Page 98 of Depraved Boys

Ashley shook her head. “But it rained that night, and they know that stretch of road is dangerous.”

“They were determined to get you home,” I replied.

“So, I really killed them,” she said, her voice breaking. “Is that what you’re saying?”

“Ashley!” Peter bounded through the door.

Her face softened, and she spread out her arms. “Peter-poo!”

Soon after, a sleepy Anne followed, her blonde curls a ruffled mess. She walked up to Ashley and leaned against her lap.

I pulled myself off the sofa and ambled to the kitchen, where I poured myself a glass of water and downed my tablets. Then I shuffled around the cupboards to find cereals and bowls for the children’s breakfasts. If they fussed over what they would eat this morning, I would leave Ashley to feed them.

Uncle Trevor walked through the door, looking drawn. “Thanks, Willow. I really appreciate your help.”

I smiled back. “How’s Aunt Hortense?”

“Her blood pressure got too high, and they took her in for an emergency cesarean.”

I clapped my hand over my mouth. “How is she?”

“They’re both fine.”

“Of course, the baby!” I shook my head. A combination of my sore shoulder and blinding headaches had caused me to forget. “Boy or girl?”

“Girl.” He gave me a warm smile. “We’re calling her Holly.”

“Daddy!” Peter galloped into the kitchen. “Ashley’s here!”

“She knows,” I whispered.

His brows drew together. “About?”

“Why Mom and Dad were out that night.”

Uncle Trevor’s face slackened. “Oh.” He picked up the cereal bowls and walked across the little kitchen. At the door, he glanced over his shoulder and said, “Well, maybe knowing the consequences of her actions might be the catalyst for change she needs.”

I grimaced. He was right about the knowledge being a catalyst, but I wasn’t sure it would be for the better.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

A few days later, Uncle Trevor left to visit Aunt Hortense in the hospital, and I watched over my little cousins. Someone else knocked on the door, and my insides went stiff.

If this was Ashley, demanding answers I couldn’t give her, answers I wanted for myself, I wasn’t sure how I would react. She acted as though I’d just blurted out how Mom and Dad had died as a weapon to hurt her but had refused to tell me what she had said or done for me on that Monday to tell her the truth.

“There’s somebody at the door!” shouted Peter.

Stevie raced out of the living room. “Answer, answer!”

“Mummy!” Anne jumped up and down.

I pushed myself off the sofa, ambled to the door, and cracked it open. Leopold stood in the front, and Sebastian hung back several steps.

A jolt of happiness warmed my heart. “What are you two doing here?”

“There was no answer at your house, so someone hacked into Mrs. Benazir’s computer and told us where to find you.”

“Prakash, right?” I glanced up and down the hallway for signs of him, but he wasn’t there.