Libby's sweet face looking down at little Rose rises in my mind. Sean's scarred face, always smiling, flashes through it next. The twins, one brusque and rude, and the other helpful and grateful remind me that people are complicated, but we’re still people. All of us have value.
The Marked aren't all like Rafe and I can't blame them for his actions. Even so, anger fills nearly every inch of my body to bursting and despair fills in the cracks, all directed at Rafe. How could he kill Rhonda? I think about her beautiful face telling me my Path doesn't make me who I am. I think about her brushing my hair and braiding it for me. I remember when she taught me to set snares, and in the same moment I recall when she sacrificed herself for me, being Marked in my place. I think about how she liked Sam, but she didn't begrudge me my good luck when he liked me instead. How she comforted me when I thought he died, and how she supported me when I left to save him.
The more I think about Rhonda, the greater my hatred for Rafe grows. He needs to pay, and I'm the only person here they can't shoot. I'm safe while others pay for my decisions, because of my stupid blood. I leap at Rafe, hands clenched in painfully tight fists. When my right fist connects with Rafe's nose, I hear a crunch and my heart accelerates. For the first time, I understand this side of Sam, the desire to control someone around me, to defeat them. Rafe deserves to pay, and I'll make him do it.
Blood pours down Rafe's face, his nose bent at an angle. My right hand screams at me, so I swing with my left hand next, arcing toward his jaw this time. Rafe's right hand catches my left fist before it can connect and he twists. My entire arm screams from my wrist to my shoulder, and he presses harder until I sink to my knees in front of him. “Your anger with me is a defense mechanism, you know.”
“What?” I ask.
“You're angry to keep from feeling guilty. Rhonda's death is your fault. You could have prevented it, if you weren't such a power hungry little—”
Sam's fist slams into Rafe's jaw in a way mine never could have, and Rafe flies across the room like a rag doll. I scramble away to avoid being kicked in the head.
Todd and Rafe's three men stood still when I attacked him, but they move now. Suddenly Sam's fighting five people, not just his little brother.
I've never stood idly and watched Sam fight and I find that I'm transfixed. Todd's the biggest man here, excluding my uncle and Sam. He trained with WPN before being Marked, so when he rushes Sam from the front, I actually worry. The three other Marked guards who followed Todd inside try to sneak around behind Sam while he's focused on Todd. Rafe's on the floor with Sam's boot on his chest. Todd tries to put Sam in a headlock, but Sam ducks and slams his elbow into Todd's chest. When Todd stumbles back, Sam steps closer to Todd and snags two guns from his holsters. He slams Todd in the face with the butt of one of them.
Two of the Marked guys have guns aimed at Sam from several feet away, their backs to the wall. Sam fires from each gun, his shots hitting both of them in their gun holding hands. They each drop their firearm and clutch their hands. One of the dropped weapons fires when it hits the ground, and the bullet flies past Wesley to hit the wall behind him. I sneak around the back of the room toward the discarded guns. I'd like to remove them from play before someone gets injured or one of Rafe's men picks one of them up.
A banging comes from the front door. Apparently someone locked it.
Sam swears. He tucks one of his guns into the back of his pants, leaps across the room, and kicks the third guy's gun away. It flies across the room and into the cart for the aphoresis machine with a clang. Sam punches the third guy rapid fire. The man drops into a heap when Sam stops.
Rafe climbs back to his feet. He wheezes when he calls for reinforcements. “Doug, call for Marco. We need support in here. Now.”
Sam shakes his head. “You're done issuing orders, Raphael. You suck at it.” Sam grabs Rafe by one shoulder and shakes him like a dog with a rat. “We're all leaving. Ruby, me, Dan, Job, and Wesley. We're going to Port Gibson and you'll wait to hear from us. If Ruby decides to return, which she probably will because she is the saint you think she isn't, we'll return. If not, I won't force her to take one step this direction. Is that clear?”
Rafe's eyes flash. “You aren't in charge here Sam. You're nobody. Even you can't defeat thousands of us.”
Sam snorts. “I've got their leader right here. That'll be enough.”
