Eli
I just have to stay calm. Dad and Ethan will be here any second. Thank God I remembered to call them just before I came in. One wrong move and this can all go to hell. No matter how badly I want to kill these fuckers, I have to keep calm for Quinn.
When she called, my fucking world came to a stop. Hearing the fear in her voice and not being able to hold her almost killed me. Hearing her screaming and fighting ripped my heart clean out of my chest. I thought losing Quinn was the worst pain, but I was wrong. Hearing the person you love most in this world screaming while you’re helpless to do anything, that’s soul shattering.
Quinn’s whole body trembles against mine, making my protective side kick into high gear. She’s going into shock, and I need to check how badly she’s hurt. She won’t be able to handle much more.
Her eyes keep darting between my face and Roy. There’s a wild look of pure terror on her face, and it kills me seeing her in such a state. So help me God I’ll protect her, but these fuckers are dead the first chance I get. If I don’t get to kill them tonight, I will fucking hunt them to the ends of the earth.
I take hold of her shoulders and pull her closer. She’s taking small gasps of air and grabs hold of my shirt with her tiny fists. There’s a bite mark on her left cheek while the right side of her face is beaten badly. She came in from the opposite side and Steve followed her in, which means he must’ve been the fucker who hurt her. I make a silent promise to take my time in killing him.
“You’re going to be fine,” I say, hoping the words will help her remain calm. “I need you to stay calm, Quinn. Can you do that for me?”
She swallows hard as she nods. Good. She’s still with me.
I look at the leader of the group. Erick Thompson. I know he’s been a problem for the sheriff department. They can never get anything to stick on him. He transports drugs using small towns and always gets the local drug addicts to do his dirty work. The guy standing behind Erick is his second in charge, Clint Williams. He’s gone to prison for Erick so I know this kind of thing is nothing new to him. He’s not nervous and stoned like Steve, which means Steve is my biggest threat right now.
There’s been a string of robberies lately, but never on this side of town. At least now I know who’s responsible for all the break-ins.
Erick turns to him and says, “When you’re done with the bitch bring Jackson to the warehouse. Make sure you get everything and take that ring she’s wearing.”
Clint nods and watches as Erick leaves the kitchen, then he shouts, “Enough of this shit. C’mon! Move your asses,”
Quinn presses harder against me as if she’s trying to burrow her way into my chest so she can hide.
I grind my teeth as frustration sets in. If it were just me, I would’ve taken the chance to take Steve and Clint out, but I can’t risk Quinn’s life.
Feeling her fear is smothering me inside out. Every part of my body is screaming to eliminate the threat to her life. I have a savage need to protect what’s mine.
Clint raises his gun and points it at Quinn and it makes every muscle in my body tauten, ready to attack.
I take a step to the side which makes Quinn grab for me. She starts to shake her head and moves to stay in front of me.
When I look down her eyes are turbulent with fear.
“They’ll kill you,” she whimpers and it’s then that I realize the fear on her face is for me.
“Get your asses upstairs!” Clint barks again.
I reach down and pick Quinn up. A growl escapes my suffocating chest and I hold Quinn tightly to me.
Steve follows behind us as we all walk up the stairs. I just need to buy us time until Dad gets here.
We get shoved into one of the rooms, and I feel a little of the tension give way when they close the door, leaving us alone.
I walk over to the bed and try to put her down, but she only tightens her grip around my neck.
I start to pull her arms away from my neck when she whimpers, “No! Please, no.” Her voice breaks as tears roll over her cheeks.
“It’s okay. I’m here,” I try to pacify her. “It will all be over soon.”
There’s something about a woman’s tears. It’s like God gave them a special way to deal with pain. I’ve seen women cry before, but it’s never affected me the way Quinn’s tears do.
Quinn’s tears take me down like a ton of bricks. She throws her arms around my neck, squeezes her face into the space beneath my chin and sobs. I sit down on the bed and hold her, wishing there was a way I could calm her.
“They killed Roy,” her tiny voice is muffled against my skin but the words hit hard. I feel a twinge of guilt. I never wanted him dead.
“I don’t know what happened to Mrs. Douglas,” she says. “I heard her scream but I haven’t seen her. We have to find her.”
The moment we hear voices outside the door she tenses in my arms. I can’t hear what they are saying, their voices are too low.
I try to let go of Quinn but she holds on tight.
“Let me go listen,” I whisper.
Hesitantly, she pulls back. I walk closer to the door, keeping every muscle in body tense and ready to strike.
“Why fucking bother? Just finish the motherfucker off. I say we take the girl. We can at least have fun with her. We can tell Erick the guy started fighting and we had no choice,” Steve says.
“I decide what happens. Erick left me in charge,” Clint snaps. He sounds on edge.
