Chapter 10
Every ounce of Willow’s being trembled in fear. Mark had his gun pressed against Charlie’s head and she knew it was the end. Charlie stared into her eyes with tears of his own. He pleaded with Willow to believe that he was sorry for everything he’d done to her; every bit of pain he caused her.
“I don’t want to die without your forgiveness,” he said. “I know I’ve done a lot of things I shouldn”t have, things I can never take back, but I really am sorry.”
Willow shed so many tears in such a short amount of time that she felt drained of all her energy. She felt hopeless. Richy was in the next room scared to death and she could do nothing to help either of them. Especially not Charlie.
“Any last words to your husband?” Mark asked. “Better say what you have to say now before it’s too late.”
He steadied his gun against Charlie”s temples while he waited for Willow to speak her peace. She didn”t have much to say, but she pretended she would give an entire speech to buy Charlie as much time as possible.
“I, uh, I don”t know what I want to say. I just want this to all be over. Charlie, I know you’ve done some terrible things. We all have in our lives. Some things are worse than others, but I guess that’s a part of life. I hate where we’ve ended up now, all of us. Things could have been different for all of us.”
She dragged it on and on, and on and on, until she had no more words left to say. Mark let her get everything out too. When Willow’s voice cracked and her lips were all dried out, he repositioned his gun and put his finger on the trigger.
Boom! She heard a loud crash while her eyes were closed. Willow didn’t want to see Charlie”s brains splattered all over the walls, so she closed her eyes when Mark repositioned his gun. When her vision became clear again, she saw Charlie still resting on his knees and Tommy’s crew barging through the front door of the cabin.
“Get on the ground! Drop the weapon! Get down now!”
Orders and commands came from every direction. There were red lasers all over the cabin, all over Charlene, Mark, and Charlie. There was even some dancing on her.
“Richy!” Willow shouted out to him. “Richy! They’re here!”
She rushed to the bedroom to retrieve him. To let him know they were safe. But before she could get to her feet, one of Tommy’s men pushed her back to the ground and aimed his gun at her.
“Don’t move!” he barked.
“Hey!” Tommy came out of nowhere and pushed the guy away from her. “What are you doing? She’s with me.”
He was gentle while helping her to her feet, but his eyes were as cold as ice when he glared at one of his men.
“Sorry about that, boss.” The guy quickly apologized. “It’s hard to tell who’s who right now.”
Willow broke away from Tommy’s grip and ran into the room for Richy. He was pressed up to the corner of the room with his face on his knees. Shivering and crying because he was too scared of what was on the other side of that door.
“Richy, it’s okay.” She kneeled beside him and placed her arms around him. “It’s okay. The cops are here. We’re safe. We can get you home now.”
Tommy stood in the doorway with relief in his eyes. He looked like he wanted to join Richy and Willow on the floor, but he still had a job to do. Mark, Charlie, and Charlene were being arrested and he had to question them about how it all went down.
“A squad car will take you guys back to the station,” he said. “Whatever you think he needs, let them know. Okay?”
Willow nodded her head while she continued to cradle Richy in her arms. He wasn’t as shaky and jerky as he was in the beginning, but his fear was still alive and kicking.
“Let’s get you out of here, huh?” she said.
Richy was hesitant, but he stood to his feet and shuffled his way to the door. Mark was in handcuffs in the living room, but still taunting them on their way out. He said all kinds of mean and nasty things to them as they passed him. However, Richy and Willow kept their eyes pointed to freedom. Something Mark will never see again in life.
“Willow.” Charlie’s voice called out to her just as she hit the doorway. “I really am sorry. Please, don’t forget that.”
Although Willow turned to face him, there was no emotion there for her. She was happy Charlie was finally caught and her life would go back to the way it was before him. Well, almost to the way it was before him. She knew she had a long road of healing to travel, but if it meant freeing herself from Charlie, Willow was more than ready to take the journey.
“Goodbye Charlie.”
That was the last thing she said to him before she turned and left the cabin without looking back. Willow kept her gaze focused ahead of her the entire ride back to the station. When they got there, Richy’s mother and father were front and center to greet him. And although his dad was still angry at Willow, he thanked her for finding his son and bringing him home.
“It was the least I could do,” she said. “I’m really sorry about all of this.”
Before Richy got into his parents car and went home, he gave Willow a long hug and thanked her for saving him. She thanked him too, for giving her the courage to actually stand up for something. He helped her find her way back to herself and the things she really valued in life. If it weren’t for him, Willow probably would have never known who Charlie really was.
“You be good, kid,” she said. “Take it easy for as long as you need to.”
“I will.” He said. “Are you going back to Tallahassee or staying around here for a while?”
