Chapter 11 #2
“Get up!” I urged. “I need you to get in the closet, and don’t come out until I come for you.”
“Why?” She squinted as she asked, “What happened to the power? What’s going on?”
“No time to explain. Just get in the damn closet.”
I waited until she’d gotten out of bed and was hidden in the closet before I started down the hall toward the basement.
I was going to retrieve my weapons from the vault but stopped when I heard footsteps on the front porch.
I couldn’t chance getting to the basement and back in time, so I grabbed a knife from the drawer and slipped behind one of the floor-length curtains.
I turned off my phone’s light and waited.
It wasn’t long before I heard a window break, followed by the sounds of someone entering the house. I remained hidden as I listened for another assailant. When I didn’t hear one, I eased the curtain back and tried to get a better view of our intruder.
He was tall with an athletic build, and he was wearing all black, making it difficult to see as he merged further into the living room.
When I heard two men talking outside, I knew it wouldn’t be long before his friends made their way into the house.
It was time to make my move, so I stepped out of hiding and made my way over to the man in black.
As soon as I stepped behind him, I reached up and placed my hand on his forehead, jerking it back, then I rested the blade of my knife below his Adam’s apple.
Before he had a chance to jerk free, I raked the blade against his skin, slicing his throat.
He dropped to his knees, and with his hands gripping his throat, he gasped for breath.
It took him a moment, but he eventually collapsed to the floor.
Over the years, I’d seen a hundred dead men, but never at my own hand.
It wasn’t a good feeling. Thankfully, I didn’t have time to dwell on it.
There were others coming, so I grabbed the gun from the man’s hand, then stepped back into hiding.
It wasn’t long before I heard one of them crawl through the broken window and whisper, “Gabe?”
When there was no response, the man stepped further into the living room and called out again. “Gabe? Where are you?”
“He’s right here.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, I aimed the gun and pulled the trigger, shooting him square in the chest. His back hit the wall with a hard thud, and then he slowly slid down to the ground. I stepped over to him, and with the barrel of the gun aimed at his head, I asked, “Who sent you here?”
“You are so dead.”
I reached down and grabbed his shirt collar, wrenching it into a fist as I repeated, “Who sent you?”
“You really fucked up. You should’ve known better...” The color drained from his face as he muttered, “Should’ve never saved her.”
He didn’t have to say anymore. I knew exactly who’d sent him and why.
I took a step back, and when the third guy started into the house, I didn’t hesitate.
I immediately started shooting, and I didn’t stop until the guy’s lifeless body dropped to the floor.
I stood there for a moment, listening and waiting for any sign of more intruders.
When I didn’t hear anything, I went outside and checked the grounds, making sure that there was no one else. Once I was certain we were out of danger, I went to the power panel in the garage and flipped the breaker. The lights came back on, and I rushed back inside to check on Everleigh.
I went to her room, and when I opened the closet door, I found her standing amongst the coats and jackets with tears streaming down her face.
The second that she saw it was me, she lunged forward and wrapped her arms tightly around me.
Her voice was strained as she whispered, “Thank God you’re okay. ”
“Yeah, I’m good. What about you?”
“I’ve been better.” She glanced up at me as she asked, “Were those gunshots?”
“Yeah, I’m afraid so.” I held her for a moment longer, then said, “We’re gonna need to get out of here for a while.”
“What?”
“Whoever sent those guys will send more, and we don’t need to be here when they do.” I motioned my hand over to the bags on the floor as I told her, “I need you to gather your things, and I need you to do it as quickly as possible. Can you do that for me?”
“Yeah, I can do that.”
“Good. I have to grab some stuff from the basement, but...”
Fear dripped from her words as she gasped, “You’re leaving me?”
“I’m just going to the basement. I’ll be right back.”
“Just hurry.”
“You do the same.” I turned and started for the door but stopped when I remembered the men I’d just killed. “Do me a favor. Stay in here until I come back, okay?”
She didn’t ask questions. She simply nodded and watched as I rushed out of the room.
I raced downstairs, grabbed my emergency bag and laptop, then went over and filled another with all the weapons and ammo from my safe.
Once I had everything I needed, I carried them upstairs and went to see about Everleigh.
As I’d requested, she’d gathered all of her things and was waiting for me in the bedroom. There was no missing the worry in her voice as she asked, “Where are we going?”
