Page 70 of Savage Scream

“It was too late by the time we got to Elodie after she fled from witness protection. It took us two years to find her,” Bec darts her concerned gaze to Dee. “Lesley had trained you day and night. Conditioned you. When we managed to get you away from him and into our care, you were very unhinged. You were a killer. It’s all you knew. It’s the only language you spoke. Violence. Kill.” Bec shakes her head as she remembers. “We had to keep you locked up in the beginning. We had to sedate you just so you wouldn’t kill us when we came to take you back.”

Amanda reaches out and takes her sister’s hand, giving it a squeeze before turning her eyes to Dee.

“One day, something changed in you. You seemed calmer. More communicative, even though you wouldn’t talk. At first we couldn’t figure out what caused the big shift in your behaviour, but slowly as the days went on, you started to get more aggressive again.”

Bec nods. “It took us a while to figure out what was happening because you would fluctuate between a lethal weapon bursting to kill. And a calm, sweet girl who liked to read and draw.” She shakes her head, her expression surprised. “It turns out you’d been spying on us, watching the work we were doing, trying to build an organisation aimed at eliminating the predators in this country. You helped yourself to our intel and slipped out of the house in the middle of the night and did the job for us. You killed the people on our lists, came back, and were calm for a number of days, sometimes satisfied for a couple of weeks, until you did it again.”

Amanda smiles. “We were so shocked when we realised what had been happening, and then it just all made sense. You’d been conditioned to be a killer, and even though it went against everything we believed in, we knew that the best thing for you was to give you the outlet you needed.” Amanda turns a hard glare at me. “That’s how two aunties can stand back and let our beautiful little niece be a killer. And as long as she was in our fold, we could control how many kills and jobs she took.”

Fucking hell, as fucked up as all of that sounds, it kinda makes sense.

Jesus fucking Christ.

I can’t believe this is what happened to my little pocket rocket.

“It’s by far extremely bad parenting,” Bec nods, “but we didn’t know how else to help her, and there was no way we were going to give up on her.”

Nodding, I retake my seat next to Dee, replacing my hand on her thigh, and notice her trembling slightly. This is a lot for her to take in. Hell, it’s a lot formeto take in.

Dee clears her throat, and we all turn our attention to her, knowing she is getting ready to speak.

“So Travis has been with his auntie all of this time?” she states and glances at Bec and Amanda. “Has he been safe with Bianca? I know that house hasn’t been a good one to grow up in, but can you be sure she didn’t direct her anger about her sister’s death towards Travis?”

“We can’t be one hundred percent sure. We do know that Bianca drummed it into Travis’ head that you killed his mum because you were unhinged and not because you were trying to protect him. But over the years we’ve kept watch on the family, and nothing has indicated he’s been in any real danger. Until now.”

Dee stiffens. “What do you mean,until now?”

Griffin clears his throat this time, and our gazes shift to the other end of the table where he’s lounging back in his chair, one hand wrapped around a glass with a lick of amber fluid, and the other linked tightly with his woman’s.

“Travis is a bit roughed up. Bianca is back in the house, which is weird. She hasn’t stayed there in three years. Our sources say the kids live in that dump, maintaining their grow house while the parents live in luxury out by Redfield Lake.”

At Griffin’s words, Aggie stiffens next to him, and shoots him a glare. I’m not sure what that’s about, but if I have to guess, I’d say they must live near the Kerr leaders.

Dee stands abruptly. “I need to get Travis out of that house.”

Griffin shakes his head. “Travis won’t leave because Cassie, his foster sister, is being held captive there now. She was asking too many questions, and Bianca got suspicious of her. It seems that having Cassie locked up helps them to keep Travis obedient by using Cassie’s safety against him.”

“How do you know this? Have you spoken to my brother?” Dee asks, and Griffin shakes his head, his eyes darting to me.

Fuck.

I told Dee that Trav came to see me, but I didn’t tell her about the stuff with Cassie and that Trav looked roughed up.

Slowly, eerily so, Dee turns her head until her death glare causes me to shrink back.

“You forget to tell me something?” she hisses, and I raise my hands in surrender.

“Travis didn’t want me to tell you everything because he knew you’d try to get him out and he knows it’s not safe for you or for Cassie. Which he’s right about. That crazy bitch has got it out for you, Dee. You can’t go to Travis, and he needs to stay away from you. It’s the only way to keep you both safe.”

I know she knows I’m right, but a look of betrayal flicks across her face, anyway.

Shit.

I take a step towards her and she shifts away, turning her back on me as she starts to slowly pace.

Her head must be swimming with everything she’s learned tonight.

“Dee. Travis won’t leave without his foster sister,” I state. “And he does want to leave. I know that much. He can see what his foster parents are really like, but if he leaves now, I’m pretty sure they will hurt Cassie. Or even kill her. That’s why he’s being compliant. Obeying them. He’s just trying to keep everyone alive.”

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