At this point, I couldn’t say that I didn’t follow in the footsteps of my father. My only enjoyment came from the poker night that Danny dragged me to every month. My Brooklyn brownstone barely saw me. My entire life was at the firehouse.
Now it felt like my entire world was in that barn. The moment I realized Evelyn was gone, I felt like someone had my heart in a vise, refusing to let go.
My feet slowly carried me toward the barn doors. The sound of a single gunshot stopped me in my tracks for a beat before Iraced through the barn doors with my gun cocked. I didn’t think. I just reacted.
My mind was reeling when I came face-to-face with Evelyn. She was tied to a chair with blood trickling down her face to her chest, and a man stood beside her with a gun still raised in the air. That’s when I noticed Sheriff Strauss lying there on the ground with a gunshot wound to the head.
The man pointed the gun toward me while walking in my direction, and I set my aim on him. He stopped short a foot away from me.
Charles.
He had an athletic build and appeared close to the same height, wearing grey cargo pants, a black t-shirt and boots. The smile he wore reeked of arrogance. His clothing didn’t match the haughty look on his face.
“Welcome to the party, Parker,” he said, tilting his head to the side with a curious expression.
At the sound of my name, Evelyn shot up. She’s no longer sobbing softly, she’s screaming.
“No! Parker. Leave! Go!” The words leave her mouth in quick succession. She’s hysterical, and I felt my body push forward again.
“Ain’t no way in hell I’m leaving you here, Ev.”
“Uh uh. Don’t take another step unless you want to see Evelyn’s pretty face blown off. You think about shooting me, and it's over for her.”
As badly I wanted to close the distance between us, I would not risk her life. I stopped myself from going to her, but kept my gun raised.
“Charles, he has nothing to do with this. Please just let him go,” she said, her voice breaking as she fought her restraints.
Charles turned toward her and caressed her cheek.
“Evvie, I’m going to make sure I take everything that you love. If I can’t be happy, neither can you.”
Before I could register what was happening, he spun around and fired the gun. I pulled the trigger, but I didn’t see if it landed because pain exploded in my abdomen, and my legs buckled. My body met the floor, and fire spread through my stomach, knocking the wind from my lungs. All I heard were Evelyn’s screams as Charles stood over me, sneering.
Kicking my gun away, he raised his leg and his foot came down on my knee. I couldn’t bite back the groan that bubbled out of my mouth.
“Now that you’re here, you can watch.”
Charles pressed his foot into the wound once more before tucking the gun back into his pants and producing a small knife.
He turned his back on me, refocused his attention on Evelyn.
“Now, where were we?”
He takes his time circling Evelyn like a predator stalking his prey. She had stopped screaming even though he took the blade to her skin. Once over the shoulder, then once across the torso. She just held my gaze in silence.
“We’re going to get out of here.” My voice came out strained. This couldn’t be the end of us. I needed her to fight.
She was retreating into herself. Her mind was protecting itself the only way it knew how.
I could tell the silence was angering him. He began taunting her, trying to get a reaction.
“Maybe I should have some fun with your little boyfriend instead. You’re boring me,” he said as he bent down and got eye level with her.
She blinked and stared blankly at me as tears trickled down her face.
I tried my best to stand, but my body refused to cooperate. Everything felt heavy. Pressing a hand to my side, it came away bloody. Gritting my teeth, I pushed down, applying pressure.
Charles disappeared from my view for a second but reappeared with a gasoline tank. He started dousing the hay. He was whistling a tune as he did it. I couldn’t place it, but it sounded so familiar.
