#1-3--The O’Connells

by Lorhainne Eckhart

  “Just get everyone to cool their heels and not do anything stupid like charge the door or come in shooting,” Marcus said. He thought he heard his brother swear under his breath.

  “Hey, listen,” Ryan said. “Tulli spoke with Thomas Marshall, Senior. We have his number. Apparently, they haven’t talked with Tommy in years. He’s on his way out here. Tommy, if you’re listening, your dad said he’s going to do everything he can to help you.”

  Tommy lifted his gaze to the phone Reine was holding. Everyone was staring at it as if it held all the answers. Marcus didn’t miss the confusion on Tommy’s face as he strode over and ripped it from her hands, then threw it at the wall, where it shattered. Reine screamed, and a piece of the plastic hit Marcus in the cheek. Reine had Eva in her arms again.

  “Tommy, you need to stop this!” she screamed. “You’re scaring us! Why would you do that? Your father wants to help you…” She was looking to the door.

  “The only person that man wants to help is himself,” Tommy said, jamming his hands in his hair and pacing. “That is absolute bullshit.”

  Marcus didn’t miss the fact that the gun was still on the counter. “Why would you say that, Tommy?” he said. “Look, that was my brother on the phone, and he wouldn’t lie about something like that. Whatever differences you have with your father, they are just that. When push comes to shove and your back is to the wall, families tend to put aside their differences, you know, and step in to help out.”

  Tommy was shaking his head. “Not my family, not my old man. The only thing he ever concerned himself with was making more money, even though he had more than enough. Then there were the women, the booze. Everyone said we were the picture-perfect family… If they only knew. It makes no sense that he would come. The only reason would be because of this shithole cabin that he never uses. He only cares about things.”

  Reine was staring at Tommy, holding her daughter. Then she dragged her gaze over to him. He needed her out of there now.

  “Listen, you have me here now,” Marcus said. “Let’s wait for your dad to come, and we’ll talk. You’ll see. Sometimes people change. I mean, how many years has it been since you’ve seen him? A lot could’ve happened, you know. Look at you. I bet you’re not the same person you were five years ago, or ten.” He was doing everything he could think of, feeling the bite of the cuffs and the cramping in his shoulders.

  “Reine, you should go eat the soup I heated,” Tommy said. “Eva, go eat.”

  “You know what? How about you let them go?” Marcus said. “My brother out there will see to it that Eva and Reine get something to eat. Reine, take Eva out of here.”

  She nodded. Maybe he was getting through to Tommy, who, it seemed, was struggling with his own demons. As she put her hand on the door, she glanced back, maybe to see if anyone would stop them.

  Marcus held his breath, waiting for Tommy to do something. Then he gestured toward the door with his chin. “Open it, Reine, but stay back until I tell you it’s okay.”

  She pulled the door open, her arm around her daughter, and stepped back.

  “Ryan, this is Marcus,” he called out. “Reine and Eva are coming out. Make sure no one does anything stupid. They’re hungry. Get them some food, blankets.”

  Tommy dragged his gaze over to Reine and the door.

  “Send her out,” called Lonnie from outside, and Marcus gestured for them to go.

  “Reine, hands up in the air as you walk out. Eva, keep walking. My brother is out there. You’ll both be safe,” he said, then watched as mother and daughter walked out. He heard shouts.

  “Get your hands up! Keep them where we can see them!”

  Reine screamed, he thought, and he saw a man in a uniform run and grab her, pinning her down on the ground. At least she was out of there.

  Tommy kicked the door closed before he could see more, and then he stood there, looking up at the shiplap ceiling, the same as the walls. He turned to Marcus. “So now it’s just you and me, cop. What do you want to talk about? You want to hear about how my father would use his fists when I didn’t live up to his expectations, or the fact that we lived in a nice house and had a nice car and any material thing we could want, or the fact that my dad had a mean streak and the only things he loved were his company, his bank account, and his business partners?”

