LUKE

 

In her absence, the full weight of what’s just gone down begins to hit me. It weighs heavy on me knowing that Dom played a role in all of this, although things were cut short before I could get a further explanation. It just goes back to the very beginning when I was forced to confront him and felt like he wasn’t actually giving me any answers. And now for his lips to pass over David’s lips just before he died? He’s obviously involved with things I can’t defend.

He’s obviously not the same man I used to know and admire. In this life, people change. Good people become corrupt or evil and sometimes; bad people become good people. I just never thought Dom would change like that.

He’s always been one of the good guys, no questions asked. He’s always been the kind of guy who is there for anyone and everyone at the drop of a dime. I’ve seen him save countless people in this life, and I can’t reconcile that with the man he’s apparently turned into.

I suppose David could have been lying when he implicated Dom, but in the same vein, there’s already a growing pile of evidence that Dom is no longer a good guy. My suspicions first began when I saw the tape of him talking to Mason Cartwright. And then to find out his fingerprints were on the letters. It all seems to corroborate what Thomas was saying. The only way I’ll ever know the truth is if I confront him directly, but I’m not sure it’s something I’m up to.

I almost just feel like running away, if for only a little while to clear my head.

I lean back in my chair and sigh as I wonder what’s taking Ella so long. She should have been back up here by now. My mind flashes back to the restaurant a few weeks ago. Back then, I thought I was being paranoid, but it turned out that my gut was right. I don’t want to listen to my gut right now, but it’s telling me something is off.

I wait for a few more minutes and the air seems to grow increasingly chillier by the second. She should definitely be back by now. I dread hobbling down the steps with my injured leg, but I resign myself to the fact that that’s just what I’m going to have to do. I reach under the hem of my shirt and rip it over my head.

I tear it into two long strips and wrap it tightly around my leg. The wound burns like hell as I begin to tie it off with the shredded pieces of the shirt. It honest-to-god feels like I’m about to be amputated.

After taking a few deep breaths, I force myself onto my feet. I sigh heavily as I take the first step and grit my teeth as I take a second. But after that, the pain subsides just enough that I’m able to pick up my pace. I pull open the rooftop door and hobble inside. The steps are going to be the real test of my fortitude.

I grip one hand on the railing and make my way down the steps carefully and without incident. When I turn the corner at the end of the steps, I notice that our hotel door is open just down the way.

Somehow, I manage to push myself forward, all the while ignoring the pain. At this point, I’m sure I’m not going to die or bleed out. I had joked on the roof that it was merely a flesh wound and the more I walk on it, the more I realize that I was probably right. It’s amazing how the mind works. It’s amazing how if you think something’s painful, it’s going to hurt like hell. And if you tell yourself something doesn’t hurt, maybe just maybe it won’t hurt at all. But also maybe my body’s just used to it at this point.

“Ella,” I call out as I step into the hotel room and freeze instantly.

Rick Matheson, who should be in jail right now, stands behind a pale and haunted Ella. They’re both in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, and this piece of shit has a gun pointed squarely at Ella’s head.

I should have killed this man when I had the chance.

He’s dressed differently than he was before. Gone are the tattered jeans and torn shirts. From head to toe, he’s dressed up in black slacks, a black shirt and a suit jacket. And though he wasn’t in attendance at the class reunion downstairs—he graduated a year earlier than Ella, this is obviously a big occasion for him, but I’m willing to bet he hadn’t realized that his funeral would be tonight when he first stepped out of his house wearing that.

He should have taken notes the last time he tried this shit.

“It’s about damn time you showed up,” Rick says, forcing a cheeky grin. “I was starting to think you actually did bleed out up on the rooftop, which really would have been a shame, because then I wouldn’t have the pleasure of watching her watch you die.”

“Do you think that’s how this is going to go?” I force all my weight onto my left leg and try to assess the situation. From my point of view, there’s only one tool in the toolbox and that’s one of diplomacy. She’s simply too far away from me for me to do anything without risking Rick blowing her brains out. “You can walk out that door and whatever this is, it can end right here in this room.”

