28. Into the Tunnel
CHAPTER 28
Into the Tunnel
Henry
I lifted my arms over my head and pushed on the manhole cover. The rain hadn’t let up since I left the hotel. A cloudy night sky made everything look the same shade of pale gray. On my right, Cavalier Manor loomed over my mother’s garden. Near the wall, guards made their rounds as usual. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
I waited until they reached the end of the garden and returned to their post near the front gate. I couldn’t make any more mistakes. If two men were guarding just the garden, I had to assume Jonathan had more men guarding the rest of the property. I should’ve called the police. I lowered the cover and hooked one arm on the first rung to steady myself while I fished my phone out of my back pocket. The cold gun tucked inside my pants dug into my lower back, a reminder of what I had waiting for me inside my childhood home.
I scrolled through the names, clicked on Russ’s name, and quickly typed a text. Calling the police directly was out of the question. What were the odds they were loyal to Jonathan? I’d say high. If I were to report anything to them, they’d bury it in paperwork. What I needed was to find a handful of cops who cared more about the town than being in good standing with the mayor. I trusted Russ. I had to. Because if he didn’t come through and bring backup, I doubted I’d leave this place alive, not with the amount of security guards patrolling the grounds.
I pushed the cover up again and took in my surroundings. The familiar smell of wet dirt and roses filled the air and pumped me with a confidence I hadn’t felt until now. I wasn’t running away this time . I crawled out of the manhole, keeping my chest close to the ground.
Mud squeezed between my fingers as I army crawled to the hidden door behind the shrubs, where dry branches scratched my side and arms. The small door to the tunnel was locked, same as before. Except this time, I didn’t have Nikki, or the tools to try and pick it. My only option was to chance it and make my way in through the kitchen. I peeked over the bushes to the far end of the garden and beyond Mom’s usual seating area. Half-hidden by the shadows, the guards trod along the south end of the stonewall.
When they were out of sight, I wiped my hands on my pants and walked along the wall to the other side of the house, toward the kitchen. With my heart drumming in my throat, I took soundless steps through the servants’ corridor that led to the library. Where the hell was everyone? Did I make a mistake in assuming Jonathan would be here? I shouldered open the concealed door and squeezed through the gap to make sure the bar cart on the other side didn’t flip over.
The smell of books, old leather, and whiskey welcomed me home. I’d been reduced to sneaking around my own home. Like in the nightmares I’d had since I was eleven, I stood in the middle of the foyer, where darkness touched every corner. Whispers filtered through from behind the paneled wall. My entire body tensed. This wasn’t a dream. I took long strides to the space between the library and the grand staircase and flipped the light switch. I was done sneaking around.
The chandelier sparkled overhead. I exhaled and glared at the secret door that guarded the horror from fifteen years ago. I hooked my fingers in the panel and winced when the old hinges squeaked in protest as soon as the door swung open. The old, musty smell rushed across my face the second I stepped into the tunnel. This time, I was on the opposite end, peering down into the dark corridor. The low ceiling made it look more like a coffin, a long never-ending coffin.
When my eyes adjusted to the light, my stomach dropped. Nikki was here, in the middle of some kind of face-off with Francesca. She hadn’t left me. Or did Francesca get to her before she walked out on me again? It didn’t matter either way. The hollow feeling in my chest evaporated at the sight of her. She had that kind of power over me, the power to make the shittiest situation better. Even as she stood there, her cheeks covered in soot, her hair matted…and a gun pointed at me.
As bad as this looked, I could hear her breathing into my ear that we still had a chance to make things right. The fear in her eyes made my stomach churn with hate for Francesca and Jonathan, for all the years they’d stolen from us just so they could have the life they wanted, one that never belonged to them.
“Nikki.” I put up my hands. “She’s not worth it.”
Nikki’s gaze darted from me to the corner to my left and then back to Francesca. Francesca’s face showed no surprise. In fact, she seemed pleased to see me. She parted her lips slightly and rested her hands on her chest, as if she thought I was here to save her.
Francesca beamed at me, clutching a syringe in her hand. The gesture made the hair on the nape of my neck stand out. What had Nikki been dealing with since she left the bar? I placed my hands on my hips, fighting the urge to take out my gun and shoot Francesca, to wipe that loving smile off her face.
“Henry, I knew you’d come.” Francesca stepped closer to me. “We can still make this work.” Her tone had changed.
I glanced at Nikki as she widened her stance and aimed her gun at Francesca with a steady hand. Of course, she knew how to handle a weapon, and by the look in her eyes, she was more than ready to pull the trigger. I nodded once at her, and she let out a sigh of relief. The understanding was written all over her face; the only way out of this mess was to work together.
Turning my attention to Francesca, I reached out to her, palms up. “Yes. We can still make things right.” I flashed her a smile, and bile rose in my throat.
“Hello, gorgeous.” Scott’s voice rumbled at the end of the corridor as he snaked his hand around Nikki’s waist.
“Don’t touch her.” I rushed to Nikki’s side, but Francesca blocked me.