“You won't hurt me. You can't. You've never been able to harm anyone you love. Even if you think I'm evil, even if you're angry, you still care about me so you won't do a thing.” Rafe pulls a gun from his holster and places it against his own temple. He stares at Sam. “Do it. Take this from my hand and pull the trigger. If you do that, my men will let you all walk away, including Ruby.” Rafe glances at Todd and Todd nods.
“Do it.” Rafe stares at Sam. “Or stop acting tough and defending your girl and join me instead.”
Sam takes the gun and shoves it against his brother's head. The veins in his arm pop out and his arm shakes.
“He deserves it,” I say. “He shot Rhonda.”
If I had that gun, I'd pull the trigger. I wouldn't even feel guilty, but it is his brother. I can't ask him to do that. I know Sam well enough to know he'd never forgive himself. “But I don't expect you to,” I say. “It's okay, Sam. I love you no matter what.”
Sam holds steady, his arms taut, his jaw working, his hand on a gun pressed against his little brother's temple. After a full ten seconds he drops his hand and his brother.
Rafe smiles. “I knew you couldn't do it. We're family, you and me. That's stronger than any feelings you might have for some girl.”
Sam shakes his head. “Don't mistake my inability to shoot my mother's son in the head for something it isn't. You shot Rhonda who I consider to be like a sister. I sincerely hope that's the girl you mean. If I had to choose between the two of you, if shooting you would save her, we wouldn't be having this discussion. But you didn't give me that chance and I don't think two wrongs make things right. They only make bad into worse. But if you meant Ruby when you said our connection is stronger than me and some girl? I'll choose Ruby over you a million times and not regret it.”
Rafe flinches.
Sam shakes his head. “I'm sorry you've been alone all these years, more sorry than you can possibly know. I'd go back and change that if I could, but I love Ruby and I'll always love her.”
Boots pound on the pavement outside the building. A lot of boots. I hear yelling. Frank and my other unarmed guards are shouting outside. I want to tell them not to risk themselves. I want to make sure they're safe but I can't, not right now because I see something in Rafe's face that holds all my attention. He wants to hurt Sam, but more than that, he wants to hurt me, and I realize he has the means to do it.
Rafe scowls at his brother. “Why would you pick her over me? She was kissing another guy a few days after she thought you died. She doesn't deserve your protection or your devotion. If her insane dad hadn't injected her with some kind of supercharged antibodies, I'd shoot her right now and not regret it.”
Sam rolls his eyes. “You're trying to drive a wedge between us, but it won't work. She told me already. She kissed Wesley to keep from being discovered when she was trying to escape your camp. She did it because she wanted to try and save me.”
Wesley's eyes meet mine until I close my eyes. Why didn't I tell Sam then? I should have come clean that first night.
Rafe barks a laugh. “Is that what she told you? I didn't even know she kissed Wesley that day. She's even worse than I thought. But brother, I assure you there was no thought of you running through her head when I caught her and Wesley kissing alone, leaning against a big tree at night, right by the bridge over to Galveston. I have no idea what happened inside the tent they shared that night, but she didn't kiss him to save you, that’s for sure.”
Sam's eyes widen and cut to mine.
More than a dozen men pour through the doors a second later, and I'm almost relieved to put my han
ds up in the air and surrender.
9
“I'm glad to hear the twins have things well in hand here,” Rafe says. “That way I don't feel bad about securing the rest of you.”
Rafe tells his men to take us to a holding facility a few blocks away. He points out the machines they'll need to transport in order to draw plasma from me regularly. Rafe may be evil, but his people don't seem to mind and they jump when he gives orders. Sean, a Marked kid I first met on the way to Galveston, enters on Rafe's command. His hair falls in his face when he reaches my side, and he swipes it back with one hand, a gesture that reminds me of Wesley.
“I'm sorry to do this.” When Sean frowns, the scar crossing his face from temple to chin pulls tight. I wonder whether it still hurts. “Orders, though.” I don't struggle when he zip ties my hands.
More notably, my uncle, Wesley and Sam don't struggle either.
Thunder booms outside. A rainstorm complicates any travel we might try to make. Five days. “What about Aunt Anne? Are you still going to release my uncle and either Sam or Wesley at least? You said you would.”
