Credence

But I straighten, never more disgusted. I know what perfect feels like. I don’t want anything less.

“I’m thinking you remind me of my father.” I grab a knife out of the butcher block. “People like you hurt the soul.”

“Tiernan de Haas—”

“I’m a Van der Berg,” I growl, correcting him and launching the knife.

He dives out of the way, shielding himself, and I pluck out two more and throw those, as well, the guys stumbling into the living room.

I don’t waste time. I run back into the shop, keeping the lights off and the bay doors open.

“Get her!” I hear Holcomb shout.

My heart leaps into my throat, and I go to make a run for it, but think better of it.

If I can just get them out of the house…

Slipping behind the wardrobe in the shop I’d painted months ago, I freeze, tucking my arms in tight, so they don’t see me.

Footfalls hit the small set of stairs, and I hear shuffling on the cement floor of the shop.

“She can’t go far!” Holcomb shouts. “Get her the fuck back here!”

I see one of the guys dash outside, and I pull myself in tighter, afraid he’ll see me.

But then he’s gone, and the lights in the shop turns on, the other two moving around.

What does he think he’s going to accomplish? I guess if he gets what he wants then he wins. If not, I can’t prove he did any more than scare me. He hasn’t laid a hand on me yet.

I put my palm over my mouth to silence my breathing.

“Take the bikes,” Holcomb grits out. “They owe us.”

“What about her?”

“I’m gonna fuck that bitch, just as soon as I send her crazy-ass boyfriend to jail,” he fires back. “Dumb cunt is going on my wall.”

His wall. The scoreboard Jake warned me about. Jesus…

“You sure there’s not a warrant out for us?” the guy asks instead. “I saw Jake in town earlier, heading into the station with Kaleb and Noah.”

“They can’t prove that fire was us.” Tools shift, cabinets open, and something slams shut. “And if I can’t find the fucking keys again, I’m burning down the stable this time, with the horses inside.”

My hands go cold as realization hits me. Fire.

Keys.

Jake was right. Someone started that fire in the barn. They couldn’t make it out with the bikes they intended to steal that night, so they started a fire, instead.

“This is getting out of hand,” the other guy tells him. “We almost died trying to get up here and back down last winter. What if that fire had spread? They could’ve gotten killed.” His tone grows harder. “There’s no help up here if they needed it!”

“I know.” Terrance chuckles. “That’s the beauty of it.”

I peer around the corner, seeing him searching the worktables and desk. The other guy faces away from me, but I see he has a dark buzz cut and rings on his fingers.

Terrance spins around to look at him, and I dive back behind the armoire, spotting my bow on the tables behind me. Thunder cracks outside, and I grab it, picking it up quietly.

“So what would you rather do?” Holcomb asks him. “Join the Army like your dad wants you to, or you wanna race? I’m getting us our bikes and a new sponsor, and I’m not leaving without them!”