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“Anyway, Alex was going to propose at Christmas and called my parents for permission.”
“So sweet!”
“I know! Anyway, when my grandmother found out she wanted to give us money for a downpayment on a house since she knows we’ve been saving up. But with the tax implications and end of the year and all that, we have to be married so she can give us as much as possible. So she’s giving us thirty-four thousand dollars now and again after the first of the year!”
I can’t help but shriek again. “Oh my gosh! That’s so much money!”
“It’s incredible. It doubles what we already have so our mortgage payment is going to be much more affordable.”
“Wow! What a gift.”
“But that means we have to host the wedding in the next two weeks. We’re going to keep it simple and small, but I still want you to be my maid of honor.”
Instead of shouting this time, I tear up. How can I not bawl when my almost sister is getting married and wants me to stand up right beside her? “Yes, of course. I would love it. I’m honored. I’m so happy. I’m…”
I stop babbling and embrace her again.
A squeak sounds behind her from the patio door, and I open my eyes. Her fiancé pulses with just as much joy, and I reach for him too. “Group hug.”
“Only for a second then we have to eat. I don’t want it going cold.”
Bree playfully bops him on the head. “We’re having a moment.”
“But it’s filet mignon!”
Both of us laugh at his fake whine. Alex usually isn’t so playful, so I know how excited he is.
We have a wedding to plan, so we do have to get busy. But first we eat because I’m starving too.
Balthazar
Melissa has decided to stop eating.
I guess starvation is her way of escaping from the inhospitable and unpleasant accommodations she’s become accustomed to. Well, that’s too damn bad.
I crouch down in front of her. “How long did Seraphina live with you?”
No answer. The bitch turns her face to the floor. Not that I don’t enjoy her smashed to the concrete, but I demand a response. I shove my fingers around her chin. “How long?”
She flinches from me screaming at her.
“E…eleven years.”
I release her slimy, swollen skin. “That’s right since she escaped for two years until her brother passed away.”
Something incoherent blubbers from her mouth that sounds like she’s defending herself. Nothing angers me more than someone who hurt my angel and then tries to deny how much they tormented her. “Guess what? You get to be our guest for the same amount of time. So eleven… Hell. You know what? Let’s make that thirteen years just for shits and giggles.”
I point to the physician waiting patiently by the door for my command. “This is Dr. Halston. She likes to make the guilty pay for their crimes too. She’s going to set you up with a feeding tube so that you’ll be with us for at least the next decade. Maybe longer. Seems fair, right? After what you did to Seraphina.”
Her gnarled hand grabs at my foot, and I kick her off. Can’t have blood on my shoe when I pick up my girl.
Melissa begs for me to leave her alone, which makes me laugh. I nod to Doc H, who smiles with an evil glint flashing in her eager expression. She has her own issues that she enjoys working out on the guests in our dungeon. “Remember no anesthesia or pain killers. Make it hurt as much as possible.”
The woman eyes her prey with anticipation. “Oh, I plan to.”
“Excellent.”
I let her get to work and hustle upstairs to my car. I don’t want to be late picking up Seraphina. The same worry plaguing Dad troubles me. Tonight is the first time she’s seen her friends since she accepted that she is ours.
