“One.” Nolan whispers.
My heart is hammering, and I wipe my sweaty hands on my jeans.
“Two.” Nolan whispers.
Before he can get to three, I hear a loud slap and a muffled cry of pain. A female voice floats through the quiet night penetrating my ears.
“Die bitch!”
“Three! Go, go, go!" Nolan shouts in the ear piece.
It all happens too quick, Iverson kicks the door in, Nolan enters first, low, and fast. Iverson following him, leaving me crouched by the door, still stunned. Gun shots from inside ring the night air as I duck into the doorway. I stop dead in my tracks when I see what’s waiting on the other side.
Marie is holding onto Izzy, using her as a human shield. She has a gun in her right hand, pointed to the right side of Izzy’s head and her left hand is around her neck, her fingers digging into Izzy’s throat. Her back is against the wall in the living room. Izzy’s eyes are frightened, and she has a bruise on the left side of her face. Rage fills my bones when I see that bruise. My muscles are tense and I’m doing all I can to not flip the switch and let my demons out. I don’t break eye contact with Izzy. Her tears welling in her green eyes and my heart breaks. I can’t get to her, protect her, like I promised. I want to do is kill this fucking bitch who has been terrorizing us.
My mind flashes back to the night Marie drugged me and ruined everything for us. Nolan’s standing next to me and rests a hand on my shoulder, calming me down. Marie’s voice floats through my ears, like nails down a chalk board.
“Xavier, my love. How thoughtful of you to join me. It’s been a while, but you’re still sexy as ever. I want to lick my way down your body again."
I take in Marie’s appearance from behind Izzy. Her dark hair is greasy and snarled, her cheekbones sunken into her skin, her lips chapped, and she’s lost a lot of weight. Nolan speaks before I do.
“Marie.” he says. Her black, cold, and deadly eyes snap to him. “Let Izzy go. You have nowhere left to go, and you’re surrounded. Let’s end this the right way and no one else gets hurt." His voice is kind and soft.
I glance around the room and see all five men have their guns drawn and pointed in Izzy and Marie’s direction. There is a pool of blood next to a turned over chair. I follow the pool of blood with my eyes, and find a skinny man with brown hair, face down in it. It’s Craig and he isn’t moving.
I return my gaze back to Izzy and Marie. Izzy’s had her right hand behind her back and her eyes are closed. Her left hand is on Marie’s fingers digging into her throat. My eyes focus on Izzy’s ring finger. My ring is missing from her left hand. I follow her hand up to Marie’s and spot my ring on her finger. Marie’s watching me, trying to see what I’m looking at. A smile forms on her lips, revealing yellow stained teeth.
“Oh, Xavier don’t you like it? It fits my finger so much better. Marrying you will be the best times.” Marie sneers from behind Izzy. Her left hand tightening on Izzy’s throat. Her black eyes are darting around the room before she speaks to Nolan. “Fuck you Nolan. She took Xavier away from me, now she took Craig away from me. She needs to die."
Rage consumes me as Marie squeezes Izzy’s throat, cutting off her oxygen.
“What do you want Marie?" I grit through my teeth. Marie smiles again before answering and it makes me want to vomit.
“You Xavier. All I want is you.” Marie says.
“Well, here I am. Let Izzy go, and you can have me.” I plead with her. A glint of something I can’t quite put my finger on forms in Marie’s cold, black eyes. “I’m right here Marie. Let her go and I’ll take her place.” I step closer to them. Izzy shakes her head.
“No, X. Stay back." Marie’s hand tightens on Izzy’s throat, choking her words.
“Shut up bitch." she snarls, looking at me. “You mean it?"
I nod my head while swallowing hard. “Yes Marie.” I clear my throat, trying not to get sick and step even closer to them. Her body odor and sweat penetrate my nose, but I hold the vomit back. “I’m right here, let her go and these guys will take her out of here. I’ll willingly trade myself for her."
Marie wavers a little and lets her hand loosen on Izzy’s throat. Izzy gasps for a breath. I really need to sell this to Marie, so one of the guys can take her out. Izzy is silently crying, tears are streaming down her face, but I can’t focus on that now. I need to keep my attention on Marie. I hold my hands up above my head, my gun pointed away from them. I need to make Marie trust me so she lets Izzy go.
