50. Chapter 50
TIERNEY
After the third conversation Ahren tried to start, he figured out I wasn't in the mood to chat and let it drop.
I ignored him the entire ride, choosing instead to research the house the best I could.
Plugging the GPS coordinates into a search engine gave me a wealth of information about the property, including the floor plan and even a clear aerial view of that damned maze.
Ahren said he had that handled, but I wasn't going to hold my breath that he was great at mazes or whatever.
His words caught me off guard and I needed time and space to process them, neither of which was possible at the moment.
He loved me? Me? What the fuck was I supposed to do with that?
Aside from dying happy, this perfect man with a beautiful heart, wicked smile and a body carved by the gods—found something in me worthy of love.
Gravel crunched beneath the tires as we turned off the smooth asphalt, stealing my attention from my phone .
My eyes finally met his, finding nothing more than tenderness, but in true Rossdale fashion, not a trace of remorse.
"We're about ten minutes out. I get that you're pissed. Good, get pissed. But I need you to put aside your irritation with me and remember, we are a team. Channel all that shit into killing this bitch, and I promise to let you work out your frustrations when we get home."
"I can do that. It's not that I'm angry, just—overwhelmed maybe. I didn't know we were at the pretty words stage of the relationship. I don't have any for you."
"Tierney," he whispered my name, dropping the "r" like he was too good to bother with the offending letter. "I'm not gonna lie. I want you to love me, too. But I can wait for you to feel it. No rush."
"Connor, you know the plan."
"Yep." she nodded, sounding more confident than I had heard since the kidnapping. "Don't worry about me."
His hand cradled my face, his thumb ghosting across my cheek, and I leaned into his touch.
"I've never loved anyone—I swear. Honestly, I didn't think I was capable. If I could go back, I would take that first rose and knock on your door and introduce myself. Start all of this long ago and have six more years to love you."
The first tear fell, and I swiped it away angrily. "You know you have shitty timing."
He laughed, "so I've been informed."
He pressed a soft, tender kiss to my lips. "Now, let's go kill this bitch. Burn this shit down and salt the earth."
I nodded. "Make sure no one ever pulls this shit with us again." I agreed .
I laced our fingers together, giving them a squeeze, then did the same to Larissa on the other side of me. We were in this together, whatever the outcome.
We rounded a curve, and the house came into view. A modern eyesore, its lines too perfect—a stark white box set against the greenery of the surrounding hills.
"You can lead a bitch to money—" Larissa muttered.
"But you can't buy taste." I finished, echoing her sentiment.
The three of us shared a laugh, but it ended too soon as we rolled to a stop where the gravel transitioned into smooth concrete.
"We have a plan. Stick to it and we all go home tonight."
They opened the doors, and I held Ahren back. My fingers dug into his arm, desperate to claw back some of his solid strength and borrow it for myself.
“The last words Carissa ever said to me were I love you. She didn’t tell me goodbye, just ‘I love you’, so I never got to say goodbye.”
“I love you doesn’t mean goodbye, Tierney.” he whispered, the backs of his fingers ghosting down the side of my face.
“I know that. Logically and rationally, I know that. But my heart—” My head shook softly from side to side, slowly.
“After my mother died, love was a bad word. My father saw it as a weakness. But it isn't a weakness, and it isn’t goodbye.”
“I—” his fingers pressed against my lips.
“I can’t begin to tell you how much I want to hear those words from you. To know you feel the same for me. Especially when we’re staring down a psycho.” he laughed. “save it for after. Tell me after the world doesn’t end.”
He pressed a kiss to my forehead and left me alone in the truck .
Ten breaths. That’s how long I allowed myself to feel the ache in my chest before I pushed it back down where it belonged, stiffened my spine and stepped out, ready to end this.
“Move fast, think slow.” I murmured to myself, preparing for the chaos ahead.
I rounded the front of the truck just in time to see Ahren hand an odd-shaped gun to Larissa.
"Is that—"
"A flamethrower. Yep." She said, not bothering to hide the excitement in her voice.
He shrugged. "I told you I had the maze handled."
"You win." I laughed. “Good luck ambushing us with it on fire.”
Larissa walked past us, quickly rounding the corner of the house, presumably to light the maze.
Ahren and I drew our weapons. I hadn't told him—I should, but I hadn't yet. My new scout felt better in my hands than the old one ever did. Not sure what kind of witchcraft this was, but it was true.
The weight of the gun as I raised it, fitting the stock against the pocket in my shoulder, the tilt of my head, looking through the scope, each step familiar.
Practiced movements that settled my racing pulse as if on command.
My gaze swept across the sloping hills and sparsely wooded areas to the north of the house.
"Fuck!" Ahren swore, just as the shot rang out. Blood dripped from his ear as he turned northward, pistol raised as he searched for his shooter.
I kneeled, still sweeping the woods.
"Gotcha." I murmured, firing at the sharp glint of sunlight high in the canopy of a massive oak.
"Found him? "
I shrugged. "Either that, or I just fucked up a squirrel who likes blingy things."
Our current position was too exposed. I hated it, but there was nothing in the yard to use as cover.
Ahren fired twice, but continued to sweep the area. That wound was too close—another half inch and I would be standing over his body picking these guys off alone. Facing the crazy bitch alone—no doubt the rest of my life alone, too.
Slowly, we backed toward the door, our eyes still straining for any signs of movement.
Leaves rustled behind me. I turned and fired, dropping our would-be attacker.
Ahren turned, his battle sharpened eyes scanning quickly before firing into the nearby hedge, staining the house behind it a deep red as his bullet found its mark.
"Bravo." that shrill voice rang out. I'd only heard it once, but I'd know it anywhere. “Really, I would clap, but my hands are a bit busy.”
Larissa stepped out from behind the corner of the house, the barrel of a shotgun pressed to the back of her head.
"Fuck." I whispered. This wasn't how things were supposed to happen.
"Come on. You two know what to do. Drop ‘em," she said, nodding toward our weapons. Smug satisfaction dripped from her words and my fingers curled, aching for cold steel between them.
Ahren stepped forward, his body half covering mine. It wouldn't save me from a shotgun blast, but it was a nice gesture, nonetheless. His pistol clattered to the driveway.
I leaned forward, placing the scout on the ground gently, unable to bear the sound of her clattering against the pavement .
"I was hoping you were stupid enough to just show up to a random address I sent you. I mean, I didn't think it would work at first, but I realized your ego is big enough—" she ranted, launching into a monologue like the villain in a cheesy movie.
My eyes dropped to the waistband of Ahren's pants. Fuck. I've got one shot. Realization slammed into me. This was his plan. This was exactly why he stepped in front of me.
In one fluid motion, I pulled the Bowie knife and threw it as hard as I could. Lucia staggered back, dropping the shotgun. She recovered quickly, though she struggled to hold the gun properly with the large knife buried in her shoulder.
Ahren and I were most likely safe, as there was little chance she would be very accurate at this range. But Larissa—
Lucia's head exploded, leaving behind nothing but a veil of pink mist, just as the shot rang out.
Larissa dropped to the ground, chest heaving, an unrestrained cry breaking from her throat.
Ahren and I exchanged shocked glances, both at a loss for words. We reached for our weapons, then stumbled toward Larissa, hoping the next bullet wouldn't take us out.
Ahren's phone chirped in his pocket.
He pulled it out, pressing the speaker just as we reached Larissa.