Page 77 of Feed Your Fiends

“Gant and his clique graduate in eight months. Who do you think will take over?”

Eight months. Just eight months until the real world.

Focus.

If Sylo didn’t know about Jarett, then who accompanied Jarett to the bar?

“Come on, you two,” Delphine sings sweetly. “We’re going to the gardens. I want to show Gant the wishing well that finally granted me this visit.”

Sylo rolls his eyes but allows his mother to drag him out of the sitting room, a tart stuffed halfway in his mouth.

You aren’t here for a fucking family reunion.I tell myself as Gant laces our fingers and we enter the foyer.The garage. The car. Find the car!

“I’ll meet you out there. May I use your powder room?” I ask, and Delphine quickly nods over her shoulder.

“Of course. There’s one on the left.”

Right near the garage, but I already knew that. I’d scoped out the layout from the outside.

Delphine reaches for Gant, and I smile at him encouragingly. “Be a good escort. It’s only a tinkle, Gant.”

He squeezes my fingers before letting go because he feels safe in his pseudo mother’s home. Yet, goosebumps crawl my spine as I squeeze him back before slipping into the half bath. I count to thirty when I can no longer hear their footsteps before slipping out again. I creep right, ease the heavy wooden door open and slide into the dark garage.

There are six bloody cars.A six-car garage.

Again, why am I surprised?

When I reach the fourth, I spot it gleaming that blackish-green. The body is perfect. Still, I feel for any imperfections as I run my phone’s torch and my finger over the left fender. I hadn’t bothered with the overhead lights in case Delphine or Sylo noticed them flickering on from the garden. Still, I don’t need to see a dented fender to know I’ve found the right car as I eye the ornament.

Quickly, I unlock my phone. Not the old one Gant’s given me back but my burner from Rin. It’s slow as fuck, and I shift my weight as I wait for the browser to load before typing in the description.

Hood ornament. A kneeling woman holding a disc with wings.

I search through a dozen images, ignoring the Spirit of Ecstasy, a pelican, and an angel until I find an identical match.

Packard. 1940. Discontinued.

The company didn’t even exist any more.

I snap a few photos before fiddling with the passenger door. It’s unlocked, so I slip inside and rustle through the glove box. I need his legal documents as undisputable proof, but of course, there are no papers, just an air freshener, and my hopes of axing Rin from the plan are slashed.

I find the VIN number, take a picture, and send it to Rin without context. Not even a second passes before she responds with the devil horn emoji. Was she just waiting around with our chat open at all times?

Damn, maybe she needed the money even more than I—

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

My eyes shoot to the rearview mirror, where Silas is leaning forward, emerging from the shadows.

“I-I got lost looking for the powder room. I’m Gant’s girlfriend—”

His fingers clamp around my neck, and in my struggle to break away, I ram my elbow into the car door,hard,hoping to nudge it open. It’s no use. Blinding pain from both my elbow and my neck explodes before my eyes like little starbursts.

“Do you think I’m that fucking stupid? You mistake a garage for the toilet?”

I try to swallow, but I can’t. “I love vintage cars, so when I stumbled into the garage, I couldn’t help myself.”

“Try again.” He squeezes tighter, and my heart pounds in my ears, the drums about to burst.

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