“Okay.” January’s smile fades. “Can I ask you guys something?”
“Of course,” Eli says.
“My stepmom gave you guys poison…”
No one says anything. Eli and I lock eyes. He nods and I know I’ve been given the job of addressing this. “Yes, Pryntsesa,” I say. “It seems like she’s still working with Parker.”
January turns to me, her eyes huge in the moonlight. “Does that mean you’re going to…?”
I know what she’s asking and I’m glad she can’t finish the sentence. Velvet House has a free run on killing Corinne Whitehall now. All the angels in heaven couldn’t keep her on this plane of existence. But now might be the worst time imaginable to bring that up.
“She tried to kill me too,” January whispers. “She wanted me to die.”
Bobby stirs in my arms, lifting his head. “She knows you don’t eat before you sing. She was after us, JJ. Not you.”
“But my brothers and sisters…”
“Had no idea,” Bobby says thickly. “They’re just accessories to her, the way you were. They had no fucking clue.”
“That shouldn’t make me feel better,” January says with a sob. “But it does.”
Eli holds her closer, kissing the side of her head.
Family, I think,is always too fucking complicated.
We make it back to the van. Eli gets behind the wheel as Doc hunts around for a medical kit. He finds one and sets up a transfusion, bleeding me into Bobby as he lies slumped in a seat like a corpse.
“I can donate,” January says.
“Wouldn’t work, Tits,” Doc replies, a scalpel between his teeth. “Adri’s a universal donor. You’re A neg.”
“You know my blood type?”
“I know all our blood types. I’m A pos. Morelli’s AB. Bobby’s B neg. Adriano’s the only one who can give Basher blood.”
“It’s fine, Pryntsesa,” I say, pumping my fist to keep the blood flowing. I swallow hard and ask the question I’ve been biting back. “I would like some company if you wanna…if you could sit near me?”
January practically launches herself at me, wrapping her arms around my middle and carefully avoiding the tube running from me to Bobby. “I love you, big bear,” she whispers in my ear. “You’re the bravest, kindest man in the whole world.”
“Hey,” Doc protests as he cleans Bobby’s wound. “You’re hurting my fuckin’ feelings over here, Tesorina.”
“Equally bravest,” January corrects. “You are much nicer than Doc though.”
I grin. “Obviously.”
“Heyyyy,” Bobby rasps. “What about me?”
“You’re equally as nice as Adriano,” she admits.
“But…evennn…sexier,” Bobby slurs and we laugh. I pull January close, kissing her tiny ear. She smells a little like hairspray and fear sweat but beneath is the sweet vanilla scent that comes only from her and as I inhale, I allow gratitude to take me over.
“We’re still here,” I say as much to myself as anyone else. “We’re here with the girl we love. Everything is good.”
“Well said,” Eli calls from the front. “But enough talking. You all need to conserve your energy.”
***
The drive passesin fits and bursts. I doze, drink Doc-approved water, and eat a few dry orange slices from a sleepy gas station.
