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Everything went numb, and my eyes clenched shut so tightly that I saw streaking stars behind them. “This isn’t real,” I muttered. “Can’t be real.”
“Amerie.” Piper clutched at my arm. “They… they shot Jensen.”
“No.” I shook my head and kept my eyes closed, sinking into a deep pool of denial. It was warm and soothing. Intoxicating. I wanted to stay there forever. “It was something else.”
“It was a gun! Trust me.” Piper roughly shook my arm. “Amerie, you have to snap out of this. I think… I think he’s dead. They killed him!”
“No. H-he’s okay,” I said, voice barely above a whisper. “He could’ve dodged the bullet.”
“No.” Piper’s voice cracked. “There was only one shot. If he tried to dodge it, there would’ve been more, right?”
Her words were like a knife to my chest. She was right. Of course she was.
I opened my eyes and pushed her away so I could rest a hand on my abdomen. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think beyond the image of Jensen’s cold, lifeless corpse lying above me and his unborn child.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Piper kept crying and babbling in my face. “Amerie, please listen. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I really thought it would be okay to send that message.”
I didn’t reply. Just stared into the gloomy darkness, one hand still resting on my stomach. I wanted to cry, but for some reason I couldn’t muster up any tears. All I could do was numbly stare into space.
Piper kept sobbing, soaking the blanket above us with her tears. I stayed silent, ignoring her pleas and apologies. She was right—it was her fault that all of this had happened. But there was no point saying it out loud. It wouldn’t bring Jensen back. It would only make Piper cry even louder, and then we might be heard and caught.
If that happened, Jensen’s sacrifice would be for nothing.
Time stretched. I had no idea how long we remained in the cellar, tucked under the blanket behind the boxes, but eventually there was a faint murmuring sound somewhere above the boards, followed by heavy footsteps.
Piper inhaled sharply and sat up straight, shaking my shoulder. “They’re back,” she said in a harsh whisper. “They’re looking for us.”
“I know,” I muttered.
“It sounds like they’re right above us. They’re going to find us.”
“I know,” I repeated. I sounded like a robot. Soulless and hollow.
Piper reached for one of my hands and squeezed it tightly. “Please forgive me, Amerie. For everything. I’m so sorry. I’m so…”
She trailed off as her voice thickened, and her chest began to heave again, like she was about to hyperventilate.
I didn’t forgive her. Not one bit. But as I lay there waiting for our hiding place to be discovered, I wondered if I should tell her that I did as a last act of kindness before the vengeful Rosmerta psychopaths took us. At least that way she could have a tiny bit of peace before she died.
“Please, Amerie,” she whispered. “Please forgive me.”
“Okay,” I said woodenly. “I do.”
The hatch slowly began to creak open above us, letting a crack of light seep in. “Looks like there’s a cellar down here,” a faint masculine voice said.
We were about to be found.
“I know you’re lying,” Piper said in an urgent whisper. “You don’t really forgive me. I wouldn’t either, if I were you. But maybe you can at least try to now.”
My brows furrowed. “What?”
“I’m going to go up there before anyone starts to climb down,” she said, pointing to the semi-open hatch. “I’ll say I was the only one down here, and that you went somewhere else when we saw the car coming earlier. Then I’ll figure out a way to distract them so you can get out of this cellar.”
“That won’t work,” I said listlessly.
“It will,” she said. “I’ll tell them there’s another underground storage thing in the shed outside, and I’ll say that’s where you went to hide. As soon as they start heading that way to look, I’ll stomp really loudly on the floorboards as a signal, like I’m throwing a tantrum over being caught. Wait two minutes after you hear that. Then sneak out of here and go through the front door while we’re all out in the back.”
“Where would I even go?” I muttered, rubbing my aching forehead. I was beyond tired all of a sudden.
