“Come on, Darlin’,” I try to shake off the effect Sam’s words have on me, lifting my chin. “Ask someone a question.”
My Fire Demon huffs, rolling his eyes and sitting back down on the carpet. “Fine. Fireball…when you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?”
Huh. Now that’s something I haven’t thought about for alongtime.
I frown, thinking back to my childhood. Did I ever have any dreams of doing anything other than surviving? I mean, every kid wants to besomething, right? Kole asked me what I would have done if Mabel was never taken, but this…this is different.
Back when Mabel and I talked about getting out of Highwater Creek, it wasn’t anything but a bare-bones plan. Do what we have to. But what about before that? Before I knew better than to dream of a future where Mabel and I didn’t have to fight tooth and nail for everything we had?
“Jo?” West’s voice is gentle, and it shakes me out of my thoughts. My lashes flutter rapidly, and it isn’t until the doctor reaches over and wipes my cheek that I realize I’m crying, and all the guys are looking at me like I’m a bomb about to go off.
“Shit, Jo, I’m sorry. You don’t have to answer that, Baby.” Hayden’s expression is full of regret. “Do you want to kick me in the balls? Will that make you feel better?”
I letout a tearful laugh. “No.” Shaking my head, I wipe my eyes. “Darlin’, you didn’t do anythin’ wrong. It’s just…somethin’ I haven’t thought about in a long time. I think…I think I wanted to be a veterinarian at one point.”
“Youthink?” Sam asks, his brows furrowing.
“I…” I wipe my nose, sniffling slightly. “I remember, before Daddy started ‘disciplinin’’ me real bad, I found a baby bunny in Mrs. Humphries peach orchard. Mabel and I…we nursed him back to health. We couldn’t take him back to the trailer, but we made a little nest for him against one of the trees. He was good as new in a few days, and I remember feelin’ so…proud when he hopped off on his own. I think I wanted to be an animal doctor then.”
“What changed?” West asks softly, even though I can tell he knows the answer already. This must be one of those therapy tricks.
“Daddy’s beatin’s got worse.” I shrug. “I couldn’t worry about frivolous things like that anymore. Our sole focus was gettin’ out.”
“You could do it now, you know,” West says thoughtfully. “Well, when we don’t have to run anymore. Yeah, you’re a little older than people usually are when starting college, but it’s not too late.”
I lean over and thread my fingers through his, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “That’s sweet of you to say, Doctor, but I don’t think that’s the path I’m on anymore.”
“How’s that gonna work?” Hayden asks suddenly, looking pensive. “How is there going to be an ‘after’? No offense, Fireball, but you didactuallykill the thirteen guys you were put on trial for. They had it coming, obviously, but regardless, the law is not on your side with this one.”
“Dec has a plan.” I shrug, picking at my nails. “It involves fakin’ the death of Josephine Harding, a new identity, and introducin’ the world to Declan’s long-lost sister, Jo Gallagher.”
“What about the DNA left at the crime scenes? You know, the thing that got you caught in the first place.” Sam’s brow furrows.
“We planted it, remember?” I shrug. “It wasn’t really mine.”
“Then how did they match it with you?” The guys are looking at me like I’m some sort of criminal mastermind.
I roll my eyes. “Dec has a fed in his pocket who made sure the DNA we were goin’ to plant would match under my name. My real DNA is nowhere near any of those crime scenes. I’ll start life under my new name, and if anyone asks any questions, well, they can’t prove I’m the same person.”
“Holy shit.” Kole mutters, running a hand through his hair. “You reallyarea devious little thing,Lisichka.”
I smirk, leaning back against the couch. “Oh, you havenoidea, Sugar Bear.”
twenty-eight
Jo
“But you’re feelin’ okay?” I ask Mabel, the burner phone tucked between my ear and shoulder as I sit on the edge of the cliff that overlooks the ocean. Sam doesn’t want us to be out here during the day, so when the sun finally went down, I grabbed the burner to call Mabel. It’s not that I have anything to hide from the guys, I just wanted to be able to talk to my sister without being distracted.
“I’m fine, Jo, I promise.” Mabel lets out a little laugh. “I swear, you’re fussier than a mother hen sometimes.” I haven’t brought up the fact that her file at Thornfield had her labelledas “feral”, even though I want to. Not to make her feel bad or to judge her, but to figure out exactly what’s happened to her over the last few years.
“I think I have a right to be at this point, Mabel-cakes,” I huff. “But they’re treatin’ you well? You’re not gettin’ any weird vibes from them?”
Mabel laughs again. “I thought you trusted them, Jojo.”
“I do…” I sigh, running a hand through my hair. “I just know they can get…carried away sometimes. Especially Rory.”
“The one who brought me a chocolate cream pie?” she asks, and I groan.
