69. Otis
Chapter 69
Otis
I walked to the mantel clock I’d finally fixed and turned it around, then yanked the handgun free of the tape I’d used to secure it to the back of the clock. When I turned around, Daisy was staring at me with a mixture of panic and shock.
“We’re here to protect you. Did you think we wouldn’t be prepared?” I didn’t wait for her to answer. This wasn’t exactly the time for conversation. I crossed the room and put the gun in her hand. “Take it upstairs and hide. Don’t come out until I tell you to.”
She looked down at the gun in her hand. “I don’t… I don’t know how to use this.”
Her hands had started shaking and I closed one hand around her wrist. “This is the safety. Take it off like this.” I flipped the safety. “Then use your finger to squeeze the trigger. Nice and easy.”
“I don’t think I can do this.” There was panic in her voice. “I can’t leave you down here alone.”
There was a thud at the front of the house, breaking glass in the kitchen. We were out of time.
I looked into her eyes. “You can. Now get the fuck upstairs.”
It was Ruth who got Daisy moving, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the stairs.
Daisy’s eyes met mine and I knew this was love, this feeling that I’d do anything — give anything, even my life — to protect her. I saw it in her eyes too. For maybe the first time in my whole fucking life I knew for sure what someone else was feeling.
Love. For me.
She disappeared up the stairs and I moved out of the living room, toward the dark kitchen.