Briar Valley: The Complete Duet

3. Willow

CHAPTER 3

WILLOW

HELL – OLIVVER THE KID

Dipping the sponge back into the bucket of soapy water, I wring it out then resume scrubbing the sparkling kitchen floors for the third time this week.

They’re spotless and permanently smell of bleach, but I can’t lay in that bed for a moment longer, staring at the ceiling. My hands crack and bleed as I keep scouring at a vicious pace.

Still, the thoughts roll through my mind like tumultuous waves, one after another, never once relenting. I didn’t sleep a wink last night. I was too tormented to relax.

Human trafficking ring.

International investigation.

Prime suspect.

Katie sent over the information that Ethan’s company provided to her. I read it over a bottle of wine, drinking half before passing out at the kitchen table for a mere half an hour of rest.

The words Anaconda Team are watermarked all over the papers. I barely know Ethan, but Ryder loves and trusts him implicitly. That tells me enough. He’s the real deal and a good person.

This is happening.

It’s real.

The more I turn it over in my mind like an awful, disgusting pancake, the more sense it makes. I was a minor—vulnerable and clueless. He paid for me and took me overseas against my will.

How many other girls did I see getting beaten, raped and tortured in that house? How many lives were taken in front of me? They all blur into one now.

The sound of Arianna watching a movie on the laptop Katie let us borrow crackles from the other room, startling me out of my daze. She screamed at me when I tried to turn it off.

Scrub.

Scrub.

Scrub.

If only I could cleanse my soul the same way I’m washing the living daylights out of these spotless floors. I want to cut the memories from my skin and bleed myself dry of his poison.

They need your help, Willow.

Scrub.

Testify against him.

Scrub.

Free yourself.

Scrub.

When the pain in my hands becomes too much to bear, I sit back on my haunches and toss the ragged sponge aside. The folder of information on the table is screaming at me.

There’re pages of evidence inside, all classified yet given to me in an attempt to sway my decision. Mr Sanchez is one person in a pool of suspects, all being investigated for human trafficking.

He’s the real deal. The devil. The head of the snake that’s rotting from the head and awaiting a single match to burn its carcass. I hold that power in the palms of my hands now.

“Mummy? The phone!”

Startled out of my thoughts, I heave myself off the floor and snag my phone from the bedroom table where it’s ringing. Lola’s name is flashing on the screen, but it’s outside of our usual schedule.

My stomach flips as I suck in a panicked breath. Shaking myself out of it, I return to the kitchen for privacy then press the phone to my ear.

“Lola? Everything okay?”

There’s a long stretch of silence, punctuated by an odd rustling sound like someone’s walking on the end of the line. I hold a hand over my pumping heart, beginning to freak out.

“Lola?”

The distant sound of gulping ends the silence, followed by a wet, strangled kind of sob that tugs at my trembling heartstrings.

“Hello?” I repeat shakily.

“Baby.”

The kitchen floor is damp beneath my knees as I feel my legs sag. One word in that roughened, aged-whiskey voice of his and the last five months melt away like no time has passed.

“Killian.”

He breathes heavily down the line. “Hey.”

“It’s really you.”

Clearing my throat, I let my eyes slide shut, picturing those fire-lit eyes that first greeted me so many months ago.

“Why are you calling me?” I ask in a whisper. “Why now? Killian?”

It takes me a moment to realise that he isn’t answering me because… he’s crying. Quiet, soul-destroying sobs, betrayed only by the odd sharp intake of breath and tiny whimpers.

Big, scary, impenetrable Killian is sobbing down the line, and I have zero clue what to do. Terror is wrapped around my throat.

“You never should have left,” he chokes out.

I feel my own cheeks grow wet. “I know, Kill. I’m so fucking sorry. It was my only option. I didn’t know what else to do.”

“Willow… she… Lola…”

He trails off, and the sound of the phone clattering against the floor causes me to shout down the line, desperately calling Killian’s name even as I hear footsteps thumping away.

Arianna sticks her head out of the bedroom, her eyes widening when she finds me losing my mind on the kitchen floor.

“Mummy?”

“It’s okay, sweetie.” I wave her away.

“Is it Giant?”

“Ari, go! Watch your movie.”

She reluctantly disappears. “Fine.”

I pull the phone away from my ear to check and find it’s still connected. There’s a faint shuffle and some far-off whispers before someone else comes on the line.

“Willow? It’s Ryder. You still there?”

“I’m here,” I reply quickly. “Shit, Ryder. It’s good to hear your voice.”

“You too, doll. Look… something’s happened. We need you to come home.”

“What? Is it Micah? Did he get hurt?”

Ryder sighs, muttering something to another person before returning. “No, it’s not Micah.”

“Then who?”

He hesitates before speaking in a much firmer voice.

“Just pack your bags, and get in the car. You’re needed.”

“You know I can’t do that, Ryder. I left for a reason.”

