Jake has the decency to look ashamed for all of a moment before his face twists in anger again. “It’s not like yer family is the one that took me in.” He thumps a fist against his chest.
A shrill sound catches my attention, and I see Ali dodge a kick from Rose. Ali’s hands are up, and she’s backing away.
Eva’s now watching the two, not even bothering to hide her smile. I knew she was trouble when she kept putting her arms around me, but I halfway wondered if Ali had put her up to it to throw her brother off of us. I didn’t want to be rude and ignore her, so I engaged her in conversation.
When did women become so hard to figure out?
I look around, surprised by the number of people crowding us. Since when do so many people come to Bons? I don’t even recognize them, and that’s saying something.
Rose launches a tornado of fists, which Ali dodges by backing away, but Rose keeps coming for her.
Eva rushes to Ali’s side and presses her wine cooler into Ali’s hand, and when another assault comes, Ali launches it at Rose, connecting with the woman’s jaw.
Rose howls, grabbing at her face as Brett intercedes to see if she’s okay, placing her body between Rose and Ali.
Took ya long enough.
And that’s when I notice it. The people gathered around all have high-end looking cameras pointed at Ali.
Who are they?
Eva slinks away, wearing a satisfied smirk as Ali looks frantically around, tears spilling down her cheeks.
Before I can make sense of the situation, something connects with my chest, sending my flying back to the earth. I look up to see a red-faced Prim, her face a mix of pain and anger.
“Prim—”
“How could you?” she says through sobs, her chest rising and falling like a piston.
I look over to see Jake and Irene arguing, his face hard as steel, hers forlorn anguish.
Sirens blare as lights illuminate the field. An orchestra of doors open and close as people begin to scatter.
I sit up, but before I can stand, strong hands hook under my armpits, forcing me over onto my stomach. A knee plants itself on my back, disallowing me from rising.
“Now, look, I don’t know what’s going on, but we were told that something big was going down here tonight, so stay down,” Sherif Dewey whispers into my ear.
Somehow, my night managed to go from bad to worse.