Rafe smiles. “I imagine Sam will be happy to leave.”
Sam shakes his head, lips pursed, eyes downcast. “I'm staying with Ruby.”
Rafe snorts. “You're like a dog whose owner died, but he just keeps waiting. Stupidly loyal. She's not worth it.”
“You know nothing about me and even less about her,” Sam says. “So shut your mouth.”
Rafe walks to the door. “Fine. Release Wesley Fairchild and Daniel Orien. Provide them with transportation and supplies to reach Port Gibson. They have business there, and they'd like to get out ahead of the storm.”
Sean cuts the zip ties from Wesley's hands, and Wesley knocks his hands away. “I can’t believe you’re here Sean, taking orders like a soldier.” Wesley crosses the room to stand near my side. “I don't want to leave either. Not now, not with all this up in the air. I'm not even sure what I could do to help. It's in Roth's hands at this point. I feel bad about my dad's role in it, but you still need me.” He whispers. “Maybe more than ever.”
I feel Sam's eyes on me, and I know he can hear every word.
“Go,” I whisper. “Just go, okay? Save her for me if you can. She needs you much more than I do.”
“You're my top priority, always,” Wesley says. “And that was messed up, how that went down back there. Rafe had no context, and he sat on that like it was a bomb or something, using it to hurt you when it would do the most damage.”
I close my eyes. It's my fault it even could go down the way it did. I lied when I didn't tell Sam the whole truth and I deserve his anger now. “I caused this Wes, and I'll get myself out of it.”
“I was there too, you know. It wasn't all your fault.” Wesley touches my arm.
I shake his fingers off like they burn me, but I'm not prepared for the hurt in his eyes. I want to reach up and brush his hair back. I want to keep him with me, but I can't. Not if I want to fix this, and I do. Every part of me wants to fix things with Sam.
“It's okay Wes. Please go help Uncle Dan save my aunt. No matter what it takes.” My voice drops so low I can barely hear it myself. “I can't lose anyone else. I can't.”
Wesley closes his eyes and nods slightly. “Fine. But if you get hurt—” He glances at Sam.
Sam growls. “Whatever happens, I'll always keep her safe better than you ever could.”
“Rude.” Wesley shakes his head. “And moody. There’s more than physical safety, you know?” He keeps shaking his head, but he walks toward the door and waits there quietly. Uncle Dan says something softly into Job's ear that I can't hear, and then he stands up and crosses the room to where I’m standing.
I'm afraid to look into his face, worried that anger lurks there, or reprimand. Or worst of all, blame. I deserve all that and more.
“Before you leave, please let me give you some blood. A few drops, even.” I turn to Rafe. “If you have any regret over what you've done, let me set this right. Uncle Dan's been exposed today. If he winds up Marked, they won't let him inside and my aunt's dead for sure. If you're going to let him head back, let me do this.”
Rafe frowns at me, but he nods.
After the blood draw, I breathe a huge sigh of relief. At least I've made Uncle Dan as safe as I can. He leans toward me and presses a kiss to my forehead. “It wasn't your fault. You need to listen to me about that and be safe, as safe as you can anyway.” He glances at Rafe. “I know we never talk about God and we don't really believe in all that, but if you don't think it sounds too stupid, maybe say a prayer for me and Wesley. It can't hurt, right?”
I don't tell him that I'm not sure I believe in prayer, and I have no idea how to pray. Instead, I nod and choke back tears when Uncle Dan and Wesley walk out the door.
Flashes of lightning, followed by crashes of thunder, punctuate the sky when Job, Sam and I leave the plasma center bound for our new holding cell. I'm getting sick of being locked in rooms. I'm tired of people being stupid. I'm sick and tired of death and viruses and all the rest. But mostly, I'm exhausted from dealing with the results of my own stupidity coming back to bite me.
Sean keeps one hand on my upper arm while I stumble along, tripping over rocks and rubble as we walk down a wide road. Signs say we're on the Acadian Thruway, not that I care where we're going. Thunder sounds all around me, but no rain falls yet. Every new flash draws my eye. The six men guarding Sam start and jump right along with me, which makes me nervous since they have their guns drawn. Job only has two guards assigned to him. I wonder where my WPN guards are. Maybe they'll go with Uncle Dan and Wesley.
