Once he was on board with my plan, we quickly retrieved the necessary items, and then I walked up the stairs to the attic. We'd almost reached the upper level when Alex tugged on my sleeve and gave me a sheepish look.
"Asher?" he said softly, and I gave him a tired look. "I...I hope we can get past our issues one day. Maybe we could be friends. We’re half-brothers, after all."
"Maybe," I cut him off. "Not the time and the place."
His puppy-dog eyes would have made me regret my harsh words were it not for a cry that could only belong to my girlfriend.
I ran up the stairs like my fucking feet were on fire.
Alex crept behind me, making sure to stay unseen and unheard.
I could hear them the moment I stepped up into the attic. Mercedes' laughter and Chloe's soft questions, trying to calm her best friend down. But I knew there was no fucking calming her down. She might've been my half-sister, but she was insane, and she was out to get both Chloe and me. Probably Alex too, if she knew he was involved.
But she had to know this was the end of the line. Too much had happened, and she was going to get busted. I could only hope we'd all get out of the fucking mess alive as I rounded the corner into the dirty smaller room of the attic, where my mother had started giving birth all those years ago.
"Mercedes," I called out. My voice sounded weaker than I wanted, but it was filled with anger. Absolute rage that I was about to unleash on this bitch for hurting Chloe.
"Big brother!" Mercedes giggled.
I grimaced at the name and looked over my shoulder at Alex, motioning for him to stay hidden.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are," Mercedes said.
I stepped into their line of view and my face paled when I saw what she'd done to Chloe. My girl was tied to the chair, ropes binding her wrists and ankles, her face pinched with terror and streaked with tears. Mercedes stood behind her, a syringe in her hand which was poised an inch away from Chloe's throat.
On instinct, I raised my hands to explain I didn't want to hurt anyone.
"It's okay, Mercedes," I said softly. "I'm alone. I'll do whatever you fucking want, I just want to get Chloe out of here okay."
"Okay?" She laughed, a bittersweet little sound I'd remember forever. "Don't you get it, Asher?" she said maniacally. "None of us are going to be okay. This is where it ends, this is the end of the line for the three of us."
"Mercedes," I begged, my eyes darting to Chloe's. She mouthed the word 'help' to me and my heart lurched. I just needed to make sure she got out of this hellhole safely. "Just calm down. We can talk this through."
"Oh yeah?" she spat out. "Like you and Little Miss Innocent over here talked about me? You fucking made me have to kill you both. And now we all have to die together. Don't you think our mother would find that ironic?"
She laughed again as I looked around the room, trying to find a way to save Chloe. There was nothing I could use there—a mattress caked with dried old blood, another chair in the back and the chair with my tied-up girl. Fucking nothing.
"My only regret," she said softly. "Is that I don't get to meet my twin brother. You see, Asher, I just found out I had one. Fucking Chloe told you I was a twin before she told me. So much for sisters before misters."
She took Chloe's hair in her hand and tugged on it hard, making Chloe yelp and her head fly back.
"Let the fuck go of her!" I roared, jumping toward her, but Mercedes dangled the syringe in front of my face.
"Not so fast, lover boy," she said with a grin. "You're out of fucking line. Now are you gonna be a good boy and let me tie you up?"
I stared at her numbly as she pulled the other chair up and motioned for me to sit down.
"Do it," she said, and before I could do a fucking thing, she plunged the syringe into Chloe's neck. Chloe screamed and I stood there feeling helpless as hell while Mercedes grinned at me. “You might be big and fast and strong, but you’re still no match for this. See, this is my favorite thing about perfumes, and Chloe's least favorite," she continued with a giggle. "Hexyl cinnamaldehyde. Such a fun ingredient. I brought a whole vial."
She tapped the syringe once she pulled it out. "This isn't enough to kill her," she said breezily. "But if you don't comply with the rules, it will be. And if you don't follow my fucking orders, bro, it's gonna be too late for help."
