Grace Anne - By Kathi S. Barton Page 0,55
want these things taken off me right fucking now.”
“Shut up, you little prick,” Michael said softly. “You’re lucky that you’re not in prison, you fool. What the fuck did you think was going to happen? That they’d throw a parade in your honor? You killed the senator’s daughter, you spoiled little bastard.”
“I didn’t kill anyone who didn’t deserve it. And who the hell do you think you are talking to me like I’m subhuman? You have a dead hooker on your lawn. What the hell is your precious Grace going to think about marrying you now, huh? And that little bastard of yours? What do you—”
Officer Brent Tyler was standing over him with his baton out and at his throat before any of them could move. Michael put his hand on his shoulder and the man seemed to ripple with anger. Joey was suddenly very afraid for his stepson.
“Officer Tyler, let him go,” Michael said calmly. “He’s not worth it. I know what you’re thinking, but he isn’t worth losing your job over. He’s been a selfish little prick all his life.”
Joey looked at her husband as he backed away. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but she had a pretty good idea. He was blaming himself, as she was doing. He was thinking just like her and that, if they had done more, maybe none of this would be happening.
“He can’t say things like that. We have him…there is a tape that shows him killing that girl. That little girl was seventeen.” Officer Tyler pulled back, but not before he put a bit more pressure on Thomas throat. “But you’re right, Mr. Cunningham, he just ain’t worth it. Nobody’s worth the death of a cop killer who is going to get the chair anyway.”
Before Thomas could open his mouth his father stepped back to the bed. “Shut the fuck up before I let this man shoot you.”
They all moved away from the bed. Thomas glared, but thankfully kept his mouth shut. The nurse came in twice; once to check on his IV, the next time to bring him a tray with clear liquids. Thomas took one look at the broth and other things on the tray and shoved the entire thing, including the half table, away. Anger practically boiled off him as he glared at Michael. Joey thought, if given the chance, Thomas would kill Michael without any qualms. But she was sure that, given Michael’s background, Thomas would be dead before he got close enough.
~~~
Ginny locked the door behind her. They’d had to move and move quickly. The fucking bitch Verrie had nearly gotten them all caught. What the hell was she thinking bringing her “work,” as she called it, to where they lived? And now, now they were back in Ohio.
The dive was just that, a dive. The walls had water stains running down them that looked as if the bathtub upstairs had overflowed and poured down the walls. That might have been believable it this hadn’t been but a one-story complex and the only thing above them was the open sky. The bathroom, not much bigger than a shoebox, had a shower stall and a toilet. The sink was so close to the toilet that you could literally reach all the way across it to the door knob. The floor was cracked tile that was in an undetermined color and she was sure it hadn’t seen either mop or cleaning agents since the place was built. But what the floor lacked in color, the walls and the shower curtain certainly made up for.
The curtain was puce. A shade so ugly that, if you were feeling any sort of upset stomach, would certainly make you toss your belly. The sink was green, a lime green that made your eyes ache. The tub and the toilet a muddy brown that was probably due more to the state of its lack of cleanliness than a manufacturer’s idea of a color. Ginny only hoped that if the need for a shower came up soon it would be dark out so that she could do it without the light on.
The bedroom wasn’t much better in either cleanness or color. The picture over the bed of a naked woman with a simple apple over her pussy was the least offensive part of the room. The spread was covered in bugs and she was hoping it was the pattern and not real ones. She hadn’t looked under it, not even sure she