“Your family needs you,” he says curtly. “Fuck that scumbag Sanchez, and fuck this plan. It’s time to come home.”

“Ry—”

“We can’t do this without you!” he snaps. “There’s so much to sort out, and the funeral… shit…”

My blood freezes in my veins. I curl my hand into a fist then bite down on it as anxiety floods every inch of my body and leaves me freezing cold. I must’ve misheard him.

“What funeral?”

Ryder curses. “I didn’t want to tell you like this.”

“What fucking funeral?”

“I’m sorry, Willow. It’s Lola. She had a heart attack… and she’s gone.”

Folding over to hug my midsection, I stay silent for several long seconds. His words echo on an endless loop, on and on without ever sinking in.

This can’t be real.

I just found her. She isn’t gone. Not like this. Not now. He has to be mistaken. The sound of Killian’s devastating crying comes back to me, and I realise why he was so distraught.

“Willow? Are you still there?” Ryder asks weakly.

“When?” I bite out.

“Last night. Doc tried to revive her, but it was too late. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what to say to you to make this better.”

“What’s h-happening now?”

“Everyone’s a mess, and we’re still figuring things out. You have to come, Willow. The guys need you more than ever.”

I try to silence my own desperate tears. Knowing that Arianna is mere metres away, completely oblivious, gives me the sense to break down quietly, at least.

Ryder stays on the line until I can form words again between my ragged breaths and the steady stream of piping-hot tears. It takes a few minutes to scrape myself together.

“I’m coming home,” I finally say. “Give me twenty-four hours.”

“Where are you? I’ll come and get you.”

“I can’t… I can’t say. Not over the phone, it isn’t safe. Don’t worry about me, I can find my way back to Briar Valley.”

“Are you sure?”

“Just… tell the guys… crap,” I curse myself. “I have no idea. Tell them I’m going to make this right.”

“We’ll be here waiting for you.”

We whisper our goodbyes. I’m left staring down at the phone, my ears ringing too loud for me to even think. I spoke to Lola only a handful of days ago.

In the bleak nothingness of our exile, she’s been the one constant. The voice at the end of the phone. A tangible, real reminder of the family still waiting for us out there.

I’ll never speak to her again.

I’ll never get to say goodbye.

It’s too late now.

“Mummy?” Arianna peeks her head out past the bedroom door again. “Was that Giant? Is he coming to get us?”

Gulping hard, I find my way back to my feet then bundle Arianna’s small body into my arms. We curl up together in my bed with her spooned against me.

My face buries in her long, blonde ringlets. I can feel her heart hammering as she realises I’m crying and begins to panic.

“Are we going on an adventure?” she whispers fearfully. “I don’t want to run anymore. I’m tired of running. I want to go home.”

“It’s okay, Ari.” I stroke her hair. “We’re going to go home now. Back to Briar Valley. We don’t have to stay here any longer.”

She turns over to face me. “Really? We’re going?”

I nod, biting my lip. “All I ever wanted was for you to be safe, baby. That’s it. I’m sorry for putting you through all this.”

Arianna strokes the tears from my cheek. “I know, Mummy.”

“It still isn’t safe, but… there’s something we’ve got to do. I need you to be a brave girl for me again, okay?”

Arianna offers me a devastating grin. “Always. You taught me how to be brave.”

“I think you did that all on your own, Ari. I had nothing to do with it.”

Curling up in my arms, she snuggles into me like she used to do when she was a baby. I breathe deeply, inhaling the scent of her strawberry shampoo, trying to ground myself in the familiarity.

Arianna gives me the strength to keep going. She always has. I’m going to need that strength now. We all are. Once she falls asleep, I dial Katie’s number and slip outside to answer.

“Willow?”

“Katie. Did you hear the news?”

There’s a pause.

“Albie called half an hour ago. Who told you?”

“Killian called, and I spoke to Ryder. We have to go back to Briar Valley. I’m going to pack up and leave tonight.”

“I’ll come to help,” she offers.

“No, we’re fine. Can I take the car?”

“Of course, sweetheart. We’ll be there in a couple of days, I just need to wrap up some business in the city. Will you be okay?”

I rub a hand over my sternum, searing with grief. “I don’t know the answer to that question right now.”

She sniffles, and I breathe deeply, trying to stop my tears from joining hers. I’m holding them back with a razor-thin slice of control. Not here. Not now. I can’t let it out yet because I won’t survive if I do.

“I’ll see you in Briar Valley.”

Hanging up the phone call, I slump against the wall and hang my head. The waves begin. Building. Cresting. Crashing over me. Pain comes thick and fast until it feels like I can’t breathe.

The buzz of the phone in my hand drags me back for a second, an unknown number flashing. The only person in my contacts is Lola, so I know one of the guys is reaching out.

Unknown Number: Please hurry.

Squeezing the phone, tears drip down my cheeks. The thought of seeing the three shattered pieces of my heart again is equal parts exhilarating and terrifying.

It’s time to return to Briar Valley.

Time… to go home.