AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Do you know who that is?” Riley asks Jude.
“That’s Neo’s twin sister, Maddie Saint.”
“That’s right,” I tell him. “And do you know what happened to her?”
Neo comes closer, his smoldering glare pinned on Jude. Once he reaches the chair, he sets Maddie down. She doesn’t take her eyes off Jude as she adjusts herself. Crew stands by with a roll of duct tape and Jagger pats a metal rod to his palm.
“Anything?” Neo asks her.
She doesn’t say a word, just leans closer, getting a better look at Jude, while trying to jog her memory. “I’ve seen you before,” she says to Jude, and his eyebrows rise. “I don’t know where, but your face is so familiar.”
“Where has she seen you before, Beckett?” Neo asks sternly.
Jude opens his mouth, sputters and shrugs, but doesn’t answer the question.
Neo reaches into the inside pocket of his leather jacket. When his hand comes back out, holding a gun, I gasp. Crew and Jagger aren’t surprised in the least and I can only assume they allhad a conversation about this earlier, but I was not made aware of their intentions here.
“What are you doing?” I ask Neo.
He raises the gun slightly, that void expression on his face again. “Answer the question, Beckett.”
Jude’s bottom lip trembles as he stutters, “I…I don’t know. Here at The Academy, maybe? Or maybe she saw me and my dad somewhere in Essex. I really don’t know.”
Neo raises the gun higher. “You’re lying to me, Jude, and I don’t like when people lie to me.”
My first instinct is to grab the gun from him, but when I reach out, Crew grabs me by the waist, pulling me back.
“You can’t shoot him, Neo!”
Neo looks at me, contempt in his eyes. “He pushed Maddie. Tried to kill her. And now it’s time to return the favor.”
“I don’t know if it was him,” Maddie says. “Something doesn’t seem right. It doesn’t feel right.”
Riley cuts in with a shout. “That’s because he’s telling the truth.” In desperation, she pleads with Maddie. “Tell them. Please. It’s not him.”
Before Maddie has a chance to say anything, we’re all taken aback by the low headlights coming toward us.
“Sebastian,” I mutter. It’s the same ORV he was driving the day he came to bring Neo a key for Crew at The Lawless house.
“What the hell is he doing here?” Crew asks.
Neo lowers his gun quickly, and in an attempt to conceal it, it drops to the ground. Jagger helps him out by kicking it behind Jude’s chair. “No fucking clue. But everyone stay cool.” Neo steps in front of Maddie, and if he’s trying to hide her, he’s doing a terrible job. Not that there’s any point. Sebastian already saw her.
We all watch intently as Sebastian drudges through the snow with his hands in the pockets of his coat, a smile growing on his face with each step.
“My girl,” he says, spreading his arms wide. “I’m so glad to see you’re safe.”
His lack of surprise is astounding. It has me wondering if he saw us before we came here and had enough time to process the whole scenario.
Sebastian leans down and gives Maddie a hug, but strangely enough, she doesn't reciprocate his excitement for this reunion. “What are you doing here, Dad? Isn’t the election today?”
“Nothing is more important than making sure my daughter is safe.” With that, he stands tall and reaches into his pocket, his expression folds as he pulls out a gun of his own.
I jump back, hitting Crew, who wraps his arms around me. Everyone scatters, moving away from Sebastian, who is now pointing a gun directly at Jude. Riley clings to Jagger, while I cling to Crew.
Neo grabs the handles of Maddie’s wheelchair and pulls her until his back hits the tall cement pillar.
“Mr. Saint. Please.” Riley cries out while Jagger tries to hush her. “He didn’t do it.”
