Page 23 of Catch Me
She whipped around. “You weren’t supposed tobe here, Hannah. Did you ever wonder why we look so much alike? Did you ever think that maybe it was because we’re more than just sisters?”
My wrist ached as I twisted and turned my hands into position. I had to get her distracted, so she didn’t notice the pain that I wouldn’t be able to hide.
“No, we’re Irish twins and wearesisters. You aren’t making any sense.”
She rolled her eyes. “The truth stares you in the face and yet you do nothing but see what you choose to see. Weare actual twins.Not Irish or whatever made-up bullshit our parents told us. Fraternal twins.”
I stilled, her words hitting me like a ton of bricks. “What the hell are you talking about, Sybil? That’s impossible. Even more so, why would our parents lie about us being twins if we’re actual sisters?”
“Because they separated us at birth and they didn’t want anyone to know.” She looked at me, her eyes so like mine, her face just only slightly more delicate, her features just a touch sharper. “We were adopted, Hannah. Only when they adopted us, they only adopted one of us. Me. You were adopted too, by another family, but something happened and the adoption never went through.”
I forgot about the handcuffs and the half-dead man in the chair. I forgot about the pain thundering in my head and the metallic taste of blood on my tongue. “I’m adopted?”
“We’readopted. They didn’t get you until you were almost four years old after a call from a foster agency.”
I scoffed, sure she was lying at this point. “I knew you were crazy Sybil, but this is the biggest load of bullshit I’ve ever heard. We literally have pictures of us as babies in our parent’s house.”
“No!” she shouted. “We have pictures ofmeas a baby. Not you. Oh sure, there are pictures of us as little kids but none of us are together as babies. Not one.”
“Well then, why would they change our birthdates? Or our ages?” None of it made sense, and the more I tried to piece the blurred edges of my memories together, the more confused I became.
She shrugged. “Honestly, because they didn’t want to admit they’d had to adopt. Or that they had separated twins. What would the community think of them?” She said mockingly.
Closing my knees to my chest, and leaned my head back against the wooden pole, not caring about the sting of pain it caused. “I don’t believe you.”
“Believe what you want. It’s the truth. And do you know when I found out?” She flicked a piece of hay off her shirt with a mild look of disgust. “I found out when they threatened to send me away. They had to report the adoption, and that they weren’t my birth parents.”
I opened my eyes again and stared at her. “That’s when you changed.”
She nodded, “Yes. When they realized I knew, they would do anything to keep me quiet.” A grin spread across her face in twisted delight. “Anything.Do you know why I stopped harassing you so much? Because I no longer needed to threaten them with hurtingyouto get what I wanted. I had something much better. The truth.”
I shook my head. I knew my parents. Hiding an adoption? It was a possibility. My parents grew up in an era where some things you just kept quiet about. Especially in the South, where people talked and gossiped like it was the next thing to breathing. They probably didn’t want that hanging over our heads as a stigma. I eyed Sybil, her grin stretched tight across her face as like the Cheshire Cat. Like a cat that had just caught the mouse and was fully enthralled in toying with it. Controlling it.
That’s what this was all about. Control. And suddenly I knew what I had to do.
“Ok, Sybil. I believe you.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
Hannah
She looked at me for a moment, her gaze clouded with suspicion, so I continued on. “But what I don’t understand is why I’m still handcuffed to this pole and he,” I pointed my chin towards the unconscious José,"...is zip-tied to a chair."
She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Hannah, what’s the one thing I’ve always told you?”
I licked my lips, unsure of what to say next. “That I have terrible taste in men?” It was the only answer I could think of.
A short, barking laugh escaped her lips, and she moved closer to me, bending down so that we were at eye level, and for the first time, I saw in them the true depths of her madness. Her fingers gripped my jaw painfully as she leaned in closer. “That you’remyHannah. All mine. And no one gets to hurt you, harm you, orcontrol you.Except me. We were destined from birth to be together and no one is going to take that away. Simon tried. Sergei tried. And now this pathetic boy is trying.I will not let them.“
Her hot breath fanned over my face, and it took everything in me not to recoil away from her.Holy, fucking, psychopath.When I got out of here, I was going to have a serious conversation with my parents about their enabling tendencies and maybe sign us up for family counseling. But I had to get away first and some instinct in me knew that there was a countdown clock somewhere ticking the seconds away.
“You’re right, Sissy. No one can take that away. And I don’t want them to, but- “I pointed over her shoulder with my chin. “His family is going to be looking for him. And I’m almost positive they are on their way here now, or about to be. You need to get these handcuffs off me so we can get out of here.” She stood back up and scoffed at me.
“Let them come. I stationed my guards all around this property. They can handle whatever idiots the Hildago’s send.”
I shook my head. “No, Sybil, you don’t understand. It won’t just be the Hildagos. It will be every hitman they have on their contract list. Because they aren’t coming after just José, they will come afterme.You lured him here with the promise of taking me out. I know José Hildago. I know how egotistical and self-absorbed he is. He would absolutely jump at the chance to kill the person who dared to go after him.” Sybil studied me, silently weighing my words. I pressed on.
“You know this too. It’s why you set the trap for him. He may be stupid and hot-headed, but his family isn’t, Sybil. They will have figured out he went by himself by now. They’ll be on their way. And they will have sent every contract killer they know headed this way, too.” I leaned forward, straining against my cuffs. “We need to get out of here.”
