Page 6 of Unbound

Well… Not right where she is.

“Ummm.” Her eyes move around the room. “Okay.” She drags the word out. “I can just sleep in my car and then⁠—”

“Nope.” I cut her off again, holding out one hand. “Give me your keys.”

I’m not trying to be a dick, but until she spells out what’s going on—in the greatest of details—I’m not risking her deciding to skip town. Not when we might finally get some fucking answers.

“Shouldn’t we be calling the police? Tell them someone threatened you and it might be connected to the shooting?” Mariah looks to Titus for confirmation. “Don’t you think?”

“No.” Ruth pipes up, her rejection of the idea unexpected. “I don’t think we should involve the police any more than we have to.” Her eyes bounce to me before darting away. “Not yet anyway.”

“I know no one asked me, but I second Ruth’s opinion.” Sybil presses her lips together like she’s trying not to say more. She fails. “I’m not sure the police around here can be trusted.” Her lips flatten again, this time until they disappear.

She knows something. I’m a little suspicious Ruth knows something too. I want to care, but I’m fucking wrung out. In need of silence and solitude.

Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen for me tonight.

“We aren’t going to make any big decisions until tomorrow.” I check my watch, unsurprised to find it’s nearly midnight. “Everyone needs to go to bed, especially the kids. We’ll meet back here at eight and figure everything out then.”

I’d normally feel bad offering up Trevor’s house, but he shouldn’t be trying to hobble his way around if it can be helped. And I sure as hell don’t want a bunch of people lingering at my place. Not when it’s already going to have one new addition haunting the halls for the foreseeable future.

I wiggle the fingers of my still outstretched hand. “Keys.”

Sybil scans the room, like she’s trying to decide whether or not she can outrun all of us. Ultimately, she must decide against making a break for it, because she cautiously moves toward me. After one final hesitation, she drops the keys into my open palm, her cold fingers brushing against my skin in the process.

I don’t want to feel bad for her. She lied to us. Lied to me. But I can’t stop the tiny gnaw of sympathy biting at my insides.

If it turns out she’s done nothing more than lie to us about her identity in order to protect herself, I’m going to feel like a dick. But I’d rather feel like a dick than have my family hurt because I was blinded by a pretty smile and long blonde hair.

I tuck the keys into my pocket before making my next demand. “I’m gonna need your cell phone too.”

“Oh.” Sybil cringes. “I don’t actually have that anymore.”

That has my brows lifting. “You don’t have your cell phone?”

She shakes her head. “No. I took the battery out of it and then put it in a trashcan at the hotel where I’ve been staying.”

The list of questions I have for this woman is getting longer every time she opens her mouth. “Why have you been staying at a hotel? I thought you had an apartment.”

Sybil pinches her lower lip between her teeth. “Yeah. I might have also stretched the truth on that a little.”

I scrub one hand over my face, more tired than I’ve been in a long time. “Fucking great.” I don’t even know where to start with this, so I turn away. “Come on. Time to go.”

“Go where?” Sybil doesn’t move. “I thought I was staying here.”

I turn back, staring her down. “You’re staying with me. I’m the only one who lives alone.”

If Sybil is trying to take us down, at least I’ll be the only one in the immediate line of fire.

“Oh.” She reaches up, tucking a bit of blonde hair behind one ear. “I didn’t know you lived alone.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” I step closer, lowering my voice so she’s the only one who can hear me when I say, “Like when I say I’ll do anything to keep my family safe, I mean I’ll do anything.”

Sybil stares up at me, her big blue eyes unblinking. “Anything?” The question is breathy and soft. Probably because I’ve fucking terrified her.

“Anything.”

It’s the truth. I don’t care if it scares the shit out of her and makes her think I’m unhinged. I might be. Especially when it comes to the people in this room. They’re all I’ve got, and I’ll be damned if I let anyone hurt them.