Page 48 of Winter’s Teeth

My nose wrinkled. The gene pool? They were worried about the gene pool enough that they had to kidnap their mothers?

Reading my mind, Fox added, “They don’t always have to kidnap people, but... We’re not really supposed to tell the family secrets to anyone, so it’s not like people find out easily. It’s not like anyone ever wants to be part of it once they learn about us either.”

Fair enough. I lifted up onto the sofa, shifting a little closer to him and feeling like a tightly coiled spring about to explode as I hedged cautiously, “So why my sister?”

With a slight wince, he eyed me sideways. “Do you really think this is all a coincidence? That she found this venue because of a simple search online?”

Judging by his tone... I didn’t think that anymore.

“Your sister’s a researcher, right?”

“Anthropology,” I replied. “That’s what she was studying. That’s what she just finished her degree in and was going to go on to get her master’s for.”

“Did you know what she was studying specifically?” he asked with a leading tone. I didn’t know, but he seemed to, so I waited for him to continue to fill in the gaps. “For some reason, she was studying this land. The history. Our history. I guess she found something in the archives at her school, and it piqued her interest, but she got too close to the truth. Arthur found her sneaking around, and then she started asking questions that were a little too pointed. He kicked her off the land, and a month later, she came back with her fiancé asking to see the venue.”

Something about the way Fox alluded to Brett made me pause. Actually, all of it made me pause. I could picture it so clearly in my mind’s eye. I could imagine Everly clinging to Brett’s arm while he towered a foot and a half over her, thinking this was the first time they ever saw the place, and all along, she had orchestrated it to end up back on the property.

A soppy smile lifted my wobbling lips. “She’s just as stubborn as I am when she sets her mind to something.”

“Yeah...” Fox grumbled. “Tell me about it.”

I could have hit him, but I also could have hugged him for finally giving in. For taking the risk and telling me.

She’s alive. She’s alive. She’s alive.

“Anyway,” Fox continued, “Arthur thought she was the perfect candidate after that. She knew the truth, and she wasn’t afraid. So...he gave her an in. Though I don’t think it’s exactly what she thought she was bargaining for.”

“No kidding,” Riss grunted, reminding me that my friends were still there and still privy to this madness.

I met their faces one by one. Riss looked ready to shoot Fox. Angie blinked, doe eyed and disbelieving. Ben stared with a narrowed glare, the same face he wore when he was working on statistics homework—equal parts loathing and confusion.

We were getting somewhere though. Finally... And though we still didn’t know what was going on entirely, Fox was trying. He was all I had to go on.

They didn’t see how he suffered either.

They didn’t see him lifeless, left for dead in the creek. They didn’t see him beaten to the ground, dragged into the woods, and tied to a tree. They didn’t know how he bit and snapped at everyone who got close, but only to keep them from getting too close to the pain he was stuck in.

I reached for his hand again, grabbing onto it and squeezing with a vice grip. “So where is she, Fox? Where’s my sister?”

He shook his head slowly, fingers flexing to pull away from me, but I didn’t let him, and he wasn’t willing to use enough strength to hurt me in the process. “I don’t know. I don’t... They don’t tell me anything anymore. Not since I tried to leave.”

When he dragged his fingers out of mine, he shoved both hands into his hair, gripping it by the roots as he continued to shake his head subtly. Distress stiffened his spine as he hunched forwards. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I really don’t know.”

My hand slid to the arch of his back, rubbing soft and slow circles. “But you could have ideas, right? If you give us anything—whatever you know—it’ll mean the world to me. It could help us find her.”

“You won’t find her. Not on your own.” His voice rasped, dejection weighing every inch of him down.

I leaned in, getting close to the side of his face. “So, help us. Tell us where to look.”

“You’ll just get yourselves killed again and—”

My hands flew to either side of his face, nails digging into his cheekbones as I hauled his gaze up and held him captive in front of me. “Fox. I know you’ve given up, but I haven’t yet.” I stared hard into his eyes. “Just tell me where to look.”

Dampness glistened in the corners of his eyes. “Rae...”

“Don’t. I know you don’t want me to die, but my life isn’t worth living without Everly. Do you get that? I don’t have anyone else.”

The silence from my friends was palpable. It stung the back of my neck, but I wasn’t trying to stroke egos here. I was being honest.