Page 134 of Sin

“No,” Jinx choked out, rushing into the shelter and dropping to Lewis’s side. He hiccupped on a sob as he checked Lewis’s pulse, already knowing there wouldn’t be one. “No!”

I tried to reach out, whether to comfort him or urge him to get out of here, but I barely managed to lift my hand off the ground. He must have noticed the small movement though, because he swung his gaze to me. He saw the mess of my throat and swallowed hard, swiping back his tears. “I’m going to get you out of here.”

I wanted to shake my head no, to tell him to get out of here. But I didn’t have the strength.

Jinx’s body vibrated, and three clones stepped out from him. One picked up Lewis’s body, while the other two grabbed Lucas and Keith. The real Jinx slipped me into his arms and cradled me against his massive chest.

And then he ran.

I couldn’t look back to see if the other clones were following, but I assumed so. We made it to the top of the stairs when the next round of explosions started.

We were knocked into the wall from the force of the blast, and something slammed into me with such force that it knocked the breath out of me. Wincing, I spotted the top half of a flaming doe body at our feet. Jinx gritted his teeth, and his clones, which had also been knocked back by the explosion, straightened.

The house was on fire, all the furniture and taxidermy giving the flames ample ammunition to spread faster and farther across the floor and up the walls.

Another explosion rocked the very foundation of the house, and it was followed by another, and another, and another.

Jinx jumped over burning furniture and taxidermy, spotting the front door open ahead of us. He raced over the threshold, breaths labored and arms shaking. The other three clones just barely made it through the door before the biggest explosion yet tore through the home, igniting more and more bombs in its wake.

Flames shot out of the front door, reaching for us, and we just managed to escape their reach and bolt toward down the steps.

The others were all there, waiting and watching in horror as Jinx collapsed to his knees in front of them, his clones immediately vanishing and dropping Lucas, Lewis, and Keith to the ground. He set me more carefully on the ground before him and closed his eyes as the house continued to burn.

Mare darted over to her dad, but Blade… Blade let out a noise I’d never heard a human make before, something like a scream and a sob and a gasp all at once, as she fell to her knees beside Lewis’s body. Mare glanced over after finding her dad’s pulse, and she froze when she realized the same would not be said of Lewis.

Jinx hung his head, and Blade sobbed, clutching Lewis to her chest.

London’s Adam’s apple bounced, and I didn’t know how someone could look so relieved yet murderous. He stormed toward me and sank down beside me. With trembling hands, he touched my face, like he needed to feel me to make sure I was real. His bloody mouth wobbled, and his teeth clacked as he bared them at me. “I’m going to murder you,” he hissed just before he slammed his mouth to mine. It wasn’t a deep kiss, nor could it be considered tender. “You hear me, Sin?” His mouth pressed more and more bloody kisses to mine. “You’re in so much fucking trouble.”

Tears leaked from the corners of my eyes, and he wiped them away as he pressed his forehead to mine. “So much trouble.”

“I’m sorry,” I mouthed because I was.

He gritted his teeth. “You better be fucking sorry, Sin. You promised you’d never leave me. That means even death.”

“I’m sorry,” I mouthed again, and he cupped my face, just as sirens rang down the road. If President Osborne hadn’t figured out where we were, then surely one of Mr. Radley’s neighbors had contacted the police. Even with the distance and trees attempting to hide the homes in this area, this fire couldn’t be missed.

“Here,” Blade said, her voice monotone. Shifting Lewis slightly, she withdrew a vial from her belt and tossed it to Mare. “It’s the antidote for the sedative on my blades. I don’t know if it will work, but you can try.”

Mare uncapped the vial, revealing the small needle. She didn’t waste time before sticking it in his chest and forcing the contents into his body.

Lucas gasped awake, and Mare tossed the syringe off to the side, her face crumpling in relief.

Lucas sucked in several shallow breaths, and his head ticked to the side as he grimaced in pain. Wincing, he peered around at us, confused at first. Then he spotted me, my neck, and then he looked over at where Keith lay sprawled facedown against the cement. He purposefully avoided glancing at where Blade held Lewis’s body.

“Are you okay?” Mare asked, brushing some of his hair out of his face. “Do you feel okay?”

“I’m okay, Maya,” he assured her, patting her hand with a quaking one of his own. He squeezed his eyes closed, and he grabbed at his head. He let out a pained grunt before leaning over to the side and vomiting.

The sirens sounded louder now, and a horn blared several times.

London pulled me carefully in his arms, rocking me and kissing my temple. He whispered muted promises in my ear, telling me it would be okay. Everything was going to be okay.

But as I glanced around at where Mare clung to her father, knowing she was about to lose him, as I watched Blade swipe her hands down over Lewis’s lids to close them, knowing he was already lost, I knew London was lying.

“What do we do now?” Lucas finally asked, hugging Mare to him. He pulled a pair of dampening cuffs out of his pocket and swallowed hard as he slowly clicked them over his wrists. I knew he was scared. I didn’t blame him. He deserved more than being locked away again. I could only hope having the other inmates, as horrible as most were, would help ease his loneliness until President Osborne and the rest of the RUAS decided what to do with him.

“Now,” Jinx said, watching the flashing lights glaring in the trees down the drive, “we wait.”

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