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I try not to think about what is coming. I send hope to wherever hope needs to go in an attempt to save me. To save Allison, Parker, and Brenda. But a part of me can’t help but wonder if this is my karma for not being upset about my parents’ murder and instead feeling relief.
I still feel relief.
I don’t think that’s going to change. Even if it means I have to suffer for it. I know it makes me just as much of an asshole as they are… were, as much of an asshole as they were. They are gone now. It’swere. I wait for a wave of sadness to wash over me, but it still doesn’t.
There is a knock on the door, and I suck in a breath, waiting for whoever is on the other side to come in. I hope it’s Allison and that she’s perfectly fine in every way.
Junior walks quickly toward the door. He doesn’t check the peephole and wrenches it open, then steps to the side. In walks Brenda, Parker, and a man who is obviously Junior’s younger brother and Coleman’s cousin.
It’s bizarre how much all these men look alike. I mean, I know they’re all related, but it’s almost as if their mothers didn’t participate in the creation of them at all.
Parker gasps, but Brenda only dips her chin in acknowledgment of my presence. They make their way to the sofa and sink down on the cushions. I sit catty-corner across from them, watching them, wondering what is going to happen next.
The men stand in front of one another behind Parker and Brenda. They share a glance, then Junior jerks his chin, and together, they walk out onto the balcony, closing the door behind them. Although, this is not a moment to break free. They can see us where we sit. They’ll come right for us if we try to do anything.
“What the hell is going on?” I hiss.
The only person here who I think might actually know is Brenda. So my focus is on her. I think Parker is just a little more clued in than I am, but not much. Brenda’s gaze flicks to the balcony, then comes back to meet mine.
“What we have here are two selfish and entitled assholes who think the world owes them something.”
“Okay…” Parker murmurs. “But their parents and oldest brother are dead.”
Brenda smirks. “Every person in this room has had their parents killed, Parker. None of us are kidnapping people and trying to take over a whole organization. Besides, their parents and brother were taken care of because they broke the most important oath of the family—loyalty.”
My gaze slides to Parker, who is looking down at her lap at the mention of our parents being murdered. Then, something slams into me. Brenda said the same thing. Slowly, my attention moves back to her. I watch her, tilting my head to the side, and I start to ask her about it when she lets out a small laugh.
“You caught that,” she says. “I understand how you feel. Though all our situations are unique to us, they are not exclusive. My parents were also taken care of by the family for their own misgivings.”
Parker lets out a heavy sigh, her eyes slowly lifting, and then she looks straight ahead at the wall where the television is, but it’s not turned on, so she isn’t really looking at anything other than a blank screen.
She’s staring at nothing, but she’s thinking. “I’m so angry about this,” she whispers. “Not the kidnapping. This kind of just feels like another day at this point. But my parents. How do I accept it? I love Wells and Henry, the whole Hamilton family, and yet, part of my life was taken from me by them.”
Brenda nods her head. She reaches out, wraps her fingers around Parker’s hand and squeezes. “You’re allowed to be angry,” she whispers. “All emotions are valid, especially in this.”
Parker turns her head, her eyes finding Brenda’s, and in this moment, I feel like I should leave the room. This is far too intimate for me to be witnessing, but I also know that if I try to even stand, those two men will rush in here, and who knows what they will do.
So I stay where I am and listen.
“I love Wells,” Parker whispers. “It isn’t his fault, and he’s explained it all to me. It wasn’t really Henry’s either. He was just following orders, but I hate it.”
“As you should. There is a lot about the family that I hate,” Brenda admits. “A lot.”
There is sadness in her voice, and when I lift my gaze to meet hers, I watch as that sadness is reflected in the expression she wears on her face. I open my mouth, then snap it closed. I don’t know what to say, what to do. I don’t know anything right now. Biting the inside of my cheek, I wait.
The door to the balcony opens, and I almost let out a sigh of relief, but then I look over to the men and realize they do not look calm or pleasant so that relief is short-lived.
“Well, it looks like Allison won’t be joining us, but the leverage the three of you will give us is more than enough to get what we want,” Junior announces.
“Where is Allison?” Parker demands.
Junior’s lips twitch into a smirk. “Bitch talked back and got what she had coming. She wasn’t important anyway. She was just a stepping-stone to the three cunts who are our ticket to power.”
I don’t believe him. Junior is an asshole, he might kill us all if provoked, but I don’t buy that he’s had Allison for days and did anything to her. Although, I can believe the part where he claimed that she talked back. That seems like her.
As soon as he says that, there is a knock on the door, but nobody moves to answer it. Instead, it slowly opens, and I blink once, twice, three times at the sight of Bryson, Shelby, and Andrew walking through the doorway.
“Good, you made it just in time. We’re getting started,” Junior announces.
