Page 54 of Say You'll Stay

“Cole.” It’s a reluctant, low answer, but it sparks the oddestflicker of recognition in the other man’s eyes.

“Carter? Cole Carter?” he asks. “Any relation to Wade?”

“No. Dunno who that is.”

It’s a well-practiced lie. She assumes after so many years Cole knows when it’s a good time to claim Wade and when it’s not.

The gun drops and a wide smile spreads fast on their enemy’s face. “I call bullshit! You know that, asshole. Well hell, we ain’t just friends, we’re family now!”

* * *

“So there I am, surrounded by the dead. This is it, right? This is how I go. In this shitstorm waiting for that first bite, and then what do I see? A big ass truck plowing through the pile and I live to see another day.”

Ray’s got everyone gathered in the house like this is a storytelling session at summer camp. All he’s missing is the smores and campfire.

Olivia doesn’t connect the dots until the answer is thrust upon them.

“…Wade was in that truck,” he says to Cole. “Crazy bastard saved my damn life! He drove my sorry hide back into safe territory again.”

That’s not exactly what either of them expected to hear. She’d been bracing for the worst, certain that Wade pissed this group off by doing something stupid.

Cole squints. “So when you said we’re family?”

“I meant it!” Ray exclaims, bestowing him with a shit-eating grin that she doesn’t trust for a single second.

That look is one she’s seen before in the eyes of the manwho had made her life miserable and it sends shivers down her spine. Jason would give her a false sense of hope only to snatch it away again, reveling in her reaction. Her stomach clenches and she steps closer to Cole, but he’s only one man against six.

“You know what family does, right?” Ray leans forward for a beat. “They share each other’s debts, and your friend…your brother, as he so affectionately called you, right before he knocked my back molar out and stole all my shit, has incurred a hefty debt.”

There it is. She swallows hard, catching sight of two others sending her lewd glances.

“Thought you said he saved your life,” Cole replies carefully.

“He did. He sure did. But it wasn’t outta the kindness of his heart. Took my supplies not long after. It was before I linked up with these fine gentlemen. Nearly starved for a week. He didn’t leave me so much as a bag of trail mix.”

“We have food. You can have it.”

Their position is fragile enough that an easy agreement is the only option.

It’s then that the walls of the cottage close in around her. Her eyes dart from corner to corner, meticulously cataloging each intruder as if she can use the information to help herself.

One man with a shotgun standing by the window, peeking through the curtains.

Another in the kitchen searches for food and slams cabinet doors.

On the sofa, two lounge with legs spread and slouched postures, enjoying the show.

The last is close enough to reach out and touch her. She can see his fingers twitch with desire.

Although Ray’s pistol remains holstered, the eagerness in his eyes betrays his intentions. He takes a step closer, invading Cole’s personal space, his next words rough. “I know we can have the food. We’ll also be taking everything else,” Lucy cries from her bassinet and Ray smiles. “Don’t worry, no one’s gonna touch that sweet child until she’s of age. We’ll all take real good care of her. Real good care.”

After that, everything explodes at once. With the two men grabbing her arms and dragging her across the room, all Olivia can do is scream. She knees one of them in the balls like Cole told her to and he crumples to the ground only to be replaced by another who forces her down, pinning her with his weight, and shoving his lower half between her thighs.

Her arms are pinned above her head, and she cries out while screaming obscenities that only spur them on. She spits in her attacker’s face and earns a fist to her temple for her efforts. As her head rolls against the hardwood, her vision swims and she goes lax. Stunned.

A brawl ensues between Cole, Ray, and two others across the room. Hope surges through her when he gains the upper hand a few times, but then he’s overtaken a second later. Ray’s pistol goes off, shattering a lamp on the side table.

As her shoes are torn off her feet and her pants ripped down her legs, her body jerks.

---