“The bitch tried to claw my fucking eye out. Let me at least teach her a lesson,” Steve hisses, sounding pissed off.
I glance back at Quinn. Whatever’s going to happen next won’t be good. If Dad doesn’t get here soon, I have no choice but to take them both on and pray that Quinn doesn’t get hurt in the process. I have to prepare her. She can’t keep sitting frozen like that.
I stalk over to her and take hold of her face with both my hands. She looks fragile, so fucking terrified in my hands, but I have to do this.
“Look at me,” I snap. Her eyes dart wildly up at me. “They are going to come in. I need you to fight with me. I can’t do this alone.”
She starts to tremble again. This isn’t working. I’m only scaring her more.
“I can’t … I don’t know how,” she whimpers. “They’re so much stronger.”
“I know, babe.” I grab hold of her hands. “You almost took Steve’s eye out. Do that again. They can’t fight what they can’t see.”
She looks like she’s going to puke. I take a deep breath to keep my anger under control. Fuck, she’s not supposed to fight a man.
“Okay, think back. Remember when we wrestled and you accidentally kneed me?”
“Yeah?” she chokes the word out.
“Do that when they get near you. Just fight as much as you can, baby. My dad and Ethan will be here any second now. We just need to hold them off.”
The door slams open and Quinn’s body goes rock solid in front of me. She shrieks and grabs hold of my shirt.
“You’re not alone, Quinn,” I say, before I turn to face them.
I push her behind me as Clint drags something into the room. He drops Roy’s body just inside the room.
“Such a pity, he lasted a while,” Clint says. He points to an open closet. “Open the fucking safe.”
A choking sound comes from Quinn. She darts around me and falls over Roy, her trembling hands hovering above his broken body, not really touching him, just hovering as if she’s scared to touch him.
I have to get the gun from one of them. I’m a damn good fighter. I can take Steve and Clint out. I can easily kill them, but I’m not immortal. I’m not invincible and all it will take is one bullet and I won’t be able to protect Quinn.
Steve comes in behind Erick, a mean scowl on his face. Suddenly he raises his arm and points a gun at me. I move just as he pulls the trigger.
Quinn’s scream fills the room and the blood drains from her face.
My side explodes with white-hot pain. It feels as if my ribs are shattering. The blast makes me stagger, but I fight to regain my balance and dart forward.
I force my feet to move, my mind to clear, my body to work through the pain. I go for Clint first seeing as he’s closest and slam my fist into his face. He staggers back but I move forward, delivering blow after blow.
It feels good to hear the crack as my knuckles slam into his jaw. He goes down and I follow, delivering one blow after the other. I need to tear him apart as quickly as I can so I can deal with Steve.
A kick to my side throws me off balance and I fall to my knees. Pain tears through my entire left side.
As I struggle to stand I see Steve go for Quinn just as Clint attacks me. Quinn’s screams make me ignore the blinding pain.
Seeing Steve pin Quinn to the floor breaks something in me. He rips her shirt open and gropes at her as if she’s nothing but a piece of meat. When he slams the back of the gun against the side of her head, I fucking lose it.
As Clint takes a swing at me, I duck. When I come back up I throw all my strength into the punch and it sends him sprawling on his ass.
“Eli!” I hear Dad’s shout.
“Upstairs,” I shout back as I go for Steve but he’s already on his feet and yanking Quinn up in front of him. He presses the gun to her head and I freeze.
“You don’t want to do that,” I growl.
“You’re going to let me walk out of here or I’ll spray her brains all over the place,” he shouts.
Dad stops in the doorway and when Steve sees the gun in Dad’s hand, he starts to scream, “I will fucking kill her! Back away old man.”
“Okay,” Dad says in a tone I’ve never heard before. “We’re going to back away. You can leave.”
“Dad!” I growl. There’s no fucking way this fucker is leaving with Quinn.
“It’s okay, Eli,” Dad says in the same tone.
I look at Steve and he looks calmer. The fucker actually thinks he’s in control.
“Take that fucking ring off your finger and give it to me,” he barks at Quinn.
Her fingers tremble as she struggles to get the ring off.
“Faster, bitch!”
She pinches her eyes closed with fright and holds the ring up for him to take.
With the arm holding her hostage, he opens his hand. “Drop the fucking thing in my hand.”
She quickly does as he says, and then he starts to shuffle forward while keeping Quinn in front of him. She doesn’t put up a fight at all.
I start to move towards them when Dad says, “Just wait, Eli. Steve’s a clever man. He’ll let Quinn go as soon as he’s outside.”
“Listen to the old man, motherfucker,” Steve sneers.
I’m going to kill him slowly. It may not be tonight but it will happen. I glance at Clint to make sure he’s still unconscious. We don’t need him waking up right now.
