I should keep my mouth shut, but I clearly don’t when I state, “How dare you blame someone else for your own actions?”
“Stay out of this, Helena.At least you turned out to be better than this one.Obviously because you have my genes, and wasn’t raised by that bitch, Camilla.Your mother is to blame for all of it.Camilla tricked me.Barely sixteen and she fucking kissed me in front of Ava.Some sisterly shit between them that whoever kisses a guy first makes him dead to the other.One forced kiss put me on the sidelines.How is that for not fucking shit up, eh?I was courting Ava, took my time because I cared for her and she adored me.Me.”Spittle is flying and his head is red from screaming out his words.
A sick feeling hits my stomach due to the things he just said.All of this because of something that happened when he was sixteen?All those years building a grudge, and the moment Ava returned to his life it must have triggered something.Or maybe it was when Camilla showed up on Burk’s doorstep, holding Jolene.What a freaking mess.
“There are many women out there.You should have dropped the grudge and moved on, create your own happiness.Now, slowly lower the gun, Royce,” Orson demands.
“No,” Royce snarls and I can see it in his eyes.
He’s going to shoot.The moment he pulls the trigger is when I fire my gun as well.Eight shots in total ring out before the silence around us becomes deafening.The deputies rush into the hallway behind us, guns drawn.
I swing my head in Ballard’s direction.Thank fuck he’s still standing.I have no clue why his eyes are filled with panic...until my knees buckle.Ballard is in front of me the next moment, guiding me to the floor.A groan rips from me when Ballard puts pressure on my stomach and it’s then I feel the pain.
“Shit,” I mutter.“That hurts.”
Slightly turning my head, I notice Jolene lying in a pool of her own blood.Her eyes are staring into nothing and it’s clear she’s dead.I watched Royce get hit multiple times, so he’s dead as well.Not soon enough because the asshole shot me.
I hear Orson barking out orders, demanding the EMTs tend to me first and ordering a second ambulance for Jacob.I wonder if they untied him.He looked very uncomfortable in the picture Ballard showed me.
Closing my eyes, I try to breathe through the pain but it’s rapidly becoming too overwhelming.I grasp Ballard’s flannel shirt.My hand is bloody but with his shirt being red I guess it blends in.Slowly I feel my strength slip away as my vision turns blurry.
Fading in and out between the house, the ambulance, until I finally wake up groggy in a hospital room.
“There you are,” I hear Elodie snap at Murray who is standing beside her.“Quick, get the grumpy mute in here before the fucker rips us a new asshole for not telling him she’s awake.”
“H-he has b-been s-sitting by your b-bed the w-whole time,” Jaxie stutters and gives me a small smile.
This is the first time she talked to me.Normally she uses ASL and has Seamus beside her, or Elodie, to translate for her.
“Thank you for letting me know,” I croak and wince when I try to sit up.
Ballard bursts into the room and gently pushes my shoulders to keep me in place.
“Clearly, she knows her own limits, Ballard.By the look on her face, she feels it better than you,” Seamus mutters.
Ballard glares at him and I reach for his face.
“You returned the favor,” I try to tease him.
The fierce look on his face tells me he doesn’t appreciate it.
“Y-you d-did it,” Jaxie stutters.
I have no clue what Jaxie is talking about, which is why I frown until Elodie clarifies, “Jolene taped the conversations she and Burk had.Nolan’s voice is on there too.The details are undeniable.That fucker took great pride in what he had accomplished and kept repeating his achievements.”
“The tapes were real?”I question.
Ballard bobs his head.
“I’m glad the facts are out in the open and those who were guilty...well, not exactly brought to justice.”I grimace.
If they had the time to listen to the tapes and get the news about it, then I must have been out for a long time.A doctor steps into the room and ushers everyone except for Ballard out.I’m only listening with half an ear as I stare at Ballard.Without him I wouldn’t have been able to close this case.
Getting hurt wasn’t part of the plan, but I didn’t expect Royce to pull a gun and shoot Jolene.On the other hand, the man held on to his egocentric pride and probably didn’t want to go to jail.Something he knew was inevitable if the tapes existed.
My mood takes a nosedive when the doctor tells me I have to stay in the hospital a few days.Ballard takes my hand and gives it a gentle squeeze.
When the doctor leaves, I tell Ballard, “I’d rather be in my own bed, or yours, than stuck here.”
