Page 15 of Swan River

She was near enough now to know it was actually Landry on the ground. The bright-yellow sneakers she’d had made to match the Golden Butterfly daisy the world associated with her were glowing in the darkness. But Landry wasn’t moving. She just lay there.

Paisley’s vision blurred, ice filled her veins, and she had to force herself past it in order reach down and touch Landry’s shoulder. “Lan…”

Her sister sagged, and that’s when Paisley saw it. The blood. The gaping wound at Landry’s neck. The unfocused, staring eyes. She screamed. She screamed Landry’s name. She screamed at the horror. She screamed and screamed and screamed.

Strong arms wrapped around her waist, and she fought against them before Jonas’s deep voice spoke near her ear, “I got you, Paise. I got you.”

Trevor appeared, stepping around them and grabbing Landry’s wrist, checking for a pulse before blocking Paisley’s view of her sister. But even with Trevor’s muscled torso in front of her, all she could see was Landry’s face and the dark, gruesome cut on her neck.

Paisley’s voice was hoarse. Was she still screaming? The screams turned into violent sobs as she pushed her face into Jonas’s chest.

“God, Paise. Jesus… Trevor, what the hell?” Jonas’s voice broke with raw emotions.

Trevor put his arms around them both, hugging them tightly as if he could somehow take away what they’d seen. Make it better. Fix it. Fix her sister.

She dragged herself away from them both, somehow fighting off their muscled arms. She fell to the ground, hands pushed to her stomach as she knelt at her sister’s side. “Landry… Don’t leave, Landry. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I love you. I love you! Do you hear me? God. Please don’t die.”

Chapter Nine

Jonas

EVERYBODY HURTS

Performed by The Corrs

Jonas’s chest was on fire, agony ripping through him at Paisley’s pained cries. Her tortured words. He wrapped his arms around her, lifting her from where she’d collapsed next to her sister.

Paisley kicked out. “Let me go.”

“Paise, come away. You can’t. You don’t want to see this. Come away.” His voice was crammed with tears. For her. For Landry. For all of them.

“Make her live, Trevor! Make her live. Get the ambulance. The doctors. Make her live!” she screamed at Trevor standing in front of her sister’s body, blocking them from the gruesome sight. But it was too late. It was burned into his irises.

Jonas carried Paisley away, taking her back toward the house.

At the top of the porch steps, Nikki waited, hand to her mouth, horror in her eyes.

“No… No!” Nikki said, shaking her head, fear and sorrow echoed in her words. It made Paisley’s tight body crumple into violent sobs in his arms.

Jonas grabbed Nikki’s hand, pulling her into the house with them.

He set Paisley down on the couch in the front room, and Nikki collapsed next to her, hugging Paisley to her chest like Jonas wanted to do.

Ronan stood there with his crew behind him, cameras rolling, as sirens ripped through in the air.

“What is it?” Ronan asked, looking at Jonas with the most serious expression on his face he’d ever seen on the man.

Jonas shook his head. He had no words to describe what he’d seen, especially not on camera.

“Turn the fucking cameras off,” Jonas said.

Ronan bristled. “We’re here?”

Jonas reached over to the man holding the camera next to Ronan and placed a hand over the lens. “Turn the fucking cameras off before I toss them all in the pond.”

Jonas’s voice was laced with both threats and promises. Ones he would absolutely follow through on just as he had with Larry the day before. The cameraman looked to Ronan, and Ronan nodded. The camera light went out, and Jonas turned back to Paisley and Nikki.

He fell at Paisley’s feet, grabbed her hand, and put it on his cheek. “Paisley. I got you. I’m here.”

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