Page 121 of Locke 2

I kissed him, enjoying the feel of his lips against mine. “Then steal me, Max.”

His eyes warmed and he looked at me with such happiness. He pressed his forehead against mine. “You’re it for me, Kali. I love you. I want everything with you. I’ll do anything for you, if you could just love me a little in return.”

My heart thumped raucously inside me. “Silly man,” I teased, nipping at his lips. “I fell in love with you a long time ago. You’re it for me, too.”

Locke took a trembling breath. “We do this together. The highs and the lows. No more hiding.”

I shook my head. “No more hiding. Let’s go home.”

In the next breath, he delivered me our dog and off we went.

Back to Blackwater, with its black, bleeding heart where the Blackwater boys lived. A place where treachery met charity, and love balanced out the hate.

Epilogue

Locke

Locke pulled the profile out of the envelope, skimming his eyes over the details on the page.

Name: Todd Worth

Age:67

Occupation: Retired Librarian

Volunteer: Scouter Todd (well aware of the forest environment)

Married: 37years

Two kids: Jordan Worth, Brayden Worth

He’d seen a name several times, buried among the contacts list they’d found in the doctor’s cabin. It wasn’t Todd Worth’s name, but a pseudonym: 4Leaf. At quick notice, you would think he was one of the visitors, but then his men had found 4Leaf’snumber in multiple burner phones they’d collected through the network. If 4Leaf was a visitor, why was he on the phones belonging to bigwigs and organisers?

Unravelling 4Leaf was simple.

He was on the visitor records acting as a paid customer, and yet when they raided the checkpoint of a Hole, they found multiple phones, one belonging to a 4Leaf.

If 4Leaf was a customer, why was his burner phone among the organisers?

It sat in the back of Locke’s mind for a while.

And when something sat in his mind, he began to hunt.

He didn’t stop.

He dug. Him and his brothers together. Coming together to search for this man.

And then they did it.

They found him.

They found out who he truly was.

Locke exited the car and approached the muffled man. He didn’t plan on setting him loose. No, Locke had a different thing in mind.

Good old Todd was dressed in his Scouter uniform. He thought he’d be going to an assembly to invigorate new scouts. He thought he was going to be shaking the hands of little boys and girls and that they would have stars in their eyes.

No one had stars in their eyes here.

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