Chapter 109

109

They'd taped her to a desk chair and started asking her a million questions. As Summer and Samia and that nurse Cashlyn had grabbed bags of first aid equipment and shoved them into a little boy's dark backpack quickly.

Into Brianna's nephew's bag. That boy she'd seen so many times before was Brianna's own nephew. He'd come in and asked his mom what was going on. Eden had hugged him and sent him back to his room. Brianna had had a nephew already—and she hadn't realized it.

They were talking to that one who had been attacked by Steve and Joey before. The one who had been shot and everything. Who skateboarded everywhere in Hughes Heights like a total freak.

She was in front of her laptop, looking at something at the park.

They were coming up with a rescue plan.

They were crazy, utterly crazy. Brianna told them that too. They'd gotten impatient with her. Then that tall one with the blue and brown eyes had pushed Brianna's chair into the family room. Where Brianna would just be out of the way and everything. She'd told Brianna to stay quiet or she'd tape her mouth shut next.

Brianna did not like her at all.

Brianna had just stared. Around the family room.

Where they had Powell's brothers taped up and sitting against a couch. Mac was yelling, arguing, making demands.

Alex was trying to reason with one of those girls.

Alex and Mac took one look at Brianna and went silent.

Alex was the first to speak. "Cara, this is getting out of hand. This is illegal, sweetheart."

"We're doing what Aunt Heather said," another one said. Like that was explanation enough or something. These women were literally insane. Rabid and insane. "It's an emergency. We always do what Aunt Heather says to do in an emergency."

"Gentlemen, I don't think Brianna will press charges, considering it's a family thing. I'd like you all to meet my half sister," Eden said flatly. "Timothy Grundenman's eldest daughter. She apparently knows something is happening tonight. She's probably involved up to her eyeballs."

‘I am not involved. I hate Trey and I always will!"

"At least we agree on that. I suspect she knows all the players too. She blabs—and she has to explain her part in what is going on right now. Share what kind of secrets she's been keeping," Eden said, glaring at her. Brianna didn't like her at all. Not one bit.

The Barratt brothers' surprise was hard to miss. The only sound for a moment was the babbling little baby right there. Brianna looked at her. And she knew… "Isn't that?—"

"Brianna, meet Emilia Rose. Our baby sister. She's almost fifteen months old," Eden said. "Her mother died of a heart attack just hours after she was born, caused by that drug Trey is peddling. Makes us all so proud to call him brother, doesn't it?"

It sickened Brianna. Absolutely sickened her. "Trey is utterly disgusting."

Cara held the toddler on her hip. Timothy's missing baby. The one he mentioned sometimes, when he was really melancholy and everything. She was a beautiful baby, not that Brianna ever really noticed those things, but she was really cute. The baby girl had a little hat on her head.

"What? Brianna Claireson is Timothy's daughter too? How many kids does he have? Does he not know how to use condoms or something?" Cara asked way too loudly.

"Apparently Daddy does not," Eden told her. "And at his age, there may be dozens of us floating around out there at this rate. These are not going to be fun family reunions, I suspect. Brianna is going to tell us what she knows. Fast. Or I am going to knock her teeth out. One by one by one. I'll probably enjoy it too."

The sounds of something electronic crackled. The teenager touched Hope on the shoulder. "Megan has climbed Alex's roof. She has Norm's long-range binoculars and can see all the way to the other side of the park now. She's patched in via my phone. She said there are people outside. Multiple men, possibly four. But she can't see for sure; she's not up high enough yet, and they are wearing dark clothes. The binoculars only have about a mile range, and they are at the outer edge of that. She can only see the men when they are directly in the light from the park or the streetlights, as well. The men are mostly at the house next door, though. To the left of Powell's parents' house. Two away from the park, but she can't see the house number."

"It's vacant," Alex said quietly. "Number Eight Hendricks. Powell owns it too. Identical floor plan to my place. She bought it a month ago but hasn't had time to go more in depth on getting it ready to flip. My parents watch it for her."

"Heather—we have Megan watching from Alex's roof," Hope said into the headset. "You have movement at Number Eight Hendricks. Vacant house—Powell owns it too. Multiple suspects, but can't get an accurate count. Too damned dark to see everything."

There was no response. The computers were silent. And they just waited.

"What's happening?" Brianna's eyes met Mac's. She saw horror and fear there. Helplessness. She'd never imagined Mac being helpless before. Not him. Brianna looked at Eden. Eden was definitely the one in charge."Just what is going on tonight?"