by Bella Jewel
“He’s trying to ring me,” I whisper to Jackson.
“Answer it,” he says. “Feel him out. Tell him we figured you out, and are holding you hostage.”
I nod, swallowing, and I answer the phone.
“H-hello?”
“Where the fuck are you?” he bellows. “I’ve been fuckin’ tryin’ to ring for days.”
“I had to find my phone...they figured out who I am. They’re holding me hostage to use against you.”
He snorts loudly. “Stupid mother fuckers, they’re goin’ to die, and so are you. I don’t give a fuck if they kill you, how’s about you tell them that.”
It doesn’t matter how much you hate your father, or how much you know he hates you, it hurts like hell when the one who is supposed to love you, tells you he couldn’t care less if you died.
“What are you going to do?” I whisper.
“None of your fuckin’ concern, I don’t trust you. You’re a fuckin’ snake; I should have killed you when I had the chance. I hope those fuckers make it hurt; maybe they’ll rape you until you fuckin’ bleed, and then kill you.”
“You’ll regret that!” I suddenly scream, losing my cool and my level head. “You piece of shit. I hope you burn in hell for all the bad things you’ve done! I hate you! I fucking hate you!”
“Stupid fuckin’...”
Jackson snatches the phone from me and hangs up. I jerk my head towards the window, and begin panting. I can’t look at him right now; I can’t look at any of them. I’m so angry. So hurt.
“Serenity, baby, that was fuckin’ dumb.”
I don’t answer him; I just focus on trying to control my shaking.
“Baby...”
“Make it hurt,” I rasp. “Make it fucking hurt, Jackson.”
Everyone falls silent.
But we’re all thinking the same thing...
I hope this doesn’t fuck me up forever.
~*~*~*~
SERENITY
“You shouldn’t go closer,” I whisper to Jackson as we come to a stop at the hiding point, and get out.
“We might need to,” he says. “I can’t be sure it’ll work from here.”
“Here boss,” Cade says, tossing Jackson some binoculars.
Jackson takes them, and presses them to his eyes. “They’re all goin’ in, I can see them.”
“How many?” Spike asks.
“At least sixty.”
“Exactly what we want,” he rasps.
I know what this means to Spike, Ciara told me what he’s been through, and how desperately he needs his peace. I hope he gets it, god, I hope I get it.
“You need to go now, Serenity,” Jackson orders.
“But...”
He spins to me, his eyes hard. “It’s not a fuckin’ option.”
“Jackson...”
“Now!” he barks.
I nod, giving him a hurt expression. I know the rules, and there’s no point in arguing. I turn, and begin walking towards the car.
“Granger will follow!” Jackson yells. “Serenity? Are you listening to me?”
I don’t turn. I’m hurt. He’s taking this from me, and maybe I should have explained that to him, but there’s no point. I feel a hand wrap around my arm, and spin me around. Jackson stares down at me, his eyes impatient.
“It isn’t safe for you here, and I gotta do what’s best for you. Even if you don’t like it.”
“You’re taking it away from me,” I whisper. “I deserve to watch my home disappear.”
Jackson’s eyes soften. “Your home? Shit, baby...”
“I don’t mean it like that, but it’s where I grew up. Those men, they were all I knew. I don’t like them, and each and every one of them are pigs, but I deserve to watch that go...”
Jackson strokes my cheek. “You might think that now, baby, but when it comes down to it, you will regret seein’ that.”
I feel a tear leak down my cheek. Jackson swipes it away with his thumb. “Got to trust me, ok?”
I nod.
He leans down, and brushes his lips across mine. “Love you, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
I turn, letting him go, and I walk off towards the truck. I climb in the back when I reach it, and I wait for Granger. It seems like hours pass, and I find myself glancing down at my watch after about ten minutes. Where is Granger? Am I meant to leave without him? Jackson said he would follow, but maybe I heard it wrong. I don’t want to go back, I know Jackson will flip, but I can’t stay here either.
I’m about to get out of the car, when I hear a shot - a loud, ear piercing shot. My knees buckle, and I quickly slide out of the car. Something is wrong; I can feel it in my gut. I drop to my knees, pulling out the gun that is in my jeans, and I begin crawling back towards Jackson and the guys. God, what if they’re all dead? Did Hogan find them?