We keep a safe distance as Steve makes his way toward the stairs. When he gets close to the front door, and I see the terror in Quinn’s eyes, I just react. I can’t let him take her.
I rush forward, my eyes locked with Quinn’s.
Steve shoves her forward and starts to run. He points the gun at her back as he runs away, and I grab her. I shove her out of the way as the blast rings through the night. The impact slams me back and I lose my balance. Arms catch me from behind and help me to the ground.
“Eli!” Dad cries.
I look up into my father’s eyes and for the first time in my life, I see tears in them. One drops onto my cheek and rolls into my hair.
“Just hold on,” he breathes, but I know it’s more a prayer than anything else.
“It’s okay,” I whisper.
Quinn falls to my side and the distraught look on her face breaks my heart. I try to lift my hand but I have no strength left.
“Eli,” Quinn whimpers. “Don’t leave me,” she cries and grabs my hand in both of hers. “I can’t lose you.” She starts to sob and I wish I had the energy to comfort her.
Darkness creeps over my vision and it feels as if everything is distanced from me. The pain. The nightmare. Everything but Quinn’s cries. It’s as if they’re keeping me grounded.
“Eli, please! Oh, God, please, Eli,” she begs. “I won’t survive a day without you. Don’t you dare leave me.”
As her nails dig into my skin I can actually believe that she might love me.
She stills next to me and then I hear her whisper hopelessly, “Even in the darkness your shadow leaves you.”
I wake up to an intense pain but my first thought is of Quinn.
I struggle into a sitting position and yank the IV out of my arm. Blood drips onto the white sheets, but I don’t care. I need to get to Quinn.
“Eli,” Dad snaps and he rushes to my side. “Lie back. You can’t move yet.” He presses a button just as Mom comes in.
“Where’s Quinn?” I have to force the words through my dry lips. I just need to see that she’s okay.
“She’s here. She’s -” Mom seems to be searching for the right words, but then she just shakes her head. “She’s not talking. They say it’s from the shock and that she’ll come right with time. Physically she’s fine. They just kept her overnight. I’ll take her home as soon as the doctor signs her out.”
“I need to see her,” I say with determination.
Dad holds up his hands, as if he’s getting ready to stop me.
“You’ll see her, just not today. You took two bullets to your side. You’re lucky they missed vital organs. They had to give you a lot of blood. Just rest. You won’t be of any use to Quinn in this state. If she sees you like this it might do her more harm than good.”
Dad looks like he aged a hundred years and Mom’s eyes are swollen from all the crying.
A nurse comes into the room and my parents stand back as she quickly fixes the IV.
“You need to keep still, Mr. Jackson. The doctor will be making his rounds soon. You’re a very lucky man.”
When she leaves the room, Mom and Dad come to stand next to me again.
I force a smile to my lips to put them at ease. “I’m okay. I promise.”
Dad shakes his head and hugs me. I hold him with one arm while he breathes harshly. “Don’t ever do something like that again. I thought I was going to lose you. No parent should have to bury their child.”
When he pulls back his eyes lock with mine and I see the fear. My father has never been scared of anything in his entire life and I hate that I’ve caused him so much worry, but I would do it all again for Quinn.
“Did Steve get away?”
If I can’t see Quinn now then I need to think of the next best thing and that is finding out where Steve is so I can kill him.
Dad sits on the bed. He holds my hand and I remember as a boy I told him not to hug me in front of my friends because they would think it’s weird. Now I wish he would hug me until my world rights itself. I need his strength until mine is back.
He clears his throat and says, “Yes, he got away just before the police got to the house. The sheriff department is looking for him. They caught Erick and Clint. Erick was arrogant enough to think he was actually untouchable. They have Clint for the murder of Mrs. Douglas. He confessed. The sheriff needs your statement. I can tell him to come back later if you’re not up to it now.”
“No,” I say as I lean back against the pillows. “I’ll talk to him.”
Mom pulls a chair closer and sits as Dad leaves to go get the sheriff.
She swallows back her tears and gives me a weak smile. I lift my hand to her cheek and she leans into my touch.
“I’m okay, Mom.”
She nods and fights to keep the tears back.
“Come here,” I whisper as the first tear falls.
She comes to sit on the bed and I wrap my one arm around her. She clings to the hospital gown as she cries into my shoulder.
There’s nothing I can say that will make her feel better. She needs to let it out.
When she’s calmed down she whispers, “I’ve never been so scared in my life before, Eli. Losing you … I can’t.”
“I’m here, Mom,” I whisper as I place a kiss to her forehead.
“I live you,” she whispers and it brings a smile to my face. It’s something Mom and Dad started before I was born. It’s saying we’re each other’s lives. It means so much more than a simple I love you.
“I live you, Mom. Now and forever.”