Page 39 of Property of Anchor

Pearl was crouched beside a wall, brush in hand, carefully outlining some chipped bricks with black paint.

Jake noticed me first with a nod and straightened.

Brian was next to Pearl and noticed her sigh heavily.“Pearl, you okay?You look like you haven’t slept.”

Her hair was tied up messily, a smudge of paint across her cheek, and she looked tired.Not worn down exactly, just like someone who’d carried too much in too short a time.

I was already moving before she could answer.

“She’s good,” I said as I stepped between them.

My voice came out a little too sharp, and Brian raised his hands in mock surrender.“Alright, man.Didn’t mean anything by it.”

Pearl stood slowly, brush still in hand, and gave me a look I couldn’t quite decipher.“What’s up?”

“Walk with me?”I asked.“Just for a minute.”

She hesitated, then handed her brush off to Brian without a word.I led her around the side of the haunted house, down the narrow gravel path that curved into the woods.It wasn’t far, but it was enough.We were out of sight.Out of earshot.

She shoved her hands into her sweatshirt pocket and stared down the path.“I’m guessing this isn’t a casual walk.”

“No,” I admitted.“But I needed a minute.Away from the guys.”

She glanced sideways at me.“You okay?”

I barked out a humorless laugh.“That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?”

“Last night was… intense,” she said softly.“I still don’t think I’ve processed any of it.”

“Yeah.”I rubbed a hand down my jaw.“Look, I wanted to say thanks.”

“For what?”

“For not flipping out.For not running and screaming.”

“I almost did,” she admitted.“But you didn’t let me.”

That earned a small smile out of me.“Fair.”

We stood in silence for a beat before she asked, “Why did you come looking for me last night?”

I didn’t answer right away.Because sayingI couldn’t help myselfdidn’t seem like the right thing.Not when I was supposed to be keeping a line between us.

Instead, I said, “Because I saw you leave the cabin.And I couldn’t see you on the cameras after that.We don’t have coverage by the lake.I just wanted to make sure you were safe.”

She nodded, eyes on the forest floor.

I let the silence sit a moment longer, then leaned in slightly.“I found something this morning.Buried near the north edge.”I shouldn’t be telling her any of this.She already knew too much.She was an outsider, after all, but something made me want to tell her any and everything.

“What was it?”she asked.

“One of our old patches.Just the club crest.No name.”

Her brow furrowed.“That’s bad?”

“It wasn’t there before.And it’s from at least fifteen years ago.Someone’s playing games.”

She went quiet.

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