Games We Play (Thistle Cove 2)

“KK, hey,” I say touching her cheek. She’s still warm but her cheeks and lips are pale. “KK! Wake up!”

“The ambulance is coming,” Janice calls from outside the cottage.

I pick Kenley up and cradle her in my arms. “Don’t leave me, Kenley Keene. Never leave me.”

I repeat the words like a mantra, pushing out every other sound and emotion. That’s where I stay, stroking her golden hair, until the sirens cut through the night, determined not to lose another girl in Thistle Cove.

37

Kenley

“Kenley.”

“Kenley.”

“Kenley.”

It feels like the word—my name—has been on repeat, rattling around my brain.

“We got the medicine out of Kenley’s system. She should wake up at any time. The best thing you can do is be here for her when she does.”

I’m here! I want to say, feeling lost in a deep, dark cave.

“Thank god you boys were able to find her,” a voice—no, my mother—says. “If we’d lost her…”

“No one is going to take Kenley away from us, Mrs. Keene. I promise you that.”

I push through the dark, the pounding pain in my head, the strained muscles in my stomach and with what feels like more exertion than I knew possible, I open my eyes.

The first thing I see is my mother wit

h three boys, my boys.

“Mom?”

Her eyes snap in my direction. “Kenley!” She looks over her shoulder. “Can you boys go find her father?”

Ozzy’s relieved eyes hold mine. “Yep.”

Ezra and Finn seem hesitant to leave, and I don’t want them to.

“We’ll be right back,” Finn says.

The door shuts, and I look at my mom.

“Did you say they saved me?”

“They were panicked when they couldn’t find you after the game. And Juliette—” she pauses, “she tracked down her mom using the GPS on her phone. That’s how they knew to go to the cottage.”

I think about Monica shoving the bitter pills into my mouth. The look of desperation on her face. “Where’s Mrs. Chandler?”

Or Jason Chandler?

Emotion flickers across her face. Anger. Sadness. Grief. “Arrested. She confessed to everything.” She brushes my hair back. “We can get into all of that soon, don’t worry. You’re safe.”

The door opens, and my dad runs in, the doctor a few steps behind. The guys, I can sense them out in the hall. I feel better just knowing they’re close. I want to talk to them and find out what happened—I can tell from everyone’s expressions there’s more than they’re saying. Something is being kept from me, but I’m alive. The boys are here, and everyone knows the truth about the Chandlers.

For once, there are no more secrets.