J.R. laughed, then began to cough. “Fine. Be a pansy. The old James Malcolm would have shot me already, to hell with everyone else. I’m glad you don’t work for me. I can’t stomach the sight of you.”

Skeeter barely flinched, the only visible sign that J.R. had gotten to him.

J.R. took a step back. “If that’s the way you want it, I’ll back out of here and leave you be, but if you follow”—he waved his gun between us — “I’ll hunt you both down and make you wish I’d killed you this time.”

Skeeter’s body tensed, but he nodded. “I can live with that.”

“I can’t,” Joe said out of nowhere, his body filling the doorway.

A gunshot went off and J.R. fell to the floor in a heap. Joe stomped over and stood over his father’s body, then pulled the trigger one more time.

“Simmons!” Skeeter shouted. “Deveraux’s been shot!”

Both men knelt beside Mason’s unmoving body, and I felt my consciousness slipping away.

No!

I had to make sure Mason was okay. But my eyes burned and my chest felt tight. As much as I tried, I could barely keep my eyes open, even when Joe picked me up, cradling me to his chest as he strode through the smoke-filled building. A section of roof over the factory equipment collapsed with a loud crash, and the last thing I remembered was the cold night air as Joe passed me off to someone else.

Chapter 34

I woke up to an irritating, continuous beeping noise. My eyes were too heavy to open, so I blindly reached to turn off my alarm, but something tugged on my hand. Terror sent my heart racing, making the beeping noise increase.

J.R. had caught me.

I bolted upright, gasping in fear, but confusion settled in as I took in my surroundings and registered the shooting pain in my side. I was in a hospital room. There was an IV in my arm, and I could feel something wrapped tight around my chest under the hospital gown I was wearing.

“You’re okay,” Neely Kate said in a soothing voice, lightly stroking my arm. “You’re safe.”

I turned to look at her, starting to cry even though I wasn’t sure why. “What happened?”

“Joe and Skeeter got you out just in time. The building collapsed seconds later.” Tears filled her eyes. “I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

I tried to shake my head, but pain shot through my skull. I pressed my fingers to my temple, trying to ease the ache as well as shake my memories loose. “I’m forgetting something. Something important.”

Worry filled her eyes. “You have a bad concussion, Rose. The doctor said memory loss is normal. It should all come back.”

“No. There’s something else. Something I need to remember.”

She gently pushed me back to the bed. “You need to lie still. You have broken ribs and a concussion. You need to rest.”

“Violet!” I cried out, sitting up again and gasping from multiple sources of agony. “She was leaving today! Is it today?”

A soft smile spread across her face. “Yes, it’s the morning that Violet is leaving, but she hasn’t left yet. She’s with your Aunt Bessie on her farm in Lafayette County. Joe said he suspected something big was happening last night, so he moved Violet and the kids to your aunt’s farm.” She pushed me back again. “Now lie down.”

The nurse came in to check my vital signs and my IV, then she unhooked my heart monitor now that I was awake.

When she opened the door to leave, Jed walked in. There was a scowl on his face, but it vanished as soon as he saw me sitting up in bed. “She’s awake.”

“And stubborn and uncooperative,” Neely Kate said, pushing me back again.

“So she’s completely back to her old self?” he teased.

“Very funny,” I grumbled.

He moved to the other side of my bed, looking me over. “You scared the shit out of us, Rose.”

“She doesn’t remember everything,” Neely Kate said softly, looking into his face. “She’s forgotten what happened at the end.”

They looked at each other for a quick moment, but that glance conveyed some secret message.

“What’s goin’ on?” I asked, getting suspicious.

“Rose, you need to get your rest.”

“I’ve been resting. What time is?” I looked around for a clock, gasping when I saw the time. “Ten in the morning? Apparently I’ve gotten a lot of rest.” Still, I couldn’t ignore the fact that they were hiding something from me. “Where’s James?”

“Why do you call him that?” Neely Kate asked in a blatant attempt to change the subject.

“Because it’s his name. Now where is he?”

Jed shifted his weight. “No one’s been allowed to call him that since we were kids. With the exception of J.R. Simmons.”

“Yeah, and I know why, which is exactly the reason I use his given name.” I grabbed a handful of Jed’s shirt and pulled him closer. “Now where is he?”

Jed gently unfurled my fingers, then fanned his hand in front of his face. “You know I’m fond of you, Rose, but that has got to be the rankest breath I have ever smelled.”

“Where is he?” I asked again, my anxiety rising.

“Rose, calm down,” Neely Kate said softly. “He’s giving his statement to the state police. Backing up Joe’s story.”

“What story?”

They exchanged looks again.

“Where’s Joe?”

“He’s dealin’ with his crazy-ass sister,” Neely Kate grinned. “Kate’s just gonna make him appreciate me all the more.”

I closed my eyes, trying to remember what happened the night before. “Kate . . . she shot two men.”

“Yes.” Her voice was so quiet I could barely hear her.

What were they keeping from me? Now I really needed to remember. Another image hit me.

“Hilary.” My eyes flew open in a panic as I searched Neely Kate’s face. “She’s dead.”

She nodded.

“Joe? Is he okay?”

Neely Kate paused. “He’s a mess, but he’s holding it together. At least for now.”

I could only imagine the pain he was going through. Tears filled my eyes.