Page 94 of Three to Fall

Scythe rolled his eyes. “Don’t be insulting. You know I don’t miss things. Jax has a clear-cut case of self-defense which will never go to court anyway, after they see all the fucking shit on those computers.” He shuddered then looked at me. “You sure you want him in jail? ’Cause he deserves a bullet.”

I nodded at the deadly man who loved Bliss so sweetly it was hard to believe he was the same person I’d seen rubbing her feet just two nights earlier.

He didn’t seem happy with my decision, but he respected it. “If he doesn’t get life, I’ve got friends inside who’ll pay him a visit and make him wish he had.”

“That seems fair.”

Hawk grinned and wandered over, shaking his head. “Rebel will be proud of the two of you.” He tousled Jacqueline’s hair. “Little Jax is even more badass than her eldest sister. Rebel totally lost her title as the biggest baddie in the family.”

Jacqueline grinned at his praise.

He glanced at me. “Apart from you, of course.”

I laughed at his pathetic attempt at saving my feelings. It was unnecessary. I wasn’t ever going to be a badass. I wasn’t my sister with her love of knuckle-dusters. And I doubted I could have even been as ruthless as Jacqueline had, pulling that trigger.

I glanced at her. “How did you get that gun anyway?”

She grinned over at Grayson, her fingers still trembling, though I suspected that might have been more from leftover adrenaline than fear now. “He gave it to me.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “You gave a thirteen-year-old a loaded gun?”

He shrugged. “Simple psychiatry, really. People think men do things to impress women, but often it’s the exact opposite. Men like Josiah only care about impressing other men. Everything they do is designed to make themselves appear bigger, stronger. Like the alpha male of the pack. I knew as soon as I walked out there that they’d frisk me and all the other men. We’d be perceived as a threat that the alpha needed to deal with.

“But I also know how Josiah has underestimated you every step of the way. I figured he’d probably be even worse with a young girl like Jax, and she wouldn’t be considered a threat who needed to be searched. I tucked the gun into the back of her pants, beneath her jacket, right before she walked out of the building to kneel beside you.”

I couldn’t help but smile at the nickname they’d all adopted so quickly. After what she’d done here this morning, my sister definitely needed a stronger-sounding name than Jacqueline.

It was weird how in seconds, she’d transformed herself in my eyes from a little girl with pigtails to the badass Hawk had pointed out. She really was a lot like Rebel, and I was glad for it. I didn’t ever want her to be taken advantage of the way I had. I’d had to learn the lesson the hard way and more than once. But I didn’t want that for her.

I also knew I could be strong in my own way. It didn’t have to be in the same way they were.

Hayden put his arm around my shoulders. “Let’s get out of here. Liam’s receptionist booked us a block of rooms at a motel in town. More than we need. Deliberately. So we have accommodation for anyone who wants to leave this place.”

I widened my eyes at him. “Seriously?”

He nodded. “I don’t know what comes after that, but for tonight, we take anyone who wants to come with us.”

I glanced over at Jax. “Josiah isn’t coming back. His inner circle won’t be either. No Onith or Jed or Merle.” I squeezed her fingers, listing out Josiah’s closest allies. “That doesn’t mean it’s safe here though. There’s space now for new leadership, and depending who steps up to take it will determine how you all live. I know this is the only life you know, and I don’t want to take away your choices if there’s a chance you could be happy here, but I want you to come with us. Live with me. Be part of our family.” I glanced up over her head at my three men standing behind her. “It’s a pretty special one.”

Her eyes filled with tears, but she nodded quickly. “I want to come. Please don’t let them make me stay.”

I hugged her to me fiercely, a protective parental feeling coming over me. “They wouldn’t dare.”

The spark of anger inside me that had lived there ever since my parents had married me off to Josiah, without so much of a hint as to what was happening, burned a little brighter. We hiked back to the main communal area, where police officers held the community back.

“Louisa Kara?” A woman gasped.

I raised my head, gaze meeting the narrowed, dark eyes of Camilla, Josiah’s second wife. A woman I’d lived with for years who had never once lifted a finger to help me, even though she knew exactly what her husband had done to me night after night, day after day, right beneath her nose.

She pushed through the crowd. “What have you done to him? I saw the ambulance! Is he hurt?”

“Yes.” It was the truth. “But I’m sure, like the cockroach he is, he’ll bounce right back.”

“How dare you speak of a Lord’s messenger like that! You truly are the wicked woman he claims you to be.”

I rolled my eyes. “And you’re cruel. But you’re also brainwashed, so I’ll overlook it and hope that one day you’ll see who the truly wicked one was.” I raised my voice, directing my attention to those who were left. Josiah’s other wives and their children. Kyle standing with his parents. So many faces I didn’t know, many of them women but men too, newcomers who hadn’t been here when I’d left. “Josiah isn’t coming back. Ever. So you all have a choice. Stay or leave. I’m making the offer to each and every one of you here. If you choose to leave, we’ll help. We have motel rooms for the next couple of nights, and after that we’ll work something out. You won’t be alone.”

I stared around the crowd. Taking in each face, the scared expressions, and the hushed whispers. I wasn’t surprised when the only people who stepped forward to leave with us were Shari and Kyle’s parents.

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