Page 94 of Bull Rush

“It’s okay,” I whisper into the raven-colored hair at her crown. Pressing a kiss to the silky strands while I work to comfort her. “It’s okay, darlin. Don’t listen to a word she says.”

“Yes. Don’t listen to me. Keep making the same stupid mistakes you’ve been making. It keeps turning out so well for you,” Amelia taunts her.

“You sure you don’t want to go back in?” I ask Haze when she looks up at me with tear-stained cheeks.

“I’m sure. I want to get to the bottom of this,” she says quietly.

I can’t hear what Lev says to Amelia next; he whispers it softly into her ear, smiling as he pulls back and takes her horrified look in. Amelia screams a moment later—a crystal rattling, blistering scream that echoes off thewalls.

“Give me my fucking son!” She rattles against the binds that hold her in place, tugging on them like she’s possessed and screams again, her voice too hoarse for it to be as effective this time.

“No one can hear you out here.” I shake my head.

“Not a single soul. It’s just us, and we don’t give a fuck about you or your son.” Grant leans back against one of the large wooden beams that holds up the center of the barn.

“She does though. She cares about my son. The way she fawned and obsessed over him. The way she planned every detail of the wedding. She said she loved him more than she ever loved anyone.” Amelia attempts to get in Haze’s head and mine, and I feel her hug me tighter.

“Leave her out of this.” Grant steps in front of us, like he’s worried one of us might snap on her. “And tell me what you’re here for.”

“You know what I’m here for. You’re the smart one, right? He’s your muscle. The other one ran away to play games with grown men every weekend. You must be the brains.” Amelia looks between Levi and me and then back at Grant. “I’m sure if you think really hard, you’ll know what we want. I just thought all these years you’d have kept it in the casino. Shame it wasn’t there, and we had to come bother the poor defenseless ex-wife.”

I feel a swirl of anxiety in my chest as it tightens. Grant doesn’t flinch when she makes the accusation. He just continues to stare. No surprise or confusion on his face when she insists that we have something of hers.

“Huh. Looks like the big sporty one doesn’t know what I’m talking about. You keep secrets from each other too? That’s a dangerous business when it’s your family on the line.” Amelia’s saccharine smile returns, and my heart drops with it. But I can’t let it show on my face. The three of us can discuss this later.Hazel picks up on my anxiety, and her hand runs gently down my spine.

“It’s odd that you’d say that since Curtis kept secrets from you.” Hazel whirls around. “He was insisting on getting me out of here before you changed your mind. Confessing to everything just for a chance to get me to leave with him.”

Amelia’s fake lashes flutter for a second, her rosy-red cheeks blushing just a little more at that information, giving away that she doesn’t like it one bit. Then her eyes narrow, and she looks around the room before focusing back in on Hazel.

“So where is he? Seems like he took off without you.” Amelia’s tone turns dark.

“And without you.” Hazel mimics the smile Amelia gave her. “But I’m sure you’ll see him soon enough.” Hazel squeezes my hand tightly, and Amelia doesn’t miss the motion.

“Did you kill him? You jealous little prick!” Amelia rages at me, and Levi’s hands press down on her shoulders.

“Calm down.”

“I won’t be calm until I see my son.”

“Tell us what we need to know, and you can see him,” Grant says calmly, looking like he’s barely bothered by the scene unfolding. I worry for my brothers and what they’ve done in the last five years that this seems like a boring night to them.

“Bring him to me. Then we can talk.”

“Listen to me.” Levi comes around to the front of her chair, standing next to me as he takes her chin in his hand. “We have his cell phone. It’s how we confirmed it was you that was stalking Hazel around, keeping an eye on her when Curtis was gone. It won’t take us long to get the rest of what we need. If you tell us, though, and make all of our lives easier… we can go easier on you.”

“If you have his cell phone, then I know everything I needto know. I won’t tell you shit.” Amelia spits in Levi’s face, and he blows out a breath as he wipes it off his cheek.

“Have it your way.” Levi stands and moves back to her side where he keeps an eye on the ropes that secure her in place. She’s given up fighting them now, though, leaning into her fate. I can tell in the way she looks off into the distance that somehow the knowledge of his cell phone confirms his death to her; a thing I’m fairly certain she already knew when we brought her here but was unwilling to admit to herself.

Amelia’s eyes glitter in the dull light of the barn, almost like she might cry, but she swallows hard and chokes it back. However much she might disgust me, I have to give her credit for having that kind of strength. She blinks what’s left of the tears away and then looks up at me, a smile at first that melts into a sneer as she looks me over.

“I regret feeling sorry for your bitch of a mother.” Amelia spits at my feet. “She begged for your lives. As a mother, I felt for her. Let her pathetic little sobs worm their way into my heart and spread their poison. I spared you and your brothers, pretended like I didn’t know where your sister was, instead of making sure they destroyed the whole family tree. It was the biggest mistake of my life. If I could go back, I would have put a bullet in every single one of your heads myself, starting with your sister and taking my time with you.” Amelia’s eyes land hard on me.

My world stops, and the color fades at the edges of my vision. All I can see is her in front of me and flashes of my mother and father soaked in their own blood.

“You were there that night?” My throat is raw, and I can barely get the words out.

“There? Who do you think shot that cunt in the face?” Amelia smiles like she enjoyed every moment of my mother’sdeath. Like she doesn’t have a single regret in her body. “She deserved it for—”

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