Dominic

The sun moves behind a smokescreen of clouds, the grass soaked with dew droplets that have yet to dry. It's the coldest December morning of the season, but even with my bare feet freezing on the grass, I'm not thinking about that.

The helicopter is lowering slowly towards the flat section of ground we've used as a helipad in the past. The wind whips up as the blades spin, sending leaves in a cascade of mini tornadoes.

Several security guards have come to stand near me in the yard. They give me wary looks, and it's obvious they have no idea what's going on. My miserable frown tells them I'm just as confused. Who the hell is visiting us in a chopper?

“Sir?” Theo asks beside me.

I don't even glance at him. I'm busy squinting at the helicopter as it settles safely on the ground. The blades swing to a peaceful halt, the air clearing of the deafening sound. The door opens, folding down as a set of stairs. When I see my uncle walk out, perching on the bottom step, I'm more lost than before.

He stares across the field at me. Even with the distance between us, I can read his distaste. But this time there's something else—a sort of eagerness that makes his dark eyes glint like a vulture's as it soars over a rotten meal.

I start across the grass with Theo following behind me. Two other guards join us, my entourage and I approaching Vahn. He's wearing a heavy brown coat, one hand in the right pocket, the other holding his phone to his ear. “Vahn,” I call as I get in ear shot, “What's going on?”

He glances past me at the guards. “I'm calling your mother. She should be here in a second. Tell your goons to go away, we're about to have a very private conversation that's not meant for them.”

Turning around, I notice Theo's arched eyebrows. He's not a fan of these instructions. “Relax,” I say, my eyes darting towards the estate. I see a figure hurrying down the slope—it's Annie. “Private talks are all this family does. Go on, get everyone out of here.”

He nods curtly, and with a swipe of his arm, the men follow him up the hill. I watch as they pass my mother. She doesn't waste a second looking at them. She has eyes only for Vahn and the helicopter.

“Why Annie, but not Silas?” I ask uncertainly.

“This has nothing to do with him,” Vahn answers. He's put his phone away, his smile growing as my mother gets nearly upon us.

“Dad has everything to do with our business.”

“This isn't about fucking business,” he snaps crisply. “It's personal.”

My hackles go up just as Mom stands in front of her brother. She's breathing a little fast from rushing here. “Vahn,” she says, shooting a sparse look at me, acknowledging me at best. “Did you really do it?”

“Do what?” I say, looking between them. My unease is mounting by the second.

He grins at her and flicks his fingers. “Come and see for yourself.”

My mother pushes by me, hurrying after Vahn into the helicopter. There's definitely something strange going on here. I know the answer is up the steps, so I follow them inside, ducking my head as I pass through the tiny door.

Straightening up, I start to glance at the pilot sitting to my right in the cockpit. Before I can, something more pressing catches the corner of my eye. It makes my blood run cold, turns all of the air around me into smothering walls of cotton. The distress inside of me is so immense that I grip the roof's railing to keep myself standing.

Laiken.

She's at the back of the chopper, strapped in a seat with her arms bound in front, a gag stretching her lips over her teeth. Her once lusciously long hair has been cut. It frames her glistening, terrified eyes.

Her panic is tangible. It runs straight from her and into my body. The buds on my tongue harden from the metallic tang in my mouth.  I can taste her goddamn fear. “Vahn did this?” I wonder, processing his proud grin. In a split second I become enraged.

I take a step forward and something clicks loudly next to my head. “Easy there,” Miles says. He's turned around in the pilot's seat with a handgun pointing straight at me. I move nothing but my eyes, just enough to see his sickening smirk.

I fired him the night he tried to stop me from getting Laiken and Kara off of the property. My father hadn't argued, and my mother had become so disconnected from everything going on in the house that she hadn't pleaded his case, either.

I hadn't expected to see him again. Especially not like this. I'm more confused than ever, but still, I know neither of these men have my best interest at heart, or Laiken's.

