Chaney’s body tightens beside me, and I know from past experience that she’s biting her tongue, wanting to argue. But after I lean in and whisper, “He cares about us, sis. Nobody’s ever done that before. So if we need to grin and bear it, then that’s what we’ll do,” her body eases and all of the stiffness goes away.
It’s been another two weeks since we started taking these meds. Both of us look healthier, are more energized, and have more strength and stamina than we have ever had before. It took me a bit to get past my gag reflexes because some of these pills are what Nova refers to as horse-sized.
“Your hair is super shiny,” I tell Chaney as I sit on the bed and watch her brush her hair out. “It looks like silk.”
“I think it’s the fish oil pill,” she says as she sits her brush down on the counter. “At least that’s what my take is when I read up on it.” She walks into the bedroom and heads to me, lifting up a strand and running it through her fingers. “Yours is doing the same thing as mine is.”
“It is?” I ask, tilting my head sideways as I reach for a piece from the other side of my head to examine. “Wow, I didn’t notice until you said something.”
“I have a theory about that,” Chaney tells me.
“I’d love to hear it,” I say in a teasing manner.
“Think about it, Freyja. Everything we knew came from us watching television and reading books. Most of what we read was either fantasy or fiction so it didn’t have a lot of detailed instruction when it came to healthcare or hygienics. Father didn’t care about how we looked or smelled so he didn’t give it any thought. The only thing he ever told us when it came to taking care of ourselves was to use soap and water.”
“So where does the theory portion come in?” I ask, wanting her to get to the point.
“That we’re amazing because we survived what most people wouldn’t and we did it without anybody teaching us how,” Chaney surmises.
“We are pretty amazing, huh?” I probe.
“We are,” she says, plopping down on the mattress and making it shift beneath me, bouncing me. “And one day soon, everyone will know that we are.”
“How will they know, Chaney?”
“Because Nova’s brothers are going to catch Father and he’s going to have to answer for what he’s done. Then, everybody on the planet will know our story, our strength, and our fortitude.”
Joking, I add, “Maybe we’ll get a movie made of our life.”
“Weirder things have happened,” she says, smiling at me.
“True,” I agree, lounging back and laying on the bed directly beside her, our sides flush as they’ve been all of our lives when we lay down and contemplate life. We grow quiet, thinking and dreaming about our past, present, and future.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE
NOVA
Three Months Later
Jennings’ timeline given to me has come and gone. He has been giving Icer and Shade quite the chase. They had a suspicion he was revisiting what the law calls his dump sites so they’re hot on his trail. Since we’re the ones with his map in hand, they’ve been following his trail and have had a few close calls as far as catching him goes.
So when my phone rings and it’s Icer’s name on my caller ID, I don’t waste any time picking it up and answering.
“Icer?”
“He’s backtracking and heading your way. Round the boys up because if he continues at this pace, he’ll be there by tonight,” Icer warns.
“Fuck!” I shout. “Thanks for the heads up, I’ll get the club here and put the girls in my safe room. I just hope it doesn’t trigger them because it’s a lot like that damn dungeon their father kept them in.”
“Those girls are stronger than you’re giving them credit for, Nova. They can handle it,” Icer comments, putting me in my place.
“You’re right, they can. Thanks for the reminder, brother. You and Shade heading this way now?” I ask him.
“You know it. We wouldn’t miss this showdown for anything. This motherfucker needs to eat some fist pie. See you soon, brother,” he states, hanging up on me.
I send out a mass text to Riptide, Slayer, Booker, Indiana, and Renegade sharing the information Icer just gave me so they can get the ball moving and get our guys here so we can ambush him before he gets the chance to put whatever his plan is into action.
