“What are you doing?” he hisses, and my shoulders sag.
“I don’t really want her death on my conscience. After everything they’ve put us through feeling guilt from her death would be horrible. ”
“She wants to rape me!” he argues, but I shake my head.
“I know she’s an evil bitch, but she’s my cousin, Jax. Lets look at it this way. She wasn't lucky enough to have Melinda, Chuck or a Brad in her life to save her. We’d probably be a lot like her and Cecelia if we didn't either.”
His eyes soften, and his shoulders slump as he sighs. “Fuck, you’re right. I wish you weren’t, but you are.”
We stop, and I call back, “We’re not running anymore. Don’t hurt her.”
The three of them walk around the corner, with Raquel propped up between Julia and Peter. She looks like she might be unconscious.
“I said dont hurt her,” I spit at him, and he starts to chuckle like the evil bastard he is.
“I didn’t. Stupid bitch wasn’t fast enough, so she got trampled by the deer.” Just then, she starts to groan, regaining consciousness. Peter drops her arm, and Julia sags with Raquel's weight held against her. For a moment, I thought she might complain, but all she does is slap Raquel hard across the face.
“Wake up! You’re useless. We should have brought your sister. At least she’s good for more than spreading her legs.”
What a nasty bitch.
Raquel’s eyes flutter open, and I watch her struggle to stand on her own while Peter shakes his head. “Just leave her. We need to keep moving.”
Surprisingly, Julia chooses that moment to act like a mother. “No, she’s not safe here. What if the workmen arrive early?”
“I don't care. We need to be quick. We’ll pick her up on the way back.”
Julia leads her over to the wall of a nearby enclosure and helps her sit down. “When you can, go back to the car and wait for us there,” she instructs her daughter who still looks dazed but seems to understand.
“Right, let’s go get my little black book then, shall we?” Peter says as Julia straightens up, and they both wave their guns to get us moving.
ChapterFourteen
Holden
When I return from showing Ben the kitchen and everything he needs, the family is looking down the hallway, and Declan is missing.
“Where’s Dec?” I whisper in Oli’s ear as I wrap my arm around his waist, offering him some much needed comfort. The both of us are wired tight, and I can’t say I’m not taking comfort in it as well as he leans into me.
“The doorbell rang, so he went to answer it,” he whispers back, not taking his eyes off the hallway.
A shout at the front door has everyone else jumping to their feet. Thomas holds out his hand to stop us from running out the front right before he does just that. It’s not long before he returns, followed by Jake, his spy buddy, and Declan with his arm wrapped around our sister.
“Jazzy!” Nana cries out, bursting into tears, while the rest of us surround her, passing her around for hugs. When she gets in my arms, I hold her tight. She’s sobbing, and everyone keeps throwing questions at her.
“Hey, just slow down!” Jake shouts above all the noise. “Give her some space and let her tell the story. It needs to be quick because we’ve got to get moving.”
I help her into the seat on the other side of Nana, who grabs her hand and holds it tight while Jacinta takes a deep breath. Now that I can look at her, I realize her face is swollen, and there’s a scab on her lip from where it’s been bleeding. Her hair is a mess, and she looks exhausted.
Ben bustles out with a cup of coffee and a bottle of water. “I heard the commotion. Here, get something warm into you. It might help with the shock.” He hands the coffee to my sister and passes the bottle of water to Nana, who smiles gratefully at him, before he returns to the kitchen.
Jacinta hip nudges Nana with a small smile on her face. “So is this a thing now?” she asks as she takes a sip of the hot coffee and then sighs.
Nana shushes her. “Stop it. Tell us everything.”
Jacinta proceeds to tell us a story that blows our minds. It’s just twisted enough that even though we might have found some kernels of truth, there was no fucking way we ever could have figured all of this out. When she gets to the part about Julia’s role in breaking up Dad and Diane, the look on his face is heartbreaking. A tear trickles down his face, and I let go of Oli to comfort Dad instead.
“Hey, Dad, come sit down.” Most of us stayed standing when Jazzy came in, so I encourage him to take a seat on the other side of her. He grabs the hand not currently holding her coffee and squeezes it.