What I see when I get them in view, breaks me apart.
I was right.
Hogan and three of his men holding machine guns - huge, massive, lethal, machine guns. Jackson and the guys are standing in a small group, only one of them has a gun, but it’s on the ground now. God, why didn’t they bring more guns? They never thought it would get this bad. I turn, and my eyes widen as I see who got shot. Granger is on the ground bleeding, his chest convulsing. I cover my mouth to stop the scream that threatens to escape. Hogan is going to kill them, god, he’s going to kill them.
“Where the fuck is she?” he barks.
Jackson’s eyes are hard. “I don’t fuckin’ have her.”
“Bullshit, I put a GPS tracker in her phone, you stupid fuck. I know she’s around here.”
My phone. He was tracking my phone? Oh god. That’s the reason he only just found me. I hadn’t had my phone on out at the warehouse, things were hectic and I just left it switched off. Jackson said it was the safest option anyway. Today was the first time I turned it on and decided to bring it with me. Oh, god, if I didn’t come...
He would have found us at the warehouse. Either way, this would have gone bad.
I wrack my brains trying to think of something quickly, and then I see the tiny remote poking out of Jackson’s pocket. He just needs to press that button, make a distraction, and then I can shoot Hogan. God, but still, his guys have those guns...it could go so wrong. How are we supposed to get out of this? I feel ill, and panic rises in my chest.
“Move, you are goin’ to stand in my fuckin’ compound, and we’re gonna fuckin’ kill you slowly,” Hogan barks.
Jackson turns his eyes quickly towards the trees when Hogan looks away, and he notices me standing there. I quickly point to the remote in his pocket, but he turns his eyes back quickly, as though he was watching nothing. He slowly reaches around behind him, and he presses the button. It wasn’t exactly what I meant, but the explosion is huge, so huge it sends all of us through the air from sheer force. I land on my knees beside a tree, and cry out in pain as rocks cut into my skin.
I hear Hogan’s clear roar of anger, and I know I have seconds. I hear two gunshots, and I quickly crawl forward, clutching my gun. The smoke is filling the air, and the sky is alight, red flames shooting into the horizon. I begin to cough from the smoke, and my eyes burn. I get blurred a view of the guys, and I see both of Hogan’s guys dead on the floor. Hogan has two machine guns in his hands, and he’s pointing them at Jackson and the guys. They have no guns. Who shot those two guys? Then I see Granger on the floor, even though he’s convulsing and bleeding, he has a gun in his hand. Oh god. He tried to save them. My body shudders, and I grip my stomach to stop the bile escaping.
Hogan raises the machine guns, pointing them at Jackson and the guys. “You stupid fuckers,” he roars. “You stupid motherfuckers. Did you think your stupid plan would work? Did you think I wouldn’t get my revenge on you? Those men down there, they were fuckin’ easy to find. I will create more. You won’t get away with this, you fuckin’ bastards. I will kill you now, and then I’ll create another group and kill everyone you love, slowl
y.”
Granger chokes, and Hogan spins, shooting the machine gun. Pop, pop, pop, it’s all I hear. Then I see Granger’s body jerking as Hogan shoots him in the legs, not enough to kill him. The sick bastard. Spike bellows loudly, and the pain in his eyes breaks me. Hogan turns back to them, his eyes falling on Spike. He gives him a slow, sick grin.
“Did that hurt? Seein’ him get shot? Maybe I’ll force you to finish him off. You wouldn’t want him to die here, now would you?”
Spike tenses, and his body begins to shake. Oh god.
“You’re goin’ to fuckin’ die, Jackson,” Hogan barks, turning back to Jackson. “Now fuckin’ walk. There’s a nice big cliff ahead, I might watch a few of you fuckers jump.”
Oh god.
He shoves the gun at them, and they start walking. They have no choice. They die if they fight. Hell, they’re going to die anyway, but the longer they survive, the more chance they have of figuring a way out of this. As soon as they disappear through the trees, I run forward, dropping to my knees at Granger’s side. There’s blood everywhere. It’s all over him.
