Page 149 of Sinners Reunion

Grim rolls his eyes. “Her breasts, naturally. Their relaxed nature makes them excellent handholds.”

Oh, fuck it.

I lean forward and hold on to Rose. He’s right. Her sagging breasts are very easy to grip, even if it’s painfully uncomfortable for me on a mental level. Rose pats my hands, letting me know this is okay, and then she leans forward and holds on to Grim. He starts the engine.

“No!” Blayne screams. “She can’t live!”

He makes a desperate dive for the jet ski, and Grim plows over the top of his head as we take off. I don’t look behind me to see if he’s dead. I only peer at the fading chaos as I search for King. Bennett and Aven have reached the last spot I saw him, but he isn’t at the surface.

Neither is Ice Pick.

“Go back!” I scream. “We have to help him! They’ll kill him if we don’t!”

Grim shakes his head. “I am returning you to the house. Jim’s orders.”

I peer behind me a final time. Aven leans over the edge of the boat, his axe raised in the air. He’s shrinking as we speed away, but the motion is unmistakable.

Rose must sense my urge to let go and accept defeat. She releases one arm from Grim and bands her arm around her chest, holding my hands in place. Too weak to fight anymore, I collapse against her back and close my eyes.

Chapter Forty-Eight

Josie

Rose sits on the edge of the bed. Ropes secure me in place by my hands and feet. They had no choice but to restrain me when I kept trying to run out of the house. I don’t know how long I’ve been here like this, but the storm has come and gone. Fading sunlight burns through the window. The exhaustion must have knocked me out for a few hours.

Rose pats my leg. Something about the motion feels so familiar. Something about the way she’s looking at me does too. Those weird déjà vu feelings overtake me again. And now I know why.

“It was you,” I whisper. “That night they pulled me out of the ocean. You were there.”

Rose gives me a warm, confirming smile.

I turn my head toward the window, where Grim stands with his hands on his hips. Thankfully, he’s dressed in a gray suit now. “And you. You were the one who saved me. Then and today.”

Grim shakes his head. “I save no one, and if you ever tell anyone these lies, I will prove it.”

Rose scowls at Grim, then rises from the bed, goes to his side, and scratches something against his palm. He huffs and turns to face me.

“It was an accident the first time. I was merely pulling up a trap. This time . . . I only did it because she asked it of me. Thank her, little crab.”

He stomps out of the room, and Rose resumes her vigil at my bedside. There’s no point in trying to get anything out of her. Though she can communicate, she doesn’t often choose to with anyone but Grim, and I’m too tired to try right now.

Eventually, Rose leaves the room as well. The house is quiet, meaning we’re probably alone. I just need to get out of these damn ropes. But when I wiggle my wrists, I realize they aren’t as tight. Someone must have loosened them while I was sleeping.

Once I’ve freed my hands and feet, I slip out of bed on shaking legs and creep to the window. The jet ski sits by the dock stretching into the lake behind the house. Even if I could slip out that way and get to the jet ski, I don’t know how to get back to that place by water. Blayne drove us out there by car, then rowed us to the platform. He let the current take the small boat after that.

I close my eyes when I recall the way Ice Pick’s face fell when Blayne shoved me into the car. He told the poor guy that they were playing a game, that he was tying him up as part of the event that day. A fun little joke on his other friends. When Ice Pick saw my tied wrists and the way I struggled, he realized Blayne was no friend.

It broke him.

A tear drifts down my cheek. He didn’t deserve to be murdered by someone he trusted. King didn’t deserve to die, either, even if he felt it was the only way to help his sons.

I can’t take the not knowing anymore. If King is dead, I want to tell him goodbye. I never got that chance five years ago.

On silent feet, I grab a set of keys from the kitchen, then pad toward the front door while Rose has Grim occupied on the porch with a mug of something warm. She sees me through the window, then looks away.

Guess I know who loosened my restraints.

Outside, I climb into the RV and start it up. King’s done all the driving thus far, and while I’m no stranger to driving a large vehicle, it’s been a while. I don’t even have time to get my bearings, though, because Grim comes racing around the side of the house at the sound of the engine. I peel out of the yard and into the driveway before he can reach me.