do you think I can stomach the thought of you near him?”
“I have spent the past two weeks dying every day thinking of what you could be going through while I paced around here doing nothing,” he said. “Only to find out my fears didn’t skim the surface of what you’d actually been enduring. And then last night? I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if he ever got close enough to touch you again.”
