24
Cameron
Howlongweretheygoing to leave me in here? The cuffs chafed my wrists and my shoulders ached from being unable to change position. Plus, my butt was sore. The steel chair offered little comfort all round. It seemed petty to wallow over something so trivial. It was nothing compared to what Shep must be going through.
Was he all right? Were they still beating him? Every minute stuck here pushed me closer to the brink of hysteria.
I stared daggers at Lou who relaxed on the sofa, cell in hand, watching episodes of my favorite TV series. He was late to catch on to its awesomeness; the baby dragons hadn’t even hatched yet.
I let out an annoyed sigh. “You know he gets beheaded, right?”
Jerkface curled his lip.
A few minutes passed and judging by the intensity of Lou’s focus, the show had his full attention. I listened in, welcoming the distraction, then decided to fuck with him some more.
“He’s dead too. And her actually.” I clicked my tongue. “Nasty way to go.”
“Shut up.”
“I could save you the hassle and tell you how it all ends.”
Lou rose from the sofa, nostrils flaring. “I said, shut up, bitch!” He took two steps toward me, then paused when the door opened with Franky leading the way.
I couldn’t believe my eyes when another man ushered my brother into the room. “Justin!” My handcuffs jangled as I tried to stand, but they held me in place.
When he saw me, my brother clutched his already messy brown hair. “Cammy! No!” He lunged for me, although didn’t get far. The tall man who’d led him in held a firm grip on his biceps.
My gut twisted. Justin looked awful, even for his usually scruffy self. Tweaker skinny, unwashed spiky hair, and several days’ growth covering his jaw. Add to that the severe beating he’d taken, and he could be mistaken for a homeless person who’d been in a one-sided bar fight. His face was a brutal patchwork of purple bruises and red cuts. The swelling of his left eye distorted his features, and he stood hunched with one hand at his chest as though his ribs pained him. His entire body trembled. If it wasn’t fear causing it, the forced detox would.
Why had Justin stolen from the Mob and gone on the run? And now they’d caught him and beaten him to a pulp, he still hadn’t given Franky what he wanted. None of it made sense.
Justin’s battered face twisted in anguish. “I’m so sorry. Dammit, they hurt you, too.”
“I’m all right. Just cuts and bruises.” My injuries were mild compared to his.
I glanced at the man holding Justin back. He wore a gray T-shirt stretched tight across his powerfully built torso, and black cargo pants that hinted at muscular legs underneath. And the way he held himself reminded me of a certain bossy hitman I knew.
Apart from his wavy dark hair, this guy’s look screamed military, and I wondered if this was Ben, the double-crossing asshole himself. When his bright blue eyes landed on me, they contained something like sympathy or regret. Good. He should be ashamed of what he’d done to us.
“Please, let her go,” Justin begged. “She’s got nothing to do with this.”
Franky’s eyes bored into mine. “Your sister has something to say.”
I wished we could have this conversation in private. There was so much I needed to ask Justin, and even more I wanted to tell him about what had happened over the last week. Instead, I rolled my lips and got straight to the point.
“Listen to me, Justin. This is important. It’s over. Franky has us, and there’s only one thing we can do to fix this. The stuff you stole, do you still have it?”
Justin glanced between Franky and me. “Well, it’s complicated.”
My jaw clenched and my hands curled into fists behind my back. “Do you have it or not?”
“They’re gonna kill me as soon as I tell them.”
He might be right. Would I condemn my brother to a death sentence if he did what I asked? Still, I had to try something, and I hoped this would buy us more time because I doubted Franky would murder Justin before he’d located his goods in case he was bullshitting about the location.
“And what do you think happens to me if you stay quiet?” I asked.
Justin’s eyes squeezed shut as he bowed his head.