I walked up to her, my hands twisted at my sides. I needed to play this game for a second longer.
"Okay, tie me up," I told her, my voice rough and filled with so much rage I could feel it in every vein in my body. "But you're letting Chloe go."
"Of course." Mercedes fluttered her lashes. "What do you take me for, a coldblooded killer?"
Her laugh sent a chill through my bones.
I sat down on the chair as Mercedes busied herself with the rope. The bitch stuck the syringe back in Chloe's neck, and Chloe whimpered softly as it stuck out of her body. One more pump could mean death.
I kept my eyes trained on Alex in the shadows, and when he nodded, I went into action.
"Mercedes," I said, and she looked up at me, my feet already tied down. "I bet you want to meet your other brother."
"What?" she barked, just as Alex rounded the corner and pointed my father's gun at her.
She got to her feet, glancing between us. My heart was pounding and Chloe's quiet sobs filled the room as Alex pointed the gun at Mercedes.
"Like you're gonna shoot," she spat out, but I noticed her hands were shaking.
We all stood there frozen for a moment, and then I dived into action. I kicked my legs free and pushed Mercedes to the floor. Chloe screamed and a gunshot rang through the air. Alex had shot into the ceiling.
And then they were both running. Mercedes for her life, and Alex to help us catch her—I hoped.
I darted for Chloe, pulling the syringe out of her neck and untying the ropes Mercedes had her bound with. She was sobbing, saying my name over and over again as I took her in my arms and held her.
"You're going to be okay," I promised her. I dialed 911 on my phone and held her close. She wasn't having an allergic reaction as far as I could see, and she only had a couple of scratches on her, but with her severe reaction to hexyl cinnamaldehyde, it could mean a reaction could happen anytime.
"Thank you, Asher," she said, breathing heavily. "Thank you for saving me."
"It'll be okay," I kept muttering over and over again. Chloe's body went limp in my hands as I heard the wail of the sirens in the distance. She passed out and I felt my own hot tears running down my cheeks and onto her beautiful face as I held her close.
And then, another gunshot rang out through the house, deafening in the silence.
"You're going to be okay," I promised Chloe. "We're going to make this right."
She didn’t move as screams pierced the air.
Twenty-Nine
Killer
I needed to get away.
The first gunshot scared the hell out of me. I bolted, forgetting about anything and everything except for my safety. That's when the primal instincts kicked in, and I didn't even think about Chloe or Asher.
I only saw the guy for a split second before I ran down the attic stairs. I'd seen him before, of course, but it was only now that I realized just how alike we looked.
The blonde hair, the blue eyes, the height...I should've known all along.
But I was stupid, so damn stupid. This whole time I'd been acting like a child. It was something I'd have to work on for when I did this again.
"Mercedes!"
He was shouting my name with such venom and anger that it sent a surge of adrenaline through my veins, and I rushed down the flight of stairs, nearly tumbling down them. How ironic that would be, to end up like my fucked up, selfish whore of a mother.
I ran across the lower floor, trying desperately to get away from my pursuer. I really thought my legs had saved me from another mess when he caught me, his skinny fingers wrapping in my long mane of hair and making me shriek o
ut loud.
"Let go of me, you stupid fuck!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, but he only pulled harder. "Let go of me!"
"No way," he replied, sounding out of breath.
He turned me until I faced him, and I finally risked a hateful look into his eyes, mirroring my own. He looked so much like me up close. He even had the same smattering of freckles along his left cheekbone that I did.
"What did you do?" he asked me, shaking my head by the hair. "What have you fucking done, Mercedes?"
"Fuck you." I spat at him, like a feral animal struggling to get free, but it didn't look like Alex cared. He was holding me down like a beast, and as much as I fucking struggled, I couldn't get the hell away.
"You had it all," he said, sounding almost sad. "You had everything, Mercedes. We both did."
That was when I noticed the gun in his hand was pointed toward me.
