Lady Luck opened the cell and stormed inside.
“Stay away,” Evie said, but by then Lady had grabbed her by the hair.
“You can thank that brother of yours,” Lady said as she dragged her into the table area. “If he would only have stayed away, there was a chance you might have come out of this alive. But no, he had to push his luck, didn’t he?”
Evie fought to gain some balance, but she was being pulled too fast, her heels only scooping dirt from under her feet and failing to find any grip. “I don’t know what my brother does. I have no idea what he did, but he’s just trying to help me.”
“No.” Lady shoved her onto the table, which other girls sat around in chairs.
Evie felt hands on her—the other prisoners, making sure she was all right.
“He was already in the red,” Lady continued, pulling out a gun and pointing it at her. “What I’m doing here is serving justice. Mason has no right to cause me any more grief. Now it’s two points for him and none for me. How do you think that feels, Evelyn? How do you think that makes me feel?”
Evie sat up, her body tense. “What are you talking about?”
“Drop the act, girl. You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
“I really don’t. Look”—she inched off the table, her hands in front of her—“if Mason’s done something to hurt you, maybe you should just tell him. He’s a reasonable guy. We can all work together to make things right.”
A tear seeped from Lady’s eye, rolling down her cheek. She stepped back, pulling back the hammer on the gun. “You say it like it’s easy. As if any of you can bring people back from the dead.”
Did Mason hurt a friend of hers? Evie lowered her arms. Any sudden movements might suggest aggression—always a bad idea when the other person had a gun. “What do you mean?”
Lady Luck stared, her mouth hanging open. “You really don’t know?”
“No.”
She sniffled. “Your brother is a murderer.”
“What? There’s no way that’s true. That’s insane!” Evie knew everything there was to know about Mason, and he was no killer… or was he?
“No—he’s insane. My brother died because Mason thought it was the right thing to do. But he was a sweet man, my brother. He was the victim. Why can’t people understand that?”
“I don’t—”
“Was it Mason who gave my brother his name?” Lady rushed forward, pressing the barrel to Evie’s forehead. “Was it Mason who named him the Lullaby Killer, like some disgusting creature who kills for sport?”
Evie was stunned. A wave of heat flushed over her as pieces of the puzzle slid together. The moment she realized this woman was Marvin Wendell’s sister, Evie thought back to the night he’d gotten away. How easily Mason had backed off after losing his adversary in the woods. “But… Marvin is alive. He got away.”
“Is that what he told you?”
Sickness swelled in Evie’s stomach. To think Mason was a murderer was like admitting she’d been related to a total stranger. That her brother—her best friend—had not only killed a human being, but had lied to her face about it. “I didn’t know.”
“Well, you know now. And that bastard has my son.”
Murder and kidnapping? Evie felt lost. “It’s true I knew none of this…” Evie paused. “But what I do know is this: if you kill me, you’ll never see your son again. Mason is a very stubborn man, and he doesn’t like to be wronged.”
Lady just grunted.
“Now, if you keep me alive, at least you have something to negotiate with, right?”
“I guess. But I don’t just want my little boy back.” Lady grabbed Evie by the throat, spitting through clenched teeth. “I want him to suffer—to feel every little bit of pain he can before he dies. I’m not going to kill you, Evelyn. Not yet. But when Mason comes begging for his life, I’m going to show you what his actions have cost him… and that starts with you.”