Page 134 of Killing Mind

‘Brit, Sammy didn’t leave you either.’

‘Of course, she did. She hated…’

Why the hell was the girl convinced that all the people who had left hated her?

‘She was snatched,’ Kim explained. ‘She didn’t run away. It was all arranged by her parents. Sammy didn’t have any choice. She didn’t even know it was going to happen.’ Kim paused. ‘She didn’t hate you and she didn’t leave.’

‘No… no… no,’ she cried, shaking her head. ‘It’s not true. She left me. They all left me. Tiff was going…’

‘I wasn’t Brit, I swear,’ Tiff said, trying to move her head with Britney’s erratic actions.

‘She’s right, I called and told her I wanted to stay. I wanted to learn more from you. We’ve had such a laugh and I love being with you.’

‘You do?’ Brit asked, in a voice that held hope that it had all been a misunderstanding and everything could go back to the way it had been earlier.

Britney’s hesitation was all Tiffany needed to turn herself one hundred and eighty degrees and head-butt Britney in the stomach.

Britney’s hand unwound from Tiff’s hair as she fell backwards.

Kim took the opportunity to lurch forward and wrestle the knife from Britney’s hand by applying pressure to the wrist.

Britney bucked and flipped, but Tiffany was already straddled across her, in a move that Kim had used herself once or twice.

Kim felt the knife drop from her hand as a force from behind knocked her to the ground.

One Hundred Eleven

Kim turned to see Jake Black standing over Tiffany and Britney with the knife in his hand.

‘Get off her,’ Jake said, touching Tiff between the shoulders with the blade. His expression was unreadable.

‘Do it,’ Kim said, turning herself to a sitting position. The person who held the knife held the power.

Tiff moved aside and Britney sat upright.

‘Oh, Britney, what have you done?’ Jake asked, gently.

‘She was going to leave me, Jake. Just like the rest of them. I had to stop her,’ Britney said, staring up at him. Both she and Tiff were forgotten, and the girl only had eyes for the man towering over her.

‘We don’t hurt people, Brit,’ he said, softly.

Kim studied his face. The words were gentle but the expression in his eyes was hard. His right hand gripped the knife tightly.

A shiver ran down her body. Jake Black was not here to help.

She had no idea what he planned to do with the knife in his hand and until she did she couldn’t move. He was too close to Britney and in striking distance of Tiff.

‘But you said they all hated me, you told me where Sammy lived and…’

‘I told you so that you’d know she was safe. I knew how close you two were. I wanted you to know she was okay.’

‘B… but… you said they needed to be punished… that they had let us down. That they were ungrateful and that they were going to say bad things about the farm… about the family.’

‘I didn’t mean thatwehad to punish them, Britney,’ he said, smoothly.

‘You told me they hated me, that they’d never liked me.’

Kim’s heart broke for the child in Britney that was speaking as the depth of Jake’s manipulation became clear.