Page 40 of Karma
“Because he was in foster care?”
Nodding, he squeezes his eyes shut and presses his fingers to his cheekbones. “Yeah, he knows what it’s like to live in not-so-great homes.”
“I’m sure he’ll come right over,” Lex says, reaching for her phone.
The front door cracks as it’s kicked in, and Lex drops the phone back on the table as she uses her body to shield Lucas. He sits straight up, his worst fears coming true when Phillip walks inside holding a gun aimed right at Lex. “No backup, sis?”
“They’re coming,” Lucas says, hating how unthreatening he sounds with his nose plugged. “Give it a minute.”
“You sound miserable, kid,” he says and chuckles. “Guess Mom stayed home with you because you’re sick. No one’saround, so I’m going to go out on a limb and guess no one knows yet that you aren’t making it to the clubhouse like you’re supposed to be, huh? Yeah, I’ve been watching. Kind of a big mistake for someone as smart as you, don’t you think?”
Lex stays where she is, and Lucas looks around frantically, trying to decide what to do here. She appears calm, but he can tell by the way her eyes shift that she calculates everything. Every possible outcome and option they have. Determining what their chances of getting out of here alive are. And Lucas wishes there was a gun in the cushions, like some mafia show he could somehow pull out and save her with.
“Get up,” Phillip growls.
She does as he orders, and he grabs her, pulling her back against him to face Lucas. Just as Lucas shifts to attempt to do something, the barrel presses against her temple.
“Don’t try anything, kid. You’re not in the kitchen, and a knife won’t kill me faster than I can pull the trigger and put a bullet in her brain. Then yours.”
“Don’t, Lucas,” Lex says, her voice far too calm for his liking considering the situation.
How many of these situations has she been in to stay this calm? I’m about to piss my pants. Focus, Lucas!
“Backup’s coming, huh? Who? Because I thought Lex was never supposed to be alone. And as tough as you were that first day, you aren’t enough protection for her.”
The menacing tone of his voice laced with what can only be described as joy paralyzes Lucas. It doesn’t help that all he sees when he looks at Phillip are Zane and VP. The two men who not only treat Lex terribly but have also hurt her.
No matter what VP says, Lucas knows without a doubt that Zane was going to kill Lex if Colt hadn’t shown up. VP’s defense of his son pisses Lucas off, and he just now puts together that both of VP’s sons want to kill Lex.
“I can only imagine how much another brother would want me dead.”
That’s what Lex said when she told Lucas about the original Noah. She’d accurately predicted this before she even knew Phillip existed.
“Let her go,” Lucas says.
“Oh, we’re going to go. But you do anything before we leave, and you’ll never see her again. Do as I say, and I might leave her somewhere to be found like the others. A small piece to put in the grave you’ll visit.”
His eyes widen, but Lex swallows and locks her gaze on Lucas. “Do as he says, baby. I don’t want him to hurt you.”
“But hurting him would hurt you. Maybe I should start with him,” Phillip says and moves the gun to point at Lucas.
“If you do, killing me won’t be the fun you want it to be. You’ll have to kill me here with that gun because I will claw your fucking eyes out if you touch a hair on his head.”
The gun moves back to Lex’s temple, and she actually sighs in relief. No matter what she says, Lucas doesn’t want to do what Phillip says. He wants to find a way to save his mom. Even if his crazy uncle kills him, he’d be happy to sacrifice himself to save the woman who saved him.
She’s the only one who made him feel like he had a real shot in this life. He can’t do this without her. This family doesn’t work if Lex is gone.
“I guess she’s right. My plan is to play with her for as long as possible, no matter how much she begs me to end the suffering, and if I can’t do that, the past few years have been wasted,” Phillip says and nuzzles his nose in her hair.
“I’ll be okay,” she says even as the tears fill her eyes. “I love you, Lucas.”
No! Don’t you dare say goodbye. I know what this is, and I can’t lose you!
“I love you, too, Mom,” he says and fights back his own tears. If she can be brave, so can he.
Phillip yanks her hair, and she yelps. “How sweet. It makes me just want to puke.”
Pulling her back towards the door, he shuts it as best he can with the broken frame, and Lucas panics as he tries to determine what to do. He doesn’t know where the guns are, and Colt hasn’t taught him how to shoot yet.
