Chapter 49
RORY
“Turn right up there.” Luke points through the windshield.
Spinning the wheel to the right, Hunter takes the turn Luke indicated. As soon as we got in the car earlier, he hopped in the driver’s seat and sped all the way to North Shore, Staten Island.
I slide across the seats in the back all the way to the left. “Do you need to retake driver’s ed?”
Hunter eyes me through the rearview mirror. “Do I need to explain to you why I’m not slowing down?”
I lean forward between the two front seats. “No, but we need the car to stay intact so we can show up like knights, rescue the princess, and then take off on our trusty steed. In this case, the steed is the car, and we won’t have a steed if we crash.”
“You have a point,” Hunter concedes.
“Up there.” Luke points to an old building that I’m sure even in the daylight would freak me out.
Hunter frowns. “Savannah’s in there?”
“According to the GPS, that’s where she is,” Luke says as he shuts his laptop.
I tilt my head to the side. “It looks abandoned.”
Hunter slams on the brakes, bringing us right up to the building. “I’ll go through the back. You two take the front.” We each pull out our guns and check them one last time.
A loud pop echoes from the building.
Hunter opens his door. “Never mind. Fuck the plan.”
We all jump out of the Audi and run inside.
Clearing the first floor, we move up to the second. We split up to search each room. Stepping inside the first room, my heart leaps in my chest.
“In here,” I shout over my shoulder and rush forward. “Savannah?”
Savannah stands with a G22 aimed at an immobile body. Her eyes are wide, and her hands shake. As I get closer, I notice the blood on her hands and thigh. Her face is dirty with tear streaks across her chin and cheeks. She doesn’t indicate she’s even noticed I’m here.
I talk to her in a low, calm voice. “Baby, hand me the gun.”
Footsteps rush into the room behind me, and I listen to Hunter and Luke’s reactions as they take in the situation.
“Shit.”
“She’s bleeding.”
Savannah’s head shakes rapidly, and her eyes snap to me, wide. “I didn’t—I just—”
Reaching for the gun, I wrap my hand around the barrel and gently pull it from her grasp. “It’s okay.”
Luke and Hunter rush forward. Hunter sits on the floor, guiding Savannah into his lap. He grounds her by situating her back against his chest and wrapping his arms around her stomach. Luke checks the deep cut on the thigh, and I examine her hands.
Savannah rambles, repeating the same words over and over. “I shot him. I shot my father.”
“It’s okay,” Hunter coos in her ear.
“I shot him. I shot my father.”
My hands cup her cheeks, directing her to look at me. “Savannah. We’re here. Everything is going to be okay.”
Savannah blinks, and the far-off look on her face fades. “You came for me.”
“Of course, we did,” Luke responds softly.
“I killed him,” she chokes.
“It’s okay,” I assure her.
She heaves, her chest moving up and down in rapid succession as she spirals. “Is he dead? Oh God. I killed him.”
I keep my hold on her face firm. “No. Not you. No, you didn’t.”
Her brows pinch. “What are you talking about?” I drop my hands, and she glances over the three of us. “You all came in and saw me holding the gun.”
“That’s not how I remember it,” I return.
“Me either,” Hunter adds.
Luke tilts his head to the side. “As I recall, we came in, and he was about to shoot you, so I shot him first.”
The furrow in Savannah’s brow deepens. “How—”
Luke leans forward, grasping her wrists to avoidthe cuts on her hands. “Let me take this one. You don’t need to carry the weight.”
Her eyes move back and forth, unsure.
Hunter’s expression is open. “We can carry this for you.”
Savannah’s face cracks as she lets go and allows herself to feel everything. She lets her head falls back against Hunter’s shoulder as she sobs.
We sit with her, letting her know that she can break because we’re here to put her back together any time she needs it.