37. Chapter 37
July 7, 2011
11:53 pm
Hailey’s call dropped again. Frustrated, she hit her steering wheel.
Pressing on the gas pedal, she sped toward the cabin, hoping she didn’t get pulled over in the process. She took a deep breath and wiped away her tears. Trey was right, she needed to get a grip, or she’d end up getting them all killed.
“I don’t know what the hell we’re walking into, but your sole focus needs to be getting Trinity out alive,” Sara said.
“We’re all going to get out of this,” Hailey said, shaking her head, though she knew it was an empty promise.
“We both know that’s not true. Save her and don’t even think twice about me. Get out and run as fast and as far away as you can.”
Hailey’s face contorted in pain. “No! I won’t leave you behind. I just got you back.”
“Stop trying to save me. You have a daughter who needs her mother. And for the first time in my life, I don’t need saving. This is the clearest decision I’ve ever made.”
Hailey didn’t respond. She didn’t want to have to choose. She didn’t want to lose her family. But she knew she would. Ryan hated them too much to let them live.
Sara stuck her pinky in the air. “Promise me.”
Hailey tried to blink away the single tear that slid down her cheek as she reluctantly wrapped her pinky around Sara’s.
The orange groves pooled together as she raced through the roads. Finally, she came upon a dirt road. If you didn’t know it was there, you’d miss it. Most people thought it was just an entry for tractors to get into the field, but it would lead to a cabin if you followed it long enough.
She turned onto the path, and they were quickly secluded as trees surrounded them. The thick branches shielded the moon and darkness loomed around them.
Hailey wondered what monsters may be hiding in the woods, watching them as they drove toward their own terror that waited for them at the end of the path.
“This is something right out of a horror movie,” Sara whispered.
The cabin came into view and Hailey had to fight against the panic attack that was threatening her. She breathed in and out, slowly counting to ten. Her daughter’s life depended on her to make rational decisions. She could have a mental breakdown after everyone was safe.
Hailey didn’t immediately get out of the car. Instead, she sat for a moment, taking in her surroundings, making sure Ryan wasn’t lying in wait. She glanced at Sara who was staring intently at the cabin, her gaze slowly following the tree line.
Hailey took one more look around. The dense woods and darkness made it difficult to see far into the brush so if anyone was hiding, she couldn’t see them.
Hailey said, “You can leave. I won’t blame you if you want to run away and start over. I’m the one who dragged you into this and I don’t think we’re going to come out of that house alive.”
Sara grasped Hailey’s hand. “We started this together, we’ll finish it together. I’m not leaving your side. Trinity needs us.”
Sara got out of the car first and Hailey followed. She wasn’t sure how they were going to overpower or outsmart Ryan, but when your child is in danger, most of your common sense and reasoning goes out the window and you're left with a primal instinct to protect- no matter the cost.
Placing her hand on the rusted knob of the front door, she paused. Once they stepped inside, they would not come back out.
Taking a breath, Hailey slowly turned the metal and pushed open the door. The wood barrier gave a sharp squeak. They both tensed at the noise that had alerted Ryan to their presence. She listened for footsteps. Hearing none, she pushed it open a little further and they walked inside.
The smell of whiskey and nicotine filled her, and Hailey wanted to gag. She was beginning to wonder if she would be able to do this, to save her daughter. Every fiber of her being was screaming at her to run, that she was in danger and she needed to flee.
Sara took her hand, leading her forward, reminding her she wasn’t alone.
Hailey forced herself to walk through the house, carefully looking for any sign of Trinity. There were no photos on the walls, no knick-knacks displayed, no signs of any human connection. Just a few pieces of furniture, dirty dishes, and trash strewn all over the house.
Hailey could hear Trinity’s faint cries coming from a back bedroom. She slowly pushed open the door, holding her breath for what she would find.
The moon, peaking through an opening in the dense woods, casted an eerie glow over the room. The cabin might have made a great romantic getaway if she didn’t know about the evil that lurked within its walls.
Trinity’s hands were zip tied in front of her, a gag in her mouth. Hailey wanted to cry but remained firm. She could cry when they were safe.
