‘Don’t listen to her, son. She's trying to trick you.’

  ‘Bryce, I'm not,' I plead. 'Don’t let her do this. At least get Britt out of here.’

  For a moment, Bryce looks torn, and my heart surges with hope.

  ‘Hurry up,’ Sarah barks. ‘We have to move them before that girl and her dog get here.’

  Mia and Koda. That’s why Sarah’s moving us. Britt and I exchange a look, and for the first time, I see a spark of light in her eyes.

  ‘Maybe—’

  ‘Maybe nothing,’ Sarah snaps. ‘Now open the door. It's time to go.’

  Bryce swallows hard, his eyes darting to the gun still gripped in her hand. ‘All right, Mum, sorry,’ he manages.

  Bryce walks over and shoulders the barn door open. Immediately, winter rushes in, covering our faces with snow and sleet. I clench my teeth to try to stop myself from shivering as Sarah orders us outside. The conditions are brutal, but I know it won’t hinder Koda. I scan the dark for any sign of him, but the only shapes I see are cows standing silent out in the cold.

  ‘Keep moving!’ Sarah’s voice cuts through the stillness. ‘We don’t have all night.’

  Bryce walks in front, his movements robotic, as though his body is here but his mind is somewhere else. We'd dreamed of a life together once. I loved him, and he loved me. Now he’s an accomplice, chained by loyalty to his mother – something that will alter his life forever.

  We trudge through the snow, cold biting through our thin clothes. Behind me, Britt stumbles. I turn, forcing a smile to steady her.

  ‘Keep up,’ Sarah snaps as we near the main house.

  I trip in the dark, and Bryce reaches out to balance me. His hand brushes mine, and a jolt of memory passes between us. I want to plead with him to stop, but the words won’t come.

  ‘Mum, we need to hurry,’ he urges, his voice strained. ‘They’ll be close.’

  ‘We just need to get to the truck.’

  He nods, and I catch the flicker in his eyes.

  ‘Where is she taking us?’ I ask. ‘Where’s Jack?’

  ‘Just stay quiet,’ he mutters. ‘Don’t upset her.’

  ‘Bryce, please. Take me but leave Britt. She’s just a kid.’

  His eyes harden. ‘She wasn’t just a kid when she told Mum about Lilly.’

  ‘Lilly was her best friend.’

  He hesitates, then shakes his head. ‘No, Mum’s right. I can’t go to jail, and neither can she. It can’t happen, Juniper. That’s not what Dad would do. I’m sorry.’

  A few metres from the main homestead, a clutch of large sheds huddle together in the snow. It’s where they keep the larger machinery and extra farm vehicles. Once we leave Willow’s Crossing in a vehicle, Mia and Koda will never find us.

  ‘Everyone inside,’ Sarah orders.

  ‘Where are you taking us?’

  ‘Never mind, just get inside.’

  ‘The police are looking for Britt, and people know I came here. They’ll be coming any minute,’ I reply.

  ‘All the more reason to hurry,’ she snaps. ‘Don’t worry, we’re not going far.’

  She bundles us into the back of a farm truck that reeks of hay and mould. Bryce climbs into the passenger seat, and the old leather creaks beneath his weight. ‘I think we should find Dad.’

  ‘He’s on the way back with Herm,’ Sarah replies. ‘They’ll deal with the police when they arrive.’

  ‘Dad knows?’

  ‘Of course. He wants to protect you as much as I do.’

  ‘I never meant any of this, Mum,’ he mutters.

  ‘We’ll take care of it. We’re family. That’s what we do.’

  ‘Just like you took care of Missy?’ I ask.

  Sarah glares at me in the rear-view mirror. ‘It’s only because of Missy’s sacrifice that I have this family.’

  ‘Missy didn’t sacrifice anything. You killed her so you could take what was hers.’

  ‘Mum?’ Bryce asks. ‘That's not true, is it?’

  ‘Of course not. Don't listen to her.’

  ‘It is true,’ I push. ‘Don’t let her fool you, Bryce. This isn’t who you want to be.’

  Bryce turns to look at me. He studies my face, then reaches out and takes his mother’s hand. ‘I believe you, Mum.’

  ‘Good boy. Now put on your seatbelt.’