“Marie, that ring is right where it needs to be. Izzy was just a means to an end. Old times to tie up and get out of my system so you can have my complete attention.” I choke out.
God this is disgusting. The last thing I want to do is try and sweet talk this wretched bitch. I hope Izzy knows I don’t mean any of it. I take a chance and glance at Izzy. Her green eyes, red from her tears, are watching me and she gives me a slight nod of her head. The bruise on the left side of her face is getting darker and it angers me, but I keep the anger shoved deep down. Izzy knows what I’m doing. It’s like we’re constantly in sync with each other. How couples meant to be together, should be.
Izzy speaks up selling it even more. “He’s right Marie. I was just a means to an end. You deserve each other. He ripped my heart out years ago and I was just using him these past couple of months to say goodbye. It’s always been you who won. You don’t have to kill me, I’ll walk away and leave you two alone." Marie’s hand holding the gun wavers a little and I catch it. It’s working, Izzy is changing her mind.
“See Marie, I’m telling the truth.” I say gently.
“Tell them to leave and I’ll let her go.” Marie demands.
“Please, leave. She isn’t going to hurt me. She just wants to be loved." I choke out. Nolan looks at me like I’ve lost my mind, but I give him a wink. He lowers his gun down and points it at the ground. He speaks to the other four men in the room.
“You heard them, fall back." They all give Nolan a questioning look but do what they’re told. “I’ll be right outside. I hope you know what you’re doing. This has never happened before.” Nolan says shaking his head.
“Trust me, like I trust you.” I tell him.
I have no clue what I’m doing. I’m flying by the seat of my pants here, but I’m the only one who can get through to Marie. The rest of these guys send her in a fit of rage and I can’t let her hurt Izzy anymore then she already has.
Nolan and the other four make their way out the back door and it’s just Izzy, Marie and I. Rapid breathing fills the silence from the three of us.
“OK Marie, they’re gone, it’s just the three of us. Let her go and we can be together.” I say. Marie hesitates for a second.
The gun pointing at Izzy’s head waivers again. Izzy takes advantage of Marie’s hesitancy and before I know it, Izzy has broken free of Marie’s hold and has her own gun pointed at Marie’s head, cocking the hammer back, ready to fire. I move next to Izzy, my own gun pointed at Marie. I place my hand on the small of Izzy’s back, giving her a reassuring touch. Izzy’s stance is strong and in control.
“Drop it bitch.” Izzy spits out.
Marie’s eyes turn cold and deadly again when she sees us stand side by side. She’s not going down without a fight. Marie still has her gun aimed at Izzy, her pointer finger tightens on the trigger. I watch, in rapid succession, as Marie’s eyes dart to mine, then go back to Izzy. She pulls the trigger and I shove Izzy out of the way. White hot pain laces my body and I fall to the ground. I hear more gunshots fire, but the noise is muffled by the ringing in my ears. Warm hands are on my body, but I’m drifting away slowly. The last thing I see is Izzy standing over me, her warm hands running down my face. Coldness settles in and I close my eyes. I can’t feel, see, or hear anything anymore as I succumb to the darkness surrounding me.
Chapter 41
Izzy
I’m sitting in the waiting room of the hospital, once again. The sun is starting to rise, filling the wai
ting room with a blinding red fireball. I’ve been here for three hours waiting, pacing, and worrying. The smell of bleach and Pine Sol invade my nose and this time the one who helps me through the bad memories, my rock, my other half, isn’t here to push me past it all.
The hard-plastic chairs are too uncomfortable to sit in, so I stand up and start pacing back and forth. The last time I was here, I was waiting for word about my dad. Now I’m here waiting for word about Xavier.
James, Ana, Nolan, and two out of the four men who were with us at the old farm house are here with me. The other two are standing outside, watching for any threat that might come our way. Christian is upstairs with Mia and Ashley. They both have severe concussions. Mia is suffering from three broken ribs, a broken nose and sprained knee. Ashley has a broken wrist and bruises along her face.
