The Arrangement 22 (The Arrangement 22)

Henry walks up behind me. “Thanks for your help back there, you lumberjack.”

I tug at my hair and pace like a caged animal. I can’t text Marty, and risk his life. At the same time, I can’t get to Avery if they don’t fucking move. I want to scream, but I can’t. My heart races faster as I think about what they’re going to do to her. Shoving her body in one of those oil barrels is going to make her nuts. She’ll have to fold her body into a tiny ball and once they seal her inside—fuck. That will screw with her so that she won’t have her wits about her when they dump her out in front of her asshole brother.

“We have to get out of here,” I growl.

“Yes, I heard.” Henry glances at the remaining barrels. “They took more than one. You realize that means they’re planning on capturing several of us tonight. It’s ironic we’re all over here, and Vic is headed toward the mansion. He must have seen the article in the paper and recognized Avery.”

I turn, drained of patience, and grab his shirt collar, squeezing hard. “Avery and Mel just took off in that direction, and, unless we stop them, they’re fucked. Do you get that?”

Henry swats at me. “Yes. Kindly release me.” I set him down, and the man smooths his shirt. He looks at the floor, then back at me. “There’s something I can do.”

“From here?”

“Yes, well, perhaps. It depends on if my drone is charged.” Henry grabs his phone, and the little screen glows as he flips to an app and opens it.

I want to strangle him. “You denied owning a drone.”

“Pish, posh.” He waves a limp wrist at me. “I denied saying the drone shooting pictures of Avery was mine. I also stated my belief that drones are a pain in the ass, and that I don’t appreciate being forced to register mine with the FAA. I never said I didn’t have one.”

I want to kill him. Glaring at the side of his head, I snarl, “You said exactly that.”

He shrugs, “I exaggerated, and you should be glad. My little white lie may just save the girls.” He taps in a series of commands and then stares at a live camera feed from the drone. It’s inside a building, hovering by a window. “I liked that pane. It’s handmade glass from an estate in Suffolk, you know.”

“Henry—” I warn.

He smashes the drone through the window, and it’s off into the night. The thing shoots up high and buzzes over the house before darting toward us. If Avery is still on foot, it might be possible to get to her first.

“Can you talk to her through the drone? I mean if you find her, how will she know it’s you?”

He tucks his chin and represses a grin. “She won’t be able to hear me, but she’ll know it’s from me.”

“How?” Henry squirms, avoiding my gaze. I don’t press him and change my line of questioning. “And then?”

“Then we get them to follow the drone away from the mansion.”

“Mel is more likely to hit it with a bat than follow it.”

“Perhaps, but once they glance at it—well, you’ll see.” Henry flies the thing around five hundred feet—low enough not to interfere with aircraft, but high enough that it can’t be seen from the ground. A few minutes later, it’s over Black’s house, dropping like a stone from the sky. It stops, hovers above the ground, and pivots slowly near the trees where Avery was supposed to meet Mel, but they’re already gone.

CHAPTER 8

~AVERY~

Mel shoves me forward. We’ve been crawling through bushes for way too long. I’m tired, and my body feels like it’s made of bricks. I wish I could sleep for a few days, eat a ton of ice cream, and that this whole situation would be over. But it’s not.

“I think we made a wrong turn somewhere.” I stand upright and get bitchslapped by a spruce.

Mel chortles. “That was so funny! You should see the look on your face!”

“We’re in the fucking Pine Barrens. We’re going to fall into a pit and get mauled by bears.” I frown and glance around, upset.

Mel waves me off. “That shit don’t live here. Worst you’ll find is the Jersey Devil.”

I can’t help it. I laugh. “I think he lives in Jersey, Mel.”

She snorts, “And what? This can’t be his summer home?”

“It’s not summer!”

“Psh. Like that’s a good reason. You need to broaden your mind. Since when can’t a demon-spawned baby fly to his vacation residence in a season other than summer?” Mel rolls her eyes and shoves back a branch, marching on.

When she says baby, my heart pangs, as if the offspring of the demon were my child. I imagine it being misunderstood and crying as it tries to find me, but can’t. I blink rapidly, chasing the story away. What the hell was that? Compassion for a demon baby? I’m going crazy. I must be.

