Page 37 of Painfully Merry

We make quick work of tying him up and shuffling him into the elevator. Once those doors slide open and Sabrina’s car comes into view, my eyelids slip closed, releasing a tight breath. Sabrina stumbles out of the car, staring at Kevin.

“You did it. You actually did it.”

“Yeah, Sugarplum. Let’s get home before shit hits the fan.”

I hope she knows what’s in store once we do get home. It’s one thing to plan a kidnapping. It’s another thing to execute the entire plan. I don’t know what she wants to do with Kevin once we return to the house. She never once told us all she says is revenge. Then again, I wanted revenge and didn’t know what that looked like, but what Kevin and Sabrina did was completely different.

He won’t be leaving that house alive, that’s for sure.

17

Sabrina

I can’t believe they kidnapped Kevin without anyone noticing. Then again, it shouldn’t surprise me, considering that Chaos is in charge. I don’t know what to expect once we get home. Do I want to ask questions or continue to be kept in the dark?

Should I find my uncle next? Or chalk it up to a loss. I have so many questions, and I’m pissed that the company that was supposed to be a family business is turning out to be a scam. Did Grandpa know any of this?

He had to have known something to place me in charge. Maybe that’s why he did. He didn’t want my uncle in control after all. He didn’t want anyone else in the family to have access to the accounts. Well, jokes on him, they did anyway. All it took was for Grandpa to pass away before Uncle found the one person in the company who knew how to transfer funds without anyone noticing.

Hell, even Parker didn’t catch onto it.

As for Kevin. I want answers, but I’m also scared of what I’ll discover. I don’t even think I can get Parker’s job back. What I need to do is fire all the board members and start from scratch—one giant overhaul of the company.

“Sabrina? Are you doing all right?”

I give Parker a small smile. “I’m fine.”

His hands ran through my hair, gently brushing away a strand from my face. “You know the definition of fine, Black?”

“Yeah, it means I’m avoiding telling you how I feel.”

He pulls me into his chest; his spice cologne calms me a smidge, but not enough for what I’m about to do. Why did they have to put Kevin in the basement? Why not the garage?

“Sugarplum, you don’t have to go down there. We can do it.”

I stare at the basement door. Terror squeezes my throat until I can’t swallow; chills reach every inch of my spine the more I think about what happened down there when I was a kid.

Chaos bends down, picking up Honey burying his face into her little neck. He kisses her on the face before turning to me. For someone that I panned out to be a psycho, I didn’t expect him to care so much about me.

“It’s easier if you talk about it. Keeping things bottled up isn’t good for the soul.”

“Did you read that from Chicken Soup for the Soul?”

“Life, Sabbins. I learnt it from life. Talk.”

Parker wraps his fingers with mine, squeezing them tight.

“Don’t be afraid. We’re both here for you.”

I let my mind wander back to that night in the basement. My older cousins and I visited when my uncle needed to talk business with Grandpa. I never did like the basement, even then. Something about them scared me, and it didn’t help that I watched a scary movie the night before. My cousins wanted to play hide n seek, and since I was the youngest, I had to count. I knew they would try to hide in the basement, so I saved it for last. The chills of that night crept up my spine as I remember opening the basement door and stepping into darkness. My heart raced, trying to escape my chest.

I honestly don’t think they thought I would come down because of what I walked in on. I wish I didn’t.

I tried to run away, but they caught me. My oldest cousin pinned me to the floor while my other cousin stood above my head with his pants still undone.

I tried to scream for help, but my cousin slammed her hand over my mouth, pushing my head into the cement floor.

“You mention any of this to our dad, and you’ll regret it. Do you understand Brina?”

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