Fourth Debt Read online

“SHE’S IN THE bath.”

  “She’s not feeling well and can’t come to the door.”

  “I have her chair—see? Of course, she’s in here with me.”

  “She’s in bed. We had a sleepover and can’t get up.”

  I groaned, wiping both hands over my face.

  “Nothing will work.”

  The empty room swallowed my words, keeping my fibs from reaching Hawk ears.

  Ever since leaving Jasmine and Vaughn in the corridor leading toward the kitchens, I’d practiced a believable lie. Only thing was, there was nothing believable. After the visible hatred between Jaz and me at the meeting with the lawyers¸ no one would buy the excuse of a sleepover or girl chat or time willingly spent together.

  It’s hopeless.

  The best I could hope for was no visitors and for V and Jaz to get back as soon as possible.

  My mind skipped back to last night.

  My spine had tingled with foreboding as V bent down in the dark and hesitantly plucked Jasmine from her chair. I’d never seen her legs in full view without baggy pyjamas or a blanket hiding the emaciated muscles but seeing them dangle over V’s arms hit me hard.

  Once upon a time, she could run and ride horses and chase her brothers.

  Now, she had to rely on the brother of her enemy to be her transport.

  A brutal price to pay for a payment I didn’t know.

  The look in V’s eyes as he’d turned his back on me and left me in the empty corridor with an empty wheelchair squeezed my heart until I couldn’t breathe. Helping a Hawk went against everything he believed in. In his mind, he betrayed his stance on blackmailing with social media, slandering the Hawk name, and standing up for our mother and me.

  Yet, here he was, abandoning his sister in order to help another save her brothers.

  It wasn’t easy, but he showed me more loyalty and strength than I’d ever seen. Gone was the cocky joker who summoned women with one smirk. Gone was the slight player who’d worked hard but somehow managed to indulge in life with a silver spoon.

  As he disappeared with a black-dressed Jaz in his arms, he grew from boy to man, and I’d wanted to run after him and thank him for saving Jethro—for once again putting my happiness above his own and doing what I bade.

  It’d taken all my control not to follow. To clutch the handles of Jasmine’s chair and wheel it in the opposite direction.

  They’re coming for you, Jethro.

  They’ll save you.

  It killed me that I wouldn’t be there. That I wouldn’t be the one coaxing him to liveliness, rescuing him from pain. But, at the same time, that right belonged to Jaz. Jethro had sacrificed his life to save hers—it was only fair she did the same.

  Then again, she’d dragged my brother into her plotting. There was no telling her plans—whatever they were—would be executed without a hitch. No saying they would be safe.

  If Cut found out, Jaz would be punished, Jethro and Kes killed for real, and Vaughn repeatedly beaten. I had no doubt they would destroy him until he begged for death.

  And all for what? For the unfortunate curse of being my blood.

  Stop thinking about it.

  I glared at the wheelchair, lurking in the shadows by the door. It looked so sad, so empty without its owner. The metal machine grieved for its occupant, no longer wanting to provide a purpose without her.

  Dawn lurked on the horizon.

  Pink swirls and purple splashes slowly pushed aside midnight black.

  For the fiftieth time, I looked at the clock.

  6:37 a.m.

  I’d returned to my room at ten past twelve. Over six hours ago.

  Where were they?

  What had they been doing?

  Are you still alive, Jethro?

  Are you safe?

  I hadn’t slept. I hadn’t relaxed. How could I when they were out there, sneaking beneath sleeping cameras and saving men who in Cut’s mind were dead?

  The dresser was back across the door, firmly wedged and protective. But that didn’t stop my growing panic as each hour traded night for day and the chance of getting caught increased.

  “What do you mean Jasmine’s missing? No, she isn’t. She’s here…in the bathroom. And no, you cannot see her.”

  I groaned, pacing at the end of my bed. That would fail. If she were in the bathroom, she’d need her chair to move around.

  “She’s taking a nap; I don’t want to disturb her.”

  All Cut would have to do was bang on the door and ‘wake her up’ to realize there was no nap to disturb.

  “God, this isn’t going to work.”

