“Nice thinking, Trouble,” Jack said approvingly. “Now we just have to get there. Do you have your gun?”
“I left it in the lounge. I’m sorry, JJ—”
“Don’t be. I don’t want you doing anything heroic. This guy is not gonna fuck around.Do nottry to take him on. If I get taken down, you two split up and run, out of the house, as far and as fast as you can. Understand?”
My heart just about stopped. The idea of Jack coming to any harm was unthinkable. “I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.”
“I mean it, Trouble. If I get into any issues, you take care of yourself first.”
“And Annie,” I said.
“Yourself first,” he repeated.
The unmistakable noise of a shotgun blast sounded from deep within the house. I froze, and Jack slapped one hand on my chest to push me back against the wall.
We all stood still, listening hard. I could hear Annie’s panicked breathing, feel it on the back of my neck. The letter opener was still next to my belly, stuck down my waistband.
I’d brought a fucking letter opener to a gun fight.
Still maybe if someone tried to grab Annie up close, I could poke them with the letter opener…
Who was I kidding? If Jack got hurt—or worse—we were all dead.
“Move,” Jack said, and we moved. We reached my rooms, finally, and Jack stood aside to let me enter the code. We headed straight for the art room, and he pushed me and Annie under the long table where I liked to lay out my canvases to dry.
“Stay here,” Jack said, arranging some canvases in front of the table to hide us, and then he ducked down to me and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. “Do notcome out until I tell you it’s safe. Run if I die.”
I grabbed him back, furious. “Do notfucking die,” I said, and kissed him hard and deep.
He touched my face. “I’ll do my best, Trouble,” he said, and then he was gone.
There was a long few seconds of silence. Then: “Whoisthat guy?” Annie asked softly.
“My boyfriend.” Despite everything, it still comforted me to say it.
“We’re going to die, aren’t we?” Annie’s voice was shaking. “Miller, I’m so sorry.”
I wasn’t in the mood for apologies, although I squeezed her hand when she pushed hers into mine. “Why did you have to do it this way? Why did you have to make me think you weredead?”
She gave a sniffle. “Ialmostcalled you, but I thought you’d hate me after Roxy spilled.”
I’d been staring at the door, straining to hear whatever I could, but now I looked back at my sister. There was something in her voice that cut through the panic I was feeling. “Roxy?” I echoed.
“I only did that foryourbenefit,” she whined softly.
The only noise I could hear was the storm outside, so I chanced keeping our whisper-conversation going. “Didwhatfor my benefit?”
“You know, switching out the scripts and that…little white lie about the Q rating, and all of that.”
I let go of her hand.
I could feel her staring at me, calculating. “Roxydidn’ttell you.”
A huge clap of thunder overhead made us both jump. “Wemightdie,” I hissed at her, as the sky raged. She gave a sob, and I pressed on. “We might die tonight, Annie. So if there’s anything you need to clear from your conscience, now’s the fucking time.”
“I…” She sucked in a breath. “I did itfor you. You were so miserable all the time onCamelot—and you were so much better at painting, anyway. So I stopped helping you out so much. And I…” She stopped. “It doesn’t matter now, anyway.”
“Annie.What did you do?”
