He’s too incensed to hear me, and she’s too traumatized.
I creep the few remaining steps toward them and slam my fist into his carotid artery, my knitting needle lancing him so deep that the blood spurts out like a geyser. He topples backward, flopping to the floor and jolting like a fish.
If actions are our anthem, is this a ballad of valor or homicide?
“Oh my God, Tessa. What did you do? What the hell did you do?”
I stare at the bastard who defiled her. “I think I killed him.”
His eyes are jarred open, and the crimson pool encompassing him is soaking into the antique tongue-and-groove floor. I’m a bit stunned, noticing the way the moonlight gleams on it. Wet things are so pretty.
I must be going into shock, dissociating, so I shake it off and turn back to her. “You’re gonna be okay.”
“Call the police,” she wheezes, folding in on herself and sobbing.
Taking in the scene again, I already know there will be a lot of questions, and … I attacked him from behind. I’m covered in blood. I’ll be fighting for my life, and she’ll have to tell everyone what happened. My freedom will be contingent upon her reliving her hell. There’s a better way.
I drop down beside her, pull her into my arms, and drag a blanket over us. “I’ll call for help.”
My mother rubs between my shoulder blades, soothing me and drawing me back to the present. “What’s going on? You’re so tense. Are you nervous about seeing Hunter?”
She can read my face but understands very little about me.
“I’m okay,” I assure her, right before Eden starts hissing about something and corralling both of us into the coat closet.
This is where we share secrets. It’s like one of those terrible summer camp experiences where whoever is holding the baton gets to say whatever the hell they want. Regardless of what’s happening in the rest of the house, gloves come off in the closet.
The sunlight streaming in from the seams of the door and an amber-tinted night-light highlight Eden’s glower. “You brought your La Lune Noire goons here?”
Yeah, I knew that would be a problem, but I hoped no one would notice them since there were so many cars out front. I suppose reasoning with Maddox was an option, but that could’ve made things worse. Plus, I’m not opposed to the extra protection for my family and me since he has yet to fill me in on what’s going on.
So, I told the guards I had to stop by a picnic and to please not cause any disturbance. There’s one stationed at the end of the street, running the license plates of everyone who ventures down here. Eden couldn’t know that though. The others are in the driveway.
“Goons? Really?” I huff and roll my eyes. It’s petulant, but my mother’s jaw is on the floor, and Eden’s hands are on her hips. This is combat. “There was a string of crimes downtown that my boss got wind of,” I lie, “so anyone off work this weekend was given a security detail. It’s considerate, don’t you think?”
“Oh, yeah,” Eden whisper-shouts. “They sound like super-sweet gangsters.”
I really can’t fault her there. I’d have had the same response in her position.
My mother is shaking and wringing her hands. “And they’re staying? I need to let your father know. See? This is why—”
“Please don’t make this a big deal when it isn’t. They won’t come near the house.” My eyes snag on a black-and-purple coat. “Is that the ski jacket I wore on my junior-high class trip, Mom? That’s what we should be focusing on. You’re a hoarder.”
“Oh, I am not.” She shoos that away. “You loved that coat.”
“It was mine first,” Eden gloats.
“Actually, it wasn’t,” I correct. “Yours was ugly. It had those gaudy pink princess bows on the shoulders. I ruined it so I could get my own. That’s why I loved it.”
Eden gasps, as if I took scissors to her wedding dress.
“Hush now, girls,” my mother reprimands, moving on. “I plan to make a quilt with it and some of your other things.”
“She made a beautiful one for Anna out of my old dresses,” Eden chimes in.
Anna and Adam are Eden’s kids. They’re nine and six, respectively. She probably tells them I’m possessed by the Devil.
“Can we get out of the closet now?” I ask, feeling like my head is about to explode.
