AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"I think I'm the one calling the shots." Her tone was colder than Antarctica. "Take them inside. We'll try to bypass the circus the idiot neighbours called in."
She made a face like she'd just swallowed a glass of lemon juice. Evidently dead people and an explosion was an inconvenience to someone like her. Heaven forbid she got a bit of someone's brain on the bottom of her shoe. I wouldn't mind having her brain on the bottom of my shoe. If I was wearing shoes.
"Let me guess, you're the evil twin out of you and your sister," I said. I tried not to flinch when she turned the gun on me.
She gave me a look like I shouldn't goad her, but said, "I'd kill you now and get it over with, but I know who you are and what you did. You're the only one who can undo it."
That was assuming a lot, but I had the sense to keep my mouth shut. Even if I couldn't undo the virus, it might be the only thing keeping me alive right now. As long as they thought I could do it, I might stand half a chance of finding a way out. It wasn't much of a life ring, but I'd cling to it for as long as I could.
"For the record, if you kill him, I won't help you." I nodded toward Ice. "That goes for if you maim or injure him in any way." Just in case they thought there was a loophole in there somewhere.
She looked as though she might kill him anyway, but then she nodded and waved for the twins to walk ahead of her.
Did she not trust them to walk behind her? I wasn't sure I could blame her if she didn't. I didn't trust them as far as I could spit.
I hated the fact Hunter had to carry me, but I was grateful for two things. Firstly, that I wasn't draped over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. And secondly, that it let my feet rest and gave me time to think. I needed to keep my eye out for Mannix and Ares, and an opportunity to escape. I managed to get myself out of Leo's fortress, I could get myself away from Bell's. Ice and I would find a way.
We skirted around the police who started to set up a perimeter around the wreckage. The firetruck was still there, but the fire was out. The road was now covered in foam.
In front of the ambulance, several bodies were laid out, all of their faces covered. A couple of police officers carried another one over and set it beside the others. I recognised the driver of the car who brought us here only an hour or two ago.
If he hadn't made it, then…
My breath caught in my throat, but I couldn't let myself think about the possibilities the guys didn't survive. They did. Theyhadto. They were out there somewhere, hiding or looking for me. They might be injured, but they weren't dead. I wouldn't allow them to be dead. I didn't give a fuck if it didn't work that way. They were alive because I said they were.
That was what I told myself anyway, over and over. Whatever it took to hang onto my sanity.
I glanced up at Hunter, but his eyes looked straight ahead. What the fuck was his agenda, really? He claimed he wanted peace between the families and maybe this would achieve it. And maybe it wouldn't. There was a distinct possibility that all he was doing was taking us to our deaths. Wasn't he supposed to be an ally?
I considered the possibility he was playing Lila Bell, but I doubted it. Both twins seemed to genuinely care about her. Why, I had no idea. Maybe because love was blind, hearing-impaired and not entirely sane. I only had to look at my relationship with the guys to realise that.
Wait a minute. Had the word love snuck into my brain?
Yeah. Yes it had. I cared about them, but until now I hadn't thought any further than that. It made sense though. None of us had any intention of letting the others go. What else would that be but love? A twisted, crazy kind of love, but still love.
He must have realised I was looking at him, because Hunter glanced down at me and smiled.
Ares would have been proud of the glare I gave him in return. I even managed to curl my lip. Go me.
Hunter smirked. Of course he would, he was holding all the cards.
"I know you haven't been around Mannix and the other guys for that long," he said slowly. "Long enough that they've managed to suck you into some crazy shit. But not long enough that you can't get yourself out of it if you want to."
"How would I do that?" I asked as if I was actually interested.
"I'm sure you'll think of something," he said. He glanced back at Lila, a hint of uncertainty on his face. It occurred to me maybe he had no idea why her father was after us, and what I could fix for him.
Hunter was clutching at straws, but while he was doing that he gave me an idea. Was it a good idea? I didn't have a clue. It might be. It might backfire in my face.
"Right," I said softly. I closed my eyes and tried to ignore the fact we were walking toward the gate leading into Bell's house. I considered shouting out to the police for help, but I bit my lip instead.
As Ice said, they would have a lot of questions and I didn't have all the answers. Added to that, the street was full of innocent people now, and Lila had a gun. There was no doubt in my mind she'd use it on someone to punish me for crying out. She seemed like the sadistic kind. Much more so than Ice. He tortured people for fun, but they weren't innocent people. That was an important distinction.
Ice walked beside us with a stiff back. Every so often he'd glare at one twin or the other, all over his shoulder, but mostly his eyes were on or around me like a bodyguard. He would have preferred to be the one carrying me, I saw that in his body language, along with the fact he was still in pain.
We stepped through the gate and my heart sank further. We were caught in the spider's web and I had no idea if we would ever get out again.
Chapter Twenty-Four