  Please, hurry!

  The last of moonlight turned to sunlight, glinting off the silver rims of Jasmine’s chair. I had the strangest feeling of not being alone. As if the inanimate object was somehow alive, as if it had a presence in the room—the ghost of Jaz, leaving her impression with me even while she ran escapades with my brother.

  What are you doing?

  Has it gone to plan?

  How much longer will you be?

  I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I hated being left behind, left to worry and fret and create insane theories on what’d happened without me.

  I would’ve given anything to be with them.

  He’s not dead.

  He’s alive!

  Joy effervesced.

  I held a hand against my chest, forcing the happy bubbles to disperse. It was too soon to celebrate. Too soon to believe he was safe. In some awful way, I didn’t want to jinx it by believing in the best when the worst might still happen.

  Time continued onward, turning my fear into depression.

  What if Jasmine underestimated her plan to save them? What if they’d waited too long? What if? What if? What if?

  Looking at the clock, I bit my lip as the hour hand struck 7:00 a.m. No one in Hawksridge was an early riser, but Jasmine was playing with fire. She had to get back and soon. She had to return my brother.

  I paced the thick carpet. Every creak of the ancient house warming in the early winter sunshine made me jump. Every crank and glug of old plumbing sent my heart racing.

  She has to have made it.

  She has to have saved him.

  A tapping sounded. Faint and fleeting.

  I slammed to a halt, eyes flying to the ceiling, the walls, the window, the door.

  It came again.

  The softest rap and the quietest voice. “Threads, open up.”

  After pacing tens of kilometres and biting off my nails in concern, they were back.

  I flew.

  With super-human strength, I shoved aside the dresser and opened the door.

  “Let us in. Quickly.” Vaughn’s voice was raspy and tired, but alive.

  Thank God.

  I stepped aside. The dark corridor hid my secretive visitors until they traded the gloom and darted inside. Vaughn prowled forward with Jasmine locked in his arms, moving through puddles of sunlight, as he headed straight for her chair.

  Immediately, I closed the door again, deliberating whether to put the dresser back or not.

  Jaz’s arm was slung over his shoulders, her body relaxed in his embrace. Something was different.

  When he’d picked her up and disappeared seven hours ago, they’d been awkward and stiff. Now, they shared an experience, a mission I hadn’t been privileged to participate in.

  Vaughn’s back bunched beneath a new t-shirt as he placed Jasmine gently into the wheeled contraption. I eyed him. He wasn’t wearing that last night. The previous wardrobe had been a bloodied dark blue shirt. This was a dark grey tee with a sports brand tagged on the front—not at all what my brother would wear.

  My heart thudded with mysteries. What had they seen and done together? What rapport had they built? And why couldn’t I have been a part of it?

  My jaw clenched as Jasmine smiled at V.

  He tucked her useless legs onto the stirrups and took a step back. “You good?”

  She nodded. “T
hanks.”

  I moved forward, feeling left out, lost, and entirely too close to tears.

  She was on our side. She’d done what she could to save the men we both loved, but at the same time, I couldn’t forget how nasty she’d been. The ruse of making me hate her caused my feelings to split. I wanted to like her, but some part of me was still wary, still on edge.

  She asked me to die for her brother.

  But…wouldn’t I do the same if it were V?

  Swallowing my hurt, I crossed my arms. “How did it go?”

  Please tell me it was a success.

  The rest of it: the sadness at not sharing their adventure and the grief at not being able to see Jethro would diminish the moment I knew he was in the hands of those who could heal him and Kes.

  Jasmine adjusted herself in the chair as Vaughn took a step back.

  Her eyes met mine. “We got them to the hospital.”

  “Oh, thank God.” My heart tried to leap from my chest. “Did the doctors say anything?”

  “Lots to tell you, Threads.” Vaughn came closer. His arms banded around me, squeezing tight.

  Tears pricked my eyes.

  I hadn’t realised how lonely I’d been, so afraid and on tenterhooks all night.

  I accepted his embrace but quickly wriggled out. I couldn’t handle his hug when every part of me was jealous that I hadn’t been the one to help. I couldn’t find comfort in his arms, otherwise I’d burst into waterworks. “Tell me. Tell me everything.”