Willow pondered on her answer for a moment. The thought of staying was still in her mind, but she had to get back home to clear out her house and find something new.
“I don’t know yet,” she said. “Maybe I”ll pack things up at home and come back. Who knows. A lot has happened here and there for me, so maybe I”ll find somewhere new to call home.”
“That means I”ll never get to see you again?”
Willow tried her hardest to fight back her tears. Richy had become someone so dear to her during her stay in Sanibel that she wanted him to always be a part of her life. She just felt so guilty about what had happened to him; she didn”t want to put him in any more danger. Or become some sort of bad luck charm in his life.
“It’s the truth, isn”t it?” he backed away from her and frowned. “So, that’s it? We’re just not going to be friends anymore after this? You’re just going to be another person in my life I can”t count on?”
“Richy,” Willow sighed. “It’s not like that. I just, you have to be a kid. You have to do what your parents say and keep yourself safe. I’ve already caused enough trouble in your life. I don’t want to cause anymore.”
“Yeah,” he scoffed. “Whatever. Nice knowing you, I guess.”
“Richy!”
He stormed off to his parents” car and slammed the door. He didn’t even look back at her. Not once. It made Willow feel low. Abandoned. Uncared for. All the things Richy probably felt riding home in that backseat. She wanted to go after him and apologize but couldn”t bring herself to do it.
“Give him some time.” Tommy placed a gentle hand on her back. “He’ll come around.”
“Yeah.” She sucked up her tears. “I didn’t mean to hurt him. I just want to do right by him.”
“I know,” he sighed. “It’s a really stressful time right now. There’s a lot going on. We all need time to process our emotions and get our minds straight.”
He was right. The tension was very high. After such a traumatic experience, they all needed time to take everything in and refocus their brains.
“Are you okay enough to answer a few questions right now, or do you need some time to get yourself together?” he asked. “It can wait… I just can’t let you leave the island until I”ve taken a proper report from you.”
Willow wanted to get back to the resort to lie down. Or go to Brandi’s and pack her things for the road. But she had to get the report over with. She had to tell Tommy every detail from start to finish. She knew it would take some time, time that she wasn”t ready to expend on such a thing. But, Willow did it anyway because the faster she was able to put Charlie behind her, the better.
They went into his office and he shut the door behind them. His computer was off, his blinds were closed, and a notepad was on his desk. He waited at the door while she sat on the couch, then went around to his desk and sat. It was awkward. Silent. Tense. Willow thought she was going to be arrested too.
“Are you all right after all this?” he asked. “You’re not hurt, don’t need to see a doctor?”
“No,” she shook her head. “I’m okay. Physically, anyway.”
Tommy nodded and picked up his pen. He didn’t open his notepad right away, he just kind of tapped the pen against its spirals and looked at her.
“That plan, to have Mark and Charlene show up, that was your idea?” he asked.
“Yeah.” Willow grew nervous. “I didn’t trust that Charlie would actually use the money to get Richy back, so I told Mark where we were meeting.”
He finally opened the notepad and wrote something down. She couldn’t read what he wrote, but she grew more nervous by the second.
“Did you hear anything out of the ordinary while you were with them?” he asked.
“A lot of things were out of the ordinary today,” she frowned. “Am I in some kind of trouble here? Because if I am, I”ll need a lawyer present.”
Tommy got up from his seat and posted himself against the edge of his desk. He and Willow were glaring at each other like two opponents. She stood up to challenge his glare before she walked out of his office for good, but he stopped her.
Tommy placed a passionate kiss against her lips and stared into her eyes as if Willow were his dream come true. The look he gave her was deep enough to give her chills and make her heart shatter with joy.
“That was a smart thing you did,” he said. “There aren’t many women who can think as quickly on their feet as you can. I’m sorry I ever doubted who you were and what you stood for. You really showed me you”ve been on the right side of the law all this time and for that, I”d like to ask you for your hand.”
Willow’s eyes grew wide with confusion. She thought Tommy was asking for her hand in marriage, but he quickly clarified when he saw the look.
“Not marriage,” he chuckled. “Of course, we have to get to know each other better for that. I believe I know enough already to know what I want for myself, but Willow, I”d like to make things official between us.”
She didn’t know why making things official made her more nervous than the thought of him asking her to marry him, but it did. It wasn’t a bad feeling. Willow was just stunned that he had asked. She thought he was done with her for good, as he said. She was happy to know that he wasn’t, but still stunned.
“You want to make things official?” She smiled.
“I do,” he smiled too. “I think we have something special here.”
“I think so too.”
She wrapped her arms around Tommy’s neck and kissed him once more. Willow felt safe. Content. Happy. Loved. All the things she longed to feel.