Those, I didn’t wind up burning.
It gave me great pleasure showing my little brother how to smother his pancakes in butter then maple syrup. The first bite made his face lit up.
I was determined to do right by him. My father wouldn’t have stepped up for this kid. I wouldn’t let him down—ever.
“Ellie?” Tarek’s voice was soft.
I looked away from Lilo for a second. “Hmm?”
“Is he eating?”
I nodded. “And he knows I’m his sister.”
“Hey, buddy.” Tarek greeted Lilo. “Hermana?”
Lilo pointed to me and my heart soared so high.
Once he’d finished eating, Bunny showed me where he would be sleeping, and I brought him up to bed. I sat with him until he fell asleep then pulled the blankets up to his shoulder. I didn’t want to leave him but that was probably the first good sleep he would have had in a while. I asked for Bunny’s dryer and tossed Lilo’s clothes in.
The house grew quiet after Bunny and Xmas went to bed. I helped Tarek clean up, then checked his wound. It hadn’t started bleeding again, but I cleaned it up a little better with antiseptic wash and wrapped it up again. Tarek watched me the entire time and when I was finished, he kissed me again.
“I want to touch you so bad.” He told me. “But I’ll have to wait.”
I smiled. “You’re hurt, Tarek. And you must be tired.”
“Yes, to both.” He sighed and drew me against his good side. “Come here.”
I settled against his side, wondering what was next. But for that moment, I’d enjoy the little peace I’d found with him. Then, when he was better, we would rage against the world.
I like that plan.
Otis was going to get what’s coming to him—I promise.
Cobra
Sleep didn’t comethe entire night. Aside from Ellie fast asleep beside me, my mind kept floating back to the conditions I’d found Lilo in. The exterior of the house was something out of a movie. The gorgeous mansion with a white picket fence running along the front and a cute little gate. With a pristinely cut lawn and manicured hedges to one side, everyone would believe the home was perfect.
I’d roamed along the outside, being careful of cameras and booby-traps, then let myself in through an open window on the basement level. From somewhere in the house a television had been playing, and I figured as long as it was going, I was more or less safe to wander around.
When I found Lilo, my heart broke and anger pulsed through me. He had been living in a room with feces on the wall, a large pot of urine in a corner and it seemed as though he hadn’t been fed regularly. I allowed myself to be distracted, to believe he was pressing himself into the wall away from me because I was a stranger to him.
I later found that to be untrue as stainless steep slid into my skin. I slipped to my knee, trying to move away from the biting pain but it wouldn’t stop. I knew if I didn’t disarm the person, they’d shove it in deeper and twist.
With nothing else to do, I pulled my gun and placed a bullet up through her chin, exploding out the top of her head. As she fell, I pulled her hand from the knife but didn’t remove it until she was lying still on the ground, a gaping hole where her skull used to be. I turned from Lilo, gritted my teeth and yanked the knife out.
The hurt caused me to fall forward on one hand while the other held my side, trying to slow the bleeding.
I was then able to get Lilo, but it was a pain and a half lifting him with one hand while slowing the blood loss with the other. It wasn’t until we were eating much later that Ellie asked for her father. He wasn’t in the house. But I had Maia send the cops and forensics in. If Jeffery even breathed in the house—they would find it.
I wanted to find out about the nanny service Otis had hired. A large part of me knew the company would be fraudulent.
They’d probably already closed shop.
I exhaled as much as the wound would allow and climbed out of Ellie’s arms. It was getting harder and harder to leave her. While she slept, I ventured into the bathroom to check the cut. It didn’t seem as though it was infected—yet—and Ellie had done a great job stitching me up. Malik was going to want to see it since he’s my brother and a doctor.
After using the facilities, I washed my hands and face then found one of the shirts Xman had supplied me with. I slipped into it and while buttoning it up, I entered the bedroom and kissed Ellie’s forehead.
She’d been so scared. Though I was in pain, I could hear the sheer terror as she screamed my name into the chip.
