Page 109 of Half Truths (Secret Society 1)
“Hailey!” I kept shouting her name over and over before switching to, “Lana! Deacon!”
Nothing.
I started thrashing, against the ropes I was tied to, against the walls I was confined to. I heard a clinking sound and stopped to try to feel around for what it could be. My fingers tapped against metal, round, a pipe? I grabbed onto it and tried to place it between the rope in hopes that I could pull it apart far enough to stick my hands out. It didn’t work. Anger bubbled inside me and I thrashed again, as hard as I could, banging the wood above me with the pipe. Dirt seeped through when I did that, so I stopped, coughing as I tried to clear my face from it. Bringing my hands up, I felt the wood. It was definitely thin. As I felt around, I noticed a hole. It felt like one of those white pipes people used for plumbing. Some sort of PVC pipe maybe? I’d used those once for a science experiment. Tentatively, I touched around it and noticed no dirt coming out of it. I took the pipe in my hand and stuck it in there, placing my mouth against it.
“Hello?” I called out. “Hailey? Please. God. Hailey! Lana! Deacon! Help!”
Nothing.
I pressed my ear beside the pipe and found that I couldn’t hear anything from it either. How long had she been planning this out? My chest raked with unshed tears. I closed my eyes. She hadn’t even left water.
She didn’t want me to suffer.
She wanted me to die.
Chapter Forty-Six
Logan
The investigation was moving too slow for my liking. Today marked two days and God knew how many hours. Mr. Bastón had enlisted the help of people who dressed and acted like the S.W.A.T. but weren’t. They’d brought search dogs with them. Search dogs. The mere thought of what that could mean sent a chill down my spine. I’d missed two days of hockey practice and was planning on missing tonight’s game because I knew damn well I wouldn’t be able to give it my all. I was pacing the corridor of The Lab when Nora walked in with Will and Adam at her tail. I froze. Will and Adam were Swords. We only allowed each other in our perspective house under extreme circumstances. It was funny. Will was Nora’s twin and Adam was Nolan’s. Nora and Will looked nothing alike, and Adam and Nolan you could barely tell apart. I always did a double-take when I saw him, even though Adam wore his hair shorter than his brother.
“They’re helping,” Nora said.
“How exactly are they helping if they’re here?” I looked between the three of them. The only reason I was here was because I had to use the restroom and now I was trying to figure out places I hadn’t yet been to try to look for Amelia.
“We’re still hazing,” Adam said. “We’re making the guys do a search on the back end of our woods right now. We’ll take over tonight.”
“You look like shit, by the way,” Will added.
“Fuck you.” I started pacing again. “I just don’t understand why we’re only searching the woods. She would never have gone to the woods by herself.”
“I think . . . ” Nora started and paused to lower her voice. “I think they’re searching in case someone kidnapped her and tossed her body.”
“Don’t talk like that.” I cast a glare at her and then at the other two guys. “She’s not dead.”
“It’s only been two days,” Adam said. “The body is meant to survive ten days without water.”
“Don’t give me a fucking scientific countdown, Adam. I don’t want to fucking hear it. I want to hear you tell me that my girlfriend is going to be okay. I want her to call me and tell me she needed a break and apologize for driving me out of my mind. I do not want to hear about survival.”
“I’m going to go back out and search,” Will said. “I have to go pick up my cloak.”
“I’ll go with you,” Adam said. He turned to me once more. “If you need anything at all, we’re here.”
“Thanks.”
They left out the back and the front door opened. Nolan walked inside. I did a double-take, making sure it was the right brother.
“Your brother just left,” Nora said. “With mine.”
“He told me they were helping.” Nolan sighed heavily, running a hand through his long hair. “Are you missing tonight’s game?”
“What do you think?”
“I think we have enough people searching the woods and campus and every building surrounding the perimeter,” he said. “I think you should play. You already missed two practices.”
“I don’t care.”
“Since when do you not care about hockey?” he stared at me.
“Since my fucking girlfriend has been missing for two days,” I yelled. “Are you seriously going to give me shit for missing a game?”
