Page 48 of Havoc

“Have a shower first, Chance.”

Chance sniffed his shirt and looked away with a sour expression. “Good idea.”

He took off up the stairs to one of the spare rooms while I stayed downstairs, waiting for Presley to surface.

Presley

Sonora was bleeding from her hands, her arms and her legs. I’d been able to find several weapons scattered throughout the basement. Her tears were washing the blood smears on her face as she tried to battle through the pain.

The basement door opened and I saw Chance standing there. He was free. He climbed down the stairs one by one, and for a moment, I thought he would stop me from hurting Sonora.

“Sister,” he said, coming to stand next to me and look at the battered woman before him.

“Chancey,” she breathed heavily. “Please, help your mother.”

Chance had a bitter smile on his face, one that didn’t go to his eyes. He kneeled down in front of her, to look her in the eyes. “The son you had locked away in a prison because he found out about you and your lies?”

Oh, damn.

“Chancey…that was Gideon, not me.”

“Lies again,” he tutted. “I really would have thought you’d learn your lesson.”

He stood back up and took possession of the cane from me. I handed it over freely and stood back to watch.

“I really must teach you not to tell lies,” he said, before he took the cane and landed it across her shins with such force, I heard the bamboo cane split. Sonora screamed with what energy she had left, tears flowing freely down her face. “Do you know what they did to me in there?”

Sonora sobbed.

“Do you?” he asked, bending over so he could look her in the eye. “Look at me!”

Sonora did, one eye was filling with blood while the other looked weak and sad.

“Do you know what your little boy went through in prison, where you put him for eight years for no reason at all. I wasn’t going to tell anyone, but you knew that, the fact I knew the truth was scary enough for you.”

He landed the cane down on her shoulders, her thighs, her shins, her arms, anywhere he could find, over and over again, fury lacing every swing until the cane broke apart. He tossed it to the side as Sonora lolled to the side.

“All yours, sis.”

He moved up the stairs and out of the basement, leaving me with the remnants of what she once was…a conniving, heartless bitch.

I sat across her lap, looking into her eyes as she realized the end was near. No one was coming to save her. She had no one.

I knew that feeling when I thought I did have no one because of her. It was the worst feeling in the world, just absolute emptiness, and ill worth.

“You know what? I’m done,” I said, getting back up. “But you know you won’t leave this house alive. I’m going to bury you in it.”

Her breathing became laboured again as I walked off, leaving her in pain and misery. Just as I had once felt.

Once I opened the basement door, I saw Lennon waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. I made my way over to him.

“Grab what you want from this house,” I said. “We’re leaving for good.”

He nodded. “The only thing I want from this house is you.”

I smiled and headed up the stairs. “Grab the car, I’ll be back down in a few minutes. Get the others out and meet me at the gates at the bottom of the drive.” He nodded and went about business while I moved through the house, grabbing what I wanted. I got to the office and I saw the box on the side shelf. The one I was never allowed to touch as a kid.

Moving over to it, I smashed it on the floor and watched as the key slid out across the tiles.

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