Page 133 of Creeping Lily
“Titan,” I tell him as I climb into the passenger seat of his SUV.
“Finally,” he mutters. “I thought I’d never get a name or a face. That your real name?”
He drives us out of the forest, away from the last place I saw her. Lily probably thinks I’m dead. Maybe she’s praying I am. I don’t want to think about what she’s enduring in the hands of that monster—what he might be doing. If he’s marked even a single hair on her head, I’ll dismantle him piece by piece, the way I’ve done to others who deserved worse.
“No,” I say. “My real name is Lincoln Walker.”
Justin goes still for a second before glancing at me. “I’m guessing you’re related to Bentley Walker.”
“So-called brother,” I spit.
He exhales hard, the sound edged with understanding. “This sounds more complicated than just a family feud. What are we dealing with?”
“Monsters,” I growl. The word is iron and blood on my tongue. “I should have killed them a long time ago. I knew what they were. What they’d do. And I let them live.”
Regret tastes metallic, like biting down on a bullet.
Justin studies me, unblinking. “We can sit here all night pointing fingers, or we can figure out how to get Lily back.”
I don’t argue. I motion for his phone. He passes it over and I connect it to the SUV’s Bluetooth. The dashboard screen lights up, the map glowing like a beacon in the dark.
“I put a tracker on my father’s phone,” I tell him. “It’s crude, but it works. He’s at the hunting lodge.”
Justin leans closer, scanning the display. “Middle of nowhere. You’re sure?”
“Yes.” My voice is steady but cold enough to burn. “It’s the only place he’d take her. The place where they’ve always hidden their filth and secrets. Where they—” My jaw locks. “Doesn’t matter. That’s where she is.”
He stares at the map a moment longer. “You think Bentley and your father are working alone?”
“In this? Yes. No one else wants to drag their hands through more blood. But bigger picture?” I shake my head. “There are plenty of powerful people who’ll kill to keep their secrets. You don’t know what someone’s capable of until they’re cornered like an animal.”
“You’re going to need help,” Justin says. “You’re barely standing. You can’t do this alone.”
“I don’t care if I bleed out on their doorstep.” Pain knifes up my side as I straighten in my seat. I hiss, but I don’t stop. “I’m going. With or without you.”
He stares at me for a long beat, then sighs. “You’re insane. But you’re not going alone. Let’s make sure you don’t die before we get there.”
The weight of it settles heavy in my chest. I slump back into the seat, my body wrecked but my mind locked on fire. I can’t wait for Goliath. No one knows Tom and Bentley Walker like I do.
Justin feeds the coordinates into the GPS. For a while, the only sound in the car is the click of the blinker and my sharp inhales when pain spikes through my ribs.
Then, quietly, Justin says, “This isn’t just about Lily, is it?”
I cut my gaze to him—cold, flat, lethal. “This is about Lily. Don’t make it about anything else.”
He doesn’t push. Just nods. “Then let’s focus on getting her back. Do you have a plan?”
The fire in my veins says yes. The ache in my ribs says I’ll need those painkillers after all. My eyes lock on the map glowing in the dark.
I’ve already lost her once.
I will burn the world to ash before I lose her again.
67
LILY
When I close my eyes, I fall into him.
