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“Dalton, you drive. I’ll call Maisie and get her to meet you there.” Leia, who is surprisingly good in a fucking panic, tries to take control.
“No.” I shake my head and clutch Breanna tighter. I’ve been working on this plan for so long I won’t have it fuck up at the final hurdle.
“Come on, Savannah’s got my truck, I’ll drive your car.” Dalton snatches my keys from my hand and rushes past me out onto the yard, and while Leia’s hand shakes as she makes the call to Maisie, I know time is of the essence here.
Once Garrett is alerted he is gonna head straight for the hospital, a hospital it looks like I’ll also be heading toward when instead we should be going in the opposite direction. Right now, I don’t have much choice. I guess it doesn’t matter how well thought out a plan is, there always has to be room for improvising. I rush to follow him out and watch him get into the driver's seat. He starts the engine and I muffle out the tiny noise Breanna makes by screaming at him to hurry as I take the passenger seat with her in my arms.
“Shouldn’t we strap her in?” he questions me, looking over his shoulder to the empty car seat. He doesn’t seem to wonder why it’s in here or why I only have one of them.
“No, I need to hold her.” I shake my head firmly. Now that the plan needs adjusting I have to keep her close and wait for an opportunity.
“She got a pulse?” Dalton asks as he drives out of the ranch gates.
“Yes, a faint one, we need to hurry.” It’s pitch-black outside, and Dalton is clearly panicked as he focuses on the road ahead of him. I can feel my heart beating in my chest as I attempt to open the glove compartment where I have the 9mm hidden. Hank always said you should be prepared and carry one there. I thank him for that now, because it’s gonna be my way out of this.
I don’t want to hurt him, but I will point the thing at his face and ask him politely to get the fuck out of my car. My palms are clammy and Breanna is starting to stir. I was scared to give her too much sedative so I kept the dosage low. I also didn’t factor in the fact I’d need her to be quiet for so long. It’s only a matter of time before she makes a sound Dalton will hear. The further we travel from the direction I’m supposed to be heading in, the more desperate I start to feel, and then somewhere out of the blue, fate takes the situation in hand and throws me a lifeline.
“Shit.” Dalton slams his hand on the wheel when the lights on the railroad crossing start to flash red in the distance. “These lights always take forever. I’ll call Garrett.” He shakes his head when he finally pulls to a stop. This is a quiet road, there are no other cars around us. This is my chance.
While he takes out his phone, I quickly clip open the glove compartment and pull out the gun. Dalton doesn’t seem to notice yet, tapping the wheel with his hands and willing the train to hurry up and come.
I click off the safety clip, just as Breanna makes a cooing noise and when he turns his head and looks at me, confused, I raise the gun up and hold it up to his face.
“Mrs. Carson, what's goin’ on?” Dalton lifts his hands up and I keep the barrel pointed right at him while rocking Breanna in my arms.
“Put down the phone,” I order, gesturing my eyes toward the dash so he knows to place it where I can see it. He looks confused but does as he’s told, carefully placing it screen up so I can see he hasn’t placed the call yet.
“I need you to get out of the car, Dalton.” I remain calm, there is no need for a panic here, by him or by me.
“I can’t do that, ma’am.” He shakes his head at me, his face lit up red from the flashing bright lights in front of us allowing me to see the fear in his eyes.
“You have to. I don’t want to shoot you but I will.”
“I’m sorry, but you got my niece there, and I won’t leave her with you, not now that I think I know what this is.” My granddaughter makes another cute little sound.
“Why don’t you hand her over to me, let us get out, then you can take the car and get a head start before Garrett gets word of this,” he suggests.
“Dalton, you're so cute. I guess you must have gotten that from your whore of a mother.” I smile at him.
“Please, Mrs. Carson, don’t do this.”
“I have to do this, she’s mine,” I explain, feeling Breanna wriggle against me.
“No, she ain’t. She’s Maisie and Garrett’s little girl and they love her.”
“I love her, she wasmylittle girl,” I feel my lips start to shake as well as the hand I’m holding the gun in. “She grew up thinking I abandoned her, she died thinking that too.” I feel the tears start to come.
“This isn’t your little girl,” Dalton tells me softly, he’s crying now too. I’ve never been more sure than I am now that my three boys belong to Hank, this right here in front of me is the real son of Bill Carson, weak and pathetic.
“She’s my chance to do better,” I explain, looking down at her and smiling.
“Put the gun down, Teresa. I ain’t gettin’ out of this car and leavin’ her with ya,” he warns me.
“Then you were the one that made the choice.” I pull the trigger and despite my trembling hands, I manage a clean shot into the boy's head. The blast makes my ears ring unbearably, it dulls out the sound of Breanna’s screaming and the train that rumbles past us. I feel his blood dripping down my face, I see it stuck to the windows with chunks of his brain, but I haven't got the time to ask the good Lord for his mercy.
I force myself back together and steadily place the gun on the dashboard. I get out of the car and ensure Breanna’s safety by placing her in the seat I have strapped in the back.
“It’s okay, sweetheart.” I rest my hand on her chest to try and soothe her once I’ve buckled her in. It leaves a thick, red handprint on her clean, pink sleepsuit and when I notice all the other flecks of blood she’s covered with, it makes me so mad. Dalton could have avoided her this kind of trauma. Her little ears will be hurting like mine, and she must be petrified. Standing back up I close the door and take a deep breath, tucking my hair behind my ears while I formulate a new plan. I don’t have time to come up with anything genius. I can’t go back the way we came for fear of meeting Garrett on the road. I’ll have to keep moving forward. Instead of going right toward the hospital at the junction up ahead, I can take a left and double back on myself that way. It’s a longer route, but a safer one.
