Her smile faded. “He wouldn’t take her there. Those were probably happy memories. He wouldn’t want to taint them. He’d want her far away from all the fun he had.”
Damn, she was smart. “Which is why we’re taking this trail.”
Her gaze sharpened. “What happened down here?”
Hunt didn’t want to think about how his friend turned into someone he didn’t know, but it started on this trail.At least in Hunt’s mind, because it was the first time he’d ever wanted to hurt his friend.
“Wilde,” Cyn called to him. “What happened?”
“We got in a fight. Words were said, punches were thrown, and that was the beginning of the end that came years later when I arrested him for hitting you. I thought that was the worst that could happen between us. I was wrong.”
Cyn stopped her horse and he rode up beside her and stopped his as the others continued on down the long and winding trail.
She reached out and took his hand. He felt her gaze on him, but didn’t look at her. “That was the first time you saw him hit a girl.”
“Her name was Lori but we called her Sprite because she was so lively and flitting about like some fairy. She was sweet and happy all the time. She didn’t have a mean bone in her body. They ducked away together with a bottle of Wild Turkey and a blanket. I was... distracted.”
Cyn squeezed his hand. “What was her name?”
“Kelly. We dated for two years.”
“Your first?”
“Nope,” he said with a grin, though his sweet memories clouded with what happened when Lori came running back. “I don’t remember how long they were gone. Half an hour, maybe more. She came out of the trees at a dead run, her shirt gone, bra smeared with the blood from her busted lip. Rad ran after her. I didn’t think, I just ran straight for him and tackled him to the ground before he caught her. She ran into Kelly’s arms, and I held Rad off from going after her,but it didn’t stop his mouth from running. He accused her of being a tease and saying that she shouldn’t have started something she didn’t intend to finish.” He turned to her then and held her gaze. “I was so stunned he spun out of my hold and went for her again. He was in such a rage. He didn’t care that she was crying and bleeding and so scared. I’d never seen anyone that scared.” He rubbed his hand along the back of his neck. “He snagged her arm and tried to yank her away from Kelly. I grabbed him and clocked him right in the jaw. He stumbled and went down to his knees. We argued. He got pissed I took her side and blamed him for hitting her when he swore it was an accident and Lori vehemently accused him of backhanding her because she told him she didn’t want to go all the way. I believed her. And Rad came up punching. I put him back on the ground, gathered the girls, and we left Rad there and I took the girls home.”
“What happened when Lori told her parents what happened?”
“She didn’t tell them. She wasn’t supposed to be out with boys. She lied to her parents that she was staying overnight with Kelly, then she snuck out to meet us. When she got home, her story was that she tripped on the back porch stairs at Kelly’s house and busted her lip on the bricks.
“When she saw Rad at school the next day, he tried to apologize and tell her that it was the alcohol, he’d had too much to drink and that wasn’t him. She basically told him to fuck off.”
“But you and he remained friends?”
“Rad came to me, too, apologized for what happened, said it would never happen again, he didn’t know why he’d acted that way. He seemed really sorry and upset about it. I’d never seen him be that out of control. He had a mouth on him that got him into trouble and a few scrapes, but that was different than what he’d done to Lori. He seemed genuinely contrite. So I gave him a second chance and watched him with other girls. He wasn’t that popular. Yeah, he’d joke around with the girls who hung out with Kelly, or whoever else I was seeing, but they mostly steered clear.”
“I bet they sensed something about him.”
“Maybe. Probably.” Hunt frowned. “Word gets around. But Rad learned to be charming—as he got older he definitely got smoother, which made me think the thing with Lori was an isolated incident. Until Angela.”
“Others probably left before it got as bad.”
Hunt agreed with a nod. “Angela’s beautiful and sweet. Her instinct is to nurture and soothe.”
“It didn’t work on Rad. There’s no sense in why he treated her the way he did.”
“Abusers don’t need a reason,” Hunt said sadly. “I’m just saying that maybe Angela wanted her goodness to fix Rad. He’s the only one who can change who he is.”
“It’s too late for him to change. The only thing left for Rad to do is pay for hurting my sister.” Cyn kicked her mount to catch up to the rest of their group.
Hunt followed, wondering if he’d end up between Cyn and Rad again. No question, he’d take Cyn’s side, but would he have to put Rad back on the ground or six feet under to stop him next time?
Chapter Ten
Cyn had never felt more tired, desperate and conflicted in her life. She wanted to find her sister, but she didn’t want it to be out here in the woods. She also couldn’t stand the thought of Angela out here alone. Dead or alive. The thought of her sister being missing, her fate undetermined, for the rest of Cyn’s life... It would haunt her forever.
And while she loved being back on a horse, this was no pleasure trail ride. They’d been searching the forestry road, going slow, being observant of everything around them, and her ass hurt.
She hoped she wouldn’t embarrass herself and not be able to walk when she got down off the sweet but uncomfortable animal the next time they took a break.