"Don't kill me," I sobbed, switching into the role of a victim seamlessly. Oh, all the favors drama club had done me. "Please, Alex, don't hurt me. I'm your sister."
"I know," he said. "And I've never been more fucking ashamed."
That sent me into a rage. I lunged at him with a snarl, somehow managing to overpower him. We struggled on the floor, like a real sibling wrestling match, and somehow, I managed to scramble for the gun which he'd dropped on the floor.
I held it in my hand with a big smile.
"Who's the boss now?" I asked him sweetly.
Alex raised his arms slowly, giving me a steady look.
"Easy, now," he said, but I merely smirked.
"Shut the fuck up," I said.
"You're my sister," he reminded me, just like I'd done before.
"That's why I'm doing this," I said calmly, and with perfect precision, I shot him in the shoulder.
He screamed and I ran for it, dropping the gun on the floor. I thought he would be out like a fucking light, dropping to the floor and sobbing for help like the helpless little boy he was. But he threw himself after me heroically, and a moment later, I heard footsteps running down the stairs. Asher joined us and together, they restrained me against the floorboards.
"Hold her the hell down," Asher grunted, and Alex groaned, clutching his bleeding shoulder with one hand and me with the other. I just started laughing, laughing like crazy, because they thought they were getting rid of me. They thought they were done with me just because they'd caught me once.
Everyone who's seen a good horror movie knows the villain comes back for a final scare.
"Please, Alex, you're hurting me," I begged, tears brimming in my eyes a second later.
I'd already identified him as the weaker of my two brothers, probably because he was younger. He fidgeted, obviously unnerved by my girlish begging. I could play the role perfectly. I saw Alex giving Asher doubtful glances and I really, really thought I had another chance until I heard the sirens outside.
Then, I switched back to banshee Mercedes and attacked both Asher and Alex like I was fighting for my life. Because at that point, I was.
I didn't stop fighting. I didn't stop screaming. I tossed the word 'brother' into their faces so many times they couldn't even look me squarely in the face when the policemen took me away.
I made sure to spit at Alex again as he was getting wheeled into an ambulance. He'd disappointed me the most, because he was my twin, and I'd hoped to see at least a little bit of myself in him. But he was just a spineless bastard like the rest of them. Like Chloe's fucking father.
I would never regret that I put James Carlyle in jail. He was a pussy, a piece of shit who deserved to be behind bars for what he did to his family. Truth be told, I was totally helping Chloe get better by putting him in the slammer. She would've been so much better off...if only she hadn't started digging. That's what started this whole fucking mess.
I didn't see Chloe again, but I blew a kiss to Asher before I got stashed into the police car, giving him my final goodbye.
Then the car door slammed in my face, and it was over.
Thirty
Asher
It was the day James Carlyle was to be released from jail, and I felt honored when Chloe asked me to take her there to meet her father. It meant she finally trusted me enough to have her around her dad, and I didn't have to blackmail her in order to go along like I did last time.
I knew she was nervous. She was wearing a sweet pink A-line dress, and looked perfect for her role. A victim. Because that's really what we all were in this scenario, especially James. I was finally coming to terms with that.
"Are you nervous?" I asked Chloe, and she gave me a hesitant smile. "You know it's all over now, right? This is the last thing before we can finally put this all to rest."
"I know," she replied in a small voice. "I just wish..."
She let the sentence hang in the air as the steel doors of the penitentiary opened. I would never find out what she'd meant, but it wasn't important now. When Chloe saw her father, her eyes widened and she smiled wide, slipping into the role of his little girl like she must've done when her parents were still together.
"Dad!" She rushed toward him.
James stood there looking a little disoriented, clutching his possessions in his hands and giving me a blank stare. Finally, he focused on Chloe and embraced her tightly, holding her close and kissing the top of her head when she squeezed him.
She started chattering about this and that, making sure he was all right while I approached. I took James' things from him and he gave me an odd look which I chose to ignore for the time being. Instead, I put his things in a bag I'd brought with us, and we walked toward my car. I had no idea what was coming next, but it was official now—James was a free man.
