Panic seized me. Did someone leave the stove on? I yanked out my keys and unlocked the door.
A baseball bat slammed into my side. I crashed onto the floor.
“Kian!” Mom’s muffled cries finally reached my ears.
The world swirled as I lifted my head. She was bound and gagged beside Dad by the TV. Two men in ski masks hovered, guns pointed at their heads.
Flames engulfed the drapes, bitter smoke stifling the air.
Sofia whimpered, hands clasped over her mouth. She was curled up on the sofa, little Beatrice next to her.
Dark spots swam in my vision.
I crawled toward them. “Mom,” I gasped. “St-Stop this.”
Slowly, I staggered to my feet, the floor tilting.
The men laughed.
“Look at him. Weak. Can barely stand,” the short one sneered.
“We have nothing.” I swayed and pulled out the remaining cash I had left. “This is all we have. Pl-Please let them go.”
The tall man barked out a laugh. “The boy thinks we’re here to rob them.”
The shorter man yanked Sofia off the couch. She shrieked. “This one’s a beauty. Be a shame to waste her.” He eyed his partner. “Don’t think The Association would mind if I take her?”
The other man shrugged.
Mom screamed through her gag, her head shaking wildly. Dad threw himself against the short man’s legs.
Sofia struggled, her terrified eyes meeting mine.
“Take me! Whatever it is. Take me. I’m strong. You can use me. I’d do anything. Let my family go.”
The short man studied me with interest.
“Anything, huh? You’re pretty too. Maybe I could use you.” He covered my sister’s mouth, muffling her cries. A sadistic glint shone in his eyes. “Drop to your knees, boy. Beg us.”
I kneeled, my pulse hammering inside me. Glass shards from a broken vase dug into my skin, but I barely felt them. Beatrice’s cries rose to screams, her little face mottled and red.
The shorter man snarled and pointed his gun at her.
“No!” Mom cried. The man swiveled in her direction.
Bang!
Time suspended. I flinched. The sound burned into my skull.
Mom collapsed onto the floor, lifeless. Dad wailed. He threw himself over Mom.
No. No. No.I crawled toward her still body.
Beatrice’s shrieking ripped into my heart.
Another gunshot thundered against the walls.
She stopped crying.