I follow Mel even though I have no idea where we are or where she’s going. I think she’s lost, but I’m not entirely certain. It’s so dark. The moonlight makes a lacy pattern on the forest floor, but it’s difficult to see much else.

Mel stops short, her arms waving like mad. I grab her as she’s about to fall forward. I didn’t see it in the shadows, but perched on the edge it’s clear there’s a massive pit in front of us and if she doesn’t regain her balance, we’re going to fall right into it.

Heart pounding, I tug hard, and she falls back with me to the ground. Relieved, I gasp and lie on the forest floor for a moment before getting up. When we rise, we stand, step closer, and peer over the edge.

Mel’s eyes go wide. “It’s a fucking mass grave. I told you it was that freaky demon.”

She sounds worried, but as I stare at the hole, I recognize what it is. “It’s not a grave, Mel. It’s a sand mine. Some asshole came out here to steal sand.”

Her face crumples and she stares at me like there’s a goat on my face. “Say what now? Who the fuck would steal sand? It’s sand!”

“I know, but construction sites need sand. It’s expensive, so they come out here, steal the sand from the Pine Barrens where no one lives or looks, and then backfill the hole with garbage when they’re done.” She blinks those golden eyes at me like I’m lying. “I’m not making this up. It’s a thing.”

“Looks like a mass grave to me.”

“It’s not.”

“Mine’s a better story.”

“Yeah, it probably is.”

Her eyes cut to the side as she glances at me, and then back at the pit. “So when we get a book deal, and they adapt the story into a movie, we’re gonna say this was a mass grave.”

“A movie?” I nearly laugh.

“Yeah, why not? Think about it.” She starts talking with her hands, painting the air with the swipe of her palms. “We got intrigue, mystery, and a lunatic that puts that chainsaw guy to shame.”

I frown. She’s right. This entire thing is more messed up than any movie I’ve seen. “Fine, it’s a demon grave.”

“Psh, now that’s ridiculous. Demons can’t dig. They’re not supernatural dogs. Geeze, Avery.”

Something buzzes overhead and darts by, shaking the treetops. Little lights shine down and blaze their beams through the branches. It startles the crap out of me, and I scream and jump at Mel. She wasn’t ready for it. She loses her balance, and we both tumble forward and slide to the bottom of the sand pit.

Mel swears a slew of words that make my ears ring and then shoves me off her prone body so she can stand. “You did not just shove us down into a demon grave.”

I close my eyes for a second and explain, “There was a light—”

Mel hadn’t noticed. She didn’t look up—no one ever looks up. “You shoved us into a hole because of a lightening bug? Come on, Avery. Grow a pair.” She walks toward the side and tries to climb out, but can’t. It’s too steep, and the walls aren’t stable. Every time she gets a step up, the sand loosens, and she falls.

I stand up and brush off the sand. “It wasn’t an insect. It was one of those weird helicopter things—a drone.”

Mel growls and tries to climb out again, bu

t only falls back into the pit. She stomps her foot and swears again. When she’s finished with her tantrum, she glares in my direction, adding, “Thanks to you, we’re trapped at the bottom of a goddamn hole! I’m not interested in playing the live version of Frogger right now.”

“I think you mean Pitfall. And at least there’s no demon spawn down here with us.” I imagine how silly we must have looked falling in slow motion into the pit, arms flailing, bodies tumbling over each other before skidding to a stop at the bottom. My lips twitch, and I snort softly trying to swallow the giggles building inside of me, but a few pop out.

Mel glares at me while swatting sand off her arms. “It’s not funny.”

I can’t stop. My chest shakes as I try to wipe the grin off my face and be serious. “Ok, I’m fine.” I’m not. Laughter is still fizzing inside my chest, but it’s no longer on my face.

“Good,” she snaps. “What’s the best way to get out of here?”

I glance around, “Well we could bounce across a few logs and hope we don’t land on a gator by mistake.” I make a Tarzan sound that sounds more like a bleating goat.

Mel glares at me, pissed at first, and then starts cracking up. She doubles over and puts her hands on her knees as she giggles so hard she can’t breathe. “Holy shit! That sounded like the game! It was like you were half goat and half Tarzan.” She straightens and points at me, “Do it again.”