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As I approach the site office, raised voices can be heard from inside, and I scan the area to try and work out who’s there. Other than Peters’ patrol car, which was a given, there is one other car parked up in front of it.
The blinds in the office are pulled shut with nothing more than a sliver of light escaping. The voices grow louder, followed by a scream, and while I want nothing more than to burst through that door, I know I have to be patient. Abandoning the cars, I approach the office on silent feet, slipping round the side and checking the back. There’s a strong smell of gasoline coming from the office or nearby, at least that’s what I’m hoping.
More light pours out from one of the back windows, which must mean the blinds are open. Creeping closer, flat to the wall, I take a quick peek. Thankfully, from the limited look I got, everyone has their back to the window or is in profile, except Stu, who appears to be unconscious and tied to a chair in the corner closest to the door.
I risk another glance, lingering a little longer this time. Peters has hold of Kenz by her hair as she kneels on the floor, blood smeared across her cheek, while pointing a gun and yelling at Carmichael.
“How long?” Peters demands, punctuating the words with a wave of his gun in Carmichael’s direction.
“Liam, don’t listen to her. She’s just trying to mess with your head, son.”
He looks unsure for a minute, contemplating Carmichael’s words, but then the shutter comes back down again, and it’s clear that he doesn’t believe his father.
“No, I don’t believe you. You told me that to achieve what we wanted I would need to make sacrifices. You said that Aria needed to be with Owen so he would do what we wanted. I went along with that even though you promised her to me. You fucking promised me!” he bellows, tugging on Kenz’s head in anger and making her yelp.
Before I can even think about the rage seeing Kenz like that is pumping through my body, or just how fucked up this whole thing is the sound of tires on gravel has me ducking down and moving to the end of the office. I watch as a dark SUV comes to a skidding halt, almost kissing the bumper of Peters’ patrol car. Preston Thomas bursts from the car, his face twisted and white with fury, and a look of death to anyone that gets in his way as he thunders up the steps to the office. I reach the window just in time to see him throw the door open, the clatter of it hitting the wall so hard it shakes the whole cabin. With the door now open, and the pinched expression on Preston’s face, I know the smell of gasoline is coming from inside the office.
“You dirty fucking bastard! You dare to touch my daughter!” he yells, pointing a finger at Carmichael. His eyes dart around the room, taking in the scene, widening, as do mine, when Aria steps out from behind Carmichael to stand in front of him.
“Daddy, stop. It’s not like that. Cal loves me. We’re going to get married. Isn’t that right, darling?” she says, looking over her shoulder for confirmation that what she believes is true. When he doesn’t answer, she steps back and to the side to look at him, reaching out to hold his hand. When he pulls away from her, she brushes it off and tries to cajole him. “It’s okay, Cal. Daddy knows now, so we don’t have to hide anymore.”
Preston looks at his daughter then back at Peters who still has a hold of Kenz, but the gun he was pointing at Carmichael has dropped a little and is now pointing to the floor. I see the decision the moment he makes it, and I fucking wish like I hell I could get in there quick enough. He shoves Peters to the side, and he stumbles, dragging Kenz with him and causing her to cry out as he tugs on her hair. With Peters caught off guard, Preston makes a grab for the gun, but he’s too quick. Peters lashes out, catching Preston in the face with the gun and accidentally firing a shot, shocking himself and everyone else.
The sound of crying and panic draws my attention to Aria. She’s still standing slightly in front of Carmichael, but now she’s hunched over holding her stomach. Pulling her hand away from her body, it’s bathed in blood, dripping down her hand like the rivulets of a stream, between her fingers, and onto the carpet below.
Everyone is looking at Aria, all except Carmichael, who is straightening the sleeve of his shirt and looking mildly pleased by the whole thing.
“Daddy…” she whispers, before falling to the floor. Preston lurches forward, catching her and cradling her in his arms.
“It’s going to be alright. Just hold on. Help is coming.” He says the words like they’re the truth, but then he looks around the room and the real truth settles on him.
This is my moment, while they are distracted, but something keeps my feet in place. It’s like a great weight weighing me down, telling me to bide my time, just a little longer. I focus back on what’s going happening in the office.
I watch as Preston lays his daughter’s head to the floor, a pool of blood has gathered across her stomach and in a circle beneath her.
“Why, Calvin?” he asks, as he climbs to his feet, his own clothes tainted with his daughter’s blood. “How could you do this to me? After everything I’ve done for you, everything we’ve built together. I protected you. Believed you when you told me those allegations weren’t true. You’re sick.”
Peters has let Kenz go, and she has thankfully moved out of his reach. He’s still holding the gun in his hand with a look of deep sadness on his face as he looks at Aria’s prone body. At the sound of Preston’s voice, he looks up. His sadness is replaced with confusion as to who the enemy is now.
“Look, it’s nothing personal, Preston. To be honest, you were never meant to find out about Aria and me. But I did enjoy her. So much more when she was pure and untouched though. Unfortunately, my attention has been waning for some time, but she was a means to an end.”
“You son of a fucking bitch,” Preston says, marching forward, but he’s halted as Carmichael pulls a lighter from his pocket.
“Nuh-huh, Preston,” he says almost daringly. “I’m sure you smelt the gasoline when you came in here. A little job that I had Aria do before anyone arrived, all except Stu over there, who has been here for quite some time. I’m sure he enjoyed the show when she sucked my cock one final time. I know I did. Such a sweet little mouth.”
“Shut the hell up talking about my daughter like that. My daughter that your imbecile son just fucking killed. What are you going to do, Calvin, huh? Kill us all?” he spits, taking another step forward.
Carmichael opens the zippo lighter, flicking it and bringing a flame dancing to life. “Well, yes, actually, that’s just what I intend to do.”
This time there’s nothing stopping me as I move. I know that if he drops that flame, this whole place will go up. I can still hear him as I move to the front of the office, making sure to duck beneath the window as I pass it to avoid anyone seeing my shadow.
“And how the hell do you think you’re going to explain that, Calvin?”
“Well, Liam here, if he’s done his job right, has already eliminated Owen with the help of Aria. You know, she was quite the little assassin. And Asher King is going to kindly pay for Owen’s death for me. As for you and Stu over there, you’re all going to die at the hands of Kennedy Scott, the young girl traumatized by the death of her father and brother and who shot Aria in some warped love murder pact with Asher, before shooting herself amid the flames lit by her own hand. How does that sound?”
From my position just outside the door, I can see that Peters doesn’t look so convinced by his dad’s plan. And I’m guessing he’s not told Carmichael that I’m a free man.
I’m just about to do that for him when from the corner of my eye, I see Kenz, who has somehow managed to release her handcuffs, prepare to make a move herself. I try to catch her attention, to stop her, but she’s only focused on one thing, Calvin Carmichael.
