Page 3 of Their Wicked Secrets: Untouched, Vol 5 of 6

Penny nods. “He and Zach were real close too. Not sure what they were talking about though.”

“Did Zach and Sidney disappear at any point?” Luke’s tone is genuinely curious.

Nat looks at Penny like Penny would know. Penny glances at the floor before lifting her gaze to Luke’s.

“Yeah, he met us upstairs and took her down the hall, away from her bedroom.” Penny blows out a breath. “I kind of lost track of them after that.”

Does she know we still have her room bugged?

“What else?” Eli doesn’t have any inflection.

“Um...” Penny looks to Nat. Is there nothing else or something she doesn’t want to mention? There’s a small exchange of eye gestures.

Nat clears her throat. “Hannah left early with Emma. No one knows what happened, but Emma was crying.”

Jack cocks his head to the side. That was his cheerleader and, to be honest, out of all of them, Emma is the nicest to me.

“Any rumors?” I ask. I should call Kenz and see if she’s heard anything.

“It’s not substantiated, but it sounded like five of the guys on the basketball team tried to... do stuff with her.” Nat drops her gaze to the floor.

“Was she willing?” I have to know. Because if the guys don’t do something about it, I might have to. Mom liked to do things quietly behind the scenes, but I’m beginning to think both my parents had a savior complex and passed it on to me.

Penny meets my eyes, and I can see it might not have been. My stomach churns. Jack stands and grabs his keys. He comes over to me and tips my chin up. Our eyes lock, and his are stressed.

“She’s my friend, sweetheart.” He kisses me softly.

“I know.” I grab his hand. “Do you want me to come with?”

He shakes his head and rests his forehead against mine. “I’ll see you later.”

He takes the stairs two at a time.

Luke breathes out. “You need to know about our father.”

His gaze locks on Penny. Caden stands and gestures for Nat to follow him.

“Come on, extra person. Let’s go get something to drink.”

Eli heads to the stairs too.

Nat swallows, and I give her an encouraging smile. She may have hoped I’d come with, but Luke needs me right now. When the door upstairs closes, Penny flinches and releases a small breath.

“I don’t know what you’re going to tell me, but my mom kept me away from him. Maybe to use me as leverage. Maybe he didn’t want me. I don’t know, but all I know is everyone who was meant to be my family just wants to use me for something.” Her eyes glisten in the low light.

Luke’s mouth presses into a thin line. I wrap my hands around his. He doesn’t want to tell her this, but he needs to.

“You two share so much. Not just DNA.” I draw in a breath. Both of them were tools for their parents. Pawns in their game. I look into Luke’s blue eyes. “I’m here for whatever you need.”

“My father is abusive.” Luke leans in, holding my hand tight but meeting Penny’s wide eyes. “It started before I remember and has always been part of my life.”

Penny covers her mouth as her eyes grow more watery.

“I’m to respect him and follow his direction. If I don’t fall in line fast enough, he’ll hit me. If someone notices the bruises, he blames it on roughhousing with my friends.”

I press my forehead to his shoulder. Those bruises on his side were so much worse than anything he gets playing football. They still linger on his side though he doesn’t seem to be in as much pain. What kind of monster kicks their own child? I want to wrap my arms around Luke and keep him close to me.

“I wish that was it, but we’ve uncovered a possible drug ring he’s involved with, and we know he was trafficking women.” Luke’s gaze never wavers from Penny’s. “The reason I stay here is because you’re here. Before, I was spending almost every night at Harper’s. Mostly in the guest bedroom.”