Page 65 of Sutton's Shadow

“Later.” Another single word coerced from her emotion-clogged throat.

He gave her another peck on the lips, then walked out her door. She watched him traverse the stairs until he was out of sight. Then with a sigh, she closed the door and headed for her shower.

She didn’t know what Wyatt planned to do with the pictures; she only hoped she’d be strong enough to face whatever was coming and not succumb to the shadows that still haunted her from that night.

Chapter 21

Bethanyleftherclubmeeting early and walked outside. She made her way around the corner from the school parking lot to where Lia waited for her, having snuck out of the foster house.

“Did you get it?”

Bethany took the device out of her pocket and handed it to her. “My number is programed into it already. I also put my brother’s and the photographer lady’s I told you about in it, just in case. We’ll use Snapchat to communicate so there’s no record, okay?”

Lia nodded, staring at the tracphone in her hand. Bethany had picked it up a few days ago when she’d been working with Sutton. It was a crap phone but would work for what they needed.

“Thank you,” Lia said, her voice sounding small. Bethany studied her friend. Her hand shook and she looked tired. She wished there was a way to get Lia out of that house. Being able to communicate through the phone should help.

“How are things?” Bethany asked, her worry for her friend coming out in her voice.

Lia stared at her for a moment, as if debating whether she could trust her. She knew that wariness came from years of neglect in the foster system. “Things are weird.”

Bethany tilted her head, wondering what on earth was happening in that house now. “How so?”

“First, there’s the parties. I’ve had to... to help serve stuff at them now. You know, drinks and stuff.”

“Okay,” Bethany prompted when it seemed like Lia wouldn’t continue.

“It’s just... weird. It’s mostly men, and they sit around the table pretending to play cards.”

“What do you mean pretending?”

“That’s just it. I learned how to play poker and a few other card games years ago from my grandfather. It looks like they’re playing poker, but it’s no version I’m familiar with. The cards they lay down make no sense. There is no rhyme or reason to a winning hand.”

“That is weird.”

“After a few hours of this, they send me and Mel back into our room. And then they wake us up later after everyone has left, demanding we clean everything up. That’s when I get a closer look at the playing table, trying to decipher the game’s rules. It makes no sense. And the scoring makes even less sense. They don’t use poker chips, like normal. They keep score on a sheet of paper. I caught sight of one before the witch snatched it away. The numbers were in the thousands.

“Then there’s the fact that Hugo and Daniella don’t play. They sit and keep track of the score. Why host a poker night if you’re not going to play? The group is different from one party to the next. Sometimes I see the same guy at a couple of parties, but most of the time it’s a different batch of men.”

“That is creepy. When I think of a poker night with the guys, I picture a group of friends who’ve known each other forever, eating junk and shooting the shit.”

“Exactly. Whatever this is, it’s just weird.”

“Pretty sure the parents are foreign, what with their accents and all. Maybe it’s the way they do things in whatever country they’re from.”

Lia looked doubtful. “Maybe.”

“Any new kids come in?”

“A few. There’s been five new girls, three were in the younger girls’ room. Two days after a party, they moved two of the young girls out. At least, that’s what we were told.”

“You don’t believe that?”

“I don’t know what to believe. Especially now.”

Lia was freaked out, and it wasn’t just about the weird poker game. “What else is happening?”

“I hear crying,” she admitted.

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