There is only one place they’d go.
* * *
The sightin front of me makes my stomach sink. If I could look away, I would. But I fucking can’t because… fuck. Vance stops beside me, fists clenching at the sight as he simmers with rage.
“Welcome to church.” His pupils are blown, smile wide and manic.
“What have you fucking done?” I ask, my voice raw as I watch her blood drip down her face.
“I did this for us, Beckett. So we can finally be together.”
I shake my head, my stomach twisting as the words leave my mouth, “We could have been together, you didn’t have to do that to her.” I try to keep my voice even, keep the brokenness out. At this stage, I have to give in to his delusions. Try to keep the people I love most protected.
I look around the room. Amiyah and Primrose lie on the ground to the side, but I can see they’re breathing as they begin to stir. But Brixley… She’s pinned to the cross like some fucked-up reenactment of the sacrifice of Jesus. Arms stretched wide, knives pinning her hands in place. Her face is bloody beyond recognition. Crimson seeps through the fabric of her shirt, and there are cuts along her legs as if she was his personal carving board.
I make eye contact with Vance, trying to communicate how I’m going to distract him so he can go get Brixley.
“I took care of my problem as well.” He points his knife toward the opposite side of the room where Kate lays dead, a gunshot wound in her head. Her eyes are wide open, though she can’t see anything as she faces the ceiling. Blood paths trail over her eyes, dripping down to her parted lips. My chest hurts because she was innocent in all of this, she should have never been tangled in this world. “She always wanted to please me. You know, I really did love her, but I loved you more. I wanted to please you, but no,” he lashes out, swinging the knife in his hand around, the gun in his other hand smacking against his thigh. “Brixley comes back into your life and suddenly, I’m nothing to you again. Why is that, Beckett?”
I see Vance gently lowering Brixley to the ground, his body shaking with emotion as he places her head in his lap. I see his throat work as he tries to comb the bloody, matted hair out of her face. And when a single tear slips down his face, I snap, “Because I fucking love her, Devlin. Always have.”
Devlin’s eyes narrow. “Did that night mean nothing to you?”
“What fucking night?” I’m slowly advancing on him, knowing he could end my life with a single blow to the head. I just hope Vance stays still, allowing me to handle this.
“The night we made love,” he says it so matter-of-fact.
“The night we tag-teamed a girl?” I laugh. “You’re delusional.”
Devlin flinches, shaking his head slowly. “Don’t say that.” He runs the gun over the side of his scalp before smacking it against his head. “Why are you saying that?” he screams.
“Because it’s the truth.”
He pulls the gun from his waistband, pointing the barrel at my head. His hand trembles, eyes clouded with madness and grief. “We will be together,” he whispers.
26
Brixley
“You remember Devlin,don’t know you, honey?” Momma says, and I wave at the boy. He’s very handsome, not as handsome as Beckett, but close. “Now, why don’t we all go have dinner, shall we?”
The Williamses walk off and I tug on Momma’s dress. She bends at the waist. “What is it?”
“I’m getting that feeling in my tummy again. I don’t think we should eat with them.”
Momma smiles, fluffing my hair. “Don’t be silly, it’s just nerves.” Momma holds out her hand and I take it as we head into the dining room.
I stop by Daddy’s chair, and he leans over, pressing a kiss to my cheek. “Hey, pumpkin. Did you have fun with Vance today?”
I smile brightly at my daddy. I have the same red hair and green eyes as him, but my personality is one hundred precent Momma’s. Daddy says I have her attitude too, but she denies it. “It was great. He taught me how to punch.” I demonstrate with my hands, pretending to punch the bad guys.
Daddy laughs. “Very nice. You can show me more after dinner, okay?”
I smile. “Okay, Daddy.”
I skip to my seat next to Daddy’s, sitting down and folding my napkin in my lap. Momma has made a nice dinner of potatoes and roast chicken. But the green beans could have been avoided, in my opinion. I sit quietly as the grown-ups talk, thinking about my sick new moves and how Daddy will love them, when his voice gives me pause. “I think it’s time you leave.”
Mr. Williams stands. “I’m afraid I must do one more thing before I go.” He reaches into his coat pocket, positioning something in his hand that gleams. “We really want in this group, but there is no room. Luckily, there will be an opening.”