Page 17 of Grim

“Jenna.”

“I don’t know what you’re doing here, Jenna, but...”

His words trailed off, and I had no idea why he’d stopped talking until I felt Luna’s little hand on my thigh. She’d crawled up next to me without me even knowing it. “Oh, sweetie. You should’ve stayed under the bed.”

“I was sck-ared, Mommy.”

“I know. I am, too.” I pulled Luna close as I looked up at the man and said, “This is my daughter, Luna. Just let us go, and you’ll never see or hear from us again.”

“Go, but just know, if you breathe a word of any of this...”

“I won’t say anything. I swear it.” I gave him a slight shrug. “Besides, it was only a matter of time before someone did it.”

Worried he might change his mind, I quickly stood and picked up Luna. I settled her on my hip before grabbing the bags filled with our things and rushing for the door. I eased past the stranger’s friends, and as soon as I stepped into the hall, I saw my brother’s feet and stopped dead in my tracks.

I put my mouth to my daughter’s ear and whispered, “Close your eyes, sweetheart. Close ‘em tight.”

I waited for her to close them, then said, “That’s my good girl. Now, keep them closed until I tell you to open them. Okay, sweetie? Can you do that for Momma?”

“Um-hmm,” she mumbled with a nod.

I quickly stepped over Steven’s lifeless body and then Jimmy’s. Once I was in the clear, I rushed down the hall and out the front door. I continued out to my car and put Luna in her car seat. I put our bags in the back seat next to her, then hurried over to the driver’s side and got in.

I put the key in the ignition and turned it, expecting it to turn on, but got nothing more than a strange clicking noise. I turned it again, and relief washed over me when the engine roared to life. I quickly threw it into gear and started backing out of the driveaway. Unfortunately, I didn’t get very far.

I thought we were in the clear until a loud, thunderous boom came from the front of my car, followed by a thick, billowing smoke. The car abruptly died, leaving an eerie silence in its wake. Even though I knew it was pointless, I turned the key again, praying it might get us a little further down the road, but no such luck.

It was only a matter of time before those men came outside, so I reached for my door handle and was about to pull it open when Steven’s front door opened. The three men came filing out, and the last one tossed a lit match into the house. In a blink, the entire living room was engulfed in flames.

The three men started down the front steps, and it wasn’t long before the man who’d freed me and Luna spotted us sitting in my car. He said something to his friends, then started over to us. When he reached my car, he motioned to my window, but that wasn’t going to happen. My car was dead, so I eased the door open, and he immediately snapped, “Why the hell are you still here?”

“My car,” I muttered nervously. “It’s not starting.”

He glared at me with annoyance, and I feared he’d kill us right then and there. Instead, he asked, “Where were you headed?”

“I don’t know.”

“Don’t play games with me. I don’t have the time nor the patience.”

“I don’t really have a place to go,” I confessed. “I was going to try one of the shelters for a night or maybe sleep in my car, but now, my car isn’t an option and where we were staying is now on fire and...”

“Yeah, yeah. I get it.” He let out a frustrated breath, then turned to his two buddies and said, “Call Skid and have him meet us over at my place.”

“We’re taking them to your place?”

“I didn’t stutter.”

“You gotta be kiddin’.” His friend gave me a once-over. “We don’t know anything about this chick. Hell, she could be one of them for all we know.”

“Yeah, she could.” His eyes drifted to the backseat, and they locked on Luna’s as he said, “But I’m not sending them to one of those shelters. Hell, you know how they are. No way in hell they’d survive the night.”

“And why the hell does that matter?” the blond scoffed. “These two ain’t nothin’ to us.”

“They’re going to my place, and that’s the end of it.”

And just like that, all eyes were on me. There was clearly some unease between the men, and I didn’t want to add to it. I just wanted this whole thing to be over, so I looked to the man in charge and said, “I appreciate the offer and all, but that’s not necessary. We can…”

“It’s not up for discussion.” He opened the back door and grabbed our bags as he ordered, “Now get the kid and let’s go.”

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