Twenty-One
Astoria
The sun rises and with it, my anxiety. Brant is out there. He could be behind the house or he could have fled town for the time being. We have no way of knowing. Parker has already been on the phone with Jim this morning. The police had nothing new to report. Blair broke down at hearing that. Parker's mom gave her one of her anxiety pills to help calm her. She's been sleeping since. I hate that this happened to her—to all of us.
Cy and Eve came home sometime during the night. They didn’t want to wake us to come get them, so they called a cab from the city to bring them home. I doubt that was cheap. The bullet hit the fleshy part of Cy’s upper arm and went straight through. They cleaned the wound and stitched him.
We’re sitting around the dining table with Parker's parents when Cy and Eve emerge from their bedroom. As soon as Parker's mom sees them, she rushes to their sides, engulfing them both in a hug. Parker's dad is right behind her and does the same thing once she releases them.
Sitting down at the table, their eyes on Parker and me, I can't hold back the tears. I'm sobbing as I stand and hug Cy. I don't think he expected it since he's rigid against me for a minute, then wraps his uninjured arm around me.
"I'm so glad you're okay," I cry. I didn't realize how worried I was about him until now.
He holds me close and whispers in my ear. "It's okay, Tori. I'm okay." He lets out a breath. "I'm sorry for the way I treated you. You didn’t deserve that. I won't make that mistake again."
"It's all right. You were only looking out for your friend."
I go to Eve next. She wasn't crying when she came out here, but she starts the moment my arms are around her small frame. We cry together for a minute, letting everything out and taking comfort in one another without saying a word.
Parker's hand on my back brings me back to everyone and out of my darkest fears. He takes me in his arms and walks us back to the table. This time I don't sit in my own chair. I'm on his lap, safe in his embrace.
We eat and talk. Parker's mom goes into doctor mode and starts telling Cy and Eve how to care for the wound and to make sure not to put any stress on his arm. No carrying anything or using it to hit people. We all laugh at that. Cy's always ready for a fight.
We try to keep the conversation light after, even though it proves close to impossible. There's a dark cloud hanging over us that no matter how much I wish it would go away, it won't as long as there is a man out there wishing to harm us.
The door to the room Blair is staying in opens and she leans heavily on the frame. Parker is out of his chair and to her side in seconds. He hugs and whispers words only she can hear. Blair's soft cries reach my ears and cause my own to form again. They walk to the table together, Parker's hand on her waist.
"I... you are all..." Blair stammers, trying to speak between sobs. "I'm sorry," she finally gets out.
"You have nothing to be sorry for, dear," Parker's mom says. "You did nothing wrong."
"But if it weren't for me..."
"If it weren't for you? If he weren't with you, he would have done this to someone else. That man is not the son I raised. He needs to be found and put behind bars."
"This must be so hard for you," Blair says.
"Me? Don't worry about me. I need to make sure you're okay." Parker's mom turns her head and looks at each one of us. "All of you."
"We're fine, Mrs. Maxfield," Cy replies.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to be so formal?"
"Sorry, ma'am." She rolls her eyes and it's all I can do not to laugh.
"Everyone eat. I also made dinner for you to have later. It's in the fridge. You just have to heat it up. I have to go to the hospital tonight. Blair, I'd love to check you over before I leave."
"I'm fine, really."
"No, you're not, but you will be. You're a strong woman and you have a great support system here. I'm still going to examine you, though, after you have something to eat."
Parker's dad informs us that he'll be going home tonight, since he has work tomorrow, but that he is only a phone call away should we need something. He has a case heading to trial within the next week and all the documents are in the office.
"We'll be fine, Dad. We have one gun left.”
"Don't go shooting each other while I'm gone. I don't want to deal with any of that bullshit. Stay safe and stay smart." Tapping his finger on his chin, he reminds me so much of Parker, except his hair is a light brown. They both have the same green eyes and chiseled jaw. Not that I'm looking at his dad like that, but you notice these things when they sit next to each other.
"Maybe I should hire you a bodyguard. Then I wouldn't have to worry so much," his dad adds.
"You can't be serious?" Parker asks incredulously.
"I certainly am. Parker, you don't know what Brant's going to do next."
That's when the bullets start flying. The first one comes through one of the floor-to-ceiling windows at the front of the cabin. We’re stunned for a moment as we look at each other, not sure what happened, then another enters from the back of the house through a window in the kitchen.
Glass shatters all around us as we drop to the floor. Parker covers me with his body in an attempt to protect me. I squeeze my eyes shut in fear.
"Everyone crawl to a safer space!" Parker's dad calls over the gunfire. Brant must have upgraded from Parker's small handgun to a high powered, semi-automatic rifle.
My eyes fly open as we scatter. Parker's dad motions for Blair and Parker's mom to follow him. They go up the hallway into the one spare bedroom whose bathroom has no windows. Cy and Eve crawl to the door leading to the garage. There's a storage room down there Brant might not think of looking in. Parker pulls me, and we crawl toward his bedroom. I'm not sure what his plan is, but I'm following him.
Before we reach the door to the room, I hear the crunching of boots on glass. We both turn to find Brant standing in the living room, staring right at us. He must have climbed through one of the shattered windows.
Parker whispers, "Go into my room. Lock yourself in the bathroom. Now, Tora."
My voice shakes. "I'm not leaving you."
