Page 126 of Forged in Rain

John’s head whips around and I cringe before clearing my throat and saying, “You have what you want. Where’s Joey? My mom?”

He tsks, shaking his head slowly. “Where’s my money?”

My mouth sours and I hesitate, but before I can comment, Iris says, “I gave it to Jagger.”

“What?” he snarls, grabbing her head and pulling her back by her hair. She whimpers, raising her dark eyes, and I step forward.

“Hey,” I whisper, but he ignores me, his burning gaze for Iris alone.

She licks her lips and sneers, “What else was I supposed to do? He was up my ass.”

John’s silent, his creepy, pale gaze studying her with an intensity that makes my stomach burn. She maintains their stare off, but her shoulders are shaking so badly, she’s swaying where she sits on her knees.

“We wouldn’t be here now if you hadn’t been a bad girl,” he murmurs. She looks away from him and meets my eyes with a blank stare before her eyes flicker.

What does he mean?

“Well?” he says, pulling her head to the side. Her jaw goes slack, and she wobbles on her knees.

“Stop,” I growl, ignoring the sweat sliding down my spine in icy rivulets. And although the sun is shining overhead, I shiver when his head tips my way and he smiles.

“You have something to say, Rainy?”

“Yes. Back off.”

With a chuckle, he meets my gaze and pokes Iris with his foot. She doesn’t so much as twitch, but I do, biting my lip to keep the brutal words at bay.

You’re going to die, motherfucker.

Raising a brow, he says, “I don’t think so. Iris here thought she’d grow a brain. But Iris is my fucking property, and now she has to be punished.”

“For what?” I rasp, my soul shriveling at the empty look on her face.

“You don’t know?”

“No,” I chuff.

His brows drop over his eyes. “I’d be careful if I were you.”

Looking away, I clench my jaw. Two minutes in his presence, and I’m resolved. I have no reservations about shooting him, but I need to know where Joey and my mom are first.

“Whatever. Where’s my brother?” I say, shifting on my feet. My fingers itch to grab the weapon pressed against my back, but I have to be patient.

“All in good time,” he mutters, turning back to Iris.

“No! You said—”

Ignoring me, he pulls Iris by the hair, and she scoots along as best she can on her hands and knees as he stalks into the barn. Iris doesn’t utter a word even though it has to hurt, and I follow cautiously, pausing inside the door.

But for a single couch now sitting to the left of the entrance, nothing has changed since we were here last, including the message that sent Iris into a tailspin. I skip over the evidence of John’s twisted misdeeds because if I focus on the blood, I might lose my fucking mind. This man has no soul and if I don’t play this just right, it could be our blood circling the drain.

With quiet efficiency, as though he’s done this many times before, John stops before the arm of the couch. Iris, trembling beside him, drops her head to his shoes. Blindly, I watch as he strokes her head once more, and she licks his shiny loafers like a fucking dog.

“Good girl,” he murmurs, before pulling her around and depositing her face forward over the arm of the sofa.

Like a rag doll, she flops forward, her head turned away from me. My veins burn at the sight, but when he grabs for the button on his pants, I can wait no longer. I’m not going to watch him rape my cousin. I can’t.

The gun’s in my hand before I know it, and with a shaky breath, I say, “Stop.”

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