“I hadn’t pegged you as a funny guy the last time I met you.” He cocks a brow. “Oh, that’s right the last time I saw you, you were too busy trying to kill me to be making jokes.” He claps the gun against the side of Ella’s arm. I assume he’s trying to clap his hands so to speak, but it’s just a guess.

“I’m not really interested in jokes right now,” I say, trying to reason with him. Inside, I’m a furnace about ready to explode, but on the outside, I have to remain cool, calm, and collected. “I’m interested in talking.”

“Fine then. Let me tell you a little funny story and I think it’s one you’re going to be interested in hearing.” He takes a measured step back and affixes the gun at the back of Ella’s head. He’s standing a measurable distance away from her with his arm stretched out wide. “This right here is what we like to call a contingency plan. After my brother spent every last penny he had to get me out of jail through some curious back channels, we decided that while he was taking care of things upstairs, I’d wait down here just in case there were any surprises. See, I’m starting to think you guys have been overly blessed with the luck card because you should both be dead, but that’s not the point.” He exhales sharply to collect his breath after the first bit of his speech. He then cocks his head at me and sighs. “I’m being long-winded, aren’t I?”

“Yes,” Ella grits out, and I shoot her a death glare.

She needs to control herself right now if she’s going to survive. I’ve seen a lot of things in my life, but the one thing I couldn’t bear to see is her dying right in front of me.

“Then let’s get straight to the point, why don’t we?” He gestures with the gun for Ella to move to the side and towards the bathroom. She does as commanded while he continues to tell his pitiful story. “I convinced my brother that this was the perfect little harmless prank, but it was never actually a prank. Hell, I think I even tried to convince myself too, but I could never quite do it. I could never quite forget the way she used to make me feel, and I wanted that again. Turns out, after our brief meeting a few weeks ago, that I don’t actually feel anything for her.” He shrugs with apathy and rotates the gun to aim it at me. “You’re going to die, Luke King. You’re now the failsafe, so I’m going to kill you and she’s going to spend the rest of her life mourning over you. The love she never had because it was ripped away from her way too soon. She’s going to feel how I’ve felt all these years.”

Every little piece of the puzzle has finally clicked together, including something I should have realized before. I should have known David was involved when he sold Ella a prop gun instead of a real one. Why else would he do such a thing? It doesn’t matter right now anyways. I’m staring down the barrel of a gun, and I’m sure this is the final curtain call.

“Do you have any last words, Luke King?”

“Yeah,” I swallow a nervous lump in my throat and pass Ella a knowing glance. “Just one.”

“Yeah?” He cocks his head and drums his finger against the trigger, preparing to fire. “What’s that?”

“Fuck you,” I spit at him.

To which he can’t help but to laugh lowly. “Interesting last words. I figured you’d plead or beg, or pray to God, or something a little more pathetic.” He shrugs his shoulders. “Oh well.”

Just as he’s about to squeeze the trigger, Ella lands a jab against his stomach with her elbow. That’s my cue to get the hell out of the line of fire. I dive behind the king-sized bed and take refuge there while I reach for the gun in the back of my slacks and check the clip.

It’s fully loaded and I’m ready for war. There’s a struggle from over by the window and I know I don’t have a lot of time to make my move. I jump up onto my feet and aim the gun squarely at Rick. He freezes in place and rotates to face me, letting go of Ella’s throat as he does so.

She stumbles backwards and falls onto her ass. As soon as she hits the ground, she scoots backwards until she’s out of the line of fire. I circle the counter and step out into the living area. I don’t dare take my eye off him. All it would take for him to shoot Ella would be a half-second. He holds his gun at his side as he watches me carefully.

“What are you doing to do?” He smirks, awfully cockily for a dead man walking. “You’re going to kill me?”

“Yeah,” I say deadpan. “Something like that.”

