AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You should ask your brother if he deserved what he got…” I tilt my face up, looking at them directly, so there’s no misinterpreting my words. Their faces are priceless, the Sheriff looks sick, and Tony looks like he can’t believe someone else could dare to be as cruel as he is.
“What did you do?” Tony spits out, running out of the room. A second later, “NOOO!”
The Sheriff looks torn between going to see what Tony is seeing and staying put. The gun’s still pointed in my direction but he’s looking out into the hallway.
I use the distraction, launching up off the ground and easily snatching the Sheriff’s gun from his hand. It happens so quickly that he only has a second to look dumbfounded before I slam the butt of the gun against his temple, hard enough to render him unconscious instantly. His body buckles, crashing against the door as he falls.
“Nathan?” The sweetest sound comes from across the room, making my body go completely still. Callie is sitting up, pulling the belt from around her throat, her movements are sluggish, like she has no strength. She looks like my beautiful Callie, but utterly broken. The deep red marks around her neck are almost purple, her eyes are bloodshot. I want to go to her, but this isn’t over, so I use every last bit of control I have to stay where I’m at. I place my pointer finger over my lips, signaling her to stay quiet for me, hating the confusion that sweeps over her face. She gives me a small nod, trusting me like she always has.
I walk down the hallway to the bathroom, finding Tony exactly where I thought he’d be. Sitting on the floor, cradling his dead brother. Despite the blood, and the brain matter from being shot point blank, Tony is stroking Bub’s cold cheek. It seems as if he does have a heart after all.
“Just kill me. My brother is all I had. Just get it over with,” Tony speaks solemnly.
“You’ll die tonight, but not by my hand. Get up,” I demand, because my plan is already in motion. Tony looks at me puzzled, but for the first time, it seems he has nothing to say.
* * *
Callie
I sit in silence as Nathan comes back into the room and then out again, dragging the Sheriff’s body out toward the living room. It’s all I can do to keep my body propped up against the side of the bed. I ache everywhere and my throat is on fire. Through the pain, I’m trying to wrap my brain around what happened. Nathan found me, somehow he found me and saved me once again. It’s hard to comprehend how it’s even possible, so I save my energy and just accept the fact that I survived.
The loud music is finally turned off, and after five, maybe ten more minutes, he returns. He hesitates though, standing in the doorway, raking his eyes over my form. His hard features are devastatingly handsome, even with faint speckles of blood scattered across his face. His eyes are different from when he first found me, they’re softer now, and the coldness he directed toward the other men has dissipated.
“Are you okay, baby?” He asks so softly, I hardly hear him. Am I okay? In general, no, not really. But, I am alive, and he’s here. He seems like he has everything under control, which is no surprise considering what I know about him. He’s always in control.
“Yeah, I think I’m okay,” I tell him, truthfully. My voice is hoarse, my throat burns as I speak. I’m in pain everywhere, but the bruises will heal, and I’ll definitely need therapy after tonight, but at least I’m alive.
He finally comes over to where I’m slumped on the floor, slowly, like he’s afraid he’s going to spook me, and drops to his knees beside me. “I’m so fucking sorry. I never should have left you. I…” He pauses, raking his fingers through his hair, making it stand up and look messy. “I understand if you blame me. I told you I’d keep you safe and I fucked up. I fucked up, baby. I’m so sorry.”
He’s undoubtedly distraught, and it almost makes me want to laugh. Not at him, just at this insane situation. I’m the one who fucked up, I knew better than to be lured back here and I fell for it anyway, yet he’s the one apologizing. I can’t find the words to explain any of that though, or how grateful I am to see him again. I’m afraid even if I tried, I’d lose my voice, each breath feels like sandpaper against my throat.
I do the only thing that feels right, I wrap my arms around his neck and squeeze him as hard as I can manage. I need him to feel how much I love him and need him. He doesn’t waste a second, wrapping me in his arms like I’ve been dreaming about for weeks, and mourning since I was kidnapped again. I had accepted that I might not ever see him again.
He holds me like his life depends on it, and despite how badly it’s hurting my brittle body, I hold on just as tightly. I didn’t know if I’d ever get to do this again, I thought the life as I knew it was over. I weep into his neck, somehow still managing to produce tears after crying all night. He strokes my hair, murmuring how much he loves me, how much he missed me, how scared he was for me.
“Can we go home yet?” I manage to whisper, sniffling against his shoulder. His home, our home.
“Almost, just gotta tie up a few loose ends.” He holds my face up, wiping away the tears with his thumbs, and I notice a few of his own tears moistening his cheeks. I wipe them away gently, my heart aching, knowing how terrified he must’ve been when I was taken.
“Do you want to stay in here? Or, go out there with me?” He asks, nodding his head in the direction of the living room. The direction he dragged the Sheriff in.
Part of me wants to stay curled up in a ball on the floor, never having to see their faces again, but the bigger part of me doesn’t want to leave Nathan’s side again. Not even for a second, no matter what he’s about to do. I’m not brave enough to be alone yet.
“Let’s go,” I say roughly, holding my throat like it will help, then immediately regretting it when the tender skin stings at my touch. He looks distressed by my pain but doesn’t say anything, his face says it all. Sadness. Regret. Rage.
Nathan leans in, kissing me softly. “I love you. You are everything to me, I hope you know that.” I open my mouth to speak, but he shakes his head. “Don’t speak, I know it hurts,” he kisses me again, sealing my lips.
I lean into it, savoring the way his mouth feels against mine. I truly don’t think I’d be alive if it weren’t for this man. He has become everything to me too, and I know whatever comes next, we’ll get through it. Together.
He nods towards the front of the cabin. “Come on, the police will probably be here soon.” I don’t ask how the police knew to come, or how he knows they’re on their way, I simply follow him as he takes me by the hand, walking us to the living room.
I’m greeted by the sight of Sheriff Donahue and Tony tied to chairs, facing each other. Their torsos are bound so tightly that they look as if they’re struggling to breathe. Good.
Quickly glancing around the room, I realize Bub and Doris are nowhere to be found. The thought that he might still be somewhere hurting her makes my stomach clench in disgust.
“Where’s Bub? He has the Sheriff’s secretary,” I push the words out my throat even though it feels like my tonsils have been put through a meat grinder.
Nathan turns to me, cradling my face in his large hands so he can speak directly to me without the other two overhearing. “I already took care of him, don’t worry. I sent the secretary away.” He shrugs, making it seem like we just had a conversation about moves in a chess game and not human lives.