“You’re ok,” I rasp, feeling tears slide down my cheeks. He’s got blood pouring from his mouth, and his body is jerking. His legs, they are covered in blood. “Granger, you’re ok.”
He’s looking at me, his eyes wide and frantic as he chokes on his own blood. I tear at my shirt, using the material to press against his chest. Tears thunder down my cheeks, and I shake violently. “You’re going to be ok, do you hear me?”
He reaches up, wrapping a hand around my wrist. I blink away my tears, as he holds my eyes for a moment. His eyes are pleading. I don’t know if they’re pleading with me to save him, or the guys, or if he’s just saying goodbye. But it hurts, it fucking hurts so bad.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I croak, swiping a bloody piece of hair from his face. “Don’t...you’re going to be ok...”
His hand tightens around my wrist, and a bloody tear leaks from his eyes.
“Don’t...” I sob. “Granger, you’re going to be just fine.”
He chokes and splutters, and then his eyes roll and his body begins to convulse harder.
“Granger!” I cry. “No, open your eyes.”
His body stops convulsing suddenly, and as if in slow motion, I watch as he stops breathing with a gurgled rasp. Just like that. His entire life is over. I hiccup loudly, covering my mouth to stop the noise. I can’t see through my blurred tears. “I’m so sorry, Granger. So sorry.”
I get to my knees, my entire body shaking, and I turn towards the trees. I don’t have long. I have to be strong. I can mourn once I’ve saved the guys. I hold the gun tightly in my hand, and I hurry forward. I know the cliff Hogan is talking about. I rush through the trees, swiping at my tears. When I reach the cliff, I peer through the trees to see Hogan has the guys lined up right on the edge. This is my moment, this is the only chance I have...I lift my gun and cock it.
Hogan turns.
He heard me.
His eyes fall on mine, and he throws his head back and laughs.
He. Laughs.
“I knew you were around here somewhere, my no good daughter. Come to watch them die? You know this is your fault, right? You’re the reason they are here.”
My hands shake, and I hold the gun up higher, stepping out of the trees.
“Oh, put that down,” he laughs. “You’re a fuckin’ useless bitch, you ain’t got the fuckin’ guts to use that on me.”
“I’ve dreamt of this moment my entire life,” I yell. “I want to see you suffer.”
He throws his head back, laughing, and bellows up at the sky. “You pathetic idiot!”
I get a split second while he’s throwing his head around laughing, to see Jackson and the guys. Jackson goes to step forward; he has a massive rock in his hand. I shake my head frantically, and he stops. I swing my eyes to the cliff and as if understanding what I need, he and the guys slowly begin stepping to the side to make a big gap directly behind where Hogan is standing. The gap where I’ll send him over. Once and for all.
My anger bubbles up inside me, and I swing my eyes back to Hogan just as he drops his head and pins me with his gaze. “You killed my friend; I will kill you for that.”
“Oh, I dare you, and make it a good hit, because when I get hold of you, I’m going to fucking gut you.”
“Oh,” I laugh, even though it’s empty. “I’ll make it count.”
I pull the trigger, hitting him in the shoulder. There’s a reason for my move, the cliff is right behind him, and I want to watch him suffer. Hogan stumbles backwards, roaring in pain. He manages to lift his machine gun, and a hoarse, pained laugh leaves his throat. “You didn’t make it count, now you die you fuckin’ whore.” He takes a step back, and in slow motion, he slips. He manages to grip the side of the cliff, his fingers holding on tightly. His screams fill the air.
Slowly, my entire body numb, I walk over and peer down. He’s holding on, and for the first time in my life, his eyes are scared. A flash of something goes through me, but I quickly realize what it is. It’s the flash of recognition that he’s my father, and even though I can’t stand him, it’s me accepting that and moving on from it. I peer down into my father’s eyes, and I aim the gun down, right at the middle of his head.
“You wouldn’t do it,” he rasps. “Kill your own father.”
