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And I trusted him.
My finger dances on the end call button. I accuse, “I thought you were my friend, Jamie.”
He yells, “I am, Lily! I feckin’ love ye! Yer my family, girlie. I’m more a feckin’ Flynn than I am a Harrison! Please listen ta me!”
There’s something about the desperation in his voice I don’t like.
I know Jamie. I know him well enough to know that he isn’t a shaking-in-your-boots type of guy. The boots are shaking now. I can almost hear them through the phone.
Steeling my voice, I tell him, “You’ve got thirty seconds to make me listen.”
His voice shakes as he whispers, “Never meant for this ta happen. It wasn’t meant ta happen like this. I swear, Lily.” Voice breaking, he mutters, “Swear on my own life.”
My chest squeezes. This is so unlike Jamie.
Sniffling, he states, “Jett’s trying ta kill me.”
What? No way.
Jett and Jamie are closer than close. I don’t believe it.
Covering my mouth with my hand, I listen wide-eyed as he starts, “Jett came up with an idea ta get money. We needed ta do something ta look after mam. Do ye ken? It was all for Mam, Lil.”
He moans low, as if in pain. Panting, he goes on, “Da knew about what happened when ye were a bairn. He told us all about it. We were desperate enough to use it against ye.” Panting harder, his voice shakes. “Said it’d be perfect. No one would get hurt. We get the money. Then we disappear.”
Jamie breaks into a coughing fit and my heart races.
More banging, then Nox yells, “Open the fucking door, Lily! Don’t make me break it down!”
Don’t hang up!
Eye prickling, I ask, “What then, Jamie?”
Breathing deeply, he steadies his voice. “Then it changed. Jett started ta hide shit from me. He changed the password on our laptop, Lily. I couldn’t get in. Took the work phone away from me. Started listening on yer father’s conversations and asking about ye. A lot, girlie. I knew something wasn’t right, but I didn’t ken how much.”
Jamie makes a choked noise, he whispers through tears. “He framed me, Lily. I swear it.” My entire body jolts as he roars, “The feckin’ twat framed me!”
Tears fall onto my cheeks.
Fuck.
He isn’t lying. No way, no how. I whisper, “What does he want?”
His voice shakes, “Never about you, Lily. Never. He wants two things.” I wait patiently as he utters, “Money. And Terah. He’s on his way ta get her now. He knows where ye are, Lily. Don’t be fooled. He’s smarter than he shows. Ye need to get out of there. Get somewhere safe. He’s lost his mind.”
My blood runs cold.
Trembling, I screech, “Nox!” before breaking into sobs.
Standing, I kick away the chair that holds the door locked.
Jamie starts to cough again, wheezing as he mutters, “He feckin’ killed me, Lil.”
My voice quakes as I ask, “What do you mean, Jamie? Where are you?”
His voice weakens. “In my apartment, love. And it won’t be long now. I’ll be back with Da.”
Tears fall freely down my cheeks and I shout, “You’re not going to die!”
Jamie chuckles, “Oh, sweets, the two bullets in my chest tell me different.” Doubling over, I clutch my stomach, bawling as I listen to my dying friend. “Ye were the best thing about America, Lily. Never wanted ta live here, but I had to come. Yer da is a good man. And I loved him like he was my own.”
More banging in the background.
Arms come around my waist, but I clutch the phone to my ear and whisper, “You’re going to be okay.”
“No, Lil. I won’t. But I’m good with that. Get ta see Da.” His voice turns reverent. “Never had a sister before, Lil.”
My body shakes violently with my tears. A second more and I hear the call disconnect. Panicked, I wail, “No!”
I’m crumbling.
Nox rocks me, but not before taking my cell and throwing it hard against the bathroom wall. It shatters into a hundred pieces and I sob while Nox holds me.
Between choked breaths, I tell him, “Jamie’s dying. They got it wrong. It’s Jett, not Jamie. He shot him, and now he’s going after Terah.” Closing my eyes, I whisper, “Don’t let him get her. Please, God. Don’t let him get her.”
Opening my eyes, I look at Nox through the mirror and say quietly, “He knows where I am.”
Nox’s arms tighten around me. Offering false security.
Chapter Nineteen
Leaving on a Jett plane
Lily
Pandemonium. That’s the only word I could use to describe the hours after that call.
Rock yells on one cell while Nox barks orders through another, and Boo packs a bag full of my things.
We’re leaving tonight.
I don’t know where we’re going, but as long as I’m with Nox, I’ll be okay.
My body trembles.
I’m not showing my true fear. Nox is stressed enough without having to deal with my BS.
Boo stops what she’s doing at the sight of me. And I thought I was hiding it so well. She comes over and wraps her arms around me, and I let her. She whispers encouraging words that I don’t actually hear.
Rock finishes up his call looking more than worried.
Shit.
Turning to Nox, he waits patiently for him to finish his call. Once off the phone, Nox barks, “Tell me something good, Rock. I couldn’t handle bad right now.”
Rock lowers his eyes. He says quietly, “Safe house Zed was breached just now.”
My heart stops altogether.
Before I can ask about Terah, he adds, “Jon knew something wasn’t right. Went with his gut and took Terah away from there. I don’t know where they are, but wherever it is, they’re safe.”
I turn my face to watch Nox. He swallows hard. He looks angry. Very angry.
Sniffing, he asks, “Fallen?”
Rock stills a moment before answering softly, “Takeshi and Sean.”
Nox steps back, sucking in a deep breath.
I still don’t know what’s going on.
Hands on his hips, Nox enquires, “Gunfire?”
Rock says even softer, “Explosion. Zed was blown apart.”
Oh God. Oh God. Oh my fucking God!
People are dead. Takeshi and Sean are dead.
My eyes fill with tears. They died protecting my sister. And I never even met them. I’ll never meet my sister’s heroes. I ask a hollow, “People are dying?”
Nox, Rock, and Boo all look at me. I ask again, quieter, “People are dying because of me?”
Immediately, Nox is by my side. And he’s furious. “No. Don’t do that. This is not your fault. This is because of some sick fuck with a crush.” Looking up at him through blurry eyes, he cups my cheeks and leans his forehead on mine. “Not your fault, baby. I swear.”
I know it’s not appropriate, but I love that he used my version of a promise by saying ‘I swear’.
Reaching up, I hold his hands over my cheeks. “What do we do now?”
Pulling back, he states, “We get outta here. Take Jonathon’s line of thinking and disappear. Just me and you, babe.”
Taking a deep breath, I nod as I exhale.
Nox whispers, “Good. Get your shit.”
As I walk over to back of the room, a deafening boom sounds from the back of the house, and I see a flash of blinding white light before an unseen force throws me backwards to the ground.
The house shakes. The fixtures rattle. The furniture moves. My heart slams into my chest. I’m winded from the fall. Shaking, I hold my hands over my ears and watch as the windows, a foot away from me, explode. Ducking my head, I scream in shock and use my forearm to cover my face.
Glass shards spray me, and closing my eyes tightly, I feel wet warmth on my forehead and arm.
Looking around, I see Nox yelling so hard the veins in his neck bulge. He motions for me to come to him bu
t I can’t move.
I’m petrified.
Army crawling towards me, he yells some more, but I can’t hear a thing. A ringing sound echoes through my head.
Blinking, I shout, “What?”
His lips move, but I still can’t hear over the ringing. Adrenalin causes blood to roar in my ears, and finally I begin to hear.
Boo and Rock yell out while Nox directs them.
Confusion seeps through me. I can’t comprehend what’s happening. All I know is that it’s bad.
