Page 67 of Twisted Elites

Ashley wiped her nose with the back of her hand. “I’m going to need my share of the house back. Bones has left me penniless, and I have nowhere to stay.”

Sebastian harrumphed. “What about—”

I placed a hand over his forearm and gave him a hard squeeze. “Let’s get this business with the police finished, and we can discuss what to do about the house.”

Ashley sniffled and took a long sip of her drink. “You’ve lost weight.”

“Thanks.” My heart continued that steady thud. I had to keep her talking. To keep her unaware of what awaited her when the doorbell rang.

“I suppose you’re shagging all three of them?”

“Not yet,” muttered Leopold.

“It’s only a matter of time.” She blinked away a tear. “Do you know what Bruce said to me that day they had me out in the snow?”

“No.”

“When the kings finished with you, he would have you next to complete the set.”

I glanced from Sebastian to Leopold. “That’s…”

“Yeah,” she said. “I wish he was dead.”

The mint tea in my stomach churned, and I dropped my gaze to the table. Nobody spoke for several minutes. By the time light streamed in through the dining room window onto Ashley’s dyed hair, I mentally urged the police to hurry the hell up.

Ashley slurped at her tea. “I wish I could go back to the start. If you hadn’t brought me to Brittas Academy, I would never have suffered all that shit.”

“Willow dragged you by the hair, did she—” Leopold flinched. I guess Sebastian must have kicked him under the table.

“You don’t know what it’s like to be me,” Ashley said with a sob. “No matter what happens, Willow always lands on her feet.”

“Have you thought about not comparing yourself?” said Sebastian.

Ashley’s face twisted. “How can—”

The doorbell rang, and all the blood drained out of my face.

Leopold and Sebastian both shot to their feet. I pushed myself up and walked on trembling legs to the doorway and paused to take one last look at the girl who had once been my sister. The corners of her lips turned down, and she stared into her mug.

Sebastian walked around the room and positioned himself behind Ashley’s chair. Leopold stood in the doorway that separated the dining room from the kitchen, and more importantly, the back exit.

They both gave me sharp nods as though to say I could do this. With a nod back, I turned toward the front door.

I advanced toward the huge figures standing behind the stained glass windows. Each step down the hallway felt like a hammer driving a nail in Ashley’s coffin. I was about to commit a betrayal she would never forgive, but after everything she had done, I couldn’t seem to muster up any remorse.

When I swung the front door open, I found another pair of officers standing six feet away from the two on the doorstep.

“Ashley?” asked a sergeant with a neatly trimmed, blond beard.

“She’s in the dining room.” I turned on my heel and led the police through the house.

Ashley’s hazel eyes—eyes the same color as Mom’s—widened at the sight of so many policemen. I slipped into the dining room, edged around the table, and stood by the bookshelf. Leopold remained at the entrance of the kitchen, and Sebastian backed away from her.

“Wh-what’s happening?” Ashley turned to me. “Willow?”

My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t move. Couldn’t take my eyes off the twin I had just betrayed.

“Ashley Evergreen?” said the blond sergeant.