“Someplace safe.” I took hold of her hand, then told her, “Keep your eyes closed until I tell you to open them.”
She nodded, then followed as I led her through the kitchen and out to the garage. “We’re good now. You can open your eyes.”
“Okay.”
She opened her eyes, then watched as I pulled the tarp off of my old, army-green Scout.
Once I had it uncovered, we put our things in the back and got inside.
Moments later, we were on the road and finally had a moment to catch our breaths.
It wasn’t until then that I thought to call Hop.
I reached for my phone and dialed his number.
As soon as he answered, I told him, “I need a favor.”
“What’s up?”
“I need you to get Tripp and go over to the house. There’s a job that needs to be handled there.”
“A job at your place?”
“Yeah, and I’m gonna need you two to be careful,” I warned. “When you get there, you’ll see why.”
“Damn, Billy. Do you think this has got something to do with the girl?”
“Maybe, but there’s no way to know for sure. Regardless, I need to know you’re gonna take care of it.”
“You can count on me. You know that.”
“Thanks, Hop.”
“Don’t mention it.”
As soon as he hung up, I eased over to the shoulder of the road and pulled up Kiersten’s number. I hated to message her so late, but I didn’t have a choice. I needed to make sure she didn’t go by the house until I’d sorted things with Antonio.
Me:
Hey.
Need you to steer clear of the house for a while.
Kiersten:
Why? What’s going on?”
Me:
Nothing’s going on. I’m just getting some work done.
They’re going to be spraying tomorrow.
Kiersten:
Spraying what?”
Me:
Just don’t go by the house.
Kiersten:
I won’t.
At least, not anytime soon. I’m still in Boston, remember?
Me:
I forgot about your conference.
How’s that going?
Kiersten:
It’s great. I’m learning so much.
Me:
Glad to hear it.
Kiersten:
Is everything okay?
Me:
Everything’s fine. I’m about to call it a night.
I’ll give you a call tomorrow.
Kiersten:
Okay. Love you.
Me:
Love you, too.
Once I was sure the message had gone through, I dropped my phone in the console, then pulled back onto the road. I glanced over at Everleigh and found her staring out the passenger window. She looked like she was on the brink of a complete breakdown. “You okay over there?”
“I would be lying if I said I was.”
“It’s going to be okay.”
“You sound pretty sure of yourself.”
“That’s because I am. You’ll see.”
We drove for another hour or so, and then I took the exit for Radnor Lake.
My father had a cabin there and left it to me when he died.
There wasn’t much to the place. I’d kept it, thinking I’d use it for fishing, but the most I ever did was go by now and then to check on the place.
It wasn’t much, but it was secluded and still in my father’s name—which would buy us some time to figure out what to do about our friend Antonio.
When we pulled up to the cabin, I turned my headlights on bright, then told Everleigh, “Hold tight while I go turn the lights on.”
She nodded, then watched as I got out of the truck and walked up to the cabin’s front steps.
Once I was inside, I turned on all the lights and checked each of the rooms to make sure everything was in order.
It didn’t take long. There were only two bedrooms with a decent-sized bathroom, a small kitchenette, and a living room, and the décor was sparse at best. As I looked around, I was pleased to see that it was still reasonably clean.
It just needed a few touchups here and there and clean sheets on the bed.
After I’d checked it all out, I went back out to the truck and opened the passenger-side door. “We’re all set.”
“Is this your place?”
“It was my dad’s place.” I grabbed her bags from the back, then led her up to the front door. “It isn’t much, but we’ll be safe here.”
She looked a bit skeptical, but she headed inside and followed me down the short hallway to the master bedroom.
I placed her things on the dresser as I told her, “This will be you for the next few days. I’m gonna go out and get the rest of our stuff, and then, I’ll come back and help you change the sheets. ”
“I can do it. Just tell me where they are.”
“There’s a plastic tub in the closet. You can get whatever you need from there.”
“Okay. Got it.”
While she got busy changing her sheets, I went out to the truck and got the rest of our bags.
After I locked up, I went back in and put everything away.
I spent a little time cleaning up—not because it needed it, but because it helped keep my mind off the three men I’d just killed.
That didn’t work, so I took a shower and put on fresh clothes.