THE CRAZY GOOD SERIES - Rachel Robinson Page 0,354

looks like. I’m worried about her. Her makeup doesn’t matter to me. It never matters, actually. I follow the sound of her voice, stalking around corners and never forgetting to check my back. There’s running water in the kitchen. I make my way toward it. Lainey’s standing at the marble glazed sink with her back facing me. She’s wearing a short silk robe that’s emblazoned with the word ‘bride’ and it makes my stomach flip. Her legs are dirty and her hair is matted and wet. Upon further inspection I notice her whole body trembling.

“Baby?” I ask, swallowing hard. “Come here,” I order, softly. She’s scared and upset and God knows what she’s going through right now. Lainey sobs loudly. She turns around quickly. Her face is caked with dirt and she has dried blood mixing with fresh blood at the corners of her mouth. She’s beaten and bloody and her eyes are so red that she doesn’t look like herself at all.

“You don’t want me,” she says, her gaze glazed over and completely out of this world. I don’t hear her, though, because I see red. I’m furious and petrified at the same time. I rush across the room and almost make it to her before someone knocks me to the floor with a fucking Taser gun. Can I control my arm enough to get to my gun? Nope. Can I turn my head to see who my attacker is? Not a chance. Can I hear Lainey sobbing? It cuts me like a fucking carving knife.

A voice. The voice from the past echoes through the room. “Well done. Well done. For the first time in years you have done something perfectly, Elena.”

No. This can’t be happening. My worst nightmare is unfolding in front of my eyes. He comes into view and takes Lainey by the shoulders. That makes it his three hundred and sixth offense. Maybe even three hundred and seventh because he’s fucking up my revenge plan. The electricity coursing my body is wearing off. My fingers twitch by my sides. I only need a few more seconds and I’ll be able to reach my gun and shoot him in the leg. Not the head or the chest, no. That would be too humane for a person so evil.

“Don’t even think about it, X,” he says, voice low. He pulls the hammer back of his own gun with his thumb and aims it at her head, smiling. That same grin used to haunt me. Funny how things change when it’s not my life at stake anymore. It’s a life that is of more importance. Lainey shuts her eyes, wincing, and a wail escapes, her lips twisting in a horrified grimace. I let my arms fall back to my sides, wide open like a fucking snow angel. I bet on a lot of things. I won’t bet on her life; not for all the tea in China. V speaks. “Disarm yourself. Slide all of your weapons to me and then I’ll tell you what to do next.” V is using too much force. Lainey will have an imprint of the gun barrel on the side of her temple. I growl.

“Ease up on her!” I yell. He grabs her chin, lifts it up, and kisses the hollow of her neck with his dirty mouth. I clamp my mouth shut so tight my teeth might shatter from the pressure. She can recover from a kiss and a welt on her head. Bruises heal and cuts fade away. To my knowledge he hasn’t done anything to irrevocably break her. Breathe, Cody. Breathe. I remind myself.

“Is that better?” he asks, sneering, his lips still touching the skin on her throat. Three hundred and eight. This won’t end well. Emotions are overtaking the room. There’s no distancing myself from this—retreating to that dark corner of my mind. To be strong for myself is one thing, but with Lainey in harm’s way I’m liable to do something outright crazy.

I sit up slowly, holding my arms straight out like a T. “Let her go,” I say, motioning to the gun on my hip. He nods once, gaze glued to my hand and I slide the loaded gun to his feet. I don’t need it. My rage alone is lethal enough to kill him. I hear people chattering in the other room and realize we’re not alone. I count footsteps and different tones of voices. I hear three people, but count four sets of footsteps as they