“Hello, asshole,” Nikki said a few feet from me.
She stomped her foot on his as she turned around and tasered him. An electric buzz followed by a grunt and a loud thud echoed against the low ceiling and walls. When I made to go to her, a prick on my shoulder made me spin to face Francesca. I shoved her away before she could squeeze the plunger, then plucked the syringe off me and tossed it away.
We were farther into the tunnel, where the light from the chandelier didn’t reach. I couldn’t see for shit, but Nikki seemed to have a pretty good idea of what was what. Her hands fumbled with her skirt before she threw cable ties at my chest.
“You have ten seconds before he can move again. Tie him up,” she ordered.
I scrambled to the dark lump on the floor, feeling my way around Scott to find his hands. I flipped him onto his belly and brought his wrists together and tie wrapped his hands behind his back. He jerked and convulsed as his body recovered from the shock. Droppings and other crunchy debris stuck to my palms while I scoured the floor with my hands. I found a second cable tie and used it to secure his ankles. He bucked again, and I pulled on the plastic to make it dig into his jeans and hopefully cut his skin.
I rose to my feet to find Nikki standing next to me, her handgun back on Francesca. Now that my eyes had adjusted to the dark, I could see Nikki’s trembling hands. She didn’t want to shoot, which left Francesca with two choices: call Nikki’s bluff or take off to save her own skin.
But Francesca’s hate toward my family ran deeper than self-preservation. She could’ve run, but instead, she launched at Nikki. In the same heartbeat, Nikki pulled the trigger. Francesca’s ear-splitting screams filled the room a second before she fell to the floor.
“I couldn’t kill her. It would be too easy for her. I want her to rot in jail.” Nikki lowered her gun slowly.
“You have to go before Jonathan comes back.” I reached for her gun.
As if I’d summoned him, Jonathan rushed through the door and landed by Francesca’s side.
“You’re hurt? I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner.” He wrapped his arms around Francesca. “Would you ever forgive me? I never meant to betray you.”
Heat surged through my body like wildfire. This asshole had made my life a living hell, and all he could do was apologize to his monster of a wife for leaving her? Dad’s last moments flickered through my mind. But they were no longer the pictures from Lisa’s file. They were memories. Memories of what Francesca had done to Dad and what Jonathan had done to cover it up .
“Henry.” Nikki’s hand brushed my elbow.
I stomped to Jonathan, gripped him by the collar, and dragged him out to the foyer. I wanted to see his eyes when he took his last breath. I wanted to take everything from him, as he had done to us. I slammed him against the wall and threw the first punch. He cowered, putting up his hands to protect his face. My blow cut through the gap between his arms and made his head bounce hard against the brick.
“Henry. I didn’t kill your dad. I swear it.” He grunted when my right hook connected with his side then he fell into a pathetic heap at my feet.
I picked him up and pinned him to the wall. “Maybe he didn’t die by your hand. But you brought this snake into our family, you protected her, and you sent an innocent girl to jail to save this monster. Why?”
“Because she asked. I love her. I would do anything for her,” he whined, tears streaming down his cheeks.
“No. You did it because you’re spineless.” Sweat ran cold down my back.
I laid into him again, and all he could do was whimper as he tangled his arms and hands around his head. He couldn’t even give me the satisfaction of a real fight. He dropped to the floor, and I stepped back. Jonathan lay exactly on the spot where Dad had died a senseless death because of the misplaced trust he’d put in his useless brother and sister-in-law.
Somewhere over the pounding of my heartbeat, Nikki’s muffled voice filtered through, asking me to let him go, that it wasn’t worth it. She was wrong. Every bit of it was worth it. Even the throbbing ache over my raw knuckles was worth it just to see him like this. To see the fear in his eyes as he realized where he was, that he was going to die where Dad died.
His face had turned to a soft pulp, and still my fucking anger hadn’t subsided. I fell to my knees next to him on the floor. Blood rushed to my head, making me see spots. I straddled him and wrapped my hands around his neck. The way I’d always wanted to do. I pressed my thumbs against his Adam’s apple and waited until red rose up his neck and face.
“I saw you both that day. Right over there. I let you go,” he croaked. “If I had told her you were here, she would’ve killed you both. I saved your lives. I moved the body so she wouldn’t come back in here.”
“ The body was your brother, you son of a bitch,” I screamed. My breath blew hot on his face and my hands. “You ruined all our lives for her. And she doesn’t even love you.”
His neck strained under my grip. The cut on his cheekbone oozed faster the harder I pressed. His voice dropped to a whisper, a quiet breath, but he continued to beg, like the spineless asshole he was.
“Please, Henry. I did what I could. That has to count for something…for a bit of mercy.” He swallowed, and his Adam’s apple bobbed over my thumbs. “I made sure Tessa was happy here. I did everything I could. I helped her escape, but she wouldn’t leave town. Not until you left with her.” He coughed, and I loosened my grip, confused by his words.
Had he really been helping Mom? That was bullshit. They both knew where to find me.