Trinity met her gaze, eyes wide as she shook her head. But before Hailey could say anything, she felt a sharp prick on her back.
“Don’t do anything stupid or I'll kill you in front of your kid, Princess .” Ryan said.
He was mocking her and she hated him for it. Hailey wanted to claw at him for tainting the name Trey had given her. But, despite the fury that surged through her, she let it go. Their lives weren’t worth that fight.
Ryan nodded to Sara. “I see I get two for the price of one.”
Hailey glanced at Sara whose eyes were a pool of darkness as hatred clouded them. Hailey thought Sara might actually try to kill him. Part of her hoped she would.
“If it isn’t the bastard child himself. How does it feel knowing Daddy doesn’t love you?” Sara seethed.
Ryan’s hand connected with her face and she yelped as blood spewed from her lips. “That’s rich coming from the daughter he framed for murder. He may not claim me, but he hates you.”
He nudged Hailey. “Sit by your daughter.” He waved the knife at Sara who took in a sharp breath. “Sit on the other side of Trinity.”
The two of them complied, though Hailey’s body instinctively wanted to fight back. Sara clenched her jaw and balled a fist.
Trinity silently cried and Hailey smiled, hoping to calm her. Trinity hung her head as teardrops fell to the floor. Hailey desperately wanted to reach out and comfort her daughter but refrained. She was terrified that any movement could set Ryan off.
Ryan zip tied Sara’s hands in front of her. Then, zip tied Hailey’s, his knife still in his grasp. He got inches from her face and sneered, “Say goodbye to your daughter, Hailey. I’m taking her with me, and you’ll never see her again.” He shrugged. “Or maybe I’ll just kill her.”
Trinity squealed and sobbed, and Sara lunged toward him. “Leave her alone! She’s just a damn kid!”
Hailey’s chest constricted. “No, please! Take me instead. She didn’t do anything!”
Ryan laughed at their outbursts. “ She’s my prize for helping your father…Well, our father.”
“What are you talking about? He said your payment was one million dollars.”
He stood up and looked down at Hailey. “At first the one-mil sounded great. But then I got to thinking: how can I really stick it to the old man and his Little Princess?” He paused and gently caressed her cheek. She recoiled at his touch and he reveled in her discomfort. “You know, Hailey, I really, really hate you. I’ve hated you since I found out that David is my father.
“Sitting up there in your castle while my mother and I lived in a trailer with a single AC unit that could hardly keep up. Sure, Dear-Old-Dad sent money, but your wench of a mother made sure it was just enough to cover bills.”
Hailey didn’t respond, she didn’t want to escalate his agitation.
He looked at Sara. “And, as luck would have it, you were the black sheep of the family. Even more than I was. Which is quite ironic seeing as how I'm the bastard child. Our father’s hatred for you is what saved you from my fury.”
He stood over Sara and she clenched her jaw, her eyes like daggers. “But it won’t save you today. You should have left when you had the chance, Sis .”
Sara didn’t respond. She was detaching herself, turning off her emotions. She looked at the wall just behind Ryan, eyes nearly glossed over. But Hailey knew Sara was still listening, calculating.
Ryan looked back at Hailey and began walking back toward her, pointing the knife in her direction. “But not you. You were the favorite, the perfect little angel who got whatever she wanted. So I’m going to take something from you that will destroy you. And then I'll tell anyone who'll listen about all our daddy’s secrets and ruin his perfectly crafted reputation.”
He wasn’t bluffing. He meant every word he said.
Sara chuckled. “You’re a little late to that party, Bro .”
Ryan turned to Sara. “I heard about your interview. Too bad you didn’t have a big enough pair to tell them everything .” He slowly walked over to her and bent down, getting inches from her face. She didn’t flinch or recoil, she stared at him, her eyes a pool of emptiness.
“I’m honestly disappointed, Sara. I’d always heard you were the wild child, the fearless one out of Gallaghers. The one who hated her father so much she did whatever she could to ruin him…except you didn’t. You’re all talk.”