Annie is standing in front of me beside Vahn. She's acting like she wants to clap her hands, only barely restraining herself. She leans towards Laiken. The young woman stares at my mother, making a muffled cry for help. The noise cuts through me. “You actually brought her back,” she says.

“What's going on here?” I ask, narrowing my eyes at my uncle. “What did you do to her?”

“Think less about what I've done and more about what I've yet to do,” he says.

Heat floods through my limbs. I start forward; Miles grabs my shoulder, pushing the gun against my skull. “Hold still, Casanova.”

“If you fucking touch her,” I warn.

Vahn laughs. The sound is like sandpaper on my nerves, scraping them raw. “You're so transparent. If I didn't know how much you care about her, that sure would've given it away.” He reveals a revolver in his pocket, studying it idly in his grip as he talks. “How do you feel right now? Helpless? Or do you get this funny sense that you might be able to stop me from doing whatever I want to her?”

Laiken moans against the gag. I stare at her face and her face alone, clenching my fists tight. “Whatever you're planning, I'm not going to let you do it.”

“Did you notice there are two guns pointed at you right now?” he asks, half laughing.

“Vahn,” my mother says softly. She's gone from staring at Laiken with a manic smile to watching her brother uneasily. “What exactly are you planning?”

“She doesn't know?” I wonder, looking at her, trying to read her mind. That means my uncle is acting on his own.

He adjusts the safety on the gun. Laiken stares at it, then me, her eyes full of tears that manage to not spill over the red rims. She's been crying for such a long time. I hate seeing her like this, I want to take all the worry in her and smother away. I told her I'd protect her, and I failed.

No, I haven't failed yet. There's still time to keep her safe.

I can't take back what happened, but I can prevent anything worse.

I have to.

Vahn nods at Miles. “Make sure no one is watching the helicopter.”

Miles moves around me, leaning out the door. I see him glancing side to side. “The guards are gone, can't be sure that no one is watching us from the house, but I don't think anyone will see if we're quick about it.”

“Quick about what?” Annie asks.

“Best if we do this outside. We can go around back, behind the helicopter. No one will see us there.”

“Won't they hear the shots?” Miles asks Vahn, arching an eyebrow.

Vahn shrugs, like he was just asked what he wants for lunch.

“Wait, you're going to shoot them?” My mother shows a flash of genuine shock.

My heart is pounding. I'm not worried about my own safety, all I can think about is Laiken. They could put a thousand bullets in me and I wouldn't care, as long as none of them found her. “You're crazy,” I say. “Vahn, you can't do this.”

Miles grabs me, the gun pushing into my temple. “Go,” he snaps. He's enjoying this. He loves getting back at me for the way I sucker-punched him. Making my way down the steps, I stare at the estate, hoping that someone will notice this is happening right in my backyard. But even if they do, it might be too late for them to intervene.

Vahn comes next, forcing Laiken to walk down the stairs. Her hands are still tied in front of her. I see her fingers flexing over and over, then I can't see her at all because Miles has wrapped his grip in my shirt, pushing me ahead of him around the chopper's tail. Once we're on the other side, unable to see the house, he lets go. There's a foot between us, his gun keeping its bead on me.

Vahn and Laiken come into view. My mother hovers near them, her eyes darting to mine, then away. “This will do,” my uncle says, giving Laiken a sharp shove. She stumbles, but keeps her footing.

She faces me.  The tears have finally poured over her cheeks. “It's okay,” I say to her, keeping my voice steady. “It's all going to be okay.”

“Is that what you told Bernard?” Vahn asks.

I stab my attention to him. On my periphery I see that Miles is watching my uncle, his gun dipping a hair. He's less sure about murdering anyone now that it's clear he might get caught. “Is that what this is about? Bernard?” I inch my toes forward. No one notices. “I'm sorry about what happened, but killing us won't being your son back.”

Vahn whirls on me, pointing the gun, and Miles backs away so that he isn't in the line of fire. “Don't say his name!” he snarls. “You don't have a right to say it.”

