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She pushed the door closed behind her and glanced to my left at the spinning vials. “There’s Phenobarbital in there, isn’t there?”
I nodded, but didn’t speak.
“So, are you going to report me?”
I sighed and stared at her as she pushed off of the door and wrapped her hands behind her back. “You know I have to. You tried to kill someone’s cattle and stole a lot of drugs.”
“BUT I HAD TO!” she cried out, ripping her hands out from behind her back. In her grasp was a small pistol, which she pointed directly at me. I stepped back into the counter behind me, glancing at the still spinning centrifuge and completely bewildered. My heart was racing as she continued towards me, brandishing her weapon.
“H-h-had to?” I stuttered, attempting to mask the fear that was surging through me.
“He wouldn’t pay attention to me. This was the only way to get him to notice me, to see me again,” she stated, her eyes narrowing in on me as she continued slowly my way. One could smell the threat that loomed in the air, as she closed the distance between us.
“Who wouldn’t, Carly?” I asked, hearing the machine beside me beep lightly indicating the cycle was done. I blinked back the fear as her eyes shifted to the centrifuge. Reaching a trembling hand out towards the machine, she clicked her tongue, stopping me.
“I wouldn’t do that,” she angrily stated. “You know, when you first came here I thought you would be a hindrance to my plans, but instead you helped me know when the best times to hit them were. Feeding me information in ways you didn’t realize, that’s how come I never was caught. I can’t believe no one ever found the locoweed I’d been growing in my greenhouse at home. Not even my parents. Somehow, you’d attracted the attention of the entire town, and it was simple to find out where you were orhewas.”
Carly stopped directly in front of me, just an arm’s length away. Her once perfect hair was frizzy and mangled, dark bags underneath her eyes matched the dark gray sweatpants that were wrinkled about her slender frame.
“Who was, Carly?” I asked once more as the centrifuge whirred to a complete stop, and she shifted the barrel of the gun to the vials now that were still inside.
“CASSIDY! Haven’t you figured it out yet?” she screeched at me, and I lunged for the centrifuge as she squeezed the trigger. A searing pain slipped through my side as I crashed to the floor, cradling the machine. The cord ripped out of the wall as I took a painful, shaking breath. “HOW DARE YOU!”
I clutched the machine tighter as the gun shook in her grip. “DROP IT!” she screamed, and I shook my head, refusing to give up the evidence that would prove what I’d previously thought, and now had confirmed.
“This whole thing, you did all of this because Cassidy didn’t take you on a second date?” I asked, trembling. She shook with rage, bumping the heel of her hand against her head.
“He was supposed to love me back. I knew he was the one for me after the first date, but he practically avoided me after. So I had to make sure that he came around and noticed me. But you messed it up! He was interested in you instead!” she screamed again, and the door across the room crashed open. In stumbled the livestock agent and sheriff, along with Doc and Weston, who shoved himself in last.
“Put your gun down,” the sheriff commanded, everyone but Doc brandishing a handgun of their own. Even Weston had a deadly look on his face, honing in on the girl who was holding me hostage.
“Drop it,” the sheriff repeated.
Carly blinked, anger caressing her features and then defeat. She knew she’d lost, and while she may be willing to kill cattle, I doubted she was willing to kill a human.
Her shoulders sagged, and the pistol fell to the floor. She lifted her hands in the air as the livestock agent and sheriff came rushing at Carly. My eyes locked onto Weston who shoved his 9mm into his waistband and crashed directly towards me.
I shook, still unable to let go of the centrifuge as he fell to his knees and reached forward. Strong hands gently pulled the machine away from me and he handed it to Doc, who grabbed it and returned to the sheriff.
Weston’s intense blue eyes were filled with concern and relief. As well as a little bit of surprise.
“Are you okay? How are you here?” he asked over and over as I stared at him, trembling. And then I lunged forward into his body. He wrapped me tightly against his chest, pulling me against the warm steel of his frame.
I could hear the handcuffs click around Carly’s wrist. I could hear Doc speaking with the two officers, and occasional mumbling coming from Carly, but all I did was lean tighter against Weston. The very man I’d come back for.
Until I realized I had something I needed to know. “Wait!” I exclaimed, pulling slightly away from Weston to be able to see Carly. She was fuming as Weston brushed some hair away from my face. “Why the change? Why did you suddenly decide to escalate from locoweed to Phenobarbital?”
“Because it was taking too long! If just making them sick wasn’t working, then I’d ruin the entire business so he would have to find a job in town. He’d have to come to me!” She lunged against the handcuffs and the sheriff who was holding her wrists.
Poor girl, I thought with a small amount of disbelief, that she would think this was the reasonable way to go about things. However, I lifted my chin in response, not afraid of her as Weston gently offered his hands to lift me to my feet. The adrenaline was slowly drifting away, as I settled against his grip and gave him a soft smile.
“You were never into Cassidy, were you?” she cried out in disbelief, hanging against the restraints as the agents and Doc dragged her out of the room. I didn’t pull my gaze from Weston’s as he placed his palms against my cheeks, and the door clicked shut behind them.
I stepped closer to him, fisting his coat around the waist.
And I shook my head. “No, I never was,” I whispered, and Weston crashed his lips against mine.
It was the most tender kiss I’d ever experienced. He tasted sweet, delicate, and gentle. At first.
