Chapter Ten
Rune
The second I saw the face in the picture, I knew it was her.
Sure, the picture was probably taken ten years before, both Carmen and her friend looking more chubby-cheeked, like girls tended to be while still in their teens.
But it was the same face.
Same birthmark high on her cheek.
The same eyes.
The last time I’d seen those eyes, they’d been pouring tears as I’d been punched in the gut, then knocked on my ass.
My head whipped in her direction as I landed.
And that was when I saw it.
The flash of metal pressed to her forehead.
The look of wide-eyed fear.
My stomach lurched.
“No!” I yelled.
But it was no use.
The finger squeezed the trigger and the bullet lodged in the woman’s head, killing her before her body even slumped to the ground facing me, lids open, eyes blank.
It was the moment that changed the course of my future.
That night, I fought for my life, dragged my bloodied and bruised body home, grabbed my brother, and hopped on a flight back to Navesink Bank.
I could never forget that woman’s face, the sounds of her cries, the way I couldn’t get to her in time.
But I never knew her name.
Never knew her history.
And that shit haunted me.
It was the nightmare that still woke me up in a cold sweat. The memory that crept up on me even in good moments, refusing to be buried.
Maybe it ate at me because I had no one to share it with.
It was a night whose details I didn’t even share with my twin.
I claimed it was to protect him. But I knew the truth.
It was my own shame and guilt that kept me from telling him what I’d seen, how I hadn’t acted quickly enough, hadn’t saved someone innocent caught in an ugly war.
After all this time, she had a name.
Victoria.
Vicky.
“I don’t believe you,” Carmen said, looking up at me from her position on the ground.
Exhaling hard, I lowered myself down to my knees in front of her.
“Look at me,” I demanded, waiting for her gaze to flick up.
“I was there, and I saw it. And it’s the worst fucking moment in my life,” I admitted, surprised at how my voice wavered, how my eyes stung.
“I was about ten feet away in my own fight for my life. And she was there and the gun was pressed to her head. And…” I trailed off, squeezing my eyes shut against the image, as if it wouldn’t be right there behind my lids. “And I couldn’t get to her in time.”
Carmen was watching me, her face unreadable.
“I am not the kind of man who is capable of murdering a woman.”
“I don’t know why I should believe you.”
“If I were, why would you still be alive?”
To that, her brows pinched.
“I don’t hurt women. That’s not who I am. That’s not how I was raised. I don’t know where you got your information. But they got it fucking wrong. I didn’t kill your friend.”
“Then who—”
The sirens drew close, then paused outside the house.
Carmen sucked in a deep breath, then slowly let it out.
“We have to talk to them.”
“Yes.”
“Should I leave my gun here?”
“If you don’t want them getting trigger-happy, yes.”
“Should I tell them I have it?”
“You can tell the truth. You hid in your room with your sister and the dog with your gun to protect you.”
“Okay,” she agreed, letting me take the gun and put it on her dresser. I reached down, offering her my hand.
There was a strange static electricity sensation that shot up my arm as her hand slipped into mine.
There were a million things we both wanted to say at that moment. There just wasn’t time.
“Your sister probably told the cops that I’m your boyfriend,” I told her. “It’s probably best if everyone’s stories match up.”
“Okay,” she agreed, voice hollow.
She didn’t pull her hand from mine, so I squeezed hers tighter as we walked as a unit toward the door.
Hamster didn’t even try to escape as we moved into the hall and closed the door behind us.
Everything about the life I was raised in, and the life I’d lived since leaving my parents’ house told me to avoid cops whenever possible.
That said, I hadn’t done anything here. This wasn’t some crime I could be accused of when I was inside with the girls when it happened.
“Well, I might have gotten into it with that group of guys a few days back,” Chip was telling the cops as we moved out onto the front deck after walking through the glass strewn about the front room.
The whole front was going to need to be boarded up until the girls could get someone in to replace the windows.
“What guys?” the cop asked as Sofia stood a few feet away, her arms wrapped around herself, looking wide-eyed and even smaller than usual.
“Those three brothers. Red hair. Troublemakers, all of ‘em.”
“You got into an altercation with the Callum brothers?” the cop asked.
“Mighta whacked one with my cane. But he almost plowed me over on that electric bike of his.”
Was that all this was? Some local street gang pissed at an old man?
“You can’t go around hitting people with your cane,” the cop admonished.
“They can’t go driving by shooting up people’s homes!” Chip snapped. “There are innocent women living here.”
Sofia was questioned next. But just like Carmen and me, she had nothing to offer, since we were all upstairs and away from the windows at the time.
With that, the cops walked off—likely to go talk to those brothers, leaving all four of us on the front porch.
It was Chip who broke the silence, looking at me. “I got some wood out back in the shed.”
“I can grab it and put it up if you have some screws and a drill.”
“I’ll get ‘em.”
