Chapter Fifteen
Molly
I always thought I’d have empathy for Tyler. I felt bad for his dark upbringing, that he grew up in violence, that he never knew what honest love looked like. I mean, a start like that sets a person up for failure. I’m sure Holden could back me on this one, but without therapy, a traumatic childhood only leads to a life of misery. Tyler never learned the skills he needs to love or properly communicate.
Maybe that’s part of the reason I’m so dumb. I really believed that. I really believed that he wasn’t to blame for his poor choices. I really looked at him like that kid who’d been hurt, and I wanted to help him. Even when I left that house, I still wanted the best for him.
As Maverick herds the crowd outside, I walk even closer. It’s hard to believe just a few days ago we lived together, and now, the closer I get, the more terrified I am. How could this be the same person?
He looks toward me with a wide grin, as though he’s satisfied with himself. “See you’ve met my boyfriend. Maverick here was so in love with you, Molly. He was telling you all kinds of shit he wanted to do.”
“You fuck! You don’t know when to stop, do you?” Maverick says as he closes the front door and begins to cock his fist, but Tyler is one step ahead, pulling a gun.
He aims it toward Maverick and laughs.
Oh my God! Oh, my fucking God! A wave of spots takes over my vision, and my chest is so tight that I can barely breathe. “Don’t hurt him, please! You’re—”
“You stupid fucking bitch. Are you proud of yourself? You did this, ya know? He’s going to die, and it’s all because of you.” Tyler steps closer to me, spitting when he talks. “You do the meanest fuckin’ shit and act like I’m a fuckin’ asshole for noticing! Not anymore, princess. Not anymore.”
My fingers tingle and my toes go numb as my skin flushes and my body shakes. When he gets like this, I don’t recognize him. It’s why our life was so confusing. One second, he’d be the guy on the bed with the strawberries, I’d think I could open up to him, and then he’d start to turn.
There was a pattern. You’d see his jaw clench first, then his voice would change, and finally his eyes would squint with a dark focus.
I moan out with an involuntary whimper, pleading him to stop.
He laughs, shifting the gun back to Maverick. “Would you have loved her as much if I told you how much she cries? Just so you know, she cries a lot.”
Maverick steps forward and swings his fist, but Tyler’s gun goes off.
The room spins and I’m gasping for air as Rosie grips my arm and tugs me behind the counter.
“I’m so sorry, Molly. He came in with this stack of paperwork saying he owned part of the shop. He said you were leaving him and that you wanted the place closed. I told him to leave but he…”
Another gunshot pops.
What the fuck?
The warm scent of sunflowers and lavender that I love so much in my shop is tinged with an acrid scent I can’t define.
Rosie and I dip to the ground, covering our heads before Tyler hollers and another gun fires. I want to look. I need to look. I need to know if Maverick is okay, but I’m motionless, frozen against Rosie, holding her tight in my arms as we rock back and forth repeating the words… it’s okay.
I know the things Tyler is capable of, but I never thought he’d do something like this. I never thought he’d put my shop up for sale and hold my friend at gunpoint. I couldn’t imagine he’d use naked photos of me online to make money. It’s all so—
“Come on, girls,” Holden’s voice echoes in from behind us, forcing me to jump.
“Oh my God!” I turn toward him, my skin prickling. “How are you here?”
“I was on my lunch, stopped at the diner for a piece of pie, and heard the commotion. But right now, we gotta move.”
“Maverick!” I’m panting, heaving for air.
Holden glances down. “I’ll come back for him. I want you out now!”
I don’t like the way that sounds. I don’t want to come back for Maverick. I want to know he’s okay.
Why haven’t I heard any other gunshots. Why don’t I even hear them fighting anymore?
Holden looks at me sternly. “We have to move now!” He hooks into my hand as I hold tight to Rosie, and we shuffle toward the door like three people in a war-torn country who got caught in the crossfire.
Tears fall down my face and the room spins in circles. How is this happening? Our tiny shop of flowers… rose petals scattered, bouquets knocked down, a birdhouse busted in half, a half dozen vases broken in the frenzy.
What the hell is happening?
Outside, snowflakes fall lazily from the sky and a crowd gathers on the opposite side of the street as a siren sounds in the distance.
Holden strips off his suit coat and lands it on Rosie’s shoulders. Her coat is still in the shop. “Rhett should be here any second. When he gets here, I’ll go after Maverick. Tell me you understand.” His voice is doing the thing again. The thing where he wants me to know how serious he is. The thing where he wants me to agree with him without question, but I don’t want to. I want to go into the building with him. I want to fight for Maverick, too. I want us doing things together like the family we are.
“Holy shit, trouble.” Rhett jogs toward me in jeans and a tight black work shirt. “What the hell’s going on?”
