Page 193 of Malice and Surrender
Julian was right on cue, and I locked my eyes on his arms, but in the split second, before he caught me, he moved his arms just enough that I missed my grab. One hand missed completely, but the other managed to link the tips of our fingers.
I lifted my gaze to his eyes, and he smirked subtly as his eyes remained wide like he was surprised, “Oops.”
There was this moment of hesitation as his finger relaxed, and I began to fall. Julian watched as I plunged to the floor, and the voice in my head screamed that this couldn’t be happening.
A burst of fear had adrenaline pumping through my system, and my arms and legs pinwheeled like that would somehow make me fly. I remembered the safety net and relaxed into the position to land safely. I saw the worried faces of the other performers as I dropped like a stone.
Sure enough, I hit the net and bounced high into the air. Like we were taught, I stood up to land on my feet for the second bounce, ready to scream at the top of my lungs what Julian had just done. As my feet touched the net the second time, one side snapped, and that was all it took. The momentum of a twenty-foot bounce and the odd jerk as the safety line broke dropped me at an odd angle onto my left leg.
There was no pain at first, just the sound of a pop and then tearing as my knee bent one way but my body the other as I landed in a heap. I could hear people screaming and shouting and one of the paramedics that we always had on hand telling me not to move. Unable to help myself, I looked down and didn’t understand what I saw. Why could I see my heel? Either my leg or spine was backward, and I knew I was in bad shape.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Julian running over as if he was concerned, and I screamed and pointed at him.
“You did this. You’re evil,” I hollered as loud as I could.
Fake tears trailed from his eyes. “I’m so sorry, Avro. It was an accident, I swear,” he professed over and over, but I knew better.
That one day, that one man, and that one decision had changed the course of my life forever.
Bending over, I touched the half-moon line and winced. Sometimes I wished I’d told Jace the truth, told him it wasn’t an accident, but I knew what he would do. I’d seen him do it to my uncle, and there wasn’t a doubt in my mind he would kill for me again, and I didn’t want that for him, me, or our souls. No, it was better this way.
I wanted Julian to pay, but the dark hatred I felt for the man scared me, and I decided to move forward with my life rather than live in the past. As it turned out, I could’ve gotten a position with the same group but a different show when my knee was healed, but by then, I’d met Raine.
Laying down on the bench, I went through the first half of my arm workout and then sat up and finished it off. I felt better by the time I was done and was tempted to do more, but the others would be up soon, and I wanted breakfast well underway or done. I hated people staring over my shoulder while I cooked, and Jace loved to do it because he knew it would annoy the shit out of me.
Wandering down the hall, I turned into the kitchen and stopped walking as I tried to process what I’d just seen. Taking a step back, then another, I stared into the living room, my eyes searching the corners like this was a great prank. But, it wasn’t hiding in any of the corners.
“Jace,” I called out. “Jace, can you come here?” I yelled and could hear more than just one set of footsteps running down the stairs.
“What is it? What’s wrong? Is it your knee,” Jace asked as he looked me over like a worried hen. Raine was next as she stared at my face and then down at my body. They were acting as if I’d just been shot.
“Stop, both of you.” I pointed into the living room. “Where the fuck is the couch?”
“Un-fucking-believable.” We all looked at Kai, who shrugged as he ran his hand through his hair. “Fucking aliens.”
What did one do with that answer other than blink?
Kaivan
Killing Wilder wasn’t an option, but fuck me, I wanted to.
Avro had a meltdown like I didn’t think he was even capable of. He searched outside and in the garage, thinking this had to be a practical joke, and of course, I was the top suspect.
I lost track of how many times I said, ‘I didn’t touch your couch,’ and ‘What the hell would I even do with it?’ Jace checked the cameras, and I covered my eyes, thinking for sure they would see me talking to a random guy in their home and just letting him stay. That would take some explaining. I mean, how the hell did you explain Wilder?
But Wilder had a camera scrambler or some other weird government tech shit on him. Or he scrubbed the three hours and seven minutes he was here because it was nothing but white snow, which set Jace off. I had to admit. It was nice not being the one freaking out for a change.
Just when we thought Avro was calming down, he noticed the container in the sink and went off, thinking whoever took the couch also ate his food. How rude.
“Okay, that’s my cue to get going,” I said to Raine. She was leaning against me as we stood in the kitchen. We both watched as Jace paced while he was on the phone. Avro was off cleaning every inch of the house, which apparently was his way of calming down.
It was driving me crazy that I felt bad for Avro. I should be laughing and joining Wilder as we sat on it and drank a beer. I should be rejoicing that he managed to piss the guy off, but once the initial anger wore off, Avro seemed beaten down. I could see it in his eyes as clearly as I could see my own reflection in a mirror.
“I’m going to go clean,” Avro said, pulling supplies from a walk-in cupboard.
“Do you want me to help,” Raine asked.
Avro shook his head and smiled at her, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “No, I just need to do this on my own,” he said and hugged Raine before disappearing.
