Silent Truths Chapter 1

Pre-Order Your Copy Here Chapter 1Elora

“Could you stop pacing?” asked Elora, who was growing sicker by the minute, watching Gavin as he walked back and forth across her small bedroom. “You’re making me dizzy.”

She put her hands on her head and tried to think of what she needed to say to get herself out of the situation. She had just witnessed two people being gunned down at Gwendolyn’s party, in Gwendolyn’s house, and one of those people was Paul.

“I’m trying to think,” he said.

“Think of what?” she asked, unsure what his next move might be.

“I’m trying to think of what to do.” He looked up and met her eyes. “Are you sure Aiden wasn’t there with you? I heard a commotion.”

She wasn’t sure what he heard, but she wasn’t going to help him out either. “It was me. That damned pillar almost fell over. I thought I was caught. Turns out, I was.” She had to think of something to make him believe her. If he knew that Aiden had witnessed what happened, there was a chance he’d kill them both.

“Dammit,” he said. “This is all fucked up. I wanted Paul out of the picture, but I didn’t want to owe him. His killing Paul the way he did means I do.”

“What are you going to do?” She knew what Enzo wanted. He wanted her.

He walked toward the bed, and Elora backed away.

Gavin gave her a sideward look. “Would you stop? I already told you, Elora, I’m not the bad guy. You can trust me. You don’t have to be afraid of me.” He sat next to her.

“Right,” she said.

“How long have you known?” he asked, looking into her eyes. “Did Marlowe tell you what was going on from the start?”

“No. I didn’t know. I still don’t really. I see what I see. And I saw Hallie. I know what he’s doing to her. And I saw what he did to Katie Pearly, remember? What Paul was doing to her. You tried to say that it was consensual.”

“It was supposed to be. In the beginning.” He shook his head, and Elora wondered if that’s really how it started.

“Yeah, well, it’s not how it ended up. Katie Pearly, the girl I saw with Paul, was found dead, Gavin. Whoever is taking these women, these men, you know they’re mistreating them.”

Gavin shook his head. “No, only Paul. It was always Paul. Enzo knew it. That’s why he did what he did. Things weren’t like that until he got involved. It was getting too messy, and even Enzo knew it.”

“But Paisley and McKenzie,” she said, as if he would understand. “You can’t tell me that they were willing. That they knew what they were walking into.”

Gavin turned away. “I was desperate,” he said. “I didn’t know what Paul or Enzo would do if I didn’t deliver. I know it was wrong, but it’s what I had to do.”

“What you had to do? Are you even listening to yourself? And you claim you’re not the bad guy.” She shook her head, feeling the disappointment that did nothing to overpower the fear inside her. Gavin would never get it. And she was supposed to trust him?

“You’re still alive, aren’t you?” The chill in his tone gave her gooseflesh.

“For how long?” she asked. “Until you figure out what to do?”

“You’re not going to say anything. You planned the party, remember? You’re involved. At least that’s what my mother and I will say. I will tell them that you were a recruiter. They’ll believe us.” He gave her a pointed look. “I can be a bad guy,” he said. “If you force me to. Or, I can continue to be the best friend you’ve ever had.”

“You know nothing of being a friend. I have friends.”

“Right. Your best friend tried to kill you.”

Elora narrowed her eyes. “Show me you’re not a bad guy. Give me my phone.” She held her hand out. “If you want me to trust you, trust me.”

Gavin sighed. He reached into his pocket and pulled it out. “I have trusted you, Elora. And this proves it. You’re one of the only people in this house who isn’t being surveilled either for their protection or ours. I even had Hunter take the camera out of your room. I did that, and I bought you a car, which you’ve been able to go all over town in. You can trust me. Because I already trust you. I have confidence you’ll do the right thing—if not for me, then for my mother.”

“Then tell me what happened with Marlowe. Why did she try to kill me? What was so horrible that she had to go to such extremes?”

“I was shocked to learn that, just like you were,” he said. “I didn’t find out what she had done until you ran into her in Milton.”

“Did you have her killed?”

“No,” he said, giving her a sideward look. What kind of question is that? Of course not. I loved Marlowe.”

“You gave her to Enzo. You let him have her like she was something you could trade with a buddy.”

Gavin was growing angry. “We did what we had to. She did what she had to do. I’ve already told you that we were open. I asked her to do it to help me, and she willingly did so.”

“You’ve seen how brutal Paul is. Did you ever think that maybe Enzo is just as bad?”

“I’ll admit, things were different after that. She resented me, and I knew it. We had issues. By the time I left for business, I thought we were getting past them.”

“And then Hallie happened. She was upset that Hallie had been handed over. I could tell.”

“You’re very observant,” he said.

“I’ve had to be. She tried to kill me, Gavin. My old friend and roommate. And I don’t even know why.” She remembered Marlowe’s apology as she lay dying. Elora had always thought she had no other choice. She was desperate. But those weren’t the answers she was looking for.

Gavin shrugged. “I didn’t understand why you showed up here, honestly. When she told me who you were, I was a little suspicious about you coming around and what she had up her sleeve. I didn’t know how bad it was for her. I misunderstood her signals.”

“She asked me to come. She showed up where I worked and invited me.”

He narrowed his eyes. “She showed up and asked you?”

“Yes, she did. She showed up at my job. I was sure she would be angry with me, but she was willing to put aside our old differences and let bygones be bygones. Or so she told me.”

“And yet, all I ever heard about you was how much she loathed you. And how much she blamed you for what happened to your other roommate. What was her name?”

