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“Surprise.” He leers at Callum, pressing the gun barrel to his forehead.
“No,” I cry out, my voice warbled from fear and panic.
“Get out of the fucking car,” he snarls, backing up a few feet to give Callum room and motioning with his gun.
“Juni,” Callum says without taking his eyes off Joshua, and I note how utterly calm his voice is. It’s soft, gentle… designed to impart rationality. “I want you to open that car door and run.”
“Don’t even fucking think about it, Juni,” Joshua says, dipping his head to look at me past Callum. He says my name with derision. “You run and I’ll put a bullet in your boy’s brain.”
“Okay, okay, okay,” I exclaim in a panic. “I won’t run. Just please do not shoot Callum.”
“If he’ll get out of the fucking car, I won’t have to.”
“I want you to run, Juni,” Callum repeats calmly.
“I’m not running,” I reassure Joshua in a near scream. “I’ll do whatever you want.”
Joshua brings the gun closer to Callum. “I want both of you out of the car by the time I count to three or Callum gets a bullet in the head. One…”
I don’t wait to hear anything else. I scramble out and slam the passenger door, turning to stare across the roof. Joshua has stopped counting and Callum is slowly straightening, having exited his seat.
My heart jackhammers, but I’m relieved to see Callum following orders. I know how badly he wants to hurt Joshua for what he’s done to me and he’d put himself in death’s way to protect me.
I raise my hands, palms toward Joshua. “Hey, look… I’m out of the car. I’ll go wherever you want me to go.”
“Shut up, Juniper,” Callum growls, turning his head to glare at me over his shoulder.
I ignore him, my gaze pinned on Joshua. “Just me and you. Let’s go right now. Tie Callum up if you want, but I’ll leave with you. No fighting, I promise.”
“Juniper!” Callum barks and because his attention is focused solely my way, he doesn’t see Joshua raising the gun before bringing it down hard on the side of his head.
It’s a blow meant to knock someone clean out—perhaps kill—but all it does is cause Callum to sag to one knee. His head drops below the roof and I can’t see him anymore, but Joshua raises the gun again and brings it down even harder. The sound is a sickening thwack that has me almost puking at the thought of what that just did to the man I love.
“No!” I scream and tear around the back of the car. Not to run away but to help Callum.
Joshua must think I’m making a dash for it because he meets me at the back of the car and I crash into him. He tries to grab me, but I wrench free and drop to the concrete floor beside Callum’s lifeless body.
He’s lying on his side, a large puddle of blood forming under his head. “Oh, God… Callum,” I cry as I put my fingers to his neck. I can’t feel a pulse, but I don’t even know if I’m in the right spot. I use my other hand to shake his body. “Callum… wake up. Wake up, please.”
“Let’s go,” Joshua growls from behind me and his fist wraps into my hair. He tries to jerk me up but despite the pain, I resist and pull against him.
It pisses him off and he gives up trying to lift me away from Callum, instead dragging me backward by the hair. I land hard on my butt and my legs and arms flail as Joshua drags me around the back of the car and toward the passenger side again. He grunts from the exertion but he manages to haul me all the way to the mudroom door that leads into the house.
“Get up,” he snarls, giving my head a harsh yank. To alleviate the pain, I scramble to my feet, only to realize somewhere in all that scuffle, I lost both my shoes. “Get in the house,” he urges and I don’t hesitate. The farther I can get him away from Callum, the better. I don’t trust him not to shoot him when he’s down. I can only hope Callum’s okay.
“Yes, fine… I’m going,” I grouse as I push open the door. Joshua gives me a rough shove and I stumble through the mudroom but right myself as I step into the kitchen. It fills me with hope that he doesn’t bother to close the garage door and perhaps someone will see Callum lying there, although chances of someone strolling by at this time of night are small.
Joshua’s there though, pushing the gun into my back. “Disarm the alarm system. And if you try to alert the company, I’ll shoot you.”
My hand shaking, I reach up to the control panel and enter the code to turn it off. Once it beeps to signal it has been deactivated, Joshua gives me a shove, gun still jammed in my back. “To the master bedroom.”
A shudder runs up my spine at the implication and every cell in my body rebels against the idea, but I want him to forget about Callum.
I capitulate and walk that way… through the kitchen, the living room and down the short hall to the master suite.
When I enter, I’m for some reason grateful that I made the bed this morning. It’s been my habit since I was a kid, as my mother always felt the best way to start the day is with a tiny accomplishment.
For our family, that was simply making your bed.
