“I can’t wait to watch your fate be delivered, asshole.” Karson says to a still unconscious Preston.
Following Nick through the front door and up the stairs, I hear a woman gasp from the first floor. I look down to see her covering her mouth and shaking her head.
“Nick! Is she?” The woman asks.
“No, thank God. Just unconscious. The doctor should be here any minute, please send him to her room.” He says and pushes open a bedroom door.
I rush her over to the king sized bed that sits up against the far left wall of the room, and gently lay her down on top of the lilac colored duvet. Her head lolls to the side, and I gently push some of the matted hair away from her face. Brushing my fingers against her cheek, I squat down next to the edge of the bed.
“You really love her, don’t you?” Nick asks from somewhere in the room, and I nod. Sliding my gaze to where he stands, I swallow.
“I failed her, and I’m sorry.” I state with a whisper. “I’ll never let it happen again. I will always protect her with my life.”
“You didn’t fail her, Maverick, you saved her. I failed her. Fuck, I’ve failed her so many times.” He chokes on the words and runs his fingers through his hair.
“You were only doing what you thought was best. And you had no way of knowing he was still alive. It sounds to me like someone double crossed you. That isn’t your fault. Sending her away when you did definitely saved her. If she stayed, who knows what would have happened.” He nods and opens his mouth to speak when the bedroom door opens. We both look over to see a man dressed in black suit pants, and a dark blue button up shirt that's rolled up to his elbows, standing in the doorway. Nick steps over to the man, and stretches out his hand.
“Jerry, thank you for coming.” Nick says and the two shake hands. Jerry nods and comes to the side of the bed. He stops next to where I am squatted, and I glare up at him.
“I’m the doctor.” He states, sensing the unspoken question, and I reluctantly stand to give him space. Walking to the end of the bed, I watch as Jerry does a thorough examination on Parker–who still lays motionless on the bed. A knock on the door has mine and Nick’s heads turning to see who it is. Karson steps into the room, and the woman from downstairs follows.
“He’s all set. And the other two that you asked George for are down there as well.” He tells Nick, who nods then slaps my shoulder.
“Come with me. I think you’ll want to be around for this.” He says and walks toward the door.
“I’m not leaving her.” I tell them, and the woman pokes her head out from behind Karson. Her dark colored eyes meet mine and she offers me a smile that’s obviously meant to calm my nerves.
“I can stay with her. I promise, I will come get you if she starts to wake up.” Her tone is a little soothing–almost motherly–and I feel my shoulders ease slightly.
“This is Marie, she’s known Lizzy her entire life. She worked for Anthony and Tanya up until they passed, then came to work here to stay with Lizzy. To try and keep as much normalcy for her as possible. She’s in great hands with Marie.” Nick says, and walks out of the bedroom.
“I need to do some scans on her skull, I think she might also have a couple of fractures. I’m going to give her some medication for pain, so she will be out for a while. Go with him.” Jerry speaks as he feels around on Parker’s head, not looking at me. “Marie, will you please call Tyler, and ask him to bring up the equipment?” He asks and she nods, pulling out her phone.
“Come on, Mav. She’ll be okay.” Karson says and I look into his grey eyes. He nods, asking me to trust him, and the two of us leave the room. We walk down the stairs, and I follow Karson’s lead out into the back yard. There’s a shed that sits about a one-hundred yards away from us, and we walk in silence.
Opening the shed door, Karson walks to the back of the room that houses a couple of riding lawn mowers and some other lawn equipment, and lifts a trap door on the floor. He looks back over to me and smirks, then walks down a set of stairs under the door.
We reach the bottom, and I follow him down a tunnel made entirely of concrete that reminds me of our warehouse back in Oregon–only this is underground. Doors line either side of the long passageway with small windows at the top–resembling prison cell doors. We reach the end of the tunnel, and I look to see two men tied to wooden chairs. They’re sitting next to one another. One of the men looks enraged while the other looks petrified. Both men look up at Nick, who’s removing his suit jacket and rolling his sleeves up. He drops the jacket on top of a metal table, pushes his dark hair out of his face, then turns to look at them.
“Two years ago, I sent you to watch Lizzy’s house burn. Preston Gallo was inside that house. She told me that he was dead. So, someone fucking explain to me, how he’s alive and just kidnapped and beat my niece?” He states cooly, glaring at the men. Neither say anything and he steps closer to them.
“I want answers now. If I don’t get what I want, George is sitting outside your fathers pizza joint, Steven.” He says to the pissed off looking man, then turns to the scared one, “And Frank is sitting outside of your mother’s book store, Joey. I’d hate to see anything happen to your parents because their sons are royal fuck ups.” He slams his fist into Joey’s face, then turns to swing on Steven as well. Once he starts, he doesn’t stop. Karson and I stand behind and watch him single handedly beat the shit out of both men.
“Alright, alright!” Joey is the first to speak. Nick stops, and takes a step back.
“Shut the fuck up, Joey.” Steven seethes.
“We went and did what you asked. When we got there, Preston was laying out on the back porch, practically dead. I performed CPR and brought him back, then when the house was gone completely, we brought him to Sam.” Joey confesses and I watch as Nick shakes his head.
“Now why the fuck would you go and do that? I said make sure it burns, then leave!” He shouts.
Neither of the men say anything, and I watch as Nick puts the pieces together himself.
“You’ve been working for him, too.” He states. Steven and Joey look at the floor at their feet in shame. Steven’s fight ceases as he accepts his fate.
“How did he find her?” Nick asks, and it’s clear that Joey has nothing else to say. “It doesn’t matter now, she’s safe. And Preston is here too, somewhere.” He waves his hand around in a circle and the two men look at one another before resuming their stares at the floor.
“The two of you fooled me into trusting you. You’re both weak, pathetic excuses for men. Your parents would be ashamed of the both of you, if they knew what you did. I’ll spare them the shame of having to look at you ever again.” Without missing a beat, he pulls his gun off of his hip, and fires a round into both of their skulls, killing them immediately. Blood sprays onto the concrete behind them, and pools on the floor at their feet as it pours from their wounds. Nick wipes his forehead, and turns back toward Karson and I. His shoulders sag and I can see the disappointment in his eyes, but he did the right thing.
