“She didn’t fight me on it,” Stella said defensively while trying to unzip the bag. “What’s the big deal?”
“The big deal, Stella,” Kate said, drawing out her words. “The big deal is that the monster next to you made it so my little sister can never get pregnant again, and if anyone was ever designed to have children, it’s her.”
I stared at Kate in disbelief.
Stella looked downright confused. “Branson had nothing to do with the abortion. It was all my idea. He just went along with it, so how can it be his fault?”
“No, Stella,” Kate said as though she were speaking to a toddler. “Branson sold her to so many men that she became riddled with infections, and he never bothered to get her medical attention. Her body is so scarred it made her lose her babies this past winter, and now she’ll never get pregnant.”
I turned to her in shock. How did she know all of that? But then, it was Kate. She found a way to know everything. Including this particular horror in my life.
“You took something very precious from my sister, and now I have to take something precious from you.” Gesturing toward Branson and Stella with her chin, she said, “Kyle.”
A gunshot rang out, and I expected to see Branson lying dead on the barn floor, but instead, Stella was screaming as she clutched her bloody right hand to her chest, her gun now on the floor.
“Neely Kate, go pick up the gun,” Kate said.
“Undo that bungee cord first,” Joe called out, speaking for the first time. “It’s cutting off the circulation to her hands. She’ll never be able to pick it up like that.”
Kate turned her attention to Joe. “Ah… there he is. The doting big brother. It’s a good look for you.”
Joe gave her a pleading look. “I’ve been a terrible brother, Kate, I freely admit it, but it’s not Neely Kate’s fault. She’s the innocent party in all of this. Branson and Stella included. Why put her through more hell?”
“I know she’s suffered, and I realized that was how I could win her love. By giving her a chance to get even.”
“What are you talking about, Kate?” I asked in horror.
“That man—” Kate pointed her finger at Branson, then laughed. “No, he’s not a man anymore, is he? I did that for you, NK. I did that to show my solidarity.”
“I didn’t ask you to do that, Kate,” I choked out.
“You didn’t have to. That’s what sisters and brothers are supposed to do for one another, right?”
“I don’t know,” I said in a shaky voice. “I’ve never had them.” I had absolutely no idea what Kate had planned for me and Joe, and I was utterly terrified. A tear fell down my cheek.
Kate moved closer, cupping my cheek. I would have felt more reassured if her eyes were wild and skittish like Stella’s, but Kate was completely in control. “Don’t cry, little sis. I’m gonna make things right for you in a way Joe would never dare to try.” She looked down at my hands. “I’m going to take that off, but I want you to swear you won’t run away.”
I shot a glance to Joe then back to Kate. I could play this game too. “I’m not goin’ anywhere. We’re blood, Kate. And blood sticks together.”
Kate shot a smug glance over her shoulder to Joe. “See? She gets it.”
I’d figure out a way to save Joe, but one thing at a time.
Kate reached for the bungee cord and unhooked it, quickly unwrapping the bindings. She turned to face Stella, her eyes burning with rage when she saw the blood on my wrist and palms. “You hurt my sister.”
“She hurt me. She tried to have my baby taken away from me.”
“From what I can see, you deserve to have your baby taken away.” Dropping the bungee cord to the floor, Kate took my right wrist in her hand and slowly began to rub, then picked up the other and did the same thing, all while everyone in the room watched, Stella included. I suspected she was scared to move lest Kyle shoot her. All I could do was stand there, trying not to tense up and make her mad. I had no idea what Kate was up to now, but I wasn’t about to set her off.
Finally, Kate gently lowered my hand, then turned to face Stella. “What to do with you?”
“We’ll just take the money and go,” Stella said, her voice shaking.
“No,” Kate said thoughtfully. “That particular offer has been removed from the table. I think we’ll have our trial now.”
“Trial?” Stella asked, scooting backward. “What trial?”
“Your trial. The Simmons family now calls the trial against Stella St. Clair to order.”
“That’s not your right,” Joe said. “You can’t be her judge and jury, Kate. You have to turn them over to the law.”
Kate pivoted to face him. “And were you going to turn our sister over to the law for Pearce Manchester’s murder?”
I gasped, unsure why I was so shocked. The clippings on the wall in Branson’s motel room should have been clue enough that she knew what was going on.
“No,” Joe barked out, “but—”
“But nothing,” Kate said. “I agree, we don’t turn her over. We protect her, because that’s what family does, Joe. They take care of one another.”
“Now you sound like Dad,” Joe said. “He justified everything in the name of family. But look where that got you and me. My girlfriend murdered along with my baby. Your boyfriend murdered and a car wreck that made you miscarry. That’s not looking out for family. That’s meddling in things that you shouldn’t. He destroyed our lives.”
“Takin’ care of this trash isn’t even close to the same thing, and you know it,” she countered. “These two put her through hell.”
“You’ve put her through hell, Kate. How is it different for you?”
“I’m her blood!” she shouted. “I did it to make her stronger! To make her worthy of our name!”
“You’re batshit crazy!” Stella shouted, her shirt covered in the blood from her hand.
Kate turned deadly still. “What did you just say?”
“I said you’re batshit crazy!”
Kate squatted and picked up the bungee cord. “You think I’m crazy?”
“Kate,” I said, terrified over what she was about to do. “Don’t do this.”
“No, NK. I need to do this. I need to prove to you that I have your back.”
“By killing Neil Franken and leaving him in my basement with a note? And then leaving those notes and the PI reports in Chad Manchester’s hotel room? Why toy with me like that, Kate?”
“If I’d just approached you and told you I wanted to make things right, would you have given me the time of day?”
“I wouldn’t have trusted you.”
“Exactly,” Kate said, taking several more steps toward Stella. “So I had to show you. You know what they say.” She stopped behind Stella and gave me a grin. “Actions speak louder than words.” Then she looped the bungee cord around Stella’s neck and lifted.
Stella grabbed at the cord, trying to get her fingers underneath, but Kate just lifted higher.
“Kate!” I screamed. “Stop!”
I started to rush over to stop her, but Kate glared at me and said, “Stay where you are, Neely Kate. Kyle will stop you from interfering.”
“You’re committing cold-blooded murder!” Joe shouted, rocking the chair as he pulled himself free. “Stop!”
Stella’s face turned red as she gasped for air, leaving scratches at her neck in her attempts to pull free of the cord.
“Kate,” I begged. “Stop. Please.” I still had the gun at my back, but I could barely feel my fingers. There was no way I could get it out and pull the trigger.
Kate held my gaze. “As your older sister, I know what’s best for you, NK. Trust me.”
“I don’t want this, Kate.” Then I decided to try a new tactic. “You said she’d get a trial. Let’s give her a trial.”
“Trial or not, we’d reach the same conclusion. Guilty.”
Stella tried to turn sideways and reach for Kate’s leg, but Kate pulled even higher and extended her arm, keeping her legs out of Stella’s reach.
“She was the one who started you on your road to hell. She got you started stripping. She introduced you to that piece of trash over there. They sold you to man after man after man.”
Stella’s arms fell to her sides and her eyes darted to me, begging me to help her.