Page 60 of Created in Chaos
“You’re sure no one else put you up to this?” he prods somewhat gently.
“No, I mean Lucy said I shouldn’t let her get away with coming here, but I was already thinking that. Should I have checked with you? Did I mess with your plans to do something to her? I promise I’ll always check with you in the future.” She’s prattling, which means she senses this isn’t going to end well for her.
Lucian takes his eyes off Grace and looks at me. “Take Nova outside,” he instructs, not worried about how Grace will react at all. He’s gotten what he needs from her.
“Take Nova outside?” Grace repeats, as if she doesn’t understand.
“I want to be here,” I tell my brother.
“No, you don’t, and I don’t want either of you here. Please,” he replies with raised eyebrows. Lucian rarely pleads for anything, so I’m torn on whether or not I should indulge him.
“Nox.” Nova says my name softly, but the room is otherwise silent, so everyone hears her.
“She’s here. You really brought her with you?” Grace has the nerve to look betrayed.
“Don’t speak.” Lucian barely gives her a glance, but it’s enough to have her sealing her lips.
“Take her home. I’ll be along in a few minutes,” he assures me.
I begin a silent conversation, using only our eyes. I should be with you to deal with this.
You should be with her, making sure she’s okay.
I can’t argue with him, so after a short standoff, I spin and walk out of the room, leaving Lucian to clean up the mess like usual, but it’s the first time I haven’t felt relieved about it.
NOVA
Nox enters the hall and heads straight for me at a brisk pace. “Let’s go,” he states flatly. I allow him to push me along with an arm around my back. I want to shuffle my feet and tell him this isn’t necessary, but words fail me.
Once we reach the porch and the screen door snaps shut behind us, my feet stop moving. Nox notices immediately and looks down at me in question.
“I don’t want him to do this. Will you tell him not to?” I implore. He’ll listen, he has to. Nox is always the more reasonable twin.
“He’s going to do it, Nova. Did you hear her in there? She doesn’t care about you, only that she thought you were in her way. You want to save her? What if the next person isn’t as strong as you?”
“I don’t care about her either. It has nothing to do with her. I don’t want you guys to hate me. If I let you do this, then I’m just as selfish as she is,” I confess.
Nox turns to face me, bringing both hands up to cup my face. “Will it change how you look at him or me for letting it happen?”
“No.”
He drops his forehead to mine and inhales deeply. “He would hate himself if he let her live. Neither of us will hate you for this.”
“What if he gets caught?”
“People like us don’t get caught, Nova. I can promise you that. We know too many secrets and could ruin too many lives for anyone to ever come after us. Even if they did, we have enough money to ensure any outcome we wanted—whether that’s fixing a jury, buying a judge or prosecutor, or even finding someone else to take the fall. There are plenty of people out there desperate enough to go to jail for something they didn’t do just for a little money and stability for their family. You don’t need to worry about us, and that includes you too. We will never let anything else happen to you.”
His promises feel unreal and out of the realm of comprehension, but I still don’t doubt them. I’ve seen proof of what they can and are willing to do. I know the way they live and have witnessed their lifestyle, even benefited from it. Normal people can’t make a massive donation to a hospital then get an all access pass or have a personal physician at their beck and call.
A creak behind us has Nox lifting his head to look over the top of mine. “He asked me to make sure you were gone.”
“We’re leaving now,” Nox tells whoever is at the door and then urges me down the stairs. We head back to the side-by-side, where I take the passenger seat. I watch the silhouette of the man in the door as we back away, knowing he will tell Lucian when we are gone, and then Grace will be dead.
There’s no feeling of dread in my stomach or concern if I’m going to be able to sleep at night because of it. I only feel calm understanding. I do wonder, however, if I’ve always been this cold or if something changed in me. Maybe it was the attack that did it. The trauma to my head could have rewired my brain. The excuse seems valid, but I very much doubt it. The real truth is, I don’t know the answer, and I don’t plan on wasting much time looking for it.
LUCIAN
“Give them two minutes, then make sure they leave,” I tell the security agent. He’s the only one within view, and I know he’s not the only one around, but Grace doesn’t. Hicks returns a short time later. The fact that he’s back tells me everything I need to know—Nox and my lamb are gone.