“What do they do there?”
Skye had moved along, humming a tune under her breath as she looked down at the bundle of flowers in one hand. Then she squatted beside the shore, digging her fingers into the sand. She liked the way it felt. She was always getting dirty—he liked that about her.
Leo’s heart sped as he robotically answered, “They hurt people there. People who cross big guys like my dad.”Hurtingwas an understatement. The cruelty Leo witnessed had no name.
“That’s fucked up,” Hunter grumbled.
Leo swallowed. “I see women there, too.”
“They hurt women?”
Leo nodded. “In different ways.”
In graphic, sick ways.
Leo’s stomach tightened. He didn’t want to think about it.
“You know what’s crazy, Hunt?” he said now, voice low as Skye brought the flowers to her nose and sniffed. “They say I’ve barely scratched the surface.”
He didn’t know how deep that place went.
He just knew the thought of going back made him want to vomit on the spot.
“You should be withus,” Hunter replied, distractedly. “We don’t do that shit.”
Leo frowned, whispering so Skye did not hear, “I’m not joining your cult.”
Shane had already flipped enough times at him about Hunter. Said his old man would not tolerate that friendship anymore if Hunter kept wading deeper into that rabbit hole.
All of it was a ticking time bomb.
Hunter’s movement caught his attention, drawing him away from Skye. His body tensed as he watched Hunter dig a pointed stick into his palm. Blood oozed out of the hole, and Hunter kept digging, his other hand straining to go deeper. Leo quickly grabbed at the stick and ripped it from Hunter’s hand. “What the hell, Hunt?” he growled, shocked by the blood pooling in Hunter’s palm.
Hunter didn’t answer, but his cheeks reddened as Leo continued to admonish him. “You can’t do that, Hunt. Promise me you won’t do that again.”
Hunter grumbled, “I promise.”
Still horrified, Leo watched him stand up and walk to the water’s edge. He dipped his hand into it, washing away the blood. Leo clenched his fists in dismay, disturbed—not shocked—by Hunter’s behaviour. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen Hunter hurt himself intentionally.
“It makes thethinginside me feel better,” he’d confided in Leo once.
“Whatthing?” Leo had asked.
“Just…thething.”
Leo’s chest constricted as he watched Skye approach Hunter. As he stood back up, she handed him a flower, not having noticed his wound. His eyes remained fixed on Hunt, and a warm emotion flitted through Leo now. Concern mixed with a deep, brotherly affection. His eyes ached with unshed tears. Hunter was bizarre at times. On one hand he was perfectly normal, smiling at Skye like he was all there, but other times…other times there was an edge in him, and it was filled with an urge to hurt.
Leo wanted to help him, wanted to save him, wanted to collect his broken pieces and smooth out the sharp edges.
Hunter’s question ripped through him again.Why go to that school with us?
It wasn’t solely for Skye, he realized as he watched the fresh blood drip off the end of the stick. It was to be closer to Hunt, too.