  As he slides the belt across his chest, I glance at Britt, and she mouths what the hell? All I can do is shrug, because in this moment, I realise with painful clarity that it’s true what people say – you never really know anyone.

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  WE reach the barn, and Koda dashes inside, bracketing from one side of the building to the other. On each side, horses shift in their stalls, hooves thudding softly against timber, breath puffing in the cold as they sense our movement.

  ‘Britt?’ I call out. ‘Juniper? Can you hear me?’

  I move carefully through the barn, my torch casting a narrow beam of light that picks up dust motes floating in the air. A horse snorts softly in the darkness, another shifts its weight, stall boards creaking.

  When there’s no answer, I call again but hear only the rustle of straw beneath our feet, the quiet shuffle of hooves, and the occasional drip of melting snow seeping through gaps in the iron roof.

  Koda stops suddenly, ears pricked, and tail rigid. He turns in a tight circle, barks, then begins pawing at the ground.

  ‘Whatcha got, mate?’ I hurry over. ‘What do you have?’

  I crouch and shine my torch on a trapdoor in the floor. A padlock hangs open on its latch.

  ‘Careful, Koda. Stay behind me,’ I tell him as I lever the hatch. ‘Juniper? Britt?’ I call down into the darkness, but only my own voice echoes back.

  ‘They were here, weren’t they?’ I murmur to Koda. ‘But where are they now?’

  Suddenly, Koda growls. His energy shifts. The hair along his back rises, and I know there’s someone behind me. I slowly reach for my phone and make sure it’s in my jeans pocket.

  ‘What do you think you’re doing?’ Jack barks as I get to my feet.

  This is it. The moment I either cower and beg or take a stand. Behind him, Herm steps forward, and I shiver, but not from the cold.

  ‘I believe he asked you a question, Mia,’ Herm says. ‘You’re trespassing, and we’ve been over this. More than once.’

  My heart hammers so hard in my chest that I can hear it echoing in my ears. ‘We’re searching for Juniper and Britt.’

  Jack laughs, and it’s a harsh, mocking sound. ‘In my barn? You must be out of your mind.’

  Herm’s eyes bore into me. ‘You’ve got no right to be here without a police request. You’re way out of line.’

  Koda presses closer, lip curling as he growls at Herm. ‘They were here. Sarah must have taken them somewhere, but you both already know that.'

  Jack steps in, his hulking frame looming over me. ‘Get out. Now.’

  Fear twists in my gut, but I stand my ground. ‘Your wife killed Lilly. Now she has Juniper and Britt.’

  His face darkens and he leans in, finger pointing at me. ‘Now you listen to me. I’m giving you until the count of three to take that mongrel and get off my property. And tell your brother he can forget about his drilling project. You just lost him my support.’

  I glance at Herm, and he grins. ‘You never learn, do you?’

  Every word lands like a slap. My hands tremble, not with fear but anger. I curl my fists, nails biting deep into my palms. ‘That’s where you’re wrong, Herm,’ I begin, praying my voice will hold. ‘I’m sick of you and Jack thinking you run this town and treating everyone in it accordingly. Especially young women.’ I turn to Jack. ‘You know what he does, and you turn a blind eye. Do you know he did it to me? I was only thirteen years old.’

  Jack shifts his weight, avoiding my eye.

  ‘Don’t you look away,’ I snap, stepping back into his line of sight. ‘He’s a predator, and you let it happen. He did it to me, he did it to Lilly, and who knows how many other girls in Wildling. You’re just as guilty because you’ve never done a damned thing about it, but that ends now. Lilly kept a journal. Everything Herm did to her is documented, and I’ll back it up. I’m done staying quiet.’

  But Herm just grins. ‘I wouldn’t get too cocky there if I were you, Mia. You’ve got a journal written by an unbalanced teenage girl, who everyone knows was on drugs, and your word, which is questionable at best. And right now, you’re trespassing.’

  He steps closer, and a shiver creeps along the length of my spine. He’s too confident. There must be a reason Jack has protected him all these years. With nothing left to lose, I decide to take a chance.

  ‘Jack, Lilly wrote about your arrangement with Herm in her journal,’ I begin. ‘He told her everything. What he has on you. How he’ll keep using it to make you do whatever he wants.’

  Jack glares at Herm, who falters under his gaze.

  ‘That’s bullshit. I never said a word about any of it, Jack. I swear.’

