Hush - Anne Malcom Page 0,81

she hissed, snatching her hand. April knew about Orion’s aversion to touch. She’d respected it, caught herself moments before she tried to hug her, squeeze her hand, or touch her in any way.

She wasn’t respecting it now.

April yanked Orion closer to her.

“Your parents were who they were not because of blood, genetics, or their parents. They had a choice,” she continued. “They knew what it was like to have hands on them, empty bellies, hearts full of fear. Instead of purging that away, they drowned in it.” April paused. “Do you think Adam was cruel or evil?”

Orion flinched. April hadn’t said his name in front of Orion before. Another way she’d been protecting her. But she wasn’t now. She was mad, and Orion liked that. Liked the pain over Adam’s name uttered from April’s lips. The dirt in her soul coming from the way April was squeezing her hand.

“Of course not,” Orion managed to grit out.

April nodded. “Adam wasn’t evil. There was not an ounce of cruelty inside him. We are born pure. Innocent. Some people are born evil, like the ones who took you.”

April took both of the shots the bartender had laid down, handing one to Orion.

Despite the fact that she hated the taste of it, she liked the burn, liked the way the liquid sickened and softened her at the same time.

This one went down better than the first.

“Some people are born evil,” April repeated, putting her empty glass on the bar. “And some are born good, like Adam. Like you. Like Maddox.” She narrowed her eyes, sharp and knowing. “You don’t fool me, Orion. I know you fancy yourself as someone mean, wrong, dirty because of what you went through. But that is something they did. That is not you. The sins of your parents do not run through your veins. The sins of those monsters are nothing but marks on your skin. Battle scars. Reminders that you survived them. Defeated them. They do not define you.”

She reached for two more shot glasses. “Now, do a fucking shot and let’s talk about how great Eric would look in a Speedo.”

And though it seemed absolutely impossible to do so after everything April had just said, Orion did the shot.

She let April talk about Eric’s ass, abs, and how well-endowed he was. “I can see it through his pants,” she said.

She let it happen.

But she did not let April’s words hit home. Because she was wrong. Orion had not defeated the monsters. They did define her. She was bad, wrong, and evil. At least she was planning to be, now that she had a license and a way to transport their bodies.

Fifteen

“You know, at first I was really sure I hated tequila, but now I’m quite fond of it,” Orion declared, not recognizing the lightness in her voice. Not recognizing the lightness in her soul.

April grinned. “That’s tequila for you. It’s a fucker. I’m a fan.”

Orion was too.

April leaned forward to touch the pendant at Orion’s neck, and she held her breath. Aprils finger barely touched Orion’s bare skin, but it may as well have sliced it with a blade. She hadn’t recovered from the way she’d gripped her hand hours and many tequilas ago. Well, she had at least forgotten about it, thanks to those many tequilas.

“This is new,” April said, unaware of what her casual gesture was doing to Orion. April had a better tolerance than Orion, to be sure, but she was well on her way to becoming drunk. That meant she was no longer noticing Orion’s subtleties, remembering her traumas.

Orion sucked in a breath. The handcuff pendant had cost more than Orion thought jewelry could even be worth, but she liked that. Liked that she was wearing a diamond chain around her neck, paid for by her pain and torture. Paid for by those men. Something hers.

“Oh my God, you’re her,” someone declared from beside Orion, stopping her from answering.

“Stacy, stop, come on,” someone else whined.

Orion turned to see a tall woman swaying slightly, standing far too close. Another woman stood behind her, looking uncomfortable and slightly more sober.

Though Orion didn’t think she was the best judge of sober right now, considering she was pretty sure she was drunk, evidenced by the fact she wasn’t having a full-on panic attack at the strange girl’s proximity.

“I’m who?” Orion replied.

The girl’s eyes glowed. She was pretty, Orion’s age, maybe a little older. Orion wasn’t the best at judging that kind of thing. Girls wore so much