Wesley.
Why did I kiss him that night? Only a few hours stood between me and my walk down the bridge to Galveston to save Sam. I'm such an idiot. I'm sure that Sam's angry, but worse, I bet he's hurt. I should've told him about this days ago when I had the chance. I should've talked it out with him, but instead he hears it from his brother in front of a crowd of people, including my family. Rafe used the knowledge like a weapon to attack Sam, to make him look stupid, and to undermine Sam's faith in us.
Sam's hurt and Rhonda's dead, and one is way worse than the other, but they both hurt and they're both my fault. Not a good week for Ruby.
I don't resist when Sean leads me through the front door of a small, rundown, flat-roofed building with peeling white siding. The glass in the front door frame is split by a long crack, the paint someone slapped on over the siding curls away along the sides of the panels, and the sign squatting above the front door reads “Cash America Pawn.”
“A pawn shop?” I ask. “Really?”
Sean shrugs. “It's got two secured sections, bars on the windows, and cages around each section. What can I say? I guess pawn shops had to protect their stuff, so it was an easy place to secure.”
The six men escorting Sam argue over how to enter, but eventually two of them duck inside first. Two of them shove through sideways, each with a hand on Sam's arm. The other two shoot through afterward. If Sam really wanted to leave, none of them would stop him. Job follows with his two guards right after.
“Two sections?” Sam asks Sean after we're inside.
“You can share with Job,” I say. “I get it.”
Sam shakes his head. “I'd rather be with you.”
My heart lifts until I try to look into his eyes. He won't meet my gaze.
“I told Wesley I'd keep you safe and I will.”
I want to curl into a ball but I don't, because that's not me anymore. You can't fix anything when you’re huddled and scared. You only fix things by forging ahead. Of course, it’s hard to forge in leg irons, literal or figurative.
Sean leads me past a fairly large front room filled with glass cases. Most of the displays have been smashed, jagged glass edges forming a macabre decoration around the frames. At least someone cleaned up all the glass shards. Clearly this place has been used before. Job walks in a trance, eyes straight ahead, each step small. He
doesn't even react to the thunder, which has me worried. Flinching at those loud crashes should be an automatic response.
I'm stepping through the doorway into the back of the building when a large whamming sound, followed by cursing comes from the doorway. My head pivots like an owl's to see what's going on.
A girl and two boys struggle with the aphoresis machine. I know two of them. Amir and Riyah, the twins who are helping run the experiments. I guess they'll be running them alone for a while, at least as long as Rafe keeps Job and me locked up in here.
“Hey Ruby,” Amir says. “I'm so sorry about Rhonda. I wish I could have done something.” He lifts the back end and pulls the cart fully inside.
Riyah doesn't meet my eyes, which is strange for her. Usually she'd be glaring and hissing at me.
Not ten seconds pass after they enter before another loud crash of thunder sounds, and the sky opens up and begins dumping buckets of water outside. Riyah hops over to the door and yanks it shut. “We made it just in time.”
“I wish we could have said that,” I mutter.
Amir's shoulders slump. At least someone here realizes how wrong Rafe was.
A moaning sound comes from Job and his two guards shove him through the doorway into the back room. When I walk through with Sean, they're already shoving Job into a five by five cubicle. Shelves line three sides and large iron bars close off the front. No bathroom, no bed, no chair. Filthy concrete floor. The two boys don't cut the ties on Job's hands, so he sinks to the floor, hands bound behind him, pulls his knees up against his chest and drops his face against his thighs. He looks like a broken puppet with its strings cut, discarded in the corner of the room.
Sean guides me into a cubby on the other side. It’s larger than Job's makeshift cell. Ten by five feet, give or take. Shelves line the walls on three sides with bars across the front, the same as the other side. Sam's guards zip tied his hands behind his back before we started out of the plasma center too, but I guess they decided that wasn't enough. Somewhere they found handcuffs. A particularly eager kid clips them around Sam's wrists over the zip ties.
Sins of Our Ancestors Boxed Set Page 59
