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I stared at the screen, seeing it and everything else tinted red from the rage that permeated my entire being.
“Your blonde fuckbunny made the whole thing possible. So many things you don’t know about your new little friend! Like her connection to domestic terror groups, for instance. Go ahead, do some research on her while you’re waiting for your marching orders. She’s been spewing hate in online forums ever since it was a thing. Her handle is Payback Bitch 898. Amuse yourself by exploring her hidden depths! But you really should have known, Ethan. I mean, all that blood and trauma? What did you expect?”
“Blood and trauma?” Jed asked. “What’s she talking about?”
“Later,” I snarled. “Shhh.”
“…anyway, never mind the traitorous bitch, right?” Nicole went on. “Let’s talk about little Holly.” The camera panned over, landing on Holly, who sat in a straight-backed chain and stared straight at the camera. She appeared to be unharmed, her hands unbound and clasped on her lap, but her face was dead pale. She was frowning, blinking back tears. Squeezing her eyes shut, then blinking, then closing, looking straight at the camera. Probably trying not to cry. Such a tough kid.
“Say hello to your Uncle Ethan, Holly,” Nicole directed.
“Hello,” Holly said woodenly.
Nicole’s pig mask appeared again in the camera’s view next to Holly, this time brandishing a sharp knife. “Oh, no, no, no,” Freya whimpered. “Don’t, don’t, don’t.”
Nicole yanked up a lock of Holly’s rumpled dark blonde hair, but Holly didn’t wince, just kept staring and blinking. Maybe she was in a fugue state.
Nicole hacked it off, and flung it at the camera. “Do as I tell you, understand? Instructions will arrive soon. No police, or Holly will pay. I’ll be in touch.”
The video ended.
“What did she mean?” Jed asked. “About the blood and trauma? Should you have suspected something? Why, Ethan?”
I shook my head, still unable to speak.
Mick stepped into the breach. “Kat had some trouble in her past,” he explained. “Her older and younger sisters were both whacked by the mob right in front of her when she was only fourteen. She testified against the killer and got him put in jail, but the crime family’s been after her ever since. She went into Witness Protection.”
“Oh, my God.” Freya said. “That’s terrible. And even so, I don’t see how the woman I met could have done this. I just don’t buy it.”
Mick shook his head, his eyes full of raw pain. “I am so sorry,” he muttered.
“It’s not your fault,” I said dully. “I’m the one who rolled out the red carpet for a honeytrap spy, not you.”
“Don’t call her that,” Freya said sharply. “I’m not ready to accept Nicole’s word about fucking anything, Ethan.”
“But how else can we possibly explain what happened?” Amos asked. “The drugged sandwiches, and all that?”
“Honestly? Even the sandwiches seem out of character for Nicole,” Freya said. “If Nicole were doing this, she wouldn’t have had our people drugged. She would have used something horrible that causes an agonizing death, preferably with lots of blood. That’s more her speed.” She turned to Mick. “And you,” she said. “I don’t mean to be cold or heartless, but I confess, I’m puzzled that she didn’t pump bullets into your head. She left you alive. Was that just sloppy? Or was it on purpose?”
“Don’t know,” Mick said, his voice colorless. “Might have been better if she killed me.”
“Do not mope, Mick,” Freya snapped. “Not useful. We have enough problems.”
“Can you imagine what Shane would say, if he knew?” I asked. “I completely failed. I did not protect his little girl.”
“This is not your fault!” Freya said furiously. “Don’t blame yourself! You have been doing everything possible to keep us safe! Even when we make it almost impossible, like I did. You never stop trying. You go to outrageous lengths!”
“Maybe, but even so,” I said. “That bitch has our baby girl. I fucked up.”
“And why is that on you, rather me, or Jed, or any of us?” Freya was crying angry tears. “Damn you, Ethan. You always think you have to be the big man. The smartest one, the one who is in charge, the one who carries us all and takes all the responsibility. But it’s too much. You can’t ever make a goddamn mistake. If Kat really is a mistake, and I will tell you from the heart, I am not convinced of that yet.”
“I don’t see any reason to deny reality when it’s being shoved down my throat,” I said. “I was thinking with the little head. That’s all.”
“There’s no way you could have known, if it was Kat who betrayed us. We all loved her. All of us bonded with her. Holly loved her, Angela loved her, you loved…”
Her voice trailed off. I got up, waving her back, and walked outside, going over to the railing to look down into the mountain valley, letting the breeze cool my hot face.
Yeah, I had loved her.