A gaggle of reporters had been waiting outside the penitentiary when we first arrived, so the guards let us use the back exit to get away safely. I busied myself by putting James' stuff in the trunk of my car while Chloe fussed around her father.
"I know you," James said when I came around the car to meet them.
"Yes," I said, feeling embarrassed. "I was here with Chloe last time, when she came to visit you."
“Yes, I believe your name was Aaron?” he said.
“It’s Asher,” I replied. “Asher St Clair.”
He merely stared at me, looking all kinds of suspicious, and then he sighed. “Of course you are,” he said, shaking his head. “Of course.”
I didn’t quite know what to say, so I just ushered them into the car.
Chloe chose to sit in the back with her father, and I turned the ignition on.
"Where to?" I asked them, and Chloe laughed.
"Dad, do you remember that ice cream shop we used to go to when I was younger?" she asked him.
"Tony's Gelateria," he responded with a fond smile, and Chloe giggled.
"That one. Maybe we could stop by for some ice cream before we take you home."
"That would be nice," James replied.
We drove with only Chloe's happy chattering to break up the silence. James piped up here and there to give me the instructions to get to the café, and I managed to find it in only fifteen minutes. I pulled up in the parking lot and we left the car, James looking pale and a little shaky.
I saw he wasn't feeling well and approached him, supporting him in a non-obtrusive way that felt like we were closer than we actually were. He accepted my help with a surprised look, but didn't say a word. Chloe was oblivious, finding us a booth in the café and making a big fuss out of her order.
We got her favorite flavors of gelato and sat in the booth uncomfortably. James still looked pale, but I didn't want to bring it up and emasculate him in front of his daughter.
"I'm sorry." He finally cleared his throat after an uncomfortable silence. "I guess I'm just not feeling very well. I've been cooped up in that hell-hole for so long..."
"I know, Dad," Chloe said softly, reaching for his hand. "It'll be okay. Whatever you need, we're here to help you. And I had an idea for something that might make you feel eve
n better."
We exchanged glances. I knew what she was talking about as we'd discussed this a few days prior. Chloe wanted to throw a charity gala for her father, to celebrate his release from prison. Usually I’d find such an idea to be tacky, but all the profits were going to go to a criminal conviction integrity unit, which basically made sure people didn't wind up behind bars wrongfully like James had.
I listened to her explain the plan, and to my surprise, James seemed interested and even enthusiastic about her idea. "Would Victoria be there as well?" he asked.
"Dad..." Chloe shifted in her seat uncomfortably, and he raised his hands in front of his body as if to signal defeat.
"Look, Chloe, I know I messed up," he said. "I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable, that’s all. And I'm truly very sorry about the way I behaved when you came to visit me. I was so...out of it, honey. I was stressed and scared as hell. After all that had happened...I needed some support, and I felt like I had none. I'm sorry. I know you always supported me.”
Chloe looked at her hands in her lap, biting back tears. I reached for her hand under the table and gave it a reassuring squeeze, hoping to make her feel a little bit better.
"Chloe," James went on. "I completely understand that I deserve everything that happened with our family breaking up. I cheated on your mother and she had every right to divorce me. Okay?"
"Okay," she said in a small voice.
"I won't hurt you again," James promised her. "I swear, Chloe. Can you look at me?"
She raised her head toward him and smiled weakly. James offered her a pinky finger and she giggled, hooking her own around his. I looked away, feeling slightly like an interloper in their private moment.
"So," James continued a moment later when our server left, leaving our ice cream on the table. "How long have you two been an item?"
I nearly choked on my sprinkles.
"Dad!" Chloe hissed, giving me a panicked look. "We're not..."
"Oh, honey." He laughed, shaking his head. "Don't feed me any lies, darling. I know you're dating. The chemistry between you two is obvious. He treating you all right?"
Scandal (A Dirty Money Novel) Page 23