“We’ll get to work on the glass,” Carmen said, grabbing her sister and heading back into their house.
With that, we all got to work.
The girls swept and vacuumed both lower levels, then got to work on the front porch as I held up the wood and had Chip screw it into place on the front of both houses.
We were just finishing that when Chip pulled me to the edge of the porch. “Think you should take the girls outta here for the night.”
“Take them outta here but leave you?”
“This is my mess. I can sleep in the basement. Couldn’t stand it if one of ‘em caught a bullet because of me. Take them to your place.”
I damn sure couldn’t take them to my place with Dezi keeping an eye on me and my brother suspicious as well. But I could get them out of there for the night.
“I’ll see if I can convince them.”
“See to it,” he said, giving me a nod.
“Girls,” I said when I stepped into the house to find them both trying to comfort a still nervous Hamster. “Chip is really upset about you guys possibly getting hurt.”
“There’s no way he could have known it would go this bad,” Sofia insisted.
“Still, he feels guilty. And he asked me to get you guys out of the house for the night.”
“And go where?” Carmen asked.
“How about a hotel for the night?”
“We’re not leaving Hammy,” Carmen insisted.
“A dog-friendly hotel then.”
Carmen looked at her little sister.
“We could consider it part of the celebration?” Sofia suggested.
I guess she got the gig she wanted.
What a fucking mess of a night to celebrate.
“Okay. I can find—”
“I’ll figure out the hotel. You guys go and pack a bag. And whatever Hammy needs.”
Carmen shot me an unsure look but followed her sister upstairs as I started a search.
There were plenty of options. I decided to splurge for the nicest of them, getting them a room with two queens, since they would probably feel better being together.
As for me, I could have gone home.
But I found myself reserving a second room.
Carmen came down first, holding my gun with a sock-covered hand, making a smile tug at my lips. “Here. This is yours.”
I tucked it in my waistband and reached to take her bag. “I got you guys a room with queens. But if you’d rather have separate—”
“No,” she cut me off. “No, Sofia isn’t as okay as she seems. It’s better if we’re together. How much is the room?” she asked, reaching for her purse.
“It’s on me.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I’d like to know how you’d force me to take the money,” I said, making her roll her eyes.
“Fine,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I’m going to get Hammy’s things. Could you take her outside to pee?”
“Yeah. Give me your keys. I’ll toss your bag in the trunk, too.”
We went through the motions, getting things ready, then the girls and Hammy piled into Carmen’s car, and they followed me to the hotel.
“This place is fancy,” Sofia murmured as we made our way into the lobby.
“I hear someone deserves a little celebration,” I said. “This place has a spa, and I got the whole package. For both of you.”
Sofia’s mouth fell open as she looked at her sister.
“That’s so generous. Thank you so much.”
“It’s nothing,” I insisted as we walked up to the desk to check in and get our keys. “This is you,” I said when we stopped at their door. “Mind if I do a sweep?”
“A sweep?” Sofia asked.
“Just to make sure the room is empty. You should always do a sweep of a hotel room before you get comfortable.”
Carmen unlocked the door and held it open for me.
It was a great room, modern and done in shades of warm browns and soft golds. There were two beds, a desk, and a small kitchenette with a mini fridge, coffee machine, and a microwave.
The bathroom was reasonably large with a walk-in shower, a soaking tub, and a floating vanity with warm white accent lights.
“You’re all set.”
“Where are you?” Carmen asked as Sofia brought Hammy into the room.
“That’s me,” I said, pointing across the hall a few doors down. “If you guys need anything, don’t hesitate to come get me.”
“Do you even have anything to wear?”
“I keep a fresh set of workout clothes on my bike. I’m all set. Go settle in. Order some room service. Relax. It’s been a day.”
“A break-in, a breakdown, and a drive-by.” She shook her head and knocked on her door, then slipped inside when Sofia opened it.
I watched her disappear before heading down to my bike to get my change of clothes, then inspect my room. It was similar to the girls’ room, just smaller.
I took a shower, changed, then sat down on the bed to text my brother.
Chances are, they would be partying and distracted. But with him being suspicious, chances were he would look for me eventually. If he found me missing, he would likely track me and show up instead of just texting me. Better to get out ahead of that.
Once that was done, I threw myself back on the bed and tried like hell not to think about Vicky’s last moments, of the screaming, the bloodshed, the violence, her crying, her pleading, the second she realized she wasn’t going to live through it.
I failed miserably.
I couldn’t stop myself from falling into old, toxic patterns of thought, going over every minute detail of that whole day, week, month, year, trying to trace it back to the moment where I could have done or said something to change that outcome.
But it all came back to the same frustrating truth: there was nothing I could have done. I had been working with the information I had at the time. There was no way I could have known how sideways things would go.
I didn’t know how long I lay there.
But eventually, there was a soft knock at the door.