"No, no," Joss kept shaking his head. They could not go downstairs, and find the bodies. They could not go downstairs and stumble into whoever was waiting to take a knife to Hope. The thought of an uncle being a silent badarse didn't sink in, because in his experience, rescuers turned up too late to do anything but pick up the pieces.
The only one who might be able to save her was him. Fear crashed over him but he knew it was true. "You have to stay here," he hissed. "I'll go. But you have to stay here, promise?"