Snow, Blood, and Envy by Haus Jean

Author:Haus, Jean [Haus, Jean]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2011-12-20T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 26~Snow

Tears wet my face. The frigid air turns the wetness to almost ice, but I’ve given up on wiping them away. Though I usually stay far away from any feelings, I can’t contain my emotions. This is wrong. So very wrong. Harrison does not deserve to be dumped and used. He deserves a proper burial and farewell. He deserves music, flowers, and more than just my tears and guilt. Instead, I’m leaving him under branches covered with snow and over frozen leaves. Ice is his grave marker. Snowflakes his mourners.

Jai pulls the tarp away and closes lifeless eyes with a gloved finger. He glances at my face. Frowning, he looks back at the body. “Maybe we shouldn’t do this.”

I shake my head. We had to get him out of the car and this will be to our benefit. Deep inside though, what we’re doing is killing me.

An arm winds around me and he pulls me close. “Are you sure?”

I hold on to him, needing his strength to get through this. “Yes.”

He holds me a bit longer then tugs my arm. “We’ve got to go.” Nodding, I let out a stream of air. The carved lines of his face are soft as he asks, “You want me to drive?”

“No, I’m okay.” Not really, but we aren’t in the clear yet, aren’t far enough away. Before walking out of the ring of leafless bushes, I glance back one last time. In the dusk, he’s grayer lying against the snow. The dark, red bullet hole in his forehead creates a vibrant contrast to the muted pallet. I pause. The image of blood and snow stirs something in me and icy tendrils creep down my spine.

“Come on,” Jai says from ahead.

I leave the eerie feeling in the grove of dead winter plants and hurry to the street while guilt and sorrow gnaw at my gut. In the backseat, Chang and Ping are silent. With the turn of the ignition, we speed away. I glimpse back one last time. The elegant roof of Mali’s old apartment building is visible above the naked bushes. We had dinner in her posh dining room once before the marriage. A long, boring drawn out affair that Harrison drove us home from. I know she still owns the place.

While I drive north, six eyes search the streets. At the first pay phone, the police are going to get a call about a dead body. And I’m hoping the dead body will help my father believe me. Because everything has changed. I can’t just leave and disappear.

Mali came for me. How can a ransom work when I know who’s behind it? I’m fairly certain, if I’m caught I won’t live. But that’s not the issue running through my mind while I drive. Even with a ransom, I’m not the gold mine. My father is. And even if he’s a bad parent and was a total asshole yesterday, I refuse to just leave him with a murdering bitch.

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