Aedan
When I finally looked up, Rick and his goons were standing over me. Everyone else had gone.
“Time to go,” said Rick. “We’ll take her from here.”
Al stepped forward to gather her up. He wasn’t as careful as he normally would have been. He probably thought I was beyond fighting back.
He was wrong.
As he put out his hand, I grabbed his wrist and pulled, putting all my strength behind it. Al flipped over my head and hit the floor with a crack of breaking bones.
“Don’t you feckin’ touch her!” I screamed.
Rick and Carl took a step back. It had happened so fast they were caught off balance. Long enough for me to snatch Al’s gun from his holster. I pointed it right at Rick. Immediately, Carl pointed his own gun at me.
“Whoah,” said Rick. “Whoah, whoah, whoah.”
“Get out,” I spat. I needed them gone because, in another few seconds, the urge to put a bullet in both of them was going to become irresistible. And Sylvie wouldn’t have wanted that.
“We can’t leave him,” said Carl. “He’s got the body!”
Rick ignored him. “You go to the cops,” he told me, “and I’ll put a pillow over her brother’s face.”
“No cops,” I snarled. “I just don’t want you to touch her. I’ll bury her. Me.”
Rick stared at me for another few seconds. “Let him,” he said at last. “If he gets caught, he can take the heat.” He backed away. “I don’t ever want to see you again, Aedan.”
I kept the gun on them until they reached the door, then waited until I heard their car drive away. Only then did I toss the gun away and cradle Sylvie’s body again. “It’ll be okay,” I said, rocking her gently. “I won’t let them touch you.”