“You’re not my father,” I scream. “You’re nothing but a useless piece of shit that ruined my life. I told you I’d make you pay, and you didn’t believe me, but you should have. You know why, FATHER? Because I am a part of you, and you always get what you want, well...so do I. Did you really think I wouldn’t figure this out, and find a way to end you? I hope you rot slowly in hell, I hope you suffer every minute, of every hour, and I hope you never EVER rest in peace. Good riddance.”
“Seren...”
I pull the trigger. The shot sounds out, and the force throws me backwards. I crash onto the ground, my head slamming back into the dirt. I cry out in pain, but I don’t move, I can’t move. I just lay, staring at the sky, my body completely numb. Jackson is the first person by my side, scooping me up into his arms, his hands frantically roaming over my body.
“Baby, fuck, baby...”
I say nothing.
I just killed my own father.
I stare up at the sky, my body flopping.
“Serenity!” Jackson yells, shaking me. “Talk to me. Baby, talk to me.”
I slowly turn my eyes to his, and the expression on his face is frantic.
“Baby,” he rasps. “Come on.”
“She’s in shock Jack’s,” Muff whispers, kneeling beside us, his voice broken. “Here.”
He pulls a flask of whiskey from his jeans, and he presses it to my mouth, forcing it down. I choke and splutter, but the burn jerks my body to life. I squirm in Jackson’s arms, and he carefully lets me go. I run towards the edge of the cliff.
“SERENITY!” Jackson roars.
I drop to my knees at the edge, and I stare down. He’s gone. I know he’s dead, I shot him in the head, and if that wasn’t enough the fall would have been. I stare into the rocks, and my heart begins to hammer. I killed him. He’s gone. Forever. I’m free.
It’s over.
I slowly get to my feet, and I turn to Jackson. His eyes are glistening from unshed tears, but the other guys, they’re crying - all silent, broken tears for their lost friend. Cade steps out of the trees, with Granger in his arms, oh god. My heart breaks for them, it cracks into tiny pieces. The hurt on their faces, the silence in the air, it’s heart wrenching. I stare over at Granger, and my body shakes violently. Poor Granger.
I turn to Spike, knowing Granger was closest to him. He’s staring at his fists, which are clenched, and his body is shaking. Slowly, I force my legs to move as I make my way over to him. I stop in front of him, and I reach out, curling my tiny fingers around his big fists. He looks up at me, his eyes glistening, his cheeks damp from his pain.
&nb
sp; “I’m so sorry,” I whisper. “I tried to help him...it was too late.”
With a shaky hand, he strokes my cheek, so gently.
“Thank you,” he rasps.
“M-m-me?” I whisper, shaking my head. “What for?”
He grips my shoulders, pulling me into his arms, where he holds me for a long moment. His body is shaking so hard, and he’s panting. It takes him a moment to answer me, but when he does, I know that what I did not only saved my life, but his. His words fill me, and crush my heart in the most beautiful way.
“For ending my nightmare.”
~*CHAPTER 23*~
SIX MONTHS LATER
SERENITY
“Oh god, it hurts!” Ciara cries, clutching my shirt.
I stare down at her, horrified. Is this going to be me in a few months?
“He won’t answer his phone!” Addison cries, giving Ciara a frantic expression.
“Oh my god, this could only happen when he’s on a ride!” Ciara screams.
“Try Jackson,” I suggest. “Or Cade, or Muff...”
“God, I have,” Addison yells. “I have!”
“Don’t yell at me Addison!” I snap.
“Oh god, stop it!” Ciara cries.
“Keep trying them,” I say, a little more calmly. “We will take Ciara to the hospital.”
“Ok!” Addison says, pressing the phone to her ear and standing.
We help Ciara out the door. She’s eight months along, and has decided to go into labor early. The guys went for their final ride for the year, down to Granger’s family farm to honor his memory, two weeks ago, and we can’t get a hold of any of them. Ciara’s waters have broken, so there’s nothing we can do but hang by her side and take her to the hospital.
The ride over is frantic. Ciara screams, I panic, Addison cries and throws her phone out the window in a fit. Then we all start to cry. I toss Addison my phone. Ciara wails for Spike, and it starts all over again. By the time we get to the hospital, we’re all a mess and the nurses take us all in and calm us down. Ciara is wheeled into a room, and a midwife checks her over