“Why didn’t you come to me?” I asked.
He blinked fast, his gaze turning to Francesca who was now half-dazed. All her focus was on her bleeding leg. She couldn’t care less if her husband was getting the shit beaten out of him. Francesca only cared about herself, about what she wanted for herself. She used him.
“I didn’t want her to hate me for helping you.”
“You two deserve each other.” I glared at him. Jonathan’s vile confessions made me sick. “Why did she kill him?”
“He cut us off?—”
I couldn’t hear any more. The truth was as horrifying as what they’d done to all of us. He gasped as my fingers tightened around his neck.
“Henry. If you kill him, they will win. You’ll go to jail. Please. Tessa needs you.” Nikki placed her hand on my shoulder.
“He doesn’t deserve to live.” I blinked several times to focus, but the tears made it hard to see.
“He deserves much worse than death. Henry…let him go. Tessa needs you. Please.” She tugged on my arm.
At her words, the buzz of adrenaline drained from me, leaving a cold sweat in its place and the realization that this hate had already consumed me for too long. Revenge wouldn’t bring Dad back, or the time Nikki and I lost. I blew out a breath and pushed against his chest to lift myself up.
“Where the fuck is Mom?” I took out my gun and aimed it at his head.
He cowered under the barrel of the gun and pointed a shaking finger to his right. I turned and for the first time I saw her, a heap in the dark corner. For a long moment, I considered pulling the trigger. But Nikki’s words stopped me; Jonathan deserved something worse than death. I stuffed the weapon in the back of my jeans and went to Mom. I picked her up gently. Her blouse, warm and wet from the blood, stuck to my T-shirt.
“What happened to her?” I turned to Nikki.
“We were trying to leave, and she got shot. The place is crawling with guards.” Tears ran down her cheeks.
With a tightness in my chest, I carried Mom to the sofa that had been half pushed away from the wall and I placed her on it. “Mom.”
Her eyes snapped open. “Henry. You found us.” She winced.
“Yeah. Don’t move. I’ll get you out of here. Okay? ”
She nodded, and I stomped back to the tunnel. Nikki kept her gun on Jonathan and Francesca. The dress she’d worn the night before was covered in dust and God knew what else. She looked as beautiful as ever. But I couldn’t think about that. I had to get us out of here first.
I towered over Jonathan, glaring down on him. “Tell your men to let us out. Now.” I gritted my teeth, with my gun square in his face.
“They only listen to her.” His entire body shook uncontrollably.
Somewhere deep, deep inside I felt sorry for him. I turned my attention to Francesca. “Call them off.”
“Fine. But I’m leaving with them. Don’t try to stop me. They have orders to shoot you on sight.” Francesca cradled her injured leg.
Nikki jerked away from the wall. “Listen, you crazy bitch. I get that you’re completely insane, but you must also be beyond stupid to actually think that we’re letting you walk out of here. Either you let us go, or I will shoot you again. I’m so tired. I honestly don’t care which way you choose.”
“What she said.” I sat on my haunches next to Francesca.
A flicker of fear touched her eyes. Even in her delusional state, she had to see she had lost.
“Then shoot me.” She tilted her chin up. “I’d rather see you go to jail than see you stay with her.”
“What?” I squinted at her then turned to face Jonathan. He looked away, not making any effort to get up.
In that moment, the police barged into the foyer with their guns out. They were late getting here, but at least they’d come in time to stop me from shooting Francesca.
“Maybe next time,” I said to Francesca.
I trudged out of the tunnel as two heavily suited cops rushed to Francesca and Jonathan. Stepping aside, I glanced up at the bright lights overhead, and tears blurred my vision.
“Sorry I took so long,” Russ said.
“You were right on time.” I hugged him. “Thanks for coming through for us.”
“Just doing my job, boss.” He offered a curt nod.
“Can you give us a ride? Mom needs help.” I walked over to the sofa and nudged her before I whispered, “Mom.” It killed me to see her like this after all she’d been through. “Mom,” I said more urgently when she didn’t move.
Was this more than a shoulder wound? Her top was soaked through, but nothing else. For all I knew, she’d also been shot in the stomach.
“There’s an ambulance on the way. I figured you might…you know.” Russ came up behind me, his gaze fixed on Mom. “I don’t know when they’ll get here, though. I can check.”
“Thanks.” I nodded. Turning to Mom, I held her hand in mine. “Mom. Stay with me.”
Her eyes flew open. “It wasn’t a dream. You’re really here.” She cradled her left arm, licking her lips. “I feel so tired, Henry.”
“You’ve lost a lot of blood, but we’re getting help. Come on.”
“I can walk. Don’t bother.” She gave me a weak push.
If she could see herself, she’d understand why she felt so drained. I hooked my arms under her legs and shoulders to pick her up. A small wince escaped her lips as she rested her head on my chest and went limp in my arms.
“You’re going to be okay.” I carried her out the door, where a couple of paramedics rushed to our side.
Numb, I watched as they took her from me, placed her on a gurney, and rushed her to the back of the ambulance.