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“What did you do when you found him?”
“What else was there to do? I got rid of the body.” He inhales a slow breath and straightens up. His face is blotchy with red spots.
“When Mandy had questions, why didn’t you tell her? Why didn’t you bring him to the hospital or report him as an overdose?” I demand. All this time she could have known, she could have stopped chasing a ghost.
“Man, if I get caught up in this shit again, I’m going away for a long time.”
“You’re afraid of prison.” What I have in store for him is worse, much worse.
“I didn’t kill him. He did it to himself,” he yells, defensive again.
“Maxim,” Levi says from behind me. “What do you want to do here?”
I stare at Jack. A bullet would be too good for him.
“Why didn’t you encourage him to contact Mandy?” She’ll want to know.
“I did. But all he said was not yet. Not yet.” He shrugs. “I didn’t want to tell her something like this.”
“So instead, you just leave her to keep searching for him in dark alleys?” I want to break his face for that alone. “Do you know how much danger she put herself in trying to find a dead man?”
“I told her to stop. I told her to leave it alone.”
“Because you didn’t want to own up to what you’d done!” I rage at him then unleash my fist into his nose, breaking it. He bellows in pain and sinks to his knees, holding his face with both hands.
“Maxim,” Levi says again.
I take a deep breath. She needs to know.
“Keep him here.” The pain I’m bringing to her is unavoidable. I promised I’d protect her from this pain. I swore I would keep her safe, and instead I’m carrying devastation to her.
When I get to the car, I jerk my head, so Adrik moves out of my way. As soon as he’s away from the window, she turns to me. Her wide eyes, full of hope, land on mine, but she can see it.
I feel it, her heart cracking, I can feel it as her features crumble.
When I open the door, she tumbles out into my arms.
“No!” she yells. I hold her, pushing her away just enough so she can see me.
“Mandy—”
“Please, Maxim. Tell me he’s okay. Tell me Gunner’s alive.” She grabs my biceps, squeezing with all her might, but I can see it in her eyes. She’s only fooling herself.
“I’m sorry, baby. I’m so sorry.”
The scream she lets loose shatters my insides, and I clutch her tight to my chest. I hold her while she cries. I cradle her head, kiss her forehead, hug her to me as though she’ll fly away if I loosen my grip.
It only takes a quick look to Adrik for him to understand and he rushes inside.
Jack will die.
For this pain he’s caused her, he will not see the sunrise again.
Mandy
It’s been two days.I haven’t left Maxim’s bedroom in two full days, since finding out my brother is never coming home to me. I’ve lost him forever.
Horrifying thoughts consume me. Maybe if I’d found him sooner. If I had gotten to that halfway house before Jack was able to get his claws into him, maybe Gunner wouldn’t be dead. But it all goes back to three years ago when I went into his room and found that bag of pot.
