Page 78 of Burning Your Lies

I snatch the envelope from her. “Then why do you care?”

Her warning brings a chill down my spine in a way the weather can’t. “There is no coming back from this. It’s why it was our backup plan. Doing it this way will mean you will burn with him. Are you sure you’re ready for those consequences?”

“I have nothing left to lose. He has taken enough. You can’t run from men like him. The only option is to knock them down. I was too naïve to do it then. I’m not anymore.”

“One of the first things Huxley told me about you was how determined and strong you are. He said you were a force to bereckoned with.” Brynn moves so she is blocking the view ahead. “But the woman standing before me is a broken mess.”

My lip quivers and I let her see my tears. “I killed Jordan,” I whisper. “I’m the reason so many people have died. I could have stopped him by giving him what he wants.”

Her blue eyes are a blend of ice and fiery disgust. She grabs my jaw with too much force. “This is war. Soldiers die at war. I will not fight alongside such an unworthy ally. Get your head back in the game.” She exudes the determination that is slipping away from me.

The remnants of Mia and Jordan’s screams fill me again. “I can’t see or hear anything but them.”

She lets go of me. “It’s a good thing I’m your eyes and ears inside that house, then. But you cannot lose sight of the prize. What is the prize, Savannah?”

I clench the envelope tight. “For him to burn.”

PART THREE:

The River

35

Huxley

Thirteen months ago

Hospitals have always made me feel uneasy. There’s something about the smell and monotonous beeping that grates on my nerves. But I have pushed aside my feelings to be here at least once a day for Savannah.

Phoebe Hayes is a temperamental woman. If I catch her on a good day, she will let me sit with her in silence. Only Mia is allowed in the room on bad days. When I knock on the door and she smiles at me, I know I’m in for a few hours of silence.

Mia walks towards her and gives the fragile woman a hug. “How are you feeling today?”

“Where’s Savvy?” She looks behind me. Even after nine months, she still searches for her daughter.

When Savannah was first sectioned, we told Phoebe the truth, and Mia held her as she cried. Eventually, the nurses had to come and sedate her because she was incontrollable. She was insistent that ‘the bad men’ had taken her daughter to ravish her. When we visited a few days later, she asked again, and we told her the truth. She had to be sedated again. So we mutuallyagreed to tell her a lie to save her from reliving the heartbreak again and again.

“She’s on holiday,” I say. “She’ll be back soon.”

Her lips turn upside down, and she falls back onto her pillows. “My Savvy wouldn’t leave me. The bad men have got my Savvy. I just know it.” She mumbles to herself while staring straight ahead.

“I spoke to her. She’s okay. She said she misses you.”

There’s a knock at the door. “How are you today, Phoebe?” The doctor gives her a warm smile. “Did you enjoy your lunch?”

“My Savvy makes pizza for lunch.”

The doctor nods her head towards the door, asking me to speak privately. She waits until the door is closed before she sighs. “Her bloods came back from last night. I wish I had better news.”

I look through the glass as Phoebe speaks to Mia. The troubled look on Mia’s face makes it’s clear they are talking about Savannah. “How bad is it?”

She frowns at me with sympathy. “The cancer is making it difficult to treat the infection. Ms Hayes has sepsis and her organs are now slowly shutting down.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose.How am I supposed to tell Savannah?“Can’t you give her something to fight it? Double the antibiotics or something.”

She shakes her head. “I’m sorry, Mr Ray.”

My chest caves. “What am I supposed to tell her daughter? How is she supposed to…”

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