The Truth In My Lies

36

MADISON

KAIDEN is crazy. This is crazy. Me, sitting in the middle of the woods, watching my boyfriend go into a sex trafficker's house, and hoping he doesn't get killed because then I might get killed by his drug lord boss, is crazy. Nothing about this is normal.

My eyes strain to see Kaiden walking towards the house. He's dressed in all black and the only light is coming from the moon. He disappears into the trees before I know it, and I'm left watching and praying that no one comes.

I look down at the gun in my lap. I've never shot a gun. What if someone does come? If they come after me, will I be able to defend myself?

My heart is running a marathon in my chest. My palms are sweaty and I'm struggling to regulate my breathing. I don't know why he brought me here, I really don't. Cameron or Jordan, or hell, even Tyler or Blake would do a much better job than me. They'd trained for this stuff, I haven't. I can name every bone in the human body, but there's no way I could shoot someone or defend myself if I had to against a killer.

I check my phone, just for a split second, to see if I have any signal. Of course I don't. Kaiden told me I wouldn't.

Kaiden's voice rings out from the walkie talkie and I almost shit out my stomach. "Everything clear?"

"Yeah, everything's clear." I whisper back. I don't know if whispering will even help.

He doesn't say anything back and I assume he's doing that to lower the chances of anyone hearing him. I wait patiently, waiting for a light to flick on, or a car to pull into the driveway. I even wait for someone to knock on Kaiden's window or try to open the car door. Luckily, I've made sure the doors are locked three times and the windows are tinted.

Ten minutes creep by. Nothing's changed. I'm still staring at the dark house, counting the seconds as they pass. I'm sure everything will be fine. Kaiden will get the job done and we'll be able to go home and do whatever we want. That's what I keep telling myself.

I get sidetracked while watching a deer run through the woods. I don't even notice the headlights that illuminate the house when a car pulls into the driveway. When I finally realize what's happened, my breath hitches and my stomach sinks. Immediately, I reach for the walkie talkie.

"Kaiden! Are you there?" I whisper. My heart flutters while I wait for a reply. It would be my fault if something happened to him. I wasn't paying attention.

"Yeah, I'm here." His voice instantly soothes me, but I feel physically sick when I see the car door open and two men get out.

"Someone's there. Two men I think."

"Gotcha." He doesn't even sound scared. I would be shaking. I am shaking.

The men walk towards the house and disappears behind it. There's nowhere else for them to go except inside.

You know that feeling you get when you're riding a rollercoaster, when you're slowly inching your way to the top, and when you're finally there, you just dangle for a couple seconds? You just sit there, knowing there's no turning around, you just have to brace yourself for the drop? Yeah, that's exactly how I feel right now.

There's no turning back. I can only sit here and hope that Kaiden has everything under control. I'm hopeless.

I consider reaching for the walkie talkie and asking if he's okay, but if they're somewhere near him, I don't want to give his cover away if he's hiding.