Page 220 of Sinful Like Us
Fire lights up the night sky, smoke mushrooming above us, and flames burst through every window on every level of that stupid fucking house.
I scream out the anger and pain and ruthless agony. I thrash and fucking thrash. Snot runs out of my nose.
My pulse is ripped out of my veins.
Akara has a knee on my spine—Donnelly and Farrow are also pinning me down. Three of them restrain me. To save me because my brother is gone.
Thatcher and I—we were never allowed in the same platoon. Because of a military rule about brothers.
They don’t put them together in the unfortunate event that one dies. It ensures that the other will survive. So a parent won’t lose two sons at the same time.
I never understood that.
Call me a dumbass, a stunad. But to survive my twin brother’s death is worse than being six-feet under.
I fight them. It’s all I have.
“You can’t go in there!” Akara yells in my ear.
“He’s gonna die for Tony,” I choke and spit out into the pavement. But I know Thatcher.
He’d die for just about anyone.
I hear Jane behind me, crying in anguish that already slashes up my body.
“Close your eyes, Banks,” Akara orders, his voice almost cracking.
I’m watching the house burn down with my twin inside. I can’t feel the flames tearing at his skin—I just feel the pain of losing someone who’s a part of my soul.
“Just kill me,” I choke.
Akara covers my eyes with his hand.
And everything goes black.
46
JANE COBALT
“I can’t…”I can’t breathe.I kneel on the street, our cats—I think Quinn and Luna took them to a car or neighboring house.
I can’t…
I just…
Thatcher is gone.Our house is in flames. In a matter ofminutes.
“Breathe, Janie.” Moffy holds me from behind. His arms wrapped around me, and I clutch his biceps for dear life. I feel like I’m falling and falling into an endless abyss and I can’t reach the surface. Suffocating and suffocating.
We were going to marry.
He’d be my husband, and I’d be his wife.
Breath is strangled in my windpipe. “Thatcher,” I choke.
Maximoff hugs me, telling me he’s here. Tears flow like broken dams down my face, and my eyes burn from worse than smoke.
I barely notice the fire truck arrive. Firefighters roll out hoses to contain the blaze—and right as they approach the townhouse, the roof collapses.
