“Not as long as they think Jules is dead.” She screamed at the top of her lungs. “Make the damn call, Gina!”
All of a sudden, shots were being fired outside of the bedroom. When the gunfire started, Nina turned her head slightly in the direction of the sound. Just a second of distraction was all I needed. She was caught off guard when I rammed my body into hers and pushed Cecily onto the floor at the same time. Nina’s gun fell out of her hand, and Cecily was able to kick it out of our reach. Thank god it didn’t discharge.
We tussled back and forth on the floor until I was able to gain the upper hand and land on top of her. I wrapped her hair around my fist and started pounding her face with the other. I landed several hard blows. I wasn’t sure how many times I connected as I unleashed my rage. Blood gushed from her nose and mouth.
“Stop. Oh . . . gaaaawd, please stop!” Cecily screamed and cried.
It was her screams that saved Nina’s life. I couldn’t kill her, not when Cecily stood right there.
Somehow, I managed to stop. Damn, Damn, Damn! I rammed her head into the floor one last time. It would be so easy to do it. Nina better thank God. That child has saved her on more than one occasion.
Just as I rolled off of her, the bedroom door crashed open. Brody and company entered the room . . . late.
It wasn’t just Brody, though; they were joined by the Chinese authorities who weren’t quite sure who were the bad guys in this situation. They yelled at all of us to drop our weapons and put our hands in the air.
I put my hands in the air, got up off of the ground, and slowly backed over to Cecily. “She’s just a kid.” I was able to kneel down in front of her without getting shot. “Are you okay?”
In the midst of all this chaos, she bravely responded. “I’m not hurt.”
I inspected her arms and face to see if she was telling me the truth. She squeezed the air out of my lungs when she wrapped her arms around me then buried her face in my neck. All I could do was wrap my arms around her and hug her back.
*****
We spent several hours in Chinese custody unraveling our situation. The mess we’d made was too big to cover up, but somehow, we were able to spin this entire thing where the blame was laid squarely at Nina’s feet.
Both she and Jonah weren’t going to be in a Chinese custody for too long. The United States wanted to have a word with them. The rest of us were released because of Brody’s connections. They were vast, and I was more than grateful. Otherwise, I might have gone broke trying to pay everyone off. If you have enough money, any government official, could be bribed.
It was late by the time we made it back to my compound after stopping off at my physician’s office to get stitched up. Luckily, the bullet went clean through my shoulder.
Cecily and I rode in one car, and Brody was in another. She hadn’t said a word since earlier. However, before we got out of our van to go inside the house, I reached out and squeezed her hand. “Are you really okay?”
She shrugged. “I don’ know.” Her voice was more like a whisper. “I found and lost my mom in less than twenty-four hours.”
“That’s got to be hard. I can’t imagine. So, I won’t say that I understand . . . I don’t even though I lost a sister. But, I’m happy you’re safe.”
“She said she loved me, yet she put a gun up to my head.”
“I don’t know if this helps, but I don’t believe she would have ever pulled the trigger.”
“It didn’t seem like that to me.”
“Nina would have never hurt you.” Too bad it wasn’t because she loved Cecily. No, she was as selfish as they came. She knew as long as Cecily was alive, I’d do anything to protect her. My greatest strength and weakness sat right next to me.
Cecily sniffed. “I don’t understand. What did I do wrong?”
My heart twisted. “It’s not you, Cecily. It’s us, Nina and me. We’re just . . . wired wrong. You, on the other hand, are nothing like us. You’re smart, kind, and everything she and I wish we could be.”
She looked up at me with tears on the tips of her eyelashes. “Aunt Gina, you saved my life. I think you’re amazing.”
“More people would disagree with that statement than would agree.”
“I’m not one of them.” She hugged me again. My throat closed up a bit. Never would I have imagined that I could love someone else more than I loved myself.
After a second of allowing this one moment, I pulled away. “Let’s go inside. We could both use a good shower and a nice drin . . . I mean, a nice glass of milk.”
*****
I stayed with Cecily until she fell asleep. We called Alexandro to let him know I’d be flying her home tomorrow. Now, it