When Marie let Mia and Ashley go, Mia drove my jeep away from the house. The ruts in the road where excruciating to Mia’s broken ribs and she was falling in and out of consciousness. She found my cell phone and called the cops. She stayed alert long enough to give them our location. Her pain was too much for her body to handle and she passed out, hitting the ditch. Instead of pulling over and waiting for the ambulance, she was determined to get her and Ashley to the hospital. The cops found them on the side of the road about four miles from where I was held. The EMT’s treated them on scene and brought here for an overnight observation.
As I pace the waiting room, I think back to the last few minutes of the scariest time in my life. It hurt to say those things to Xavier, but I had no choice. If we wanted to get out of this alive, Marie needed to believe we meant nothing to each other. I remember her losing her hold on my throat and the gun wavering from my head. It was my only opportunity to get away from her and I took it. I broke free from her hold and pulled my gun out. She never searched me for it and I had it pointed steady at her head, ready to shoot to kill.
I remember Xavier coming up behind me and putting his big hand on the small of my back. The warmth of his hand gave me reassurance and strength. Marie’s eyes turned cold and deadly from Xavier touching me and she pulled the trigger. I prepared myself for the white-hot sting to penetrate my body, but nothing came.
Xavier shoved me out of the way and took the bullet meant for me. Marie dropped her gun when she realized she shot Xavier instead of me and came at me, rage filled her cold, black eyes. Before she could reach me on the ground, bullets flew over my head, knocking her back against the wall. Nolan and the four men with him charged into the house, firing their guns at Marie. They each hit her with a bullet, but she died when one shot hit her in the head.
I crawled over to Xavier and tried to stop the bleeding on his right side. The bullet struck just below his ribs and there was a lot of blood. I watched as he succumbed to the darkness. A faint whisper floated across his lips. I leaned in and kissed his cold lips one last time.
I wipe away the tears that keep on falling as I repeat his words over and over in my mind. He whispered, “I’ll see you on the other side." Then he was gone.
The EMT’s shoved me out of the way and started working on him.
One started barking out, “We’re losing him, get him hooked up to the paddles. Get an IV started. He’s fading fast."
Then Nolan pulled me away from the scene unfolding in front of me and took me outside. Red and blue lights swirled in the night, blinding me, as we made our way down the rickety front porch. My body was numb to everything. The police questioned me on what happened, and I told them everything I knew.
Craig Williams escaped police custody, which no one is saying how, and went to the farm house. When Xavier, Nolan and the other four men came in to rescue me, they shot him dead.
I played Marie and Craig against each other, telling Craig about all the times Marie tampered with my car, trying to kill me. I was finally able to untie my hands before Xavier, Nolan, and the other four came in. Marie was standing above me, her gun pointed at my head as I reached for my gun. Before I could pull it out, shots fired into the house. Craig was shot and killed, and Marie yanked me in front of her, using me for a shield.
A set of hospital doors whoosh open behind me, pulling me out of my memories. I whirled around, wiping my tears again. My heart is pounding in my chest, evil hands of anxiety are clawing at my throat. Instead of the doctor, it’s Nurse Maggie pushing my dad in a wheelchair, heading right for me. His gentle smile aimed right at me. His leg is out of the cast, his cheeks are sunken in and he’s lost some weight from being in his coma. He just came out of it yesterday, so I’m surprised the doctor’s let him come down here. He still looks weak and sore, but I’m grateful he is here right now. Nurse Maggie wheels him over to me and I take a seat, so we’re face to face. He reaches a hand out and takes mine.
“He’s going to be OK. He’s strong, healthy and has a lot to live for.” Austin says.
I nod my head, tears blurring my vision, my throat’s closing up. I clear it and wipe away my tears.
“Thanks dad, I really appreciate that. What are you doing down here?" His hand tightens around mine and tears glisten his eyes.
“Nurse Maggie agreed to bring me down here for a few minutes so I could check on you.” he answers. Nurse Maggie grunts from behind him.
“More like I was forced to bring him down here. He wouldn’t quit removing his IV or heart monitors. He kept hitting the emergency call button too. He was being quite the pain.” She says this last part with a smile, while looking at her watch. “Austin, we have to get back up there before someone notices you’re missing and I get into trouble.” she rests her hand on his shoulder.