  He was seeing a different side of Tommy now, and he knew the man wouldn’t need much more pushing before he went over the edge.

  Chapter Nine

  It wouldn’t have taken a genius to figure out from the lights flashing outside that there were more than a few dumbasses out there, guns drawn, waiting for something. If they came through the door, there was always the possibility he could get shot. He just hoped his brother would be able to reason with the sheriff from the county over and keep Lonnie under wraps. Then there was Bert, whom he could picture passed out cold. If there were a time for him to pull it together, it would be now.

  “That was good thinking on your part, Tommy, letting Reine and Eva go,” Marcus started.

  Tommy dragged his gaze back over to him, and he could see the anger simmering there. It was the kind of rage that built, and when it came out, it usually resembled fireworks.

  “They weren’t hostages,” Tommy said. “Why is it that you don’t or can’t listen? Typical cop. You put a story together, and does it really matter if it’s true?”

  The way he said it had Marcus reminding himself to tread carefully.

  “See it from my point of view, Tommy. You had a gun. A little girl called in three times for help. She was terrified of you. The gun alone was a threat. I asked you to let them go, and there was every indication that they couldn’t leave. I asked you to put the gun down, and you wouldn’t. But it’s all moot now. They’ve left, so yes, it is just you and me here, Tommy, and you’ve cuffed me to a chair. It’s time to end this. The charges against you are bad, but it could be worse.”

  Much worse, he thought, with him taking a bullet or dead.

  Tommy just walked back into the kitchen and dumped the two bowls of soup into the sink. The gun was still on the counter. From the look of him, Marcus wondered when he had last brushed his hair.

  “You know, the minute I saw Reine with her little girl in that camp, I knew they wouldn’t last,” Tommy said. “Not that anyone chooses to live on the street, but most folks there are doing their best. Shelter, food, and staying warm. Those are the kinds of the things we fought for, yet here we are in a country that won’t even look after its own. On the streets, you’re trying to figure out where to sleep, if you’ll be robbed in your sleep, or raped, or killed. Yeah, there’s bad people out there, but most watch out for each other. Then there’s the cops.”

  The contempt was there in the way he said it, but at the same time, Marcus knew that cops didn’t willingly go in and move out and harass the homeless. It was always an order from the top, someone behind a desk, a politician, someone in charge.

  “I saw her and her kid,” Tommy continued, “and I knew my dad’s place was here. I brought her and the kid, and I planned on leaving them, letting them stay. It’s a roof, at least. I’d get her some food and then leave, because I can’t afford to stay too long in one place. I know how to hide well. At least the army taught me one thing I can use, but that’s not saying much.”

  He had his back to Marcus, then slowly turned around and faced him. “You know, there was a canine unit in my battalion, dogs that they train and use. They send the dogs in first, and most of the trainers are good. They love those dogs. But there was this one guy…everyone knew who he was, a captain. He never should have been in charge of that unit. He was given one of the dogs, a gorgeous sweet shepherd, Sadie. He was a mean son of a bitch. He’d beat that dog when she didn’t do what he expected.

  “No one said anything, but I did, right to his face, and I got myself written up. He kept that dog chained, kicked her. No one had the balls to stand up and do anything. The other shift would treat her differently, but then
she started to bite, turned mean. I knew why. Who wouldn’t be mean, when you expect to be hit or kicked? So I went there one night to check on her. I had submitted a request up the chain of command for the dog, because I wouldn’t be a good little soldier and do as I was told, but they said she belonged to the US Army, and the request was denied.

  “She’d been beaten yet again. I found her in her kennel, bloody, whimpering. There was the captain, too, storming my way, yelling at me to get the fuck out of there, saying I’d find myself locked up and court marshaled. He warned me to stay away, and there I was, disobeying a direct order from him. He had all the power, everything on his side, and he wasn’t above using it.”

  A sick feeling rose in Marcus’s chest. He didn’t like where this was going, and he didn’t think he wanted to hear Tommy say it.

