Chapter 34

Remy

Trey’s blind madness made him hard to predict. They crashed against a shelf.

Fighting a man with a loaded gun was the worst situation Remy could think of. The God damned imbecile shot Charles Crawford himself.

Trey has to kill all of us now.

The gun went off again, bottles exploded to their right, bathing them in broken glass and red wine. He grabbed Trey’s wrist, preventing him from pointing the gun anywhere but to the ceiling, Remy’s elbow on his throat.

Trey choked, trying to knee Remy back, but Remy crashed his forehead against his nose, the crunching noise and his muffled yell of pain filled the dark room.

Burning bright pain on the side of Remy’s face. The whole world almost went black.

Someone hit me. He looked away fast enough to avoid a direct hit on his chin. The bald guy was trying to knock him down. But he couldn’t let Trey go. He’d be dead if he did.

Before Bald hit him for a third time, he kneed Trey on the groin, whirled around grabbing the gun with both hands, Trey pressed the trigger one, two, three times.

Glass exploded all around him. He couldn’t stop thinking of Julie. She needed to be lying down. The thought of a stray bullet hitting her was too much for him to think about.

Trey moved forward, pushing Remy aside, and then he saw Bald, dead on the ground, a bullet in his stomach. Trey realized what he’d done and yelled, his mad fury still blinding him.

He took another shot at Remy but he jumped away just in time, rolling on the floor and into the next stack of bottles.

“Don’t let her escape, Ray!” Trey yelled.

Light only fell on the middle of the cellar, above the chair where Remy was. The rest of the room was engulfed in shadows. Remy moved through the maze of shelves, getting closer to the center.

The passages were long and cold. Trey fired again, he heard bottles explode behind him, far enough for him to know the asshole didn’t know where he was.

“Come out you fucker, unless you want your little girlfriend shot.”

You’re going to pay you fucker.

He needed to act fast. He sneaked to the end of the passage, grabbed a bottle, Chateau Roth DeGausse, and got ready.

Trey stepped like an elephant over the poodles of wine. He was being careless, it wasn’t hard to know exactly where he was.

Raymond, the idiot with the ponytail had Julie by the hair. The mere sight of that made Remy want to rush out to him and beat him to a pulp. But he also had a gun, he couldn’t risk him hurting her. Remy had to play it smart.

He rolled the bottle on the ground to the other end of the corridor.

It didn’t make any noise, until it hit the shelf across the small open area.

“There!” Raymond said, shooting blindly to his side, thinking he knew where Remy was. As soon as he turned his back on him, Remy grabbed another bottle and crashed it on his skull.

Raymond fell down, firing his gun once, but still not dropping it. He tried to turn around but Remy chokeholded him as hard as he could.

“Fucker!” Trey yelled, coming into the open, pointing the gun at him.

Remy rotated and covered himself with Raymond. He felt the bullets enter him, Ray’s body going soft as they did, his last breath uttering the words “mom.”

He almost felt sorry for him.

“Ray?”

“He’s gone,” Remy said, snatching the pistol from his still warm hands, “you killed him.”

Trey shot at him again but he was too predictable now. Remy understood him. He could deal with him more easily now. Remy jumped before Trey even pressed the trigger.

Remy walked slowly on the third passage to the left, looking at the center of the room. He’s got her.

Trey had her by the hair. Charles Crawford lay on the floor, bleeding. Hardly breathing.

Julie cried, looking at her father.

“This is between you and me,” Remy said, coming out of the passage, to the right of Trey, his gun pointed directly at him.

“Let’s settle this once and for all,” he continued, “do you like hiding behind a woman?”

Trey smirked, but he wasn’t mocking him. He was trying to act tough, as if he didn’t care. He was dumber than Remy thought. Easily manipulated.

“Your father would be proud.”

“Shut the fuck up!” Trey said and shot him.

“No!” Julie screamed.

He thought it would be painful. Different than this. Remy knew he had a bullet in his chest, but all he felt was warmth. It was his own blood, dripping down his body.

It was hotter than he ever imagined.

But he felt no pain. He kept on walking.

“You’re a tough man,” Remy continued, “you won. Let her go.”

“She has to go too, don’t you know? You killed them all and I had to stop you.”

Remy couldn’t get a clean shot. He wasn’t going to risk killing her. He raised his gun and looked directly at Julie. He took three shots, all of them right above their heads. Trey released her, covering himself from the rain of glass falling over him.

It gave her enough time to jump forward.

Trey fired back, missing his first two shots. Third one’s a charm.

He got Remy again, right on the chest. He was dead for sure now, but he would take Trey with him even if it was the last thing he did.

He pressed the trigger, every explosion like music, the bullets hitting Trey in the chest and arms and throat, the cellar shelves behind him painted red with blood.

Remy walked a few more steps to Julie, who covered her ears.

Another step, the last one he’d take in his life and she turned to him, her eyes full of tears. Remy fell to the floor, leaning back on a thick wood shelf.

Charles Crawford, his father-in-law, lay next to him.

“He’s still breathing,” Remy whispered, “get some help.”

“Remy,” she said and jumped to hug him, “Remy please, no, I love you.”

“And I love you, Jules Crawford.”

Her warm tears hurt him more than the bullets in his body.

“Get your father some help,” he whispered in her ear, then smiled, “I think he liked me.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks but he could still made her laugh.

“Will you marry me, Julie Crawford?”

She didn’t even have to think about it, “yes, of course I will.”

He would have smiled, if he had the strength. His whole body felt like burning. Like a candle flame trying to stay alive a few more seconds before ceasing to exist.

“You stay alive,” she ordered, “or I’ll make you pay.”

Julie jumped up and ran faster than he’d ever seen anyone before.

Silence. Cold. Death was coming for him fast. It had been worth it. He got to meet her. To kiss her. She would live. The love of his life.

Worth it.

He closed his eyes. His mind started to fade, like sleeping. He smiled.

He was ready to go.