  V let me go. “We stayed as long as we could. We got them there, filled in the paperwork, and waved goodbye as they took them to surgery, but we couldn’t wait any longer to find out the prognosis.”

  His stomach growled loudly, shredding the taut atmosphere.

  “But they’ll make it?”

  His tummy grumbled again. Finally given a task I could perform, I headed to my secret stash in the fabric cupboard.

  Vaughn looked at Jaz.

  Her face was pinched. Her black hoodie and leggings painted her like a thief in the night. If anyone saw her dressed like that, she’d have a lot of explaining to do. “They were when we left them. But they’re with the experts now. All we can do is hope.”

  Unwilling to fall into another pit of despair, I forced my mind to focus on one scenario.

  They’ll make it.

  Wrenching open the cupboard, I pulled out a box of muesli bars. Glancing at Jaz, I asked, “How did you keep them alive for so long? And where?” Ripping the box open, I tossed a bar to V and one to Jaz. They both caught them.

  Jasmine smiled in thanks, tucking hers into the satchel of her wheelchair. V, on the other hand, tore off the wrapper with his teeth and devoured it in a few mouthfuls. “Fuck, I haven’t eaten in forever.”

  Hadn’t they fed him? My heart hardened. More daggers of hatred grew toward Cut and Bonnie. I wanted to murder them slowly, painfully—to do to them what they’d done to innocent men and women.

  Jasmine replied, “It wasn’t just me. I had help.”

  “Damn right you did.” V winked. “Me.”

  She smiled, a scowl plaiting with genuine amusement. “No, hotshot.” Her eyes met mine again. “Flaw.”

  I froze. I was right.

  My mind skipped to our conversation. Something about me not judging him, and how he was a good person. “He helped? How?”

  Yesterday in the corridor.

  They’d huddled together…discussing Jethro.

  Jasmine sighed, “I was a freaking mess when Cut shot them. I’d wanted to walk again ever since I lost the ability, but in that second I’d wanted to fly. To soar across the room and tear out his motherfucking heart.”

  My hands curled around the box of muesli bars. “I know that feeling.”

  “Afterward, Bonnie took me upstairs and tried to calm me down. The rest I’m not entirely sure about, but Flaw was given the task of cleaning up.” She swallowed, eyes turning dark. “He noticed they…weren’t dead.”

  “They had drips and shit…medical paraphernalia down there.” Vaughn jumped in. “Who did that?”

  “Flaw again. He dropped out of medical school after he discovered diamonds were a lot more lucrative than sewing up flesh. We had the equipment, but he didn’t tell anyone. He moved their bodies, set up what they needed, then came to me the minute I was alone. Everything went according to plan, apart from the mishap of shutting the cell door.”

  That was happening all while she came to save me from Daniel.

  How had she come up with a plan so fast? And why did Cut listen to her demands as oldest child?

  My mind raced. “So…Flaw kept them alive?”

  She nodded. “If it hadn’t been for him, they would’ve drained out on the carpet.”

  I shook my head. “But there was so much blood. They were unconscious.”

  Jaz rolled closer. “He performed a miracle, Nila. I’ll be forever grateful for that. But there’s no guarantee they’ll pull through. The doctors tried to be optimistic when we arrived, but…”

  Vaughn picked up where she trailed off. “The docs’ faces, Threads. You could tell they didn’t have much hope.”

  The joy of knowing Jethro and Kestrel were rescued punctured, deflating like a hot air balloon, crashing faster toward Earth. “So…they might still…” I couldn’t finish.

  Jaz smiled tightly, her eyes glittering with unshed tears. “Let’s focus on the positive. They’re away from Hawksridge with people who know what they’re doing. That’s all we have.”

  Terrible silence fell, like a curtain already stealing Jethro and Kes from us.

  Vaughn finally muttered, “Why keep them down there? It was a fucking dungeon.”

  His train of thought gave me something to focus on.

  Jasmine jumped to answer, as if unable to handle the quietness when we couldn’t stop our minds from picking at ‘what if’.