“Skye.” Elora realized that it was her plan all along. She had brought Elora there to set her up. There had never been any forgiveness.

“Right. Skye.” He shrugged. “I figured that she had changed her mind about you. But when the fire happened, I was suspicious.”

“Then why didn’t you do anything to find her?” she asked.

“I did,” he said. “But I don’t want to talk about Marlowe. She did what she did.”

“It’s why she did it that I want to know. That’s why I came back, Gavin. I would have stayed away. Of course, you were never letting me get away, were you?”

“My mother found value in you. She wanted me to encourage you to come back.”

“So, you hired Aiden to keep an eye on me?”

“Yes, I did. And he was supposed to just observe you. Too bad he can’t follow simple instructions.”

“And you’re the good guy, huh? Hiring someone to spy on me.” She shook her head. “I didn’t realize I was so important. I wanted to get away from you and your mother and start over. I should never have come back.”

“I wish you hadn’t either at this point.” Gavin got up and started pacing again.

“Stop it,” she said. “I’ll save you some trouble worrying. I won’t say anything to anyone. Not that I even know who I’d tell in the first place. I know your mother has the police in her pocket. I’m guessing there’s no one I could go to and make an allegation against you and your mother who would take my word for it.” She gave him a pointed look.

Gavin nodded.

“And I don’t have anywhere to go where you won’t find me, I’m guessing.” He had already proven that to her.

He nodded again.

She put her hands out. “So, I’m here. And I’m not usually one to wish harm or death on anyone, but I’m really glad Paul is dead. If that makes me a horrible person, I guess I am. But I think the world is a better place without him. It’s just Enzo I worry about.” She had watched him gun down his cousin. So, who was worse?

Gavin smirked. “We all have a dark side, Elora. Even you.”

“I guess your world brings out the worst in people,” she said. “But, also, he hurt Hallie. I saw what he did to her. You had to know that I wouldn’t overlook that. Why would he even bring her here like that? He was rubbing your nose in it.”

Gavin’s smirk faded. “My mother wanted proof of life. He hadn’t brought her around like he usually did the other girls. She knew something wasn’t adding up. He started wanting two girls. One for the public and one he kept private, by the looks of it.”

“And what will happen to Paisely and McKenzie?”

“Paul is dead.” He shrugged.

“So, they are at Enzo’s mercy? And Marlowe was willing to kill to get away from him.”

He looked away. “Marlowe had her dark side, too.”

“So, I noticed,” she said. “Did she recruit girls like you do?”

He met her eyes. “I think you’ve had enough revelations for one night.”

“Are you ever going to tell me everything?” Elora asked.

“Maybe one day. But not tonight.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine, then can you leave already? I’d like to get changed and go to bed. It’s been a horrible night, and I need to see who was trying to call me.”

He turned on her phone and looked down at it. “Someone named Tad,” he said. “At least by the name you put on your screen. Why don’t you tell me who that is?”

“It’s one of Oscar’s roommates. He’s probably updating me about Oscar like he does every day.”

His eyes narrowed. “Have you told him anything?”

“No. Why would I tell him about any of this? It’s embarrassing, and I don’t want him to do something stupid to get himself hurt.”

“Smart girl. Because if he does do something stupid, he won’t end up hurt. He’ll end up dead.”

“Right,” she said. “Again, why would I tell him when Marlowe almost killed me over whatever the hell is going on with Enzo and Paul? And now what’s worse is Enzo wants me now. If I end up missing, people will notice.”

“You won’t end up missing. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

“Because you care?”

“I do. And so does my mother. She sees your value. She never wanted you to be mixed up in any of this, I can promise you that. She’s going to be devastated when she realizes what happened tonight and how you saw it.”

“Will she be mad when you tell her what Enzo wants?” If Elora meant so much to her, there could only be one outcome. It would surely tell the tale.

“She’ll be livid,” he said, looking upset. “They’ve already made too many problems as it is. My mother didn’t always know what they were into. She was devastated about Hallie. And she’s still pissed at me for that.”

“Why don’t you do the right thing and stop all of this? Paul is dead. There has to be a way to fix it.”

“You make it sound so easy,” he said. “But Enzo is keeping me alive. I messed up. I owe him.”

“For how long? The rest of your life?” she asked. It didn’t make sense or seem fair that he had to keep paying the price. How long would they hold it over his head until they considered it even?

“You don’t get it. This is how it works.” Gavin sighed. “Trust me, if there was some other way, I would be all over it. But excuse me for not wanting to die.”

Elora got a knowing look on her face. “Okay, so whatever for everyone else, as long as it’s not you. Okay, got it. But you’re the good guy? Is that still your story?”

Gavin glared at her. “You think it’s all black and white. But you try navigating these muddy waters. See how long your hands stay clean. Besides, I didn’t know any of this shit was going down. Not until it was too late to walk away.”

“You know there’s blood on your hands?” she asked.

Gavin met her eyes. “I haven’t killed anyone.”

“Right. You just send them to their deaths. Or something worse. Gotcha.” She pulled the covers back on her bed and started taking off her jewelry. “I’m so tired, Gavin.”

He tossed her phone on the bed. “I don’t want you to hate me, Elora. I’m really not the bad guy. And I’ll make sure that nothing happens to you.”

“Because your mother wouldn’t like it. I heard you the first time. So, since all is well, please let me clean up and turn in.”

Gavin started to the door, then stopped and put his ear to it. “Shit,” he said quietly.

“What?” asked Elora.

“Trouble.”

All of a sudden, there was a knock on the door.