Love and Decay, Kane's Law by Higginson Rachel

Author:Higginson, Rachel
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, horror, suspense, adventure, action, zombies, apocalypse, young adult, novella, new adult, rachel higginson, love and decay
Publisher: Rachel Higginson

Chapter Three

My father’s eyes lit up with depraved anticipation as he took in my little brother. There were a few things about Matthias that I didn’t understand- his utter hatred and disgust with Miller was one of them. But it wasn’t my place to question. I tried to convince Miller to play along, to follow orders and fly under the radar. But the kid just liked to push buttons.

“Well, if it isn’t the prodigal son,” my father called out when Miller stood before us, beaten to a bloody pulp.

I stilled next to Reagan. I hated that she had to see this, see how dysfunctional my family could be at times. If I could hide this part of my life from her, I would- she would never see the darker side of the Allen family. But it was too late now, and so I just had to hope Miller kept his shit together and didn’t make this worse for everybody.

“Hi, father,” Miller called out, sounding like he’d swallowed a sock. It was starting already. I could feel the tension rolling off my little brother like radioactive waves. He bristled like a porcupine when prodded and by his beaten, black and blue face, he had been well and poked.

My father either didn’t notice, or didn’t care. He grew instantly serious and demanded, “Have you learned your lesson, Son?”

Miller’s head bobbed up and down like a cartoon. “Yes, Sir,” he said with pretend conviction.

My father played along, “And what did you learn?”

“Not to get caught, Sir.” I almost smiled at Miller’s candidness. That was a lesson I had wanted him to learn years ago.

The room erupted into disapproval. Half these men would stone Miller if my father would allow it. He was constantly causing trouble, constantly bringing down my father’s wrath. The people despised Miller for it. They were too loyal to my father to appreciate someone with a different opinion. But most of all, my father could be a cruel and unpredictable man when set off. Miller often set him off. This concerned the people because Miller was frequently not the only person punished for his transgressions.

While the men and women shouted their disapproval behind me, I felt the slightest wince fall from Reagan’s lips. She felt sorry for my brother- which was to be expected.

There were many things I could say to her, excuses I could make, but this was the very worst place to try to have that conversation with her. Besides, her eyes were on my father in this moment and now my father’s eyes were on her.

Matthias let the room settle down while he studied Reagan carefully. Finally, when he could be heard over the din, he said, “We’re a community, Reagan. Do you understand that? We take care of each other. We protect our own from the dangers of this fallen world. And we haven’t lost anyone yet, even while our numbers continue to grow. This was once a tiny, insignificant little nothing town. But now look at us.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.