  What if they don’t make it?

  What if we were too late?

  “It’s the only place in Hawksridge that has no cameras. All rooms, bathrooms, cellars—they’re all monitored. We couldn’t run the risk of Cut seeing them.”

  I straightened. “What about the cameras last night?”

  Her hands dived into her hair. Unpinning the clip, she let her sleek bob fall into place around her chin. “A few months ago, Kes taught me how to upload a virus that put the cameras into hibernation for a few hours. After a time, they reboot as if nothing happened. If anyone attempts to fix them while they’re down, the virus hijacks the hard drive and ruins two months’ worth of data.” She shrugged. “Either no one noticed and will think the lack of recording was a technical fault, or someone did and will put it down to a damaged hard drive.”

  “Interesting.” Vaughn rubbed his face. “You’ll have to show me that handy trick.” His stomach growled again, even louder than before.

  I couldn’t help Jethro or improve his prognosis, but I could help another man I loved. Turning back to the cupboard, I grabbed an armful of apples, biscuits, and another box of muesli bars. I shoved them at my brother. “Here. Have these.” Dashing to my wardrobe, I pulled free a few extra-large jumpers that I liked to wear off the shoulder with a belt and gave those to him, too. “And these. To keep you warm.”

  Jaz wheeled forward. “That’s a good idea. That room is freezing.” Her shoulders rolled. “V, it hasn’t exactly been easy dealing with you tonight, but you’ve been amazing. Helping move Jet and Kes, driving the van, filling out the paperwork at the hospital. Don’t think I’m not grateful because I am. But…”

  Vaughn had his mouth full with a crisp green apple. “But you have to take me back.”

  Jaz nodded.

  “No, surely you can just let him go—” I moved between them.

  Vaughn swallowed his breakfast. “No chance of a warmer room? Something without a broken window?”

  She smiled sadly. “Sorry. We have to make it seem like nothing happened. Cut can’t know Jet and Kes are alive. Any escapes or room chang
es will make him suspicious. However, I’ll do what I can and move you in a few days.”

  I stood in front of V, cutting Jaz off. “I won’t let them keep him in that place.” Putting my hands on my hips, I glared. “Why can’t you just let him go? You were off the estate tonight. Just take him back to London and let him hide until this is all over. Cut can just blame me if he gets suspicious.”

  Vaughn grabbed my shoulders. “You think I’d do that? Run away and leave you here?”

  I shrugged him off. “If you’re not here, they have nothing to control me with. I’ll be free to do what needs to be done.”

  Vaughn’s eyes flashed. “Don’t be so stupid, Threads. I’m not going anywhere without you. End of fucking story.”

  Jaz stiffened. “You do realise saying ‘when this is all over’ is accepting your death, right?”

  I groaned. Great. Perfect thing to say in front of an overprotective twin.

  “What?” Vaughn demanded. “What the fuck does that mean?”

  I rolled my eyes. “I’m not accepting death. I have my own plan to end this. Either way, I need you gone, V. I can’t have people I love here.”

  Jaz suddenly shot forward and grabbed my hand. “Don’t do anything reckless, Nila. I made an oath to Jethro to look after you. I can’t break that promise.”

  My eyes widened. “When did you make that?”

  Her face softened. “There are a lot of conversations and stolen moments in this house that you don’t see or hear. The day the police came for you after the Second Debt, I knew you’d changed him. He refused to speak to me. He pushed me out of his life completely, but he didn’t need to tell me for me to understand.”

  “There is so much shit I don’t know about,” Vaughn grumbled. “I need some education. Someone needs to fill me in on what I missed. Second Debt?”

  Jaz and I ignored him.

  My heart galloped, drunk on the thought of Jethro. Imagining him alive and happy. The fact he’d talked about me…that his sister knew how he felt about me—it made our love so real. Even if it was forbidden.

  My voice dropped to a whisper. “You’re like him…aren’t you?”

  “Like who?” V asked around a mouthful of hobnob biscuits.

  Jaz lowered her gaze. “He told you?”

  Her tone was both awed and slightly miffed.