Page 43 of Protect

I rub a hand over my face, exhaustion and adrenaline warring within me. “I never thought I would agree with Jaxon on something like this, but I think he’s right. Coach’s life is done. It ends here.” I sigh and trace my fingers over the gun tucked in the back of my jeans. “But first we need to help Hope get some closure. She deserves a chance to say goodbye to her mom.”

Knox is quiet for a moment, then he nods. “You’re right. We’ll figure out what to do with that bastard after.”

“Come on, he’ll be out for a few hours,” I say and we head back inside the cabin. Hope is sitting on the edge of the couch, staring blankly at the wall, her arms wrapped around herself. She looks up as we enter, her eyes glassy and distant.

“Hope,” I say gently, kneeling down in front of her. “We were thinking… we wanted you to have a chance to say goodbye… to your mom. Would you want that?”

Hope blinks, her brow furrowing as she processes my words. Then, slowly, she nods. “Yes,” she whispers hoarsely. “I’d like that.”

“Give us a few minutes to get everything ready,” Knox says and I nod.

“Jaxon can take you,” I say and glance briefly at Jaxon.

“Okay,” she whispers.

I swallow hard, staring at the bones. “We need to cover her up.”

Knox nods, dark circles under his eyes. “Yeah,” he says hoarsely. “She can’t see it like this.”

We work in silence, pushing dirt back into the hole with our hands. The soil is damp and clings to my skin, embedding itself under my nails. I don’t care. I keep digging, making sure that every bone is covered, that nothing is left exposed.

Finished, I wipe a filthy hand across my forehead. “She really loved her,” I whisper, more to myself than to Knox.

Knox clears his throat, a harsh sound in the quiet. “I don’t think she stopped,” he says. “Even after…”

He trails off but I know what he means. Even after her mom disappeared, even after everything, Hope still clung to the idea she was out there, that she might come back. Finding her like this… it must have shattered something inside her.

Knox stands, brushes dirt from his jeans, and looks around. “These flowers,” he says, pointing to the white blossoms scattered around the tree. “That what she would want?”

“Yeah,” I say, remembering Hope’s shaky voice as she whispered about the flowers her mom loved. I gather a handful and scatter them on the grave while Knox does the same.

When the grave is covered and the flowers lay in a heap against the dirt, we step back.

“Do you think anyone else saw it?” Knox asks softly.

“The videos about Hope’s… stay here?”

“Is there a way we can know?”

I shake my head. “Not sure. But we can find out.”

Knox seems lost in his own thoughts, his eyes dark as he stares straight ahead.

I can’t tell if he’s pissed at me.

At himself.

At all of this.

At Coach.

“We’ll trace the IP,” I say.

“Yeah,” Knox says and scratches his jaw.

I sigh. “We found a lot of shit on it. I was able to make out a few entries. I couldn’t get through all of it,” I tell him.

“I want it gone,” Hope’s voice startles me and she slowly stands beside me. “I can’t live knowing it’s out there. That there are more people like me, being used, beaten, and… killed.”

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