Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 107118 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107118 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
I laughed, although there was fuck-all humor in it. “She’s Ky’s sister.”
Crow’s eyes widened in surprise and then fell to Sia, who was watching closely. I knew she could hear every word. “Ky has a sister? Since when?”
“Long story.”
“He know you’ve taken his sister as your bitch?”
“Yeah, he knows,” Sia spoke up. “And this bitch couldn’t give two shits about what her brother thinks about us.”
Crow smiled. A fucking rarity for the sadistic brother. “Now I see the family resemblance.” Crow put his hand on my shoulder. “I’m gonna do some scouting around. There’re a few pricks in this town that have grabbed my attention.” His hand went into his pocket. I knew he was playing with his dice. “Get to the motel. Get him cleaned up. I got some jeans and shit in the truck you can have. I’ll come by later.”
As he got back on his bike, I said, “Why you helping us? If Titus finds out, he’ll kill you.”
“I’ll let your brother fill you in.” Crow drove away. I went to Hush. I pulled him off the ground and slung his arm around my neck. Sia went to his other side, mirroring my action. I knew he didn’t wanna go, but it was tough shit. He did have a family. He had people who fucking loved him.
And it was about time he let that sink in. Because we weren’t going anywhere.
At least, not anywhere he wasn’t coming too.
*****
I held Hush up in the shower as Sia went in with him, cleaning the blood and mud and ash from his body. He was shaking, his legs struggling to keep him upright. I’d made him take his meds the minute we got into the motel room. Hush sagged in my arms as Sia cleaned him, following each stroke of the soapy washcloth with a kiss on the skin of wherever she’d just washed. It took longer than a normal shower would, but eventually he was clean enough to take out. His skin was cut and bruised, especially his ribs. I’d grabbed Crow’s spare clothes from the truck, and I put them on Hush; he and Crow were a similar size. I laid him on the bed and Sia lay next to him. Hush’s eyes were shut in an instant. The brother reeked of whiskey. He needed to sleep.
“I’m gonna get us food,” I announced as Sia cuddled up beside him. The brother might have been fighting this—being with us, with Sia—with everything he had, but his body knew better. As Sia pressed into his side, his arm came around her and pulled her closer. His lips were on her forehead, and I watched as the bitch smiled, shutting her eyes and going to sleep too.
I stared at them for a while. Two people who’d had nothing but shit in their lives. Sia, who longed for someone—or some people—to love her. And Hush, who chased everyone away because all he’d ever seen was two people in love get destroyed because folks thought they’d chosen wrong.
I saw the parallels. Three of us. A mix of white and black. Two men and one woman. Plenty of folk would have an issue with us, for more than just the color of our skin. I couldn’t bring myself to care. But I knew he would. The brother had earned the right to just be fucking happy. Not to battle with dickheads who felt it was their God-given right to judge people for who they loved.
Sighing, I slipped through the door, locking it behind me. I blinked to see my Chopper sitting out front. I knew that somehow Crow had done it. Needing to feel the wind against my face, I chose my bike over the truck and just fucking rode. I rode for a fucking age before I dropped in at a burger bar. I took the food back to the motel.
As I walked through the door, I froze. Hush was awake, staring at Sia as he stroked her long blond hair. He turned to look at me, and I met his eyes. Last time they were blank and vacant. Now they were filled with so much fucking pain and anger and sadness, all rolled into one, that I wondered how he hadn’t broken apart before now.
“In the truck.” He pointed outside. I didn’t know what he meant, but I put down the food and went out to the truck anyhow. I searched the cabin until I found the folder stuffed into the glove compartment. I took it back inside. Hush hadn’t moved.
I sat down at the desk and started pawing through it. I never knew a person could feel so much rage and hatred as I turned over and read every page . . . studied every picture. By the time I read the section about my parents, I wanted to fucking rip something—or someone—the fuck apart. They were told by Moreau to get me away from Hush that night. Didn’t fucking question it. Just followed like the fucking devout fuckers they were.