His eyes plead with mine, begging me to listen. I eventually do. If I stayed I would be a distraction for Parker. I don't want him to worry about protecting me while trying to figure out how to take down Brant.
He stands, and I rush into the bedroom. A shot rings out. I whip around as Parker falls to the floor.
"No!" I scream. He's clutching his leg as I drop to his side.
My eyes blaze with pure hatred when I narrow them on Brant. His hair sticks up at odd angles. There is dirt on his black pants and shirt—the same clothes he had on last night. One sleeve is torn, a long cut on his forearm where the glass must have cut him. He walks toward us with the gun pointed directly at me.
"Where's my fiancée?" he seethes.
"I'm not telling you," I shoot back through clenched teeth.
"You stupid, stupid girl. Blair, darling, where are you?" he shouts. "I'll find you if I have to kill everyone in this house to get to you. You know I'll do it!"
Blair stumbles out of the bedroom, tears flowing down her cheeks. I don’t miss the way her spine straightens when she stands in front of the man she used to love. Her hands clench into fists. The pain is evident on her face, but her resolve is just as strong.
"I'm right here, you asshole. You can take me, but you have to leave everyone else alone."
"It's funny that you think you have a say in what I do."
Shots ring out from the front lower level of the house where the garage is. I start trembling, wondering who was hit. There is a cop outside the house. Was it him? Was it Cy or Eve? Or was it Brant’s accomplice?
"Get back in the bedroom, Tora," Parker demands as sweat beads on his forehead.
Using all his strength, he stands to place himself in front me. Blood seeps from his leg. I don't listen. No fucking way. Instead, I wrap an arm around his waist to help hold him up and stand beside him.
Parker's dad is the next to appear, gun in hand. He steps in front of Blair, his taller, wider body effectively blocking her, and points the gun at Brant.
"If it isn't my stepfather, here to support his real son and my fiancée."
"I always treated you like you were my own. Then you did something unthinkable."
"I did what I needed to so my fiancée knew who she belonged to."
"You don't treat the woman you love that way. Never! How dare you,” he seethes. “How dare you do that to Blair, and how dare you go into her home and Parker's and do this. Did you learn nothing while you were in prison?"
"I learned how to get my hands on guns that no one would notice. I learned how to plot and plan an attack. I had years to work this out."
Sirens are heard coming up the mountain toward Parker's cabin.
"Okay, I'm done with the games," Brant says. He shoots his stepfather repeatedly, causing him to hit the ground hard. Parker's mom rushes out to cradle him.
"Brant, how could you?" she screams. "We’re your family!"
"No, you're not. Blair is the only family I want and she's coming with me." He lunges and grips Blair by the wrist, jerking her forward, making her to cry out in pain.
"Come on, bitch. Get moving."
He starts to turn and pulls Blair with him, but she kicks him hard in the shin. He backhands her into the wall; causing her to crash to the floor at the same time the door leading from the living room to the garage bursts open. Brant spins. Cy levels a gun at him—one very similar to what Brant is holding. Parker and I duck down in unison. I hold him tight as we get as close to the floor as possible. Everyone else is already on the ground. They too lay flat.
Before Brant can react and lift the gun hanging in his hand by his side, Cy fires at him, hitting him multiple times. Brant stumbles back, but manages to raise the gun. He fires off a couple of shots; they spray throughout the home, not hitting anyone as he lands on his back.
Brant’s breath is shallow and raspy as he pants on the floor in front of us. Parker stands again, limping past his parents and Blair to where Brant lies on the floor. The gun he was holding a few inches from him. Cy steps up beside Parker, the other gun hanging in Cy’s good hand. Parker takes it from him and aims it at Brant's head. At the same moment, Brant gets a surge of energy and reaches for his gun. Parker is faster, though. He shoots Brant in the head and chest, killing him before all our eyes.
"No one fucks with my family," he says between clenched teeth, then hands the gun back to Cy who places it on the counter.
Parker limps to the shattered back windows with his hands raised and shouts, "The gunman is dead! I’m unarmed. There is one rifle on the counter, another on the floor, as well as a handgun.” Police must have surrounded the cabin with their guns drawn.
Jim comes up the stairs from the garage with a black bulletproof vest on and a gun in his hands. "Step away from the guns." Cy and Parker do as they are told, their hands raised, their backs to us in the hall.
Stepping farther inside around them, Jim takes in the scene. Police pat both Parker and Cy down, ensuring Parker was telling the truth.
Jim crouches next to Brant's body then looks at Blair, me, and Parker's parents. Parker's mom has his dad lying down on the floor, putting pressure on his gunshot wounds the best she can.
"I need transport, stat. Two gunshot victims. One right thigh, the other left abdomen. Now, Jim!" she shouts. Jim goes into action, calling for medics, as members of the police force come forward to each of us.
The next thirty minutes go by in the blink of an eye as ambulances arrive and statements are taken. Parker tells them what happened as his leg is bandaged by the paramedics. His dad and mom are already on their way to the hospital. I ride in the back of the ambulance with Parker, leaving Cy, Eve, and Blair at the house with the cops and the dead bodies of Brant and the man Cy killed in the garage. On the way outside, I witness two officers draping a sheet over one of their own. At the bottom of the driveway, the scene is the same. Another deceased officer, another sheet. The road is closed except to emergency personnel. I do everything I can to keep from getting sick in the back of the ambulance.