  Jack snarls. ‘Surely you’re not that stupid.’

  ‘I’ve kept my end,’ Herm protests. ‘She’s lying. I never said a word about what happened at the lake.’

  …about what happened at the lake.

  Everyone knows Sarah’s sister Missy drowned herself when they were teenagers. Or did she? Back then, Herm was always hanging around, desperate to befriend the rich kids. Could he have witnessed something more sinister? Is that what he’s held over them all these years?

  ‘Shut up, you idiot,’ Jack growls. ‘Stop talking.’

  But it’s too late. I’ve heard enough to take the risk. ‘Lilly wrote it all down, how Herm uses it to control you. It’s all there.’

  ‘You damn idiot,’ Jack snaps. ‘Why would you tell that Daniels girl about Sarah?’

  ‘Jack, I never said a word,’ Herm insists. ‘She’s lying.’

  They both turn on me, but I stand firm.

  ‘Either way, she knows too much,’ Jack mutters. ‘Daley can speculate all he likes after she’s gone, but if you’re sure the journal’s nonsense, there’s no proof.’

  ‘That’s where you’re wrong,’ I counter. ‘The journal is very real.’

  ‘Maybe,’ Herm concedes. ‘But there’s nothing in it about Sarah. That much I know, because I never told Lilly a damned thing.’

  Together they step forward and Koda growls.

  ‘You’d kill me to keep your secrets?’

  ‘Willow’s Crossing is a legacy I swore to protect,’ Jack says. ‘It’s who I am. It’s who Bryce will be. His son after him. That matters more than one girl and her dog.’

  Before they can come any closer, I pull out my phone. The screen is glowing, Daley’s name bright across the front. ‘Daley, did you get all that?’

  ‘Loud and clear, Thomas. We’re coming in.’

  ‘We’ll never be even for what you both did to me,’ I say. ‘But let’s call this a start.’

  Behind us, Daley and the Winton River police storm in, guns raised. ‘Don’t move!’ an officer shouts. ‘You’re both under arrest.’

  As Herm and Jack are cuffed, Koda and I step in beside Daley.

  ‘This isn’t over,’ I tell him. ‘We still have to find Sarah and the girls.’

  ‘The state police are on their way. They should be here any minute.’

  ‘Britt was here. Probably Juniper too. Sarah moved them, which means they’re still alive.’

  Daley eyes me. ‘What are you thinking, Thomas?’

  I stare out the barn door, into the dark. ‘I’m thinking they’re still out there, Daley, and I’m going to find them.’

  Chapter Fifty

  Britt

  THIS is all my fault. As we bump along Wildling Road, I close my eyes and silently scream that if this can all just be a dream, I’ll go back and keep my mouth shut. I won’t try to find out what happened to Lilly. I won’t read the journal. I won’t tell Sarah that her son is a scumbag.

  Since I was a kid, I’ve spent my whole life doing everything I could to piss off Mum and Dad, to punish them for not loving me as much as they loved Juniper. I didn’t care that it meant screwing up my own life, because what did it matter? I didn’t matter. I wasn’t Juniper.

  Now, sitting beside her, I can finally see she isn’t perfect. She’s not some fairytale princess who has everything handed to her, or a mythical unicorn gliding through life on a rainbow.

  All this time, I’ve been sabotaging myself, and for what? Her life is just as messed up as mine – as everyone’s.

  Instead of letting the scream escape my lips, I close my eyes and silently promise that if somehow we don’t end up dead, I’ll stop hating my life and start actually living it. Wildling sucks, but God, I’d give anything to be home right now. Anything.

  Juniper reaches out and takes my hand. I thread my fingers through hers, and a tear slips over my cheek. ‘I don’t want to die,’ I whisper.

  She squeezes my hand so tight it hurts, but in a good way. ‘You won’t, Britt. I won’t let that happen.’

  ‘I’m sorry for being such a pain in the arse.’

  She looks at me through the dark and gives me a tight smile. ‘I love you, Britt. Everything will be all right.’

  ‘Quiet!’ Sarah barks. ‘We’re almost there.’

  The truck turns right and rattles up a long drive.

  ‘This is the access road to Sarah’s parents’ property,’ Juniper whispers. ‘What’s she doing?’

