“The pieces of the puzzle fit together perfectly. Her story corroborated exactly what you and Sin discussed earlier,” Bleu says.
Fucking crazy bitch.
“That’s really good news since Lorna’s memories of last night are gone.”
“I’m glad that I was able to help.”
“It’s been a long night and you’ve been to hell and back. You should go home and get some rest,” Sin tells her.
“Oh, I couldn’t think of leaving Lorna at a time like this.”
“You’re a good friend to want to support her, but Lorna is fine and resting.” I almost choke on the words.
“And your leader isn’t suggesting—he’s telling you to go home and rest.” Sin’s voice takes on a deeper tone.
“Yes, I suppose I should. It’s been a long night.”
Sin gestures to Sterling. “Sterling will drive you.”
“Oh, it’s all right. I can take a taxi.”
“He will drive you. Again, not a suggestion.”
“Yes, of course. Thank you.”
The three of us watch Greer leave the waiting room with Sterling.
Bleu’s hands are in clenched fists. “That bitch is lying.”
“My wife is right, but it doesn’t take any kind of FBI special-agent skills to detect that.”
Greer isn’t a skilled liar. I could see the deception all over her face and hear it in her voice.
“Lorna’s memory isn’t gone. I was only saying that so Greer wouldn’t feel threatened. I was afraid that she’d make an attempt on Lorna’s life to prevent her from telling the truth about last night.”
“Wise move.”
“I want her to feel safe so she doesn’t try to run.” I want her to pay for what she’s done.
“What did Lorna say about last night?”
“Gordon and two other Order members were working with Greer. The plan was to kidnap and kill Lorna. Her murder was twofold: revenge for Gordon against me for killing his brothers while getting Lorna out of the way for Greer and I to be together.”
“That clearly didn’t happen.”
“The two Order members ran off when we arrived at the cottage, and Gordon backed out of their plan at the last minute. So Greer killed him and then shot Lorna, making it appear as though Gordon had done it. Plan B would have worked perfectly for Greer if her aim hadn’t been off by two inches.”
“What’s going to happen to her?” Bleu asks Sin.
“I don’t know. I’ve never had this situation happen before.”
Because Fellowship women don’t go around plotting and carrying out murder.
“How would a man be punished for the same crime against a brother?”
“Death.”
“Would you forgo the same penalty because she’s a woman?”
“I can’t answer that question without discussing it with Dad.”
“I’m your wife. Discuss it with me.”
Sin and Bleu hashing this one out—should be interesting.
“What would you do with her, Bonnie?”
“I’d kill her.”
That answer doesn’t surprise me. Bleu may not have been raised Fellowship but she is one of us through and through.
“Just like that? Don’t even have to think about it?”
“Not even for a minute.”
“Would you kill her because she plotted against Lorna, one of your best friends?”
“I would kill her because she can never be trusted again.”
“You wouldn’t consider exile?”
“Absolutely not. Exile doesn’t work, as Abram proved when he was spared and then threatened to come back and kill our children.”
“Abram is a different story than Greer.”
“Exile is like counting to three with a child when he misbehaves. Instead of correcting the bad behavior immediately, you’re giving the kid three seconds to continue behaving badly before there are consequences. You’ll just be giving her the opportunity to do this again. And she could be successful next time.”
“Fair point.”
“There were two Order members who fled when we arrived. Do you want to speak with them?” I ask Sin.
“I think we have to. Because without doubt, Greer is going to claim that Lorna was injured and therefore her account of the events isn’t accurate. Some may tend to agree with Greer if there’s no proof.”
I never saw the two Order members. I have no idea who they are.” How will we identify them?
“Kieran keeps a registry of members with all of their pertinent info. It’s a new system Maddock is creating. I’ll have him bring the log to Lorna so she can go through it and identify the men,” Sin says.
“We’ve established that Greer is clever. Until she is dealt with, Lorna can’t be left alone for any reason. Can you make sure that someone is with her at all times?” Bleu is right.
“I won’t leave her side unless my mum is there to stay with her. She’s aware of the circumstances.”
Sin places his hand on my back. “I know that Jenny will do whatever it takes to protect Lorna.”
“Without question.”
And so will I.
Chapter 16
Lorna Frazier
That bitch.
She thought she killed me.
She thought she had Leith all to herself.
She thought wrong.
Leith won’t leave my side. When he does, Jenny is here to replace him. I love how they want to protect me, but I secretly hope that the bitch comes for me. I have a little something for her.
She isn’t the only one who will kill for Leith.
And I have a wrong to right.
But it’ll never happen. Leith, Sin, Thane… not one of them will go along with it. They see me as a delicate woman with a fresh gunshot wound in my chest. They’re only partially right.
But I know who will help me.
“I want Bleu to come back.”
Leith looks at me for a moment before replying. “I’ll ask her to come back after the nurse removes your dressing.”
