Something was in the air, and my heart skipped the beat. “Is there something wrong?”
He just switched his gaze toward the TV.
I dragged my feet upstairs, with every step, the sense of impending doom intensifying. Did Laius know what had Rex been doing? Was my marriage fucking over before it started? That had to be it. Furore told me to come back here because a dirty wife like me didn’t deserve a new house. She deserved to be thrown out of it.
In our room, Laius stood still, his back to me, a trail of smoke dancing next to him. He never smoked in the room. “Close the door and sit.”
I did as he asked in defeat, ready for punishment. He could throw me in the Boiler naked for days or leave me outside where he threw rocks at me or even kill me. I wouldn’t object. I wouldn’t utter a single word in defense or beg.
He spun and sat across from me, the ash from the cigarette between his fingers a knuckle long. “I have bad news.”
In surrender, I nodded once, knowing what it was beforehand.
His eyes narrowed at me. “Did Molar tell you?”
I shook my head. “He was too kind not to. He just said you were waiting for me here.”
“Jo, you have to understand—”
“It’s okay. Whatever you decide, I’ll accept.”
“I’ll protect you till my last breath. I don’t care what I fucking lose. I’ll kill them all for you, baby. I promise.”
Frowning in confusion, I shook my head again. “I don’t understand.”
“It’s the fucking Larvins, Jo. Declan Larvin and his wife.” He drew in on the cigarette. “They’re here in Houston. It means the Lanzas are done talking. They don’t care if you were Jocasta Larvin or not. They don’t care if you’re my wife or not. War is coming.”
My body quaked with tremors as my heart thrashed. He stomped on the cigarette and squatted in front of me. Rubbing my ice cold hands, he kept saying my name. I could hear him but as if coming from under water. I tried to speak. Nothing came out but shallow breaths.
“Hey, take this.” He was prying open my mouth, trying to slip something inside. “Doc said it’d help if you had another attack.”
He hurried to bring some water. He forced the glass rim on my lips and wet coldness covered me. It nudged me back to awareness just enough to swallow the pill. “They came to finish the job.” I shook.
“I won’t let them anywhere near you. They will never touch you.”
Memories flooded my brain. “They put a gun in my hand and another in Mom’s. They told us they’d let one of us live if she killed the other.”
“It’ll never happen again. I’ll kill them all before they even think about hurting you.”
My body shuddered. “Blood. There was a lot of blood. On my hands, on my clothes, on my face. I could still taste it in my mouth.”
“Take it easy, Jo, please. Doc said you have PTSD, and it’s giving you anxiety attacks.”
“She told me to run, but I didn’t listen. I was stupid. I thought I was going to…save…her.” I hiccupped the last words, blubbering.
“Baby, listen to me. Whatever happened that night, it’s not your fault. It’s the Larvins’, and they’ll pay for it.”
“But I made them kill her. I thought I was protecting her. I thought I could kill them, and then Mom and I could run together.”
“What?”
I stared at his face with wide eyes, but all I could see was the blood in my mom’s skull. “That’s why she died. I shot them. I shot some of the men with the gun they put in my hand. I didn’t listen, and she died. I shouldn’t have pulled the trigger. I should have known they were too many and much faster. But I thought they’d have shot me instead. It didn’t happen. They shotherto stop me from shooting at the rest of them. I didn’t know. They should have shotme. They should have killedme, nother. I killed my mom. I killed my own mother.”
He shook me. “No, Jo! It’s not your fault. You were trying to save her. You’re the bravest person I’ve ever met.”
“No, no. I should have waited. If I hadn’t pulled that trigger, she’d have lived.”
“Listen to me, baby. They were sent to kill both of you. Both of you would have been dead that night, if it hadn’t been for what you did. What you did saved you, and it could have saved her, too.”