In The End Box Set | Books 1-3 Stevens, GJ (story books to read TXT) 📖

do whatever she wants. She's the head of the whole program and holds the key to getting more of this,” Toni said, opening her palms and showing me the vials resting in the centre.

“Who is she?” I said, remembering a cupboard above the camera boxes.

“You've met,” she replied, as I pulled out the hi-vis jacket with PRESS written along the back in black letters.

Trying to keep my fingertips from the blood as much as I could, I picked open the blouse buttons and slung the shirt to the corner. Looking down my chest, bare apart from the streaks of dried blood, I stared at the remains of a red river running between my breasts.

“You met her when you first arrived. She would have wanted to look you in the eye.”

I pulled on the warmth of the jacket. Feeling the hug of the material against my skin, I turned back to Toni staring back through the imagined windows.

The conversation caught up in my head, my fingers stopping the zip halfway up as I remembered the older woman with grey hair as she sat across the table with those deep green eyes.

“Who is she?” I said, my eyes narrowing. I watched as Toni took a deep swallow.

“My mother,” she replied, and her head fell into her hands.

25

“Your mother?” I said, lurching forward as I pulled the zip to just below my neck. If I’d blinked, I’d have missed her nod. “She’s not your mother,” I said, not able to hold back the laughter as I shook my head. “I knew your mum almost as well as I know mine. Why would you say that?” I stepped back, my surprise turning to anger at her obvious lie.

“I’m adopted,” she said through her hands, her shoulders stooped as she stared at the floor of the van. The words sparked through me like a shock wave.

I should have paused and taken the time to think this through, but instead the words just came along with the anger of only just finding this out now.

“How long have you known?”

“Just over a year.”

The frustration turned to guilt as I saw the conflict on her features. The last time we’d seen each other, the last time we’d spoken would have been about that time. It had been almost a year since I’d told her we needed to keep away from each other.

“Did you know when…” I said, not able to finish the sentence as I questioned if maybe it was the stress of the news that made her so much worse than she’d ever been. “You never mentioned her,” I said, trying to hold back a torrent of emotion whilst unpicking how I felt.

The pain she’d gone through was so clear on her downcast features and the way she slumped in her seat. Still, there was no excuse for taking it out on me at the time. When I made my decision, the arguments had grown so frequent I no longer wanted to be near her for fear of the anger spilling over and one of us doing something we would regret forever.

Toni looked up with her eyelids low and her battered face so full of sorrow.

“There was a lot going on at the time,” she said.

She snorted a laugh, but her lips fell flat before they could form a smile.

Maybe if she’d talked about it, maybe if I had helped her open up rather than just walking away, things might have been different. Guilt weighed heavy and I stepped forward, kneeling back beside her and pulling her undamaged cheek to mine.

I didn't know how to reply. I wanted to know so much. I wanted to know if I’d made the whole situation worse.

“What about Terry and Anne?” I said without thought as a vision of their faces sparked into my head. Their names sounded weird in my voice.

When she pulled away, pushing her head into her hands, I kicked myself as I drew a deep breath and rubbed the back of her head.

Toni tried to stand but fell back to the chair before trying a second time. Breath sucked through her teeth as she put weight on her feet.

I stood, taking a step back and watched a brightness appear on her face as she looked around the van, eyeing the boxes of cameras and equipment secured by cargo straps to the shelves.

“Does this stuff work?” she said, her features pointed to a frown.

“Of course it does,” I said, scowling at the question, but my annoyance disappeared as I watched the smile rise on her lips.

“Do you know what we should do?” she said, but spoke again before I could answer. “We should get this story out there. Break this wide open.”

“You think?” I said, a wide smile hanging from my lips.

“Our bargain. Fill the tapes with what they want no one to see,” Toni said, her tone rising. “Then she’d have to give us what we need. Come on, let’s get moving. I know just the shot we need.”

My head filled with excitement at her words. She was saying what I wanted to hear and my mind raced through the possibilities. Then I realised the obvious flaw.

“One problem,” I said, and she turned back, raising her eyebrows. “Who’s going to film it?” I replied, my brow matching hers.

She stopped before she spoke with her mouth hanging wide. Her lips then pursed as if the words would come out, but didn’t.

“I’m in front of the camera,” I said, trying to flatten out my scowl.

“You don’t…” she said, stopping herself, then laughing before her brow furrowed again to ease the pain. “You don’t know how to use the equipment.”

“Stop staring at me like I’m an uneducated ape. I’m a journalist. A professional. I have qualifications, experience. This equipment,” I said, looking around and