“I want Bleu to be with me.”
I don’t want to hurt Leith, but I need to talk with my friend in private.
“Why?”
“I don’t know what my wound is going to look like. I’m not ready for you to see it.”
“Baby, please. I don’t want you to hide from me.”
“I’m not hiding. I just want to see it first and have a little time to absorb the changes in my body before you see it.”
“I would really like to be the one here with you.”
“I know, and I appreciate that more than you can imagine, but this is what I need right now.”
“All right, if that’s what you want.”
“It is.”
Bleu enters my hospital room and comes over to kiss my forehead. “Leith says the bandage is about to come off and you want me to be with you.”
“That’s what I told him but it’s not exactly the truth.”
“What is the truth?”
“I need to discuss something with you.”
“All right.”
“You remember the feeling you had when you were obsessed with killing your mother’s murderer?”
“No one can ever forget a feeling like that.”
“I have that feeling. I want to be the one to kill Greer.”
“Shit, Lorna.”
“I already know that Leith, Sin, and Thane won’t go along with it.”
“They won’t and you should put that idea out of your head right now.”
“I can’t. I’m obsessed.”
“Well, get… un-obsessed.”
“That bitch ambushed me and put a bullet in my chest. She took away all of my power, and I need to take it back. I have to for my own sanity. Surely you understand that.”
“No one understands the darkness that you’re feeling right now more than I do. But you need to hand over that darkness so it doesn’t destroy you inside.”
/> “What does that mean?”
“It means that you’re one pissed-off woman, and that’s understandable, but you’re not a killer.”
“I bet you didn’t peg Greer as a killer.”
“I pegged her as desperate but never a killer, so you have me there.”
“I don’t know how to stop feeling this way. I’m just so fucking angry and I want to take it out on her.”
“You need to tell Leith how you’re feeling so you can talk about it.”
“I don’t know if he’ll understand.”
“We are married to Fellowship men. Well, you’re almost married to a Fellowship man. They kill for our safety. They kill so we don’t have to. It’s what they do for us. Leith has already done it for you twice. He will understand what needs to be done, and he will want to carry your burden for you. It’s what a husband does for his wife.”
My nurse comes into my hospital room carrying an armful of supplies. “Time to remove this dressing. Are you ready to see how things look?”
“I don’t know.”
“Leith should be with you. Want me to have him come back?”
“Please.”
“I’m going to leave and send her fiancé back.”
“Aye, it’ll take a minute for me to set up my stuff. He won’t miss anything.”
I’m torn by the things that Bleu said to me. I still want to kill Greer but my friend could be right. Maybe I’m not cut out for killing. Going through with it could change me forever.
I smile when Leith comes into my hospital room. “I’m sorry I sent you away.”
“It’s okay, baby. I’m just glad that you changed your mind.”
I’m so damn nervous about the way my body is going to look. What if my chest looks horrible? What if Leith doesn’t think I’m sexy anymore? What if I’m not able to breastfeed when the time comes? That would break my heart.
My nurse lifts the corner of the dressing. “I’m sorry but the tape is going to tug on your skin as I pull it away.”
“A little tape pulling is the least of my worries after the things I’ve been through.”
“Are the police any closer to finding who did this?”
“They don’t have any leads,” Leith tells her.
“That’s such a shame. What kind of person shoots a beautiful lass like her on the night before her wedding and leaves her for dead? I don’t know what this world is coming to.”
Sin was responsible for weaving a tale that would lead the police away from The Fellowship. My job was much easier—feigned memory loss.
“All right. Here we go.”
My head is flat against my pillow, and I’m looking up at the ceiling when the nurse pulls the gauze away from my skin. “There’s bruising. That’s to be expected but no inflammation around the incision. That’s good. Swelling is minimal.”
Medical lingo. That doesn’t tell me what I want to know.
I look at Leith. “Are they a lot different from the way they used to look?”
He leaves my side and moves to stand at the foot of the bed. “Of course, the incision and the discoloration are new, but they look about the same to me.”
“Are you lying to make me feel better?”
“No. I swear.”
My nurse takes a hand mirror from the table. “Have a look for yourself.”
I hold the mirror, touching my left breast, and it feels odd. The sensation is lessened. “It doesn’t feel the same.”
“Nerve endings must reconnect after surgery. Sometimes they reconnect perfectly. Other times, not so much. You’ve had a severe injury. You may not regain full sensation in your left breast.”
“Will I be able to nurse my babies?”
“I don’t think we’ll know the answer to that question until you give birth, but your right breast is unaffected. You would at least be able to nurse from that one.”
That’s a relief.
“I expected it to look much worse considering. Your surgeon is a very talented man.”
“I can see that much.”
Things could have gone in the other direction. I could have lost a breast. Hell, I could have lost my life. And all because of her.
