Page 163 of Bones
The entire hold appeared to be here, held back by Madame’s men with their guns drawn and ready. My eyes found Mac and the horror and fear on his face felt like a reflection of my own. Griz stood next to him looking panicked, an expression I’d never seen before on his face. Where were the others? They had to be?—
“Bones.”
I turned at Madame’s sharp call and my heart stopped.
Madame stood about ten feet away from me and in front of her Trey knelt in the snow, his arms still bound behind him, his eyes fixed on me. In one smooth movement, Madame drew the pistol holstered at her waist and pressed it directly to the side of Trey's head.
You’re gonna wanna pay attention, Bones,” Madame said in that cold voice. “I want you to remember this the next time you think about runnin’.”
“No!” I gasped in horror, lunging a step forward, only to halt when she flicked the safety off the gun.
I could hear people in the crowd also shouting and crying out, but I couldn't make out what they said through my panic.
"Please, Madame, I'll do anythin'—"
“Bones,” Trey interrupted, his eyes never leaving mine, “let ’em in.”
“Madame!” I couldn’t even begin to process what Trey just said, and what it implied. This was all happening so fast—too fast—and I needed tothink, but the heavy drugs clouded my mind. “Madame!” I tried to keep my voice calm, but it shook. “Please! Please wait! Please can’t we just talk?—”
“Bones, darlin’.”
My gaze snapped back to Trey’s face, and the love and regret andacceptancein his face made the panic roar even louder in my head.
“No!” I cried, terrified tears rolling down my face. “Trey! Please don’t?—”
“Darlin’,” he interrupted, his voice rough with emotion, “I’ll find you again in another lifetime. Maybe there we’ll have more time.” His voice cracked. “I love you.”
“Trey, please!” Oh gods, I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t breathe.
“How sweet.” Madame’s voice was ice-cold.
“Madame! Please!” I sobbed. “Just let me?—”
“I love?—”
She pulled the trigger.
* * *
In one blink Trey was looking at and speaking to me and in the next his body jerked backward, slumping over. Half his skull was gone, blood and gore everywhere. Part of my brain couldn't accept what my eyes had seen. I couldn't understand how someone so full of life could be snuffed out just like that. The snow underneath him quickly turned red.
Vaguely I could hear the crowd yelling behind me. People sobbed. Madame spoke to them, her voice harsh, but I wasn’t listening. I forced my body to move and fell to my knees beside Trey, trying to avoid looking at the gaping hole in the side of his head. His beautiful brown eyes stared blankly at the sky, but all the warmth that shone in them had gone out.
“Trey, please. Please, no.” I repeated, my voice cracking, as I cradled his bloody face. I knew it was pointless, but I couldn’t help trying to heal him. The warmth seemed to pour from my hands and then evaporate into the cold air instead of seeping into his skin. No life remained in him for me to heal. I couldn’t bring him back. I’d never been able to bring back the dead, and the gods knew I’d tried.
Something in me broke, and I suddenly understood the woman who had screamed for her child after the Reapers tore them apart from each other. My own scream ripped out of me. I couldn’t have controlled it if I tried. I screamed as the pain tore me apart, as all the beauty and hope Trey had coaxed to life inside of me shattered.
I managed to somewhat silence myself by folding in half and pressing my face against Trey's motionless chest. My hands fisted in his jacket. He still smelled like Trey, like home, even as the metallic tang of blood filled my senses. I heard Madame's men driving the restless, agitated crowd back. I could hear them shouting for a long time, a dull roar in the background. The cold snow seeped into my pants, freezing against my skin until I couldn't feel it anymore.
“Please don’t. Don’t leave me. Please.” I sobbed into his chest. Why hadn’t I told him I loved him from the first moment I knew? Why had I wasted so much time trying to push him away? We could have had more time, gods, I just wanted a little more time.
When a heavy hand clapped down on my shoulder, a feral part of me came loose.
I put my whole body and all my fury into the punch, landing a solid blow to the side of Vulture’s face. He went down with a surprised expression. His men rushed me and I fought them, screaming and clawing and spitting like a wild animal until finally one of them raised a rifle and swung the butt of it hard at my head and then I knew nothing at all.
26
Iwoke up with a manacle on my ankle, chained up inside the clinic like a damn dog. I sat up, my head aching.
