Beckett (Robinson Destruction #4) - Kathi S. Barton Page 0,17

and my other sisters, they’re what you might not ever think of as gentle women.”

“No, I don’t think I would.” Allen laughed. “I’ve met them all now, and they scare the crap out of me. One on one, they’re not too bad—I can handle that. But with all three of them together, it’s scary as fuck.”

“Wait until your sister joins them.” Allen thought about that for about two seconds before he shivered. “Yes, exactly what I was thinking too.”

Rogen showed up about five minutes later. Before she wanted to leave, however, she wanted to go up and introduce herself to Allie. Both he and Beckett told her she should wait, but she climbed the stairs anyway. He was almost afraid to see the room after this meeting. The two of them together were going to be as volatile as a match to gasoline.

~*~

Allie knew who the woman was the second she came into the room. She’d been there briefly when Allie had fallen ill, but she knew a ball-buster when she saw one. Asking her what she wanted didn’t help with her mood any more than it did Allie’s. But when Rogen sat down in the chair next to her, she decided that she could explain herself instead of Allie asking her questions.

“I’m glad to see you up and around. Did they tell you that you’ve been changed into a tiger yet?” She glared at the woman. “I see they did. Oh well, I’m sure there are a couple of things that they didn’t mention. I was wondering what you wanted to do with the rest of your life.”

“Live. What do you want to do with the rest of your life? Or is it all sewn together nicely for you now?” Rogen didn’t seem to know what to say about that. “I have a home that I’ve not been in other than this room. Money in my account so I’d not bounce checks. I’m out of a job, no longer human, and at one point, I was part vampire. Now I’m fully tiger. Did I miss anything?”

“You’re snarky.” Allie told her that she was as well. “True, but I’ve always been that way. Usually, you’re thought of as too nice and gullible for anyone to want to be around. Not what I would categorize you as right now.”

“Goody for you. What do you want, Rogen? I have things that I have to work out, and you here being the bitch that you are isn’t helping me get a grip on shit.” Rogen laughed. “Of course, you’d find that funny. Why are you here? Did I miss one of the perks that the great Robinsons gave to me when they changed me into this without permission?”

“Would you rather be dead?” Allie told her that she would, actually. “You don’t mean that. You’re just saying that so that you can shock me.”

Allie got up and went to the bed she’d been in. Pulling out the gun she’d found in this room when she’d been looking for something to wear, she put it to her head. The two of them watched each other for several minutes until Rogen stood up.

“There is a man downstairs that is in love with you. Too much for you right now? Too fucking bad. If you kill yourself over what was done to save your life, then he will die right along with you. Not because he’ll end his life too, but he’ll have to be put down because you’re dead. Also, you might really want to think this over before you pull that trigger. What do you think this will do to Allen? He seems to like you for some reason. Right now, all I see is a lazy bitch trying to end her life because someone loved her enough to want her to be around.” Rogen went to the door and opened it. “The safety is on that gun. I didn’t want you to miss the opportunity to end your life because the gun didn’t work, and you got to have second thoughts.”

The door closed quietly behind her, and Allie burst into tears. Sitting on the floor with the gun still in her hands, she wondered if her life would ever be her own. It didn’t seem like it from where she was sitting. Getting up, she decided that she might as well figure shit out. Killing herself now would make it so that Rogen won. Won what, she didn’t know, but Allie knew the other