“You’re right, I hate him. Why do you think I came back? I’m out for blood. But unlike you, I’m willing to play the long-game. I’m willing to wait to uncover every secret I can in order to destroy him. I’m not content with just ruining his reputation. I want him to suffer…I want him dead.”
Hailey knew Sara wasn’t simply telling Ryan what he wanted to hear. Hailey inwardly shuddered.
Ryan smiled. “I see we both inherited his rage. We’re like him more than we care to admit. It’s what makes us survivors.”
“Then let Hailey and Trinity go. I’ll kill David for you, and you leave town with your one million. Everyone gets what they want…and what they deserve.”
Ryan stood and clucked his tongue. “Unlike you, I hate Hailey as much as I hate David.”
He came to Hailey again and grabbed her cheeks. She tried to look away, to remove herself from his grip, but he dug his nails in tighter. “You should have let me kill you that night. If you had, your little girl’s life wouldn't be in jeopardy, nor would your sister’s. All those other people wouldn’t be dead because you started snooping around in something that wasn’t your business. But no, you had to live. So now you’re going to pay the consequences.”
Ryan put his cheek on hers, whispering in her ear, “I’m going to take your daughter and disappear. Maybe I’ll kill her…or maybe I’ll sell her to the highest bidder.”
He laughed as Hailey screamed and pleaded, rage engulfing her whole being. “Don’t you dare touch her! I swear I will murder you myself!”
Ryan was getting off on her pain and now Trinity was crying hysterically. Sara struggled to free herself as Hailey shrieked at Ryan, her cries echoing in the tiny room.
He gripped the knife and walked over to Trinity. She began screaming through her gag, trying to fight away from him but he only laughed as he cut her restraints.
Trinity quickly ripped the gag from her mouth as she kicked his groin and he fell back in a heap, dropping the knife. Hailey screamed, and in one swift motion, Sara lifted her arms above her head and brought them down against her stomach, breaking the zip ties.
Ryan pushed himself off the ground, his face contorted with rage. “You little bitch!”
“Run, Trinity! Run!” Sara screamed as she fumbled for the knife.
Trinity froze, terrified.
Ryan stood and charged at Sara. She raised the knife but as she brought it down, he stopped it. He slammed her hands into the wall in an attempt to get her to drop the weapon, but she grasped it tightly. She kneed his groin, and he howled, but the pain only added to his fury. His fist connected with her cheek and Sara screeched.
Hailey bolted toward Ryan and threw herself into him, knocking him away from Sara. The knife clattered across the floor. He shoved Hailey away from him and her body collided against the wall.
Ryan turned to chase after the knife, but Sara tackled him. She brought down blow after blow, his blood spurting all over her face and shirt. He smiled as he grabbed Sara by the hair and dragged her off of him, her screams piercing Hailey’s ears.
Hailey saw that Sara was growing increasingly tired as her twin commanded her body to fight, but it lagged with every movement. Hailey tried to get up, but she wasn’t fast enough.
Ryan rolled over and quickly crawled toward the knife as Sara scrambled to her feet and ran toward him.
Ryan’s fingers gripped the handle.
He pulled his arm back and drove it into her stomach.
Screams rippled through the room as Hailey put herself between Trinity and the horror she was witnessing.
Sara stumbled back into the wall, her hands clutching her stomach. Her eyes rounded and her mouth formed an ‘o’ as blood flowed from her mouth and around the wound. She slowly crumbled to the floor, her hands reaching behind her to catch herself.
Ryan laughed. “Is that all you’ve got, Sara? After all the stories I've heard, I expected you to have more fight in you. It’s okay, though. I’ll enjoy watching the life drain from your eyes. And then I’ll kill your sister and your niece.”
Slowly, she dragged herself from the ground, using the wall for support as her face contorted in pain.
“There she is,” he said with a smile. “The survivor.”
But her hands slipped on the blood, and she crashed back to the floor.
Ryan chuckled. “Maybe not a survivor, after all.”
Sara slowly lifted her head, her voice strained as she struggled to breathe. “I hope Trey fucking kills you, asshole.”
Hailey watched Sara’s eyes slowly close and her shoulders slump.
