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Kyle’s eyes darted from Rowe to Hanna and back again, indecision and pain twisting up his features. “But…but I just want to go home.”
“I told them about Jagger, Kyle.” Rowe kept his voice steady, his gaze mostly on Hanna, who grew increasingly more agitated by the way she shook and twisted her head side to side. “I told them what happened and they still want you.”
“Lies! He doesn’t know!” Hanna shouted.
“He’s not lying.” Ian’s voice cut through Hanna’s desperate shouts, drawing all eyes to him. Ian walked around the car so that he was now standing on the driver’s side. Noah moved closer to Ian so that he could easily shield the other man if something went horribly wrong. “I’ve told Rowe what it’s like with Jagger. What life was like at his compound. He wouldn’t lie about this. He told your parents and they still want you. Don’t turn your back on that.”
Kyle looked back at Hanna and Rowe could see the horror changing to rage. He cursed himself under his breath. He should have been more adamant about Kyle dropping his gun before he released his sister. Every interaction with the kid pointed to the fact that he wasn’t particularly stable. Neither of them were. Rowe had hoped that the news of their parents would give them hope, give them a new start. But something niggled in the back of his brain about Hanna. She’d been there, known what was being done to her brother. God only knew what was done to her during their time with Jagger.
“You’re the one who lied,” Kyle growled, turning toward his sister. His hand tightened around the gun that he’d begun to swing around as his voice lifted to a roar of pain. “We could have gone home. You didn’t want to call them. Didn’t want to tell them what we saw and what we did. You were scared. I just wanted to go home.”
“You know we couldn’t! Everything I did, I did for us so we could survive. You didn’t want to leave Jagger. You didn’t want to try to live without that filth. He sucked you in and made you believe—” she broke off, lips twisted. “But I gave us a second chance, a purpose. Mom and Dad wouldn’t have understood.”
Kyle rocked back, scratching the side of his head with the gun. Tears slipped down his cheeks.
“Kyle…” Rowe started in a slow, even voice. He took one step closer to the pair and then another. He was too far away to try to make a grab for the gun. Noah was covering Ian and Andrei and Snow had their hands full with Lucas.
“No!” he roared, pointing the gun at Hanna. “You always blamed me. Hated me. You were ashamed. Didn’t want to try!” He suddenly screamed and squeezed off three quick rounds, each bullet slamming into Hanna’s chest at pointblank range. Rowe jerked back, his heart stopping for a second as he watched Noah immediately snatch up Ian and roll him to the asphalt, using his own body as a shield.
The silence was deafening after the shots were fired. Kyle stumbled back, the gun hanging limp in his hand at his side. A choked, ragged cry broke from the young man’s throat as he stared at his sister’s lifeless body, her blood spreading across the ground. He collapsed on the ground as if his legs had suddenly given out underneath him.
Noah slowly allowed Ian back to his feet, but kept a hand on his shoulder as if he was preparing to tuck him back under him again.
“Kyle…oh God, Kyle,” Ian whispered.
Rowe started to charge toward Kyle when the young man’s hand tightened around the gun and he lifted it again. Rowe’s breath stuttered as he reached for the gun tucked in the pocket of his hoodie.
Kyle looked at Ian. His trembling lips jerked in a ghost of smile for just a heartbeat. “I just wanted to go home,” he murmured and then pressed the muzzle of the gun to his head.
Rowe sucked in a breath to shout, but it was already too late. Kyle pulled the trigger and ended his life.
Ian cried out, lurching toward Kyle, but Noah was already grabbing him, gently wrapping him up in his arms as he sobbed. Fuck, this wasn’t supposed to be how this went down. He’d honestly thought he could get through this night with no one getting hurt. Hell, he’d hoped he could actually get the siblings on the plane and back home to their parents.
“Snow White! I hear shots! What’s going on? Doc? Somebody?”
Rowe jerked when he realized that he’d been staring at the two bodies, his thoughts scattered. Jude’s frantic voice was coming over the earpiece.
“We’re safe, but we gotta get moving. Sneezy, stay put. I’m sending two your way to escort you out,” Rowe quickly said, shutting down all emotions until he could get his family out of this nightmare. The shots had undoubtedly been heard and someone somewhere had called the cops. They’d made sure not to leave a trace of their presence and they couldn’t be caught there. Trying to explain it all would be a mess that no one would believe. The cops would find the siblings. What they deduced would be up to them.
