AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Why does it feel like I’m hugging a brick?” Luna asks, her voice muffled in the crook of my neck.
“Oh,” I laugh cry. “Because I’m wearing a bulletproof vest.” That has her pulling back. Grant and I reluctantly let go. Pinching the material of his shirt in my fingers, I cling to him as Luna gives us an alarmed look.
“You knew what was happening?”
Grant and I exchange a glace. “We had an idea. Your mother has been trying to blackmail money out of my publicist for the last week. Seemed plausible.”
My attention is on Grant as he explains so I don’t see the shove coming. I fall backward from my kneeling position. “You willingly walked into a dangerous situation? Are you crazy? Why didn’t you just send the cops in?”
“Umm, did you miss the part where a gun was to your head?” I deadpanned. “You could have…” I swallow down the unspeakable truth, “gotten seriously hurt if we did that.”
Fresh tears start to fall down Luna’s cheeks. “This is so messed up.”
“I know,” I say, righting myself from my fallen position. She reaches for my hand, intertwining our fingers so we’re locked together.
Bax’s partner, Detective Shane Willink, interrupts our affectionate moment when he walks over.
“Do you need any medical attention? Are you hurt?”
I hadn’t even thought of that. I didn’t see any blood on Luna but that didn’t mean she wasn’t hurt. I’m about to pat down her body, looking for any signs of injury when Luna speaks up, telling him no. Her adrenaline is running high.
“Can you tell me how this all came about?”
Not wanting to be sitting on the floor for this retelling, I help Luna up and we make our way to the turned over kitchen table. Quickly flipping the damaged wood over, pushing all the broken dishes and trash that was scattered everywhere away, we sit around the table. I scoot my chair over to Luna, so we’re pressed together again. I need the reassurance of her body heat.
I’m so proud of my sister. As she recounts to Detective Willink, her voice is strong and even. None of this is her fault, but I know by the shaking of her hand in mine, that this event will stay with her for a while.
“I came back into the city early after working a summer job in Wasaga. I hadn’t told my sister, Lexi,” she dips her head in my direction, “because it was all very last minute. When I got to the apartment, everything was a mess. I knew this wasn’t Lexi’s doing, but before I could call her or anyone, mom, err, Donna, came out of my room looking high and…very angry.” She licked her lips, casting her gaze away from us. “I didn’t recognize her,” there’s a hitch in her voice. “She wasn’t around much when I was younger, so it wasn’t until she started ranting about Lexi not sharing the wealth that I clued in to who she was. From there, she pointed the gun at me and demanded that I get my sister here. Or else.” The room is silent, only the scratches of Willink’s pen can be heard. “I tried, I really did, to get her to leave Lexi alone. I didn’t want to call her, I didn’t.”
“Hey. Luna,” I say, making her look at me. “You did everything you could. I know that. Everything’s fine. I’m happy you called me. I’ll always be here for you when you need me. Even if it’s to fight off our crazy blood relations.”
“It’s not the time for jokes Lexi,” she huffs at me. There’s a small smile on her face, making me feel a little better.
“Who’s joking? Our family is crazy.”
Luna mumbles a, “well you are,” and rolls her eyes.
Detective Willink clears his throat to get us back on topic. “So, the apartment had been broken into and destroyed before you got here?”
I took offense to that. Did he think we lived in this kind of chaos? Luna was young and I was not as domestic as I could be around here, but we didn’t live like city raccoons, tearing up our things and leaving trash on the ground. Luna must take offense too because her tone takes on an attitude that chills me. “Yes, this destruction was her doing. I watched her tear the kitchen apart looking for a coffee container.”
I make a rude sound. Unbelievable. Yet, not surprising.
“A coffee container?”
“I can answer that one. About eight years ago, before Luna and I moved to this place, Donna stole my hidden stash of money. I used to save away tip money in an empty coffee tin in the cupboard. Just like in the movies.” My cheeks redden at that last part. “I learned from that mistake.”
“Is there any hidden money in the apartment now?”
“No. I learned what a savings account was.”
Grant coughs in amusement at my answer. Detective Willink asks Luna a few more questions before thanking her, handing us all his card then leaving. The apartment is still buzzing with a couple uniformed cops, taking pictures of the scene and walking around. The three of us sit around the kitchen table, silently taking it all in.
“So,” I begin, holding the vowel for a long beat, “I guess this is as good a time as any to tell you that I’m moving in with Grant.”
Luna turns her head slowly to me, her eyes wide. “Now? You think now is a good time to tell me that?”
I look back and forth between her and Grant, not understanding the distain in her voice. “Yeah,” I say slowly.