“Maverick’s in there. They… we have to go inside.” My voice is frantic, and though I’ve stopped actively bellyache crying, tears are still falling.
“I need you all to wait on the other side of the street,” the young police officer says as he pulls his gun from the holster and steps sideways into the flower shop. “I’ve got back-up on the way.”
If Maverick hasn’t killed Tyler already, I’m going to do it for him. How did I ever trust a man who’d hurt me like this?
“He’s okay.” Rhett brushes his rough hand down over my cheek. “The dude is tough as hell, and he’s done all kinds of training with that gun. Combat fitness, close quarters, defense. You name it, he’s probably done it.”
I want to believe that Rhett is right, but the silence surrounding us is deafening.
Rhett’s hand rests on my belly. “You’re okay. Everything’s going to be okay.”
Seconds pass like hours, and every single breath I take is baited as I watch the shop door for any sign of life.
A moment later, the ambulance arrives with its stark, bellowing cry of sirens.
My stomach twists. This isn’t good. We heard two guns, with two distinct bangs. It’s just like the old west. Two men with guns at high noon. I glance up at Rhett and then Holden all while trying to catch what little air I can.
Rosie glances at me. “Owen is here. I’m gonna go see him. I’m sure he’ll want to make sure I’m okay and give me a ride home. Are you okay here?”
I lean onto her chest, holding her tight. “I’m so sorry for this. I… I love you.”
“Love you, too. Don’t be sorry. You didn’t show up waving a gun around. Do me a favor, though. Ask Google if I should stick around for questioning.”
I roll my eyes. I know she’s trying to help, but now’s not the time. “I’ll tell the police where to find you.”
“It’s going to be okay. I’ll be right over there.” She points to a big, black pickup truck on the other side of the parking lot.
“Okay.”
When I glance back at the guys, their faces are worn with worry. The paramedics are moving at the pace of snails, slowly pulling the gurney from the back.
I feel like I’m a patient girl. I spent years in an abusive relationship trying to make it work. I let folks out ahead of me in traffic. And when a customer comes in angry, I always keep my cool. But right now, in this moment, with my muscles tight and my body shaking, I lose it.
Pushing away from the circle I’m being held in, I rush across the street, screaming, “Help him! Why are you moving so slow! He’s hurt! He needs you! Please!”
Holden grabs my shoulders and holds me back before Rhett lifts me up into his arms. I’m not sure why I’m kicking and screaming. I know he’s trying to help, but I can’t stop. I’m so tired. I’m so tired of thinking I’m happy only to have Tyler rip it all away again.
“Baby.” Maverick’s voice is rough and quiet, but it’s there.
His fucking voice is there.
Rhett lets me down and I twist back to the doorway of the flower shop to see him standing in the doorframe, blood spilling down his leg. My knees nearly buckle, and I cover my mouth, smiling slowly as I run toward him, nearly knocking his giant body to the ground as we touch. “You’re alive and you’re okay. You’re okay, right?”
He kisses my head. “I’m good, baby. Just a little beat up. Tyler, ugh, he didn’t have the same outcome, though.” His gaze meets mine. “I’m sorry.”
My eyes widen and expand as I come to terms with what Maverick is saying.
“I’m sorry,” he continues. “It just happened. He shot first, and it was instinct.”
Time slows down, and though I hate Tyler with a passion for everything he’s done, I can’t believe he’s dead. My hand slaps over my mouth, and though my first thought should be sadness, it’s not.
My first thought is about the cameras Tyler had installed to watch me.
I step past Maverick and slide back into the little shop I once loved, searching for a red blinking light from camera A and B.
Sure enough, there they are. One in the corner by the front of the shop, pointed at the register and the back room. The other on the opposite wall, covering the front of the house. There’s not a spot that’s not covered here.
I wonder why he didn’t think to turn them off, or why he reacted so carelessly. Truth be told, I think I’ll wonder a lot of things about Tyler for the rest of my life, but one thing I’ll know for sure is that my baby is safe. There’s no doubt in my mind now. There’s no monster to lurk, and no drama to be had.
I rub my hand over my stomach and make eyes with the young mustached police officer as he walks by. “There are two cameras in the shop. Everything you need is on them.”
The officer nods as though he’s making a mental note before turning to attend to the scene with the paramedic. “We’ll need to talk in a bit. Don’t go far.”
I nod and step outside of the shop, putting eyes on all my men before leaning against the brick wall. Maverick sits on the end of the ambulance as they do triage work. Holden keeps him company and Rhett is walking toward me with a soft look in his eyes. A look that says everything is gonna be okay.
And as sad as it is, for the first time in a really long time, I actually believe it.