My nurse doesn’t leave a minute too soon. I’m dying to talk to Leith about Greer. “We need to talk about something, Leith.”
“That sounds serious.”
“I sort of lied to you.”
“We don’t lie to each other.”
“Well, I did. But only because I wanted to talk to Bleu in private.”
“About what?”
“Greer. And how I want to kill her. Literally, not figuratively.”
“I would never allow you to get blood on your hands.”
“That’s what Bleu said.”
“And she’s right.”
“She told me that the act of killing is a burden that a husband takes from his wife and carries for her.”
“It is.”
“Are you burdened by killing the two Order men for me?”
“Not even a little. They brought that upon themselves.”
“Would you be burdened by killing Greer?”
“I’ve never killed a woman. Fellowship men are taught to protect the women of our brotherhood, so the thought of harming one doesn’t feel right. But then I think of what Greer did to you and I want her to die a thousand excruciating deaths.”
“A thousand excruciating deaths. That works for me.”
“We’re obligated to honor whatever Sin and Thane decide to do with her.”
“Do you think they’ll let her live because she’s a woman?”
“I don’t know.”
“If she’s allowed to live and continue as a member of this brotherhood, I can’t be Fellowship anymore.”
“If you can’t be Fellowship then I can’t be Fellowship.”
“You’d walk away from your own people and everything you’ve ever known for me?”
“You’re my people. I would leave everything behind for you.”
“God, I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Miss Frazier.”
I open my eyes and a woman wearing all white is leaning over me. My eyes are dry and I blink a few times to clear my vision. “Yes?”
“My name is Kirstee and I’m here to take you to radiology for a scan,” she whispers.
I wiggle up the mattress and hit the button that lifts the head of the bed. “What kind of scan?”
“Chest X-ray.”
“In the middle of the night?”
“Aye, the doctor ordered it on his evening rounds, but radiology was backed up.”
“They’ve been bringing the portable machine in to do my X-rays. Is this one different?”
“Yes.”
“It can’t wait until morning?”
“Your doctor will expect the results to be on your chart when he makes morning rounds.”
I don’t want to hold up any test results that might help me get discharged. I’ve had enough of this place. I’m so ready to go home. “All right.”
She goes to a wheelchair and rolls it to the side of my bed. The safety rail lowers, and I inch toward the side to stand. Damn, I’m sore.
“Leith, wake up.”
“No need to wake him. He can’t go with you for the X-ray.”
“I know, but he needs to know that I’m leaving the room for a test.”
“The nurses will tell him if he wakes up.”
“I don’t want him to be afraid if he wakes up and sees the empty bed.”
“Let him sleep. I’m sure he’s tired.”
Fuck her. I’m not leaving without telling him where I’m going.
“Leith.” My voice is no longer soft.
He stirs and opens his eyes. “What’s going on?”
“I have to go for a test.”
“What time is it?”
“Two.”
“What kind of fucking test do they do at two in the morning?”
“Chest X-
ray, sir.”
“She had one of those earlier today… yesterday. They did it here in the room.”
“The doctor ordered another one. He wants this one done with the big X-ray machine.”
“All right. Let me put my shoes on.”
“I’m sorry, sir, but you can’t go with her.”
“She doesn’t leave this room without me.”
“I’m sorry. Family members aren’t allowed in the radiology department. It’s hospital policy.”
Leith looks at me. “You can refuse the test.”
“I don’t want to do anything that’s going to prolong my staying here. I want to go home, Leith, and if these results will get me out sooner, then I want to do it.”
“How long will she be gone?”
“Less than thirty minutes.”
“It’ll be fine. I’ll be back before you know it.”
Leith lies back down. “All right. If I’m asleep when you return, wake me up so I’ll know you’re back.”
“I will.”
The woman says nothing as she rolls me down the hallway. I’m not mad about that. After being woken up every couple of hours for the last two days, I’m exhausted. No part of me feels like talking right now.
She pushes me into an unoccupied patient room and says nothing before walking out.
“Umm… hey! Where are you going?”
No answer.
“Are you leaving me in here?”
No answer.
What the hell?
“Helllllo? Anybody?”
“Anybody? Really? Even me?”
Greer.
Fuck no. This is not happening.
I’m looking at the woman who tried to kill me. I should probably be afraid, but the only thing that I feel when I look at Greer is rage.
She’s here to take me out. And I’m injured. My physical strength is half of what it would normally be, at best. But I have the advantage of her believing that I don’t remember anything about the night that she shot me. As far as she knows, I have no reason to fear her, but her presence in this room at this time of the night is a huge red flag. And we both know it.
Think, think, think. What are you going to do? Your survival depends upon it, Lorna.
Play stupid.
“I guess I’m being released from the critical care ward and this is my new room. But it’s odd that they would transfer me in the middle of the night without telling me what’s going on.”
Complete Sin Box Set Page 129