“Nope. Get inside. You’re letting out all the cold air.”
Lila growls under her breath, flashing me her teeth.
But I just smile at her.
It’s game on.
TWELVE
Bing, bang, boom
LILA
I needmy emotional support cookies if I’m going to get through this night without crumbling.
Heh. Cookie puns. All the joy of dessert without the calories.
After failing to shut the door on Reed’s smug dimples—and the rest of him—I reluctantly acquiesced to his home invasion. And I’m perfectly comfortable blaming Kenzie for that. This one isallon her.
As a quick aside, a fun quirk of hers is she’s like a Depression-era grandma, often screaming about keeping the door closed when the air is on and not staring into the open refrigerator for more than five seconds. Considering I’m paying the lion’s share of the bills since she lost her job while being a hostage, including the entire power bill, she should probably get over that.
But whatever.
She deals with a ton of my idiosyncrasies. It’s only fair I accept hers.
Anyhow, Reed seized the opportunity like the world-class manipulator he is. While cheerily waving at his sister, he invited himself in like he was stopping by for a family dinner night.
Well, I’m calling BS.
Reed is never cheery nor happy to see Kenzie.
I close the door to my bedroom, pressing my back against it while fighting the urge to melt to the floor.
Where did I put my abyss? I need to scream into it.
I’m weary to the bone. Physically and emotionally exhausted. Defeated in more ways than one.
There’s only been one other time in my life where I felt near this level of despair. When half of my soul was ripped away, leaving me broken in every possible way.
My current predicament isn’t quite as traumatizing, but the longer it goes on, the more alike it feels.
It’s been three days since that kind older FBI agent sat down at my table. That’s when I learned about Dana’s house getting ransacked, which means Silas isn’t only blackmailing me. Those monsters are terrorizing other people too. Who knows how many?
Three days of guilt gnawing at me, eating away at my insides, and leaving me hollow. A shell with so many cracks I might shatter with my next breath.
I’m giving myself one more day to find a way out of my nightmare. And if I can’t do that, I’ll turn myself in and try to help them catch Silas and his cronies. No matter what happens to me as a result, I won’t let them continue victimizing innocent people.
Naturally, Reed shows up to wreck what might possibly be my last night as a free woman.
I intended to take a warm bubble bath, then cuddle up on the couch with a pen and paper to bang out some sort of plan with Kenzie. She said she’d help me figure this out. I don’t want to put this mess on her shoulders, but we’re both involved whether we like it or not.
Since she was with those creeps for so long, she overheard quite a bit. Now that she’s been home for several days, her painis turning to strength. She told me she’s finally ready to talk about it. And she’s prepared to help me fight those bastards.
Silas has been pressuring me to help him win big at the craps tables. I’ve dodged that so far by insisting my schedule was already made for the month. But I’m almost out of time before that excuse turns to dust.
The time to act is now.
My plan for tonight was solid.
