Read Online Creed by Trisha Leaver - Free Book Online Page B

that what?” Mike’s tone was sharp, his normal carefree attitude slipping away, replaced by genuine anger. Luke nudged me back and rose to his full six-foot-two height, using all of his bulk to instill some well-deserved fear in Joseph.
    I’d seen huge kids back away from Luke on the field, physically retreat from the defensive line. But Joseph didn’t flinch; he met Luke’s eyes without the slightest hesitation.
    I leaned into Luke, standing on my tiptoes to whisper in his ear. “He lives there, Luke. That name in the book, on the death certificate. That’s him.”
    “I know,” Luke whispered, then raised his voice. “Listen, we don’t want any trouble. We’re just looking for some gas so we can get back on the road.”
    “That’s going to be a problem,” Joseph said, turning to walk away. I guess he presumed we’d follow. He couldn’t have been more wrong.
    Luke reached out to grab him, his hand encircling Joseph’s arm. “Where the hell are you going?”
    Joseph stopped but didn’t try and pull away. A shudder worked its way through his body. Maybe frustration. Maybe anger. When he finally turned around, his face was neutral, peaceful.
    “My brother asked you a question,” Mike started in. “And if it’s all the same to you, I’d rather not stay in this place any longer than necessary. So, if you could point us in the right direction, that’d be fantastic.”
    Joseph smiled. “Brother, you say?”
    “Uh huh. I’m Luke, this is Mike, and this is Dee,” Luke said, pointing at each of us in turn.
    “Dee,” Joseph said as if testing my name. “Are you their sister?”
    There was a twinge of hope in his voice, one that made me cringe. “Nope,” I said, running my hand across Luke’s waist before tucking it into the back pocket of his jeans. I wanted Joseph to know exactly who I was to Luke, who he’d have to go through to get to me. “I’m definitely not his sister.”
    Joseph looked at me, then at the hand I had tucked in Luke’s jeans. “I’ll help you. I can’t get you gas, but I’ll help you.”
    “Great,” Luke said. “Start talking.”
    Joseph shook his head. “Not here. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know, but not here. Not out in the open.”
    “Fine. There,” Mike said, tipping his chin toward the house we’d camped out in. “It’s warm. I bet there’s even some dinner left over from last night you could eat.”
    “No. No way. That’s the first place he’ll look.”
    I understood his hesitation. The house I’d grown up in was less than a ten-minute drive from the Hoopers’, but you couldn’t pay me to go back there. Not to the house. Not to the street. Not to the neighborhood.
    I may have gotten the kid’s mentality, but I was the only one. Luke had hit his threshold, his hand flexing in a useless attempt to rein in his anger. “Fine, then you stay here and do whatever it is this town does. We’re leaving.”
    “You won’t make it out of here,” Joseph warned. “My guess is he’s already found your car.”
    Done. That was the only way to describe Luke. Completely and totally done with Joseph. With this town. With this entire situation. “What the hell are you talking about?” Luke yelled, his entire body shaking in time with his anger. “I don’t have time for this. Or you!”
    I reached for Luke’s arm, tugging on it until he made eye contact with me. The fire in his eyes quickly drained away, regret filtering in. He was scaring me, and he knew it. If the one person I counted on to be steady and strong was losing control, then things couldn’t be good.
    Luke looked back at Joseph and nodded his apology. “We’re not going anywhere. Not until we have some answers, anyway.”
    “Fine, we’ll play this your way,” Joseph said. “Those sirens you heard, I set them off. That house you stayed in, that’s mine. That grave you got your foot stuck in yesterday, that’s my mother’s. The man who put her there is named Elijah Hawkins. He’s