Free GraceinMoonlight by Stephane Julian Page B

returning the smile. “Good. Did you tell Amy
we’re not going to hurt you guys?”
    He nodded, his smile fading. “Yeah. But she’s worried.”
    Kaisie looked back at Amy, noticing the fine tremor in her
arms now. The weight of the gun was getting heavier. “I get that. I do. But I
promise you, no one will hurt you here. But you’ve got to be willing to put
down the gun. Your friend needs to be checked out. Can she speak?”
    Amy worried her bottom lip between her teeth for several
seconds before she lowered the gun to her side. “No. She can’t hear either. And
she’s our cousin. Her name’s Mara. She’s seven months pregnant.”
    Kaisie nodded. “Okay, Amy. Now, will you give me the gun
so—”
    “No.” She had it pointed at him in a flash. “No. I know what
you think of people like me. I know the first chance you get you’ll throw me in
a dark hole somewhere. But I promised Mara that everything will be okay and—”
    Kaisie moved so fast, Amy didn’t have time to get off a shot
before he took the gun out of her hand. He saw fear leap onto her face and
heard twin gasps of shock from behind him.
    Tears leaped into Amy’s eyes before she blinked them away
then stood even straighter as if waiting for him to hit her.
    With a few movements, he unloaded the half-full clip, made
sure there was none in the chamber and shoved the bullets in his pocket. Then
he flipped the gun in his hand and held it back out to Amy.
    Confusion bled through the fear now as she took the gun.
    “It won’t shoot but it’ll hurt like hell if you use it to
hit someone. But you won’t need to. Not here. We do not hurt kids.”
    Was he getting through to her? He couldn’t tell but it
didn’t matter. The other girl, Mara, had sucked in a deep breath and was
starting to pant.
    “Now, your cousin needs help. Are you gonna let the strega in without a fight?”
    Amy’s mouth firmed and she nodded then folded herself into
the corner closest to Mara. The wary fear he’d seen at the house had returned.
    He wanted that gone from her face but he realized it would
take time. Time they might never get if Cole decided the girl was a threat.
    Without taking his gaze from Amy’s, he motioned for Nica to
enter. She headed straight for the bed and started asking questions.
    Which, of course, Mara couldn’t hear.
    “You’re gonna need to translate, kid. No one but you knows
sign language.”
    Her sneer returned. “You trust me enough for that?”
    Kaisie smiled at her bravado. “For that, yeah. Come on, do
your thing and help out your cousin.”
    With a nod, Amy went to shove the gun at her back before
realizing she still wore her nightgown.
    She looked down at herself, disgust all over her face before
she took a deep breath and set the gun on the floor between her feet and looked
at Nica.
    Nica immediately began asking questions. What was her due
date? Had she had any complications? How close together were the contractions?
    Kaisie stepped over to Alex. “Come on, bud. I don’t think
you wanna be in here for this.”
    Picking up the boy, he moved to the door and looked back at
Amy. “You have my word nothing will happen to him and you’ll see him later.” He
made sure the girl looked him in the eyes before he headed out the door. “And
I’ll find you some clothes. Everything’s gonna be okay.”
    He left before she could contradict him.
    * * * * *
    Grace woke with one hell of a headache.
    She opened her eyes but snapped them closed at the blast of
bright light.
    Groaning, she tried to lift her arm to put her hand over her
eyes but found she couldn’t lift it.
    Was she tied to a bed? Her eyes flew open, the light not as
bright this time but still enough to bring tears to her eyes.
    A huge dark shadow moved across her, blocking the light.
    “Hey, Grace. It’s okay. You’re fine. Your arm’s immobilized.
That’s all. You’re safe.”
    She knew that voice. “Kaisie.”
    “Yeah. Alex is fine. So is Amy.”
    “Amy?”
    “Your