Laiken shuts her eyes, hanging her head. My mother watches her, the skin around her lips drawn taut as a drum. She doesn't like what's happening here, but she hasn't tried to stop it, either. “Mom, even you can't be okay with this.” She meets my gaze as I try to appeal to her sanity. “Killing us—killing anyone, it isn't going to fix anything.”

She runs her tongue over her dry lips. “Vahn . . .”

He points his gun at Laiken, and a sensation like a million marching ants fills my stomach. “I figured you'd be all for this. Since when do you care what happens to either of them?”

The bags under my mom's eyes are bloated, her hair greasy. It's tied back in a bun, but even that can't create the illusion of tidiness. She's fallen apart quickly since I brought the news that we'd never find Joseph. “Something like this it can't be undone,” she says.

He doesn't spare a glance for her. “I thought you were made of stronger stuff, Annie. Was your life all about half-measures? Take some control, erase these two and finally move on. Finally start living for real. It's the only way.”

Laiken gnaws at the gag, I'm sure she wants to speak. “Untie her,” I say, moving my feet another inch. I'm on her left, my mother is on her right, and Vahn creates the tip of our triangle. “Give her the fucking chance to argue for her own life!”

“Nothing anyone says will change my mind,” he replies.

Grimacing, I curl my fingers against my palms. “Uncle, listen to me. I know how much you're hurting. Believe me, I'm just as messed up over Bernard—”

“I told you not to say his name!” he roars, and suddenly, his gun is aimed at me. I'm gazing down a black hole that can only bring death.

Filling my lungs, I hold my head high. “You think I killed him,” I say, rushing my words, desperate to get through to this man before it's too late. “But I didn't. I didn't kill Bernard. I promised I wouldn't tell anyone. Now I have no choice. Vahn, your son committed suicide.”

His face is as expressionless as the revolver. I watch his grip on the gun, waiting for it to loosen. When I told Laiken the truth, she'd gone boneless with relief. She'd forgiven me so eagerly.

Vahn's frown splits open until it becomes an odd smile. “You think I don't know what happened to him?” He laughs. “I know all about my son. I know how depressed he was. I knew from the beginning. It was your job to look out for him. You were the one he spent all of his time with, you were the one that pushed him forward, Dominic. He relied on you and you let him down!”

My mouth slips open, no words tumbling free because I have none. He knew? All this time, he knew it was a suicide? My uncle's tirade corkscrews into my heart, reigniting the guilt I've carried since standing on that snowy mountain. Why did I expect to be forgiven? Why would I deserve such an easy solution?

Turning, he aims the weapon at the woman I love. “No!” I shout, ignoring Miles and his threats, ignoring the danger of two guns that could fire on me. I see nothing - feel nothing - but my desire to protect Laiken from harm. Rushing forward, I block her body as I face off with my uncle.

His eyes widen. “Get away from her, it's not your turn yet.”

“I'm not letting you do this!”

Vahn considers me over the top of the gun. No one else is moving. Miles has his pistol in his hand, but he doesn't know what to do with it. My mother is ghostly pale where she stands nearby. And behind me, I hear Laiken's fragile, muffled sobs.

“Fine,” he says, the veins on the back of his hand bulging. “I wanted you to watch her die first. I wanted to watch you suffer.” His eyes narrow until the irises become slivers of ebony in a sea of white. “But you don't get to die thinking you're a hero. I'm going to kill her next.”

The gun cracks louder than thunder. Everything goes still. I brace myself, preparing for the chunk of lead to pierce my flesh. But it never arrives.

My mother's hair glows like autumn leaves in the sun as the clouds clear overhead. A few fine, gray strands that I never noticed before have slipped free of her bun, waving from the motion of her jump. Her face contorts in pain as the bullet sinks into her stomach.

No, I think in disbelief.

She floats in the air, like she's sinking through thick, clear gelatin. I can see her teeth as she bares them, count every eyelash over her clenched lids. Her arms wrap around to hug her body, but they're useless in stopping the blood from seeping through her shirt.