  At first, I have no idea why she’s brought us here, but as the truck passes the homestead and continues across the back paddock toward the southern corner, my stomach sinks.

  ‘Oh my God, Juniper…’

  My sister turns to me, wide-eyed, as the realisation of Sarah’s plan hits her too. She’s taking us to the lake where she drowned Missy.

  ‘Sarah, no!’ Juniper shouts. ‘You can’t do this!’

  Sarah doesn’t answer, and Bryce snaps his head towards his mother. ‘Mum, what's going on?’

  ‘They're loose ends.’

  ‘You're going to kill them?’

  ‘We have to.’

  He turns around and stares wild-eyed at Juniper. ‘Mum, no, you can’t.’

  ‘What did you think was going to happen?’

  ‘I… I don’t know.’

  Bryce turns again and considers us, huddled together in the back seat.

  ‘Please, Bryce,’ Juniper cries. ‘You can’t let her do this.’

  ‘Mum—’

  ‘Quiet!’ Sarah snaps. ‘You started this, Bryce. Let it be a lesson to you. Everything you do in life has repercussions. One thing affects another, then another, like ripples off a stone skipping across the water. Your bad choices led us here. Now you’re going to take responsibility.’

  He stares at her through the dark. ‘Wait… you want me to kill them?’

  ‘That’s right.’

  Bryce recoils, his back pressing against the door. ‘Mum, no. I can’t.’

  ‘You need to learn your lesson.’

  I steal a glance at Juniper, my heart bashing against my ribs. Her eyes are vacant, staring straight ahead. She’s trying to be brave for both of us, but I know she’s as terrified as I am.

  Out in front, the lake looms dark and inky. I close my eyes and try to remember the last place I felt safe. If this is happening, I need to take myself somewhere else. Anywhere but here.

  When the truck moans to a stop, Sarah and Bryce get out. I try the handle, but it’s locked and the last of my hope drains away. I want to scream, to fight, but my body won’t move. My mind is disconnecting, dragging me to a place where I don’t have to be a part of what’s about to happen.

  ‘Gag them and bind their hands,’ Sarah orders Bryce. ‘There’s cable ties in the glove box. Old rags too.’

  ‘Mum—’

  ‘Just do it, Bryce. We don’t have time.’

  ‘Mum, the police know you have them. This isn’t going to work.’

  ‘Herm and your father will deal with the police. They always do.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘Stop arguing and tie their hands. Then get them out and bring them to the edge of the lake.’

  Bryce opens the car door and leans close to Juniper. ‘I’m going to put these on, but I’ll leave them loose,’ he whispers. ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘Bryce, don’t let her do this, please,’ Juniper sobs. ‘You can’t.’

  ‘Just play along, okay?’

  Juniper nods, and Bryce wipes the tears from her face. ‘It’s going to be okay. Just hold out your hands.’

  Outside, the wind has picked up. It blows in through the open car door, picking up our hair and tossing it across our faces. Bryce binds our wrists with the cable ties but leaves them loose enough to slide off. We play along as he leads us down toward the lake, where Sarah is waiting. The snow is so heavy now it’s blinding, each breath scraping cold into our lungs.

  ‘Now what?’ Bryce shouts to his mother over the wind and snow.

  ‘Now you walk them over to the old jetty and push them in.’

  He squares his shoulders, breathes deep, and nods. ‘Come on,’ he tells us. ‘Let’s go.’

  Juniper kicks and struggles against him. I can’t tell if it’s real or part of the ruse, but her muffled screams ignite a new wave of panic in me. Sarah’s still standing in the headlights, the beams of light illuminating her against the heaving sky.

  Underfoot, the jetty is slick with ice. We inch forward as best we can. Juniper stumbles, and Bryce throws an arm out to try to steady her. For a second, I think I see something in his expression. It’s hard to tell through the dark and the snow, but it gives me a flicker of hope.

  At the end of the jetty, water churned up by the wind slaps against the timbers. Darkness has stitched the lake to the sky, and all I can see is black.

  Onshore, Sarah watches us, her gaze fixed. Bryce steps closer, and my chest tightens.

  ‘I’m going to have to push you both in,’ he says. ‘When you hit the water, slide your hands out and swim to the other side. If you stay under, she won’t see you, not through this snow. It’s all I can do. I’m sorry.’