“No, you can say what you need to in front of them.”
Sighing, Doc Nash aged ten years in front of me. “Roan was beaten severely. It’s hard not to believe they attempted to kill him, because that’s certainly what they nearly did.”
Josephine choked on a sob.
“Broken ribs, bruised kidney, concussion, and there’s some internal bleeding. It took a while for us to find and repair the tear, but we’ve stitched him up. Roan is out of surgery—”
“Will he be okay?” I interrupted.
“The next few days are up to Roan. We’ve given him something to sleep,” he said. “If he pulls through in the next twenty-four hours, it’ll give us hope he’ll recover. You can’t...”
His voice faded, and so did I—shrinking away from the group.
A strange calm gripped me. Chilling, but peaceful.
It told me exactly what to do.
Taking out my phone, I tapped on a single name.
Me: The police are looking for you. They’re not buying the supposed alibi or the makeup over your tattoos. Hide out on my farm. They won’t think to look for you there.
The response came back quick.
Jeremy: Not necessary. We’ve got a place.
Me: I hope it’s in Bedlam because the sheriff blocked the roads.
I motioned Cairo over and showed him the messages.
“I’ll take care of it,” he said, striding off.
A minute passed.
Then five.
I was screwed if Jeremy and the Crows were already out of Bedlam. Eventually, I’d find an excuse to get close to him, or Jeremy would summon me. But it would not be that night.
If Roan had to spend that night trapped in darkness and pain, his life an uncertainty, so did they.
Jacques moved to my side. He faced the wall, shielding that look in his eyes for only me to see.
“They finally did it, didn’t they? Committed the unforgivable act.”
“Yes.”
“Was this what we were waiting for?” I spat the question.
“No one was waiting for this, de Souza. I knew the expulsion wasn’t the end, but I did not see this coming. I did not want it.”
My cell chimed.
Jeremy: Isn’t your farm abandoned? We need food, water, toilets and shit.
I typed off my message and hit send.
“None of us saw this coming and we should’ve. Tonight, we make it right.”
Arsenio wandered over, catching the tail end of our conversation. “That was always the plan, de Souza. I told you, this ends in fire.”
I DROVE CAIRO’S TRUCK up the lane I hadn’t walked in weeks.
Gran. Ivy. Bella. The Letter Man.
There were endless terrible memories attached to my home. Part of me had to ask what I was fighting so hard for. Could diamonds in the soil ever satisfy when they’re stained with blood?
I carried the takeout, blankets, and water bottles to the barn. Jeremy made me wait eight minutes after I knocked, though I heard them inside whispering.
The door opened a crack.
“You alone?”
“Obviously.”
“Asher,” Jeremy called. “Check.”
He came out and Jeremy let me in. Jonah hopped off a hay bale to take their food.
I was right. Jeremy did call in reinforcements.
They all looked plenty cozy stretching out on the hay, poking in the stalls, and playing with my bows and arrows.
“Hey! Put those down.”
Zeke scoffed. He lined up a compound bow, aiming it at me. “Why should I?”
“That was a gift from my grandmother. It’s important to me. As the woman currently hiding your ass from the police, you can at least show respect for my things.”
“Put it back, Zeke,” Jeremy ordered. “The lady’s right. She’s going out of her way to make our stay comfortable. We’re not disrespecting her hospitality.”
Zeke grumbled under his breath, but he put it back.
The longer I’m around these guys, the more certain I am they are a gang.
Zeke came down from the loft. He grabbed a carton of chicken fried rice and leaned against the stall door, chatting with Micah and Jonah.
Jeremy tugged me in the opposite direction.
“We almost hit the roadblock on the other side of Chaney Bridge. How’d they get that organized so fast?”
“You have to ask?”
“Cairo.”
I shrugged. “They know it’s you and they know you’ve got every reason to book it to HC and hide out for the next few weeks.”
“They don’t know it’s me. Not one hundred percent, and the cops will need a hundred and ten to make a charge stick. My lawyers will make sure of it.”
I studied him through my lashes.
This guy freely rained terror on the streets of Hunter’s Crest and Bedlam while Daddy paid to make it all go away. No wonder he didn’t know consequences.
“You.” Jeremy flipped his knife on his palm. “Why are you helping us? It’s not in your contract.”
“I told you, Ellis. You’re going to cut me in for the real prize.”
“Hmm. I didn’t think you cared about money, de Souza.” He glanced around. “With how hard you fought to be a farmer slopping in pig shit again.”