Time speeds up again. She hits the ground with a heavy thud, her body a foot away from my feet. Vahn drops the gun, completely shocked by the fact that he's shot his own sister.

Laiken shoves around me, falling to her knees next to my mom. I hear her scream through the gag. It's gotten somewhat loose from all her chewing. She reaches up, ripping it free with her fingernails. “No! No, Annie, no!” she sobs, putting her bound hands on my mother's shoulder.

“Fuck this!” Miles says, backing away. “This isn't what I signed up for.” I don't know that he's entered the helicopter until seconds later, when the engine whines, the blades spinning above us. The helicopter sends debris swirling into my vision. It mutes Laiken's cries as it takes off into the air. Then it's gone, and I still can't hear anything.

My body isn't working right. I drop to the grass, cradling my mother's head. “No. No, this—this can't happen.”

Vahn swings his head side to side like a pendulum. “I didn't mean to,” he mumbles. “I didn't think . . . why would she jump in front? Why . . . why would she help you? Why . . . why . . .”

Laiken has managed to chew the knots off her wrists. “Save her,” she commands me, snatching the front of my shirt, giving me a shake. “Call an ambulance! There's still time!”

I'm unable to believe that what I'm seeing is real. Annie clutches at where the blood is staining. She winces, eyes pinched shut from pain. “You can't die,” I say to her.

“Dominic!” Laiken begs. I'm unable to tear my attention away from my mother. A hand digs into my pocket.  Laiken yanks out my phone, standing and talking into it as she does.

Distantly, I know I should be doing more than sitting in the grass, but I can't let go of my mom. I can't release her from my arms. I'm afraid that the second I do, she'll vanish forever. “You're going to be okay,” I say to her. I can hear Laiken talking insistently on the phone behind me. I'm grateful for how she's taken charge. “Laiken is calling for help right now. Just hang on.”

In the distance, more voices swell. The guards probably heard the gunshots and are rushing our way. Annie opens her eyes and sees me. Her irises are normally pitch black and cold. I can't remember a time that she ever looked at me with regret. It makes her appear tormented.  It stirs the deepest recesses of my heart.

“Dominic,” she whispers.

“Shh,” I say quickly. “Don't talk, save your strength, Mom.”

“Mom,” she repeats me. She chuckles and winces from the motion. “I don't deserve to be called that.”

“Stop, please.”

Her eyes drifted aside. I follow them, realizing she's looking at Laiken in the distance. “She told me that she loved you in a way I never had. That she pitied me.” My mom inhales sharply, like talking takes all her effort, but she keeps talking. “I was so miserable after Laiken said that. I didn't want to believe that I'd wasted all these years of my life waiting around for a man that never loved me, when I could have been spending those moments loving my own child.”

She reaches up and touches my jaw. Her fingers come away wet with my own tears. “You don't have to regret anything,” I whisper thickly.

“I do.” Her smile is sad and tender at once. “But if the last thing I did with my life was save yours, Dominic, maybe it'll make up for some of my sins.”

“Don't talk like you won't have time to fix things later.”

“I told you, I wasted too much time waiting for later.” Her eyes shut, her lashes touching her cheeks. “I love you, son.”

I choke on my own words. “I love you too, Mom.”

Her smile remains, but the rest of her is gone.

There are sirens all around me. I can barely hear them over my own shouts. I grasp my mother, holding her to my chest, and when multiple people try to pry me away, I fight them off. I don't want to let go of her. She's my mother, dammit! She's not supposed to die! Not now.

I don't stop fighting until a new set of hands grabs my face.

Laiken.

She's crying too, and when I see that, I ease up enough so that the paramedics can take my mother away on a stretcher. Laiken gives a great sob, collapsing against me. We fall on the grass, neither of us able to stand anymore.

I want to be strong for her.

I want to make everything right.

I've lost so much that I can't be anything more than a broken man in the arms of the woman he loves.