“Yes ma’am.” he answers her. He turns to me, “Keep your head up baby girl, he’s going to be fine."
“Thanks dad. There was a lot of blood though.” I answer him.
“It looks worse on scene than it really is, so think positive.” he tells me. He leans up in the wheelchair and gives me a kiss on the head. The action leaves him winded and tired.
“Get some rest dad so we can take you home. You have to kick Xavier’s ass when you’re healed.” He gives me a questioning look. I bring my fingers from my right hand up to touch the ring on my left finger, but it’s missing. Memories of Marie yanking it off my finger and placing it on her own, makes a shudder race down my spine.
“Xavier asked me to marry him the other day, but now I’m not so sure he still wants me.” I answer, voicing one my fears. The wrinkles in the corners of Austin’s eyes appear as he smiles brightly.
“I figured it would only be a matter of time before he pulled his head out of his ass and did the right thing. I just wish you two found your way back to each other without all the drama. That boy was so messed up when you left. He wouldn’t tell me anything, but day in and day out, he would be either working on his car, racing, or working on your car." Austin takes a deep breath. “I walked in on him in his garage one day. He was working on the engine of your car. He had no idea I was there, and he was talking to himself about what an idiot he was for getting drunk and ruining everything he ever wanted. Then he started crying and I quietly left. He beat himself up for years over that night. That’s when I knew baby girl, I knew he loved you with everything he has. I’m happy you found each other again."
I squeeze his hand as more tears form in my eyes. “Thanks dad. I’ve never stopped loving him either.” I choke out through the tears.
“I know." he answers, gently rubbing my arm.
Nurse Maggie clears her throat. “Mr. Jones, we really need to get back."
“Ok. You hear anything, let me know." Austin says to me.
“I will dad. Thank you for everything." I hug him one last time and Nurse Maggie wheels him away. I watch the doors until he disappears.
The outside doors open and the two men, who were outside on guard, comes in. One has a phone up to his ear, talking to someone. I watch as they approach Nolan.
“Boss, you have a phone call.” he says. Nolan takes the phone with a questioning look.
“Yeah, Ryan here.” his voice’s clipped and formal. He listens to the caller on the other end nodding his head every now and then. I let out a giggle as I watch him, finding it funny because they can’t see him do this. He always nods his head or does some kind of gesture while he is on the phone, completely unaware he does this, and I finally crack.
Nolan pinches the bridge of his nose and lets out a breath of agitation. His eyes catch mine and a look of sympathy crosses his face. He hangs up the phone and approaches me.
“How are you holding up? How’s your face feeling?" he asks. I finally stop giggling and shrug my shoulders.
“I hate hospitals and the wait is killing me. It shouldn’t take them this long to stabilize him or tell us something. My face is fine. I’m not worried about it right now.” I answer. My face is swollen and bruised from Craig hitting me. I’ve kept ice on it, but right now my focus is on Xavier.
“Hopefully soon we hear something.” Nolan says, reassuring both of us.
“Who are those guys?" I ask pointing over to the four men standing around us. They all have military haircuts, buzzed close to their heads. Their muscles are straining in their black t-shirts. They’re standing stiff and at attention, their eyes scanning everyone and everything. Watching and waiting for a threat or something.
“They work for me.” Nolan says.
“Work for you? What do you mean?" I ask.
“I have a security business I run.” Nolan answers, like it’s no big deal.
Before I can ask more questions, the doors to the emergency room fling open and Dr. Smith, who worked on my dad, comes out, carrying a clipboard. I resist the urge to stomp my foot and roll my eyes at this doctor.
“Mr. and Mrs. Sweeney?" he asks, not looking up from his clipboard. James and Ana stand.
“That’s us.” James answers.
The doctor finally looks up and locks eyes with me. The last time we spoke, it didn’t turn out too well and by the expression on his face he’s remembering our conversation. I arch a brow at him, sending him a challenge. He breaks eye contact with me and clears his throat. His shifts his focus to James and Ana.
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