Page 3 of Into the Dawn

“I. DON”T. KNOW.” She insists, kicking again, but even harder this time, annoyed with herself for her slip up. I smile, getting a small, twisted pleasure from her fury and discomfort, before she finally relents with a sigh. “He’s alive, or so Jed says, but I have no idea where he is. They don’t trust me so I haven’tbeen able to snoop around. I’ve tried, Ben. I swear. But there’s nothing I can do.”

That might be true. Maybe she doesn’t know where he is, but I don’t need her to tell me that. I can just use her as a hostage, as collateral, so I can arrange a swap with her family for John.

“Yes, there is, little mate, and you’re not going anywhere until you agree to help me.”

2

BEN

We both remain quiet for a few long minutes as Vanessa pouts and I think about my rapidly shifting plan. I can feel her guilt, and my heart goes out to her. As angry as I am, I know deep down that she’s always liked John, and I really doubt she had any part in his disappearance.

But can she honestly say she tried to help him?

She’s quiet for so long, that I’m starting to get suspicious about what she’s up to, when finally, her voice, smooth as honey and still with the ability to make my pulse race, reaches me once more.

“I came to the cave tohelpyou. I know you don’t want to believe that, but it’s the truth. You might still be angry at me, Ben, but you know I’m not like Jed.”

A pang ofsomethingpierces my heart at her sad tone, and I mull over her words, reluctantly agreeing that she’d never help her brother hurt Kali. When we were kids, they were best friends until her family found out we were all hanging out and put a stop to it.

“Then why didn’t you? Help, I mean. We could have done with any extra set of teeth. Or some forewarning they were going to do something stupid.”

Even just a call. If she’d called the bar and told Evan what was going to happen, we could have gotten there faster. Maybe nobody had to die.

Vanessa laughs darkly and kicks out again, but this time, without much real force. “They trust me with information about you or Sutton about as much as you trust me right now. I didn’t know until it was too late.”

Vanessa was always the black sheep of her family. Funny and smiling all the time, she never accepted their bleak, bitter outlook on life. And Jed never forgave her for not being miserable. He said she acted like she was better than them all, and he was right—sheisbetter than them all, but she never thought like that.

“I saw the boys leaving. I knew they were up to no good, so I followed them. But I have to live with them. If they got too close to Kali, I would have stepped in, but it looked like her mate had it pretty much handled.”

I’m not so sure about that. Without Jack and I, Griffin and Kali would have been outgunned, but there’s no point debating that now. Not when there are much more important things on my mind.

“How did you find the caves?” Vanessa turned up outside the caves Kali was hiding in. Caves that nobody in my family seemed to know about.

“John mentioned them once, must have been when we were hanging out at the ranger station. I figured Kali might have remembered they were close by.” That’s a blatant lie. Her voice drops to a whisper. “Plus, I could track your scent anywhere.”

Her reference to the bond, like it’s something precious to her, makes me angry. My temper bubbles to the surface despite mypromise to myself that I wouldn’t let her see how much she still haunts me.

“John never told you about the caves. Don't bullshit me, Nessie.”

I wince as my nickname for her slips off my tongue with ease. Her silence tells me she noticed it, too. After a beat, she clears her throat and answers calmly, thankfully, choosing not to draw attention to my mistake.

“He did. Why would I make that up?” She insists. “Don't forget, you weren’t the only ones John looked out for. He didn't hate me on sight just because the rest of my family are dicks, and I’m so grateful to him for that. He knew I had a sucky family at home, and he let me hang out because of that.”

My denial is on the tip of my tongue, but I hesitate. She was close with John. And I can admit that, at the time, I was more focused on my own problems. Vanessa had parents, while mine were AWOL. But I guess just because they’re present, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re any good. She had her shit to deal with too.

“I guess.” I concede, still not willing to give her the satisfaction of admitting that I believe her. “He did love to take in strays.”

Vanessa chuckles darkly. Not everyone in Sutton was keen to see Vanessa hanging around. It was okay when she was younger, but once we hit our teenage years, nobody's parents wanted to end up with her family as in-laws.

Except John. The welcome mat was always still out for everyone, no matter what.

Damn it, maybe he did tell Vanessa about the cave. I mean, he was always talking about climbs and adventures that he was on, and I wasn’t around every second she was there. Or paying attention.

It's not beyond the realms of possibility that he told me and Evan, but we just weren't listening.

Especially if Vanessa was around. She always had a way of distracting me. Even before I realised who she was to me, I was captivated by her. Then as we grew older and it became clear my interest was more than just a schoolboy crush, I went from captivated to obsessed.

She was all I thought about. Dreamt about. We’d planned our entire lives out during long evenings on the porch and morning runs in the forest. I thought we had it all figured out.

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