That was the wrong thing to say, and something truly unhinged crossed his face. Cedric had always been a favorite among some of the customers. I always thought it was because he was never intimidating. He was average. Isn’t that what they said about serial killers and crazy people? Their ability to blend in? Someone I’d thought I was safe with now was anything but. While my heart pounded and the humid air clung to me, he looked at me with an absolutely crazed expression.
“He’s not your boyfriend.” He stepped forward, the stones under his feet grinding together so loudly that I cringed. “It was fine before he came. He tainted you. Now you’re …” He stopped abruptly and spat. “Rotten. I should have left you in the dirt. I saved you. Hid you.”
What did he mean? My breath heaved out as I tried to find air. I backed away until I hit the trellis, the vines snagging in my hair. “You’re scaring me.” I looked wildly around for a way out, searching the glass for the lever to release it, wishing for Rhodes.
A fanatic gleam lit his eyes as he lunged at me, grabbing my arm. “I’ll cut off that hair and put you in the dirt. I can do it. The voices will see.” Spit flew toward me.
I wrestled against his grip just as a figure stepped into the greenhouse, gun drawn. Ellis, his scars white in the muted light.
“Let her go, or I’ll shoot.” Relief spread through me. There was help. “Backup is coming.” Those words were meant for me.
His laugh was so high and crazed as he whirled on Ellis that it didn’t even register as he fired. The shots were deafening in the small space, but the first one clearly surprised Ellis, hittinghim in the head, sending his whole body reeling back even as I screamed. Cedric giggled with glee, firing again even as Ellis crumpled to the ground.
“Dumb asshole always hovering. Always near you. Damn, that was a good shot. Idiot probably didn’t expect that, did he?”
He danced around a little in his disgusting happiness, and I yanked myself free, rushing forward.
Ellis let out a weak wheeze, but there was so much blood. I knew head wounds bled a lot, but it had caught him right on the side of his skull. I thought I could see bits of brain.
“Run,” he gasped as I placed my hand over his. I squeezed, trying to let him know he wasn’t alone, even as his eyes fluttered closed.
My head dropped to his chest, not caring that the ends were dipping into the pool of blood forming. Ellis had been my companion for months now, sometimes grumpy, but with witty comments that let me know he was a friend.
“You asshole,” I shouted. Getting to my feet, I took off toward the door, only for him to fire a shot that froze me in place.
“No. You don’t get to leave. I’ll shoot you.” Cedric’s eyes narrowed. “I stoppedhim, didn’t I? He thought he was better than me.”
From behind him, I could see shapes in the glass — Rhodes and Wades. If he saw them, he’d start shooting. I was already pretty sure Ellis was dead, and fear choked me. My brother and Rhodes couldn’t be hurt. Cedric was absolutely crazy. Maybe if I distracted him, they’d be able to do whatever they were planning.
“You’re right,” I blurted. “You should have left me in the dirt.” He froze for a second.
“I saved you,” he spat. “You’re supposed to be mine.”
The gun he held dropped to his side for a second. Cedric looked unsure for a moment. His eyes cleared a little, just as my brother dove through the shattered glass behind him.
Rhodes rushed through the greenhouse door, tackling me to the ground just as Cedric fired again. Dirt erupted in puffs as we rolled behind a potting bench. Rhodes had caged me in his arms, cradling the back of my head as we rolled, but I was torn between agony and joy.
“Ellis,” I managed.
“We’ll see if we can help in a minute.” The words were low and sad.
Cedric laughed maniacally, shouting about filth and liars as my brother advanced. He seemed completely out of his mind, nearly foaming at the mouth as he raved. When Wade lunged for him, the gun gave the telltale click of an empty chamber, and my breath stuttered. Wade smiled widely as he drove forward and punched him hard. Madness was the only explanation for Cedric’s face whipping to the side with the punch, and then he shook it off.
He swung at my brother as Wade tried to grab hold of him. Cedric had devolved into gnashing his teeth and punching indiscriminately, putting everything he had into it.
“Stay here,” Rhodes said, moving away from me.
He’d drawn a wicked-looking knife as he moved up behind the pair of them, but Cedric was scrabbling for a weapon of somekind, wrapping his fingers around anything he could throw and tossing them at Wade. Pottery flew, then a brick, and finally it seemed Cedric got his hand on a small garden knife. With a yell, he charged forward just as Wade spun to put him in a hold that I recognized from the days when we’d all wrestle in the barn.
“She’s mine! I found her!” Cedric’s arm came up, swinging the spade like a club and driving it into Wade’s shoulder at the base of his neck as hard as he could. He howled as he shouted again, “I’ll put her in the dirt!”
I gasped as the sharp point went in and blood spurted. Wade’s eyes moved to me just as Rhodes pulled Cedric away, his knife slicing across his throat.
“Oh, my God. Oh my God. Wade.” I rushed to him.
His eyes were wide, and his hands went to the gaping hole at his collarbone. “Push down there,” Wade told me. Blood gushed where the flesh was torn, and I wondered if I’d ever get the smell of blood out of my nose. “As hard as you can,” Wade told me. “It’ll be okay, Sage-O-Rama.”
All around me, I could hear noise and talking. Shouting. But my gaze was locked onto my brother, whose eyes were stuck on mine, trying to convey everything to me. All that love he held so tight. That it was worth it.
