AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Elisa felt this going sideways, into danger territory. “Rachel—”
“As if any of that was my fault.” Rachel lifted her hands to her ears. The knife sliced through the air. “So much pain and none of it would have happened if you hadn’t killed Lauren.”
Josh’s eyes widened and his face drained of all color. “How the hell is your upbringing my fault?”
“If Lauren had been there we would have been a family. I would have had a sister to love me and protect me. But you destroyed that. You killed her and stole my one chance at having a family.” Rachel seemed lost, locked in memories that only she could see. “And then I had to take care of him. Allyson was long gone and no one else wanted him. He hated me, told me the end to both of his marriages was my fault, and I had to feed him. Watch after him.”
Josh swore under his breath. “What the hell is going on here?”
The question seemed to snap Rachel out of her emotional windstorm. A calmness washed over her. Elisa found this scarier than the ranting.
“This, Josh, is your life unraveling.” Rachel stepped closer to him. “Not Elisa’s, yours.”
Josh lifted both hands. “Okay, we can work this out.”
“Do you think that usually works for him? That soothing, let’s-be-rational voice?” Rachel asked Elisa without breaking eye contact with Josh.
Elisa didn’t see any harm in answering. “Apparently.” More likealways,but who was counting.
Josh turned to Elisa. “Sis, come on. You know me.”
The begging. Elisa knew they’d get there. Josh would rationalize and plead, try to win Elisa over despite all he’d done to ruin her life. They’d come full circle in their relationship. Back to the point where Josh pretended to need her and tried to win her over. All thanks to the knife in Rachel’s hand.
“You literally attempted to drive her to the point where Harris would commit her,” Rachel said. “We joked about it.”
Josh shook his head. “That’s not true.”
But Elisa knew it was. The words threw her off stride for a second.
Josh and Rachel stood on opposite sides of the kitchen island. Rachel, unblinking and in full control. She sounded at ease and ready. Josh kept scanning the room. More than once he looked at the glass he’d set down.
He better not throw it. Elisa doubted that would end well. “You let her in my house to poison me with someone else’s medicine.” She looked at Rachel. “Your father’s pills, I assume.”
Rachel shrugged. “I think I misjudged the amount, but it helped that you were a tea drinker. Just throw that box in the pantry away or you’ll continue to get sick.”
“Stop talking.” Josh slammed a hand against the counter. “You poisoned Elisa?”
“Admittedly, my mistake. I needed her docile and unaware so I could search the house, but I didn’t know how it would affect her.”
That explained at least some of the dizziness and dragging exhaustion. Elisa knew her mental state had provided a path that made all of this easier, sped up her downfall. At least she had confirmation she’d been drugged. She hadn’t forgotten medicine or taken the wrong pills, or whatever Harris thought. She’d been attacked in an intimate and horrifying way.
“Enough of this.” Josh slipped his cell out of his pocket. “I’m calling—”
“Really?” Elisa couldn’t believe he thought that would work. Rachelheld a knife.
“Do. Not. Move.” Rachel shifted around the side of the island and stood next to Elisa again. So close to Josh. To doing more than wielding that knife.
Josh’s mouth dropped open. “You’re insane.”
“Stop throwing that word around.” Rachel grabbed Elisa’s right arm and held her steady. “You have two seconds to tell the truth about Lauren.”
He shook his head. “There’s nothing to tell.”
Liar.Elisa knew for sure in that moment. Oh, he tried to hide it and continue playing the game, but his reaction when talking about Lauren came off as shaky. His body hinted that whatever was happening in his head was messy.
“Josh, she’s serious.” Elisa’s arm ached from Rachel’s tight grip. “Just tell the truth.”
He continued to shake his head but his voice bobbled this time. “It was an accident. There’s a police report.”