Ryan walked over to Trinity and forcefully grabbed her arm, blood still dripping from his face and hands. Hailey tried to fight him away, screaming as she did, but he threw her to the ground. He brought the knife to Trinity’s throat and Hailey immediately stilled.
He shoved Trinity into the corner of the room. “Sit,” he commanded. “If you so much as twitch the wrong way, I will kill your mother.”
Trinity’s eyes widened and looked at Hailey who nodded, trying to keep things from escalating.
He walked back to Hailey and gently poked her in the chest with the knife. Hailey muffled a cry and closed her eyes as Trinity squealed.
“I’m not playing around!” he yelled. “I will kill you if you do anything stupid.”
She didn’t know how to get them out of this, but she also had to trust that Trey would be there soon. Ryan was already unraveling quickly, and she didn’t want to do anything to set him off anymore.
She glanced at Sara who remained perfectly still.
Please don’t be dead. Hold on just a little longer.
Hailey wanted to panic, to scream and shout and call for help, but she knew it would only enrage Ryan. And just like thirteen years ago, no one would hear her scream.
Frantically, she stalled, hoping that Trey would get there in time. “Why did you kill my mother?”
He wiped Sara’s blood across his shirt. “I didn’t kill your mother. I’ve just been helping the person who did.”
“Then why go through all of this? If you didn’t do it, who did?”
He enjoyed toying with them. “I’m not telling you, even if I am going to kill you before I leave.”
Trinity screamed, “No! Please!”
“Shut up!”
She cowered back, sobbing softly. Hailey didn’t know how to calm her down, she was hardly able to keep herself calm.
And now Sara might be dead.
Hailey continued, “Was it my father?”
“Yeah, right, Hailey. He's a mean SOB, but even he’s too soft to kill the woman standing in his way. You know he loved my mother more than he loved yours, right?”
Hailey closed her eyes, knowing it was the truth.
He snorted. “What kind of wife lets her husband cheat? And what kind of wife tells her husband to disown his only son?” Ryan was seething now, and Hailey regretted bringing up her mother.
He got inches from her face, her skin crawling as he whispered, “She got what she deserved.”
Hailey cursed at him, and he laughed at her angst. All she could see in him was their father, a man who deliberately got off on people’s pain. Ryan didn’t hold the Gallagher name, but he was every bit a monster just like their father.
He continued, “Like I said, I didn’t kill her. But I wish I had. I dreamt about it. Thought about it. Planned it, even. But I never went through with it. Then the Good Lord sent an angel who did the job for me.”
He began pacing, letting his guard down as he relived whatever past he was remembering. “It was by pure accident that we met, fate pushing us together. We were both walking downtown, and she ran right into me, spilling her coffee all over me. She was the most beautiful and heavenly thing I had ever seen. She apologized and I stood there speechless.”
Hailey tried to slowly loosen the ties around her hands, but they only tightened with her movements.
Ryan said, “We started seeing each other and eventually I told her about David and Morgan, and she could see how much pain I was in. She hated them for hurting me and promised to get revenge. And then she told me her deepest secret and I knew we would forever be joined together. She had killed her parents when she was sixteen.”
He smiled proudly. “She was tired of them standing in her way, so she killed them. When Morgan died, I knew my angel had done it. She had done it for me, and I told her I'd forever be in her debt. So, when she needed my help to keep people quiet, I happily agreed.”
Hailey was disgusted at how easily Ryan spoke of his heinous crimes, and even more disgusted by the admiration he held for his angel . It was creepy how they had bonded over murder, especially her mother’s.
Hailey shook her head. “I thought my father asked you to help him keep people quiet?”
Irritated, he shook his head. “Helping your father was a means to an end. He and my angel had one common goal. And if helping him meant helping her, then so be it. It was just a bonus that he offered me money to do it.”
“Don’t move, Ryan,” another voice said.
Hailey had been so focused on Ryan that she hadn’t even noticed Lauren, her gun shoved into his back.
Relief flooded over Hailey. But then fear slithered down her spine.
How did Lauren know they were here?
“Angel, what are you doing?” Ryan asked.