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Selene grabbed her arm and slammed it downward on her knee. The gun dropped from Jasmine’s grasp. Selene pried the bracelet from her wrist. She held it to her chest. Then she stared at Jasmine and spit in her face. Finally, she stood. “You deserve to be sitting there in the dirt, bitch.”

Jasmine roared and surged to her feet. Looking enraged, she reached for the bracelet.

Now, they all heard a rifle cock.

Mickey stepped forward and held a rifle aimed at Jasmine’s chest. “You even touch that bracelet and I’ll nail you right where you stand.” He growled softly. “It doesn’t belong to you, leave it alone.”

Jasmine finally turned to glare at him. “It doesn’t belong to her grandmother either. It’s a Demarco bracelet. Where the hell would she get something like that?”

Selene stopped and stared at her then she peered down at the bracelet. There had always been the letter D on the crest stamped into the gold. But she never knew what it stood for.

The area grew quiet as they all waited for Selene to speak.

Chapter Seven

Selene raised her startled gaze to Jasmine and asked, “How do you know this is a Demarco bracelet?”

“I just do.” Jasmine gritted. “I used to have one myself. A very long time ago.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Shay asked.

“Selene’s bracelet is a Demarco bracelet?” Bane stared at her.

Jasmine placed her hands on her hips. “Kyle Demarco gave one to me. It’s got the Demarco brand on it and the only way you ever get one is for a member of the family to give it to you. They are very rare and they aren’t given to just anyone.”

Selene shook her head. “That’s impossible. Sharon never left this swamp. She would never be with a Demarco either. You are mistaken about that.”

Bane stared at Jasmine then looked at Selene. He paused as if he had a guess on this connection but he didn’t say anything.

Jasmine went on with her story, “I had one, it was a necklace with that same crest on it. But Kyle yanked it from my neck when he turned on me. He found out I was playing him for a fool. So he slapped me around a little and told me he wanted everything he gave to me back. I told him to go to hell and he punched me. Why do you think I killed him? We both lost our tempers. He ended up dead and I was beat to hell. I knew I had to leave or I would go to prison for the rest of my life so I ran.” She shook her head and admitted, “I haven’t stopped running and I’m tired. I’m just so fucking tired. But if the Demarco family ever finds me they will kill me and no one will ever find my body. I will just cease to exist and I’ll be damned before I let that happen.”

“Sorry lady but you are damned already,” Mickey said as he still held his rifle on her. “You are a killer. You literally still have fucking blood on your hands.”

Peering down at her hands, she noted that he was right. Raising her head, she still looked defiant. “So? I did what I had to do.”

Bane snorted. “And you honestly didn’t think the Demarco family would ever find you? They never stopped looking. And they will take their time killing you. That’s what happens when you murder one of their own.”

“Kyle had it coming,” she defended. “He was a prick about what was happening when we were together so he deserved it.”

Shay scoffed. “From what I remember of that case, he found out he wasn’t the only man you were with at the time. You were married and sleeping with a third man. So when he finally found out about the other two he went nuts, didn’t he?”

Jasmine shrugged her shoulders. “He didn’t seem to be interesting enough for me. Besides, he had his own little side piece.”

Bane smirked at her. “You were the little side piece, Audra. Kyle wasn’t going to divorce his wife for a spoiled little bitch like you. He already had a wife and son he wasn’t ever going to leave and I think you already knew that.”

“He should have stayed with me!” Jasmine shouted.

“But why would he do that?” Bane challenged her. “You already had a husband back then as well and you didn’t seem to want a divorce either. You both deserved each other until he found out that you were double-timing him literally and that’s what started the fight that he never lived through.”

Shay nodded as he added, “But he wasn’t your only victim, was he? You went home and shot your husband. Then you left town.”

Jasmine just looked at the ground for a long moment then she spoke, “Alan just stared at me when I got home. I was covered in blood and he just stared at me. He asked me what happened and I told him I had a fight and that I had killed someone. He asked me if it was Kyle. Then I realized he knew about Kyle the whole time. I rushed upstairs to pack my bag and when I came down a few minutes later, he was calling the cops. He told them everything. I knew I had to leave before Kyle’s family found him. I asked him why he turned me in. Of course, he said that the cheating was beyond belief. So I said, ‘Well you are not gonna believe this then.’ I shot him and left town. I didn’t have a choice.”

“Oh, you had a choice,” Cane disagreed. “As usual, you just made the wrong choice. You deserved for him to turn you in.”

Bane nodded as he laughed at how ridiculous she was in her very flawed thinking. “Like you expected loyalty? After all the fucking cheating you did?” He scoffed as he shook his head. “YOU and loyalty? Damm, you cannot even spell that word. Unless it is spelled S.L.U.T. Nah, you just chose the easy but bloody way out and look where that got you.”

Jasmine shook her head and had the audacity to smirk at him. “You are just jealous that I had my cake and ate it too.”