Cut Too Deep(72)

“You’re a hero, Mikey,” she told him, slowly regaining her voice. It came out as a rasp and hurt her throat to speak, but the more she spoke, the stronger her voice became.

Mikey’s gaze flicked back to the body crumpled on the floor. “I killed him.”

She took him by the shoulders, and drew back to look him in the eye. “If you hadn’t, he would have killed all of us, and probably more people after. You did the right thing. Don’t ever think you didn’t.”

They all glanced back to the body. A pool of blood was starting to spread out like a halo behind Garrett’s head, and she knew without looking that the back of his skull had been caved in. That, together with the blood still smeared across the lower half of his face from where she’d broken his nose, made for a macabre sight. She dug deep inside herself, trying to tell if any part of her felt sorrow at Garrett’s death. She wanted to think she at least had that in her, to regret the loss of another life, but all she felt was cold satisfaction.

“Come on,” said Ryker, putting his arm around Mikey’s shoulders. “Let’s go downstairs. We need to call the police.”

Jenna’s gaze flicked down to where Ryker’s arm still bled freely, and her stomach turned at the way his hand flopped from the end of his arm. She prayed no permanent damage had been done.

“We need to ask for an ambulance at the same time,” she said. “That arm and your head wound need attention.”

Ryker nodded, not even trying to be macho about the situation.

Holding each other up, the three of them left the bedroom and slowly staggered downstairs into the living room. She left Mikey and Ryker on the couch, and headed into the kitchen to call nine-one-one.

The dispatcher told her they’d send the emergency services out right away, and Jenna hung up.

Everything that had happened suddenly swept over her and she sank to the floor, her face in her hands, and cried silently. She only allowed herself the luxury of a few minutes. She had Ryker and Mikey to think about now.

Jenna took a deep breath and pushed herself to standing. She wiped her face dry of her tears and walked back into the living room.

She sat down on the couch, with Mikey between her and Ryker. The boy’s eyes were red, his face pale. As she reached out to touch his arm, she felt him tremble beneath her fingertips.

“I’m so sorry for bringing him into your life,” she said, gently.

Mikey sniffed. “You were going to let him kill you for me and Ryker.”

“And I’d do it again if I had to. You’re a good kid, Mikey. You have your whole life ahead of you. You have someone who loves you, your brother. I couldn’t let that son of a bitch take that away from either of you. My death would have been worth it.”

He shook his head. “No, no it wouldn’t. You have someone who loves you, too. My brother.”

Ryker nodded. “He’s right. But if I had lost either of you, my life wouldn’t have been worth living.”

“I’m so sorry,” she said again, filled with regret. “I should have left sooner, and then you wouldn’t have gone through all of this.”

Ryker reached across Mikey’s shoulder with his good arm to place his hand against the back of her neck. She took comfort from the contact.

“Shh. It’s not your fault,” Ryker said. “You could have left sooner, but I lied to you. I stopped you from leaving. But listen to me, and I’m talking to both of you.” Both Jenna and Mikey looked at him intently. “None of this was anyone’s fault but his. No one invited him here, or asked him to be a murderer. Both of you, if there’s any guilt in this room, let go of it now, because I won’t have it living under my roof.”

She studied his eyes. “You still want me here?”

“Well, only if it’s okay with Mikey, of course.”

The boy shrugged. “You offered to let the guy kill you to save me. I think living here isn’t much to say thank you.”

Jenna gave him a smile.

They held each other as the wail of sirens approached.





Chapter Twenty-five





A month had passed since Garrett’s death.

Ryker had spent the last month in and out of hospital for surgeries to the severed tendons and ligaments in his forearm. Being unable to work, his injury had affected the business, as had the loss of Sam, which had hit Ryker hard. Sam had been like a father to him, and seeing Ryker go through such grief had broken Jenna’s heart. Ryker had paid for Sam’s funeral—the man had no other family to speak of. They’d all attended, and many tears had been shed.

Finally settled in one place, Jenna had financially been able to make up the difference the business lost while Ryker recuperated, and she’d been happy to do so. Paying her own way and helping the small family had seemed like the least she could do, considering what they’d been through because of her.