  “There was a chain lying right there,” Tommy said. “I could tell he had used it on the dog. Her blood was still on it. I was blinded with rage, so much that I couldn’t breathe past the tears burning my eyes. I don’t remember picking up the chain, but my hand was on it, and I just started swinging. I hit him over and over and over, again and again. He was on the ground, and blood splattered all over me. I would have killed him. Thought I’d killed him, too, as he lay there, bleeding and unmoving.

  “I dropped the chain, and the only reason I knew he was still alive was the moan he made. I opened the kennel and lifted the dog out, and she whimpered, and I knew she was still alive. I carried her out of there and walked over to my car, and no one stopped me, but I passed more than a few who were shocked at how I looked. I put her in the back seat of my little compact and drove off that base and into town, just driving until I found a vet. The door was locked, but the veterinarian lived upstairs. He let me in. I carried her, trying not to hurt her any more. We laid her on a steel table in the exam room, and she died not long after.”

  Marcus shut his eyes, that sick feeling welling in the pit of his stomach. He wanted to vomit. Kids and animals were the most vulnerable. As he opened his eyes, he took in Tommy, who was staring at the gun on the counter. He felt such empathy and fury at the same time, considering it wasn’t so black and white after all. He felt his anger.

  “The vet said it was a blessing. He didn’t know how she was still alive when I brought her in. Her back was broken, her legs, the internal injuries…” He lifted his hand and stopped talking, and Marcus knew the man was numb, still in shock from something that was beyond cruel. He watched every motion Tommy made, the way he shook his head and balled his fists. “She was innocent. She didn’t have a choice, being a dog. Can you imagine…?”

  He pulled in a deep breath and gave Marcus everything as he reached for the gun, and Marcus felt his heartbeat kick up. His heels were on the ground, ready to launch at him, chair and all. He didn’t know what Tommy was thinking or what he’d do.

  “I can’t imagine, Tommy,” he said. “So is that what this is about, the charge of attempted murder?”

  There it was, a smile that wasn’t a smile. “If you’re asking if I’m sorry, the only thing I’m sorry for is that I didn’t finish off that fucker. The wrong one lived.”

  What could he say to reason with this man? He couldn’t justify for himself the kind of evil that lurked in some. “The law doesn’t always work,” he started, “but mostly it does. I understand that these are extenuating circumstances. Tommy, a judge would listen to this and take it into account…”

  “You understand what, exactly? How a bunch of people can look the other way? Some said to report him, and others said to follow the chain of command. Others said they were working on it. Others said standing up to him would come back on me, and even if I got something to stick, it was just cruelty to animals, a few thousand bucks and a slap on the wrist. You forget who he is, how the military is. You don’t take on the military and win. How is that justice? He was a captain, a shitty one, but still above my pay grade. I was supposed to follow his orders or get totally fucked. But hey, look…” He gestured with his arms wide open, and Marcus took in the wild look in his eyes. He wondered now where he’d heard about the charges against him.

  “You’ve been on the run a long time,” he said. “I empathize, Tommy, I really do, and I don’t think you’ve been given a fair shake in the matter. You’re right. That shouldn’t have happened, but it did. Whatever happens, you have to face up to it. I’ll do what I can to help. You have my word.”

  He’d talk to Karen, his sister. She was a good lawyer. He knew the charges were pretty bad, though, considering Tommy had also been on the run. Then add in the gun he was holding, and the fact that he had trapped Marcus in there.

  Tommy opened up the gun, and he was so close that Marcus could see the chamber was empty. Then he walked past him to the door.

  The horror Marcus felt had him yanking at his wrists, trying to break free. “Tommy, do not do this! I swear to God, Tommy, there’s a way out of this. This isn’t over…”

  He was still shouting as Tommy pulled open the door and gave him one last look. All Marcus could do was jerk on the chair, and somehow he was up, the chair lifting with him as he bent forward, but he was too slow. He watched as Tommy lifted the gun, stepped out of the cabin, and pointed it out.

  Gunfire followed.

  “No!” was all Marcus could get out as he leaped forward through the door—but he could see it was already too late.

  Chapter Ten

  “Marcus, drink this,” Charlotte said. She was fussing as she tucked a blanket over his shoulders and held out a steaming coffee in the lid of a thermos.

  He leaned against the side of the ambulance and took in the scene around him, seeing the worry in her hazel eyes. He took the coffee that he didn’t want, and her hand was on his arm, rubbing. He could sense how upset she was, still feeling the hug she’d given him as she ran to him while he made his way around the body, across the yard.

  “You scared the hell out of me, Marcus,” she said. “Drink the damn coffee.”

  He sighed, then forced himself to take a swallow. “You’re a good woman, Charlotte,” he said.

  The sun was coming up on the horizon, offering a little light from the black of night moments earlier. The ground where Tommy had bled out now held just a bloodstain. His body had been tucked into a body bag and put on a gurney, and it was now out of sight in the ambulance. He hadn’t been able to say two words to Frank and his deputy or to Lonnie, knowing they had pumped bullets into a man whose gun hadn’t even been loaded. Maybe that was why they were giving him space.

  “Marcus, you should let someone take a look at that,” Ryan said as he strode over.

  Charlotte was touching his arm again, the spots above his wrists, which were raw and scraped and bloody from where he had tried to rip his hands from the cuffs. He still didn’t know who had uncuffed him after he landed on the wooden porch just outside the door. Maybe that was why his shoulder was aching the way it was. He knew the chair had broken, but everything was a blur. He remembered only hands on him, pulling him up as he stared at the man lying there, unmoving—the worst possible outcome.

  The only thing he had seen as he walked away was Charlotte running to him. He’d caught her and held her, and she’d hugged him, all the while fighting tears. So there was that.

  “They’re fine,” Marcus said. “I’m fine. Stop worrying about me.”

  “Well, that’s kind of hard after hearing you found yourself taken hostage, with a crazed man holding a gun at you,” Charlotte said. “You could have been killed, Marcus, and then what would I have done?”

  If this situation hadn’t been so dire, he would have smiled in amusement, but passions, tempers, and everything were now running higher, and he’d have been the first to admit his head was far from clear.

  “I’m okay,” he said. “You know it would take a lot more to take me out.”

  With the look she gave him, he was sure she wanted to smack him. He knew she cared, and so did he. Maybe that was their problem.

  �
��Don’t joke about something like that, Marcus, not to me. You do everything for everyone. So when does someone get to look after you for once? Just take a minute; give me a minute here with you.”

  He could see how rattled she was, and he didn’t miss the way Ryan took a step back to give them space. She was touching him again, standing right next to him, and then she leaned her head against his shoulder. Something about this awful moment gave him something to settle into. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

  “You should really go on home,” he said. “Not much for you to do.”

  She still had her head rested against his shoulder, her arm linked with his. “Why would I want to do that, Marcus? I’m fine right here with you.”

  It would be so easy to say okay. “Charlotte, you’ve got to leave Jimmy,” he said. “You’ve still got one foot in the door with him.”

  This time, she did lift her head. “I have left him, long ago. He just won’t leave my house. I filed for separation. It’s just…” She was so damn stubborn.

  “Yeah, it’s about a house,” he said, and he knew Ryan was doing his best not to listen to them. “I know. You keep saying that, but a house is just that, Charlotte—four walls made of wood. Don’t you want to be happy?”

  This time, she looked up to him, moving right in front of him, so close anyone would think they were together. He could see so many things in the face of this woman he’d known forever. He knew there was something there, but he wasn’t about to let himself act on it, not when she still lived with the man she’d married.

  She was the one who had kissed Marcus so long ago, six months into a marriage that should never have been. Jimmy Roy had seen it from across the room. Could he blame him for the sucker punch, for busting his lip? Not really.

  “You need to eat something, Marcus,” she said. “I picked up sandwiches because I didn’t know what else to do.”