WE DIDN’T BOTHERdrying off before we quickly slipped into the clothes we had discarded earlier. We hadn’t unpacked anything from our overnight bags except the lube and condoms, so we grabbed our bags before hauling ass out of the bedroom.
Smoke was starting to fill up the house and it was scary to think that we were going to be trapped. I had the feeling that the fire wasn’t meant to burn us alive; I suspected that Timothy was using it to draw us out of the house where he could ambush us.
“Where’s Hammer?” I asked, worried for my friend. Hammer had taken the first patrol and something bad must’ve happened to him if Timothy was able to start the fire.
“I don’t know, Deac. Timothy must have gotten the drop on him.” I could also hear the underlying fear in Vic’s voice that said he was worried our friend had been gravely injured or even killed. “I don’t know who tipped him off, but when I find out…”
“I’m with you, buddy,” I said as we followed him down the open staircase. Vic and I both had our Glocks out and aimed ahead of us, sweeping side to side as we looked for threats as we made our way down the stairs. “Stay behind me, Mitch. Grab onto the back of my shirt and don’t let go. Turn when I do, drop when I do, or run when I do. Just don’t let go.”
“Got it,” he said. I was surprised at how calm he sounded when I knew he had to be scared.
“Split up or stay together?” I asked Vic.
“Together,” Vic replied. “Something tells me this guy set the fire to get us out of the house, but I don’t think he’s going to just shoot. I think he’s going to want Mitch to see him before he tries to take him out. He can’t shoot both of us before we get the drop on him, Deac.”
“Tries,” I reiterated to Mitch.
We made our way to the front door and stepped outside into the dark night. I saw a dark shape lying prone on the ground and knew it was Hammer by the size of him. My heart stopped beating for a few seconds before a psychotic laugh piercing the night drew my attention and thoughts away from my friend.
“Sitting ducks is what you were.” The dark shape of a tall, slender man emerged from behind a tree and headed toward us. As he got closer to the house, I could see he had a gun aimed at us. “Hmmmm, which one of you assholes do I take out first?” he asked as he moved his gun back and forth between Vic and me. “I’ll save the golden boy for last so that he can watch his lover die.”
Timothy kicked Hammer hard in the center of his body as he made his way past him. Hammer didn’t grunt or react in any way and I feared he was dead.
“Since you’re going to kill all of us,” Vic said, “why don’t you tell us who’s funding this little killing spree of yours. You don’t have a dime to your fucking name and I’m not sure you’re smart enough to pull this off on your own.”
I didn’t take my eyes off of Timothy Nicholson but I sure as hell wanted to look over at Vic and ask him what the fuck he was doing. I mean, why incite the guy’s crazy hatred further? Was he looking to get shot?
“I think I’ll let Mitch go to his grave wondering who hates him so damn much that they decided to seek me out to rid you of their lives. It’s been so much fun toying with you, Mitch. Pity though that your dad pulled through. For now.”
Mitch tried to lunge his way past me and Vic, but we kept him behind us. Mitch’s rage only seemed to cause Timothy to come unhinged even more. “Whoa, looks like the golden boy has a lot of fire left in him. I would’ve thought you two would have fucked some of that out of you as soon as you got upstairs.”
“You just going to talk all night or what? I mean, there are two of us with guns against one…”
Vic’s words were cut off when Timothy pulled the trigger and shot him in the chest. As soon as I saw Timothy make his move, I squeezed the trigger three times and hit him in the chest. He flinched and fell backwards with each step, but didn’t go down. I knew then that he was wearing a bulletproof vest beneath his shirt, so I lowered my aim and shot him in the upper thigh.
Timothy fell to the ground screaming, “You motherfucker.”
“Throw the gun away, roll over, and place your hands on your head or I’ll shoot you again. It’s up to you right now if you live or die.” I could hear Vic getting back up on his feet and was happy to know he’d been wearing his bulletproof vest from earlier, where Mitch and I did not put one on to visit our foster family.
As Timothy weakened from his blood loss, his hand shook and he couldn’t keep a steady aim at either me or Vic. Apparently, Vic had enough because he ran over and kicked Timothy in the jaw with his steel-toed boots and knocked him the fuck out. I had my gun trained on Timothy the whole time and was prepared to deal him a death shot to the brain if he even looked like he was going to shoot Vic again.
Mitch got on the phone and called 911, telling them what happened and that we needed a fire truck, police, and a few ambulances. Vic removed Timothy’s gun and secured him with some zip ties he kept in his utility belt while I checked on Hammer.
I switched on the flashlight on my phone because he was lying just outside the glow from the porchlight. I pressed my fingers to his neck and found a weak pulse. I kept Hammer on his side while I checked him for the type of wounds he had. Gunshots weren’t heard, so Timothy either used a gun with a silencer on Hammer or he got the drop on him some other way. I found what looked to be a knife wound to his chest that just barely missed his heart and another stab wound to his lower back that might have punctured a kidney. If so, he was probably bleeding heavily internally.
I took off my shirt and pressed it to the wound in his back. Mitch came over and pressed his removed shirt to Hammer’s chest. “Hang in there, buddy,” Mitch told him. “Help is on the way.”
Vic cut a strip off his shirt and wrapped it around Timothy’s leg as a tourniquet before he got on his cell and called Detective Harmon to let him know what happened. The attack on us was out of his jurisdiction, but it was still his case. I had one ear listening to Vic talk to Harmon and the other listening for sirens. I had no clue how far away the first responders were so all we could do was put pressure on Hammer’s wounds and pray, hoping that someone upstairs was listening.
When the cavalry arrived they had their guns justifiably aimed at us since we were the ones still standing with bodies on the ground. They confiscated the firearms from where we had tossed them aside in preparation of their arrival. Once the scene was secure and safe, they allowed the ambulance and fire trucks arrive. Hammer and Timothy were loaded into the ambulances and taken to the closest hospital while we were questioned by two officers, Lang and Daniels. Vic refused care because he knew he’d only have a nasty bruise beneath his vest.
The scene was bursting with firemen who battled hard to put out the raging fire.Fuck,I hated that I brought our disaster to these innocent people’s lives. Their beautiful home was engulfed in flames, but at least they weren’t there to get shot at or killed. I didn’t think Timothy cared who he killed as long as he got to Mitch.
I would find out who gave our itinerary to Timothy and I would destroy them. We knew he was getting help from someone, we ran thorough background checks on every person who had anything to do with Heston’s, but found no connection between them and any of the Nicholson family. This was an extremely personal attack, so it wasn’t going to be some guy working in the mail room. This was a person who saw Mitch as a real threat to them, so it was time to narrow it down to the people who would fit in that category. In my heart, I was convinced it was someone in his family. Maybe it wasn’t his father or not even Estelle, but he had cousins who were probably bitter about him getting named the CEO or even board members who had wanted a crack at the top spot. All I knew was there was no safe place they could hide from me once I discovered their identity.
Lang and Daniels moved us farther away from the house so we weren’t trying to shout over the commands the firemen were giving one another. Our hands were cuffed in front of us and not behind us, so Vic asked if he could make a call that would “clear all of this up”; we’d already been patted down and our phones confiscated along with our weapons. Lang handed Vic his phone after a silent exchange with is partner.
Vic reached Harmon on his cell who was en route to Bakersfield. He asked Vic to put him on speakerphone and he did. Harmon gave the officers his badge number and a number to call to validate his identity. “You can also check the wire for the APB I put out on Timothy Nicholson,” he said bluntly. “He’s a very sick and dangerous man and he needs to be under guard twenty-four hours while he’s at that hospital. I can promise you there will be hell to pay if he gets away.” Harmon abruptly ended the call from his end. I could definitely hear the Marine in him and it was the first thing that made me smile since the ordeal happened.