I take one last look at Ella and remind myself that I’m doing this for her. Everything from this moment on, it’s for her. These people have shown they have a penchant for resurrecting the past. If I should find it in my heart to let this man live and walk away, there’s no telling when he’d come back for her. And there’s no reasoning with people like him anyways.

She’s been living in the shadows too long, hiding from these people who have taunted her anonymously. When I look at her, I see a beautiful, smart, capable, loving woman, and I’ll be damned if I let these people take that away from her.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

I fire three bullets square into his chest. His gun clatters against the hard floors and his eyes drop to look at the blood seeping through the three holes in his chest. He looks back up at me with the same sinister smile he’s been wearing since I first stepped foot into this hotel room. Even being so close to death, he’s unrepentant about the things he’s done. I imagine that when the day comes, when I find myself at death’s door, that I will repent and pray to the God above that he forgives me for all I’ve done.

Rick stumbles forward slightly, and then his body begins to sway. He’s taking too long to die, and I almost feel sorry for him. I raise my gun to fire another round into this chest, if for no other reason than to end the misery. He’s a tough son of a bitch though, refusing to go down without a fight.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Ella jump to her feet and race forward. I try to scream at her to stop, but the words don’t escape my lips fast enough. With both hands, she shoves Rick backwards against the glass. The impact is enough to send him barreling through the thick glass, the floor-to-ceiling windows shattering all around him.

He finally lets out a scream as he falls from the thirty-seventh floor, finally recognizing that his station in life has come to an untimely end. I rush to the window and look down to see his body splattered along the sidewalk. From up here, he looks almost as small as a roach, and that’s just what he was.

Ella rushes to me and throws her arms around me. She nuzzles her head against my neck and holds a hand firm against my chest. That’s when she finally cries softly against my body. I drop a hand to comb through her hair, calming her as I whisper to her, “It’s over.”

She lets out a heavy sigh and cocks her head to look out the broken window. She scoffs quietly before saying, “I don’t think our security deposit is going to cover this.”

I look down at her with a glowing smile, which seems out of place given the circumstances, but I’m proud of her. I’m proud because she’s able to make a joke in the midst of all the chaos. It’s all the proof I need that this series of events that have unfolded here tonight haven’t put a dent in her soul. She’s been surrounded by some of the very worst humanity has to offer tonight and she absolutely steadfastly refused to allow that darkness into her own soul.

When I look at her, I’m forced to remember the first time I met her. She was ice cold and closed off, and although she was sexy as hell back then, that’s not the girl I know. Not even close. The girl I know is a kind, caring, and loving girl. She has the capacity to be vulnerable and she has the capacity to take her life into her own hands.

I’m so glad I met that girl because I have a feeling she’s going to change my life for the better. She’s already begun changing me. Some people would scoff at the idea that I’ve changed in a mere few short weeks. To those people, I’d simply tell them to mind their own business. I never quite believed in love before, but this girl, yeah, she gives me something to believe in.

And maybe it’s not love, not quite yet, but it’s the most I’ve ever felt for a girl, and I guess that’s saying something. It’s certainly saying enough. From the shattered window, I can hear the sirens approaching from the outside.

That’s when I come up with the most ridiculous idea.

“Run away with me,” I say to her lowly, but it’s more of a question than a statement. “Tonight.”

“Right now?” She responds with somewhat of a snicker, but when she looks at me, she falls silent. “Are you being serious?”

“Not right now, but after we give our statements to the police. After the investigation is over.”

She breaks away from me and takes a short step backwards. She shakes her head slightly, trying to process what it is that I’m actually saying. “I’m tired of running.”

“This will be a different type of running,” I assure her and caress a hand down the length of her arms. “We’re not running away from anything. Instead, we’ll be running away to something.”

“I don’t think…” She stops herself mid-sentence, and her eyes meet mine. There’s a sparkle and a glimmer and for the first time, it’s like she’s really truly alive. “Let’s go.”

“Are you sure? Because once we leave here, once we find ourselves on a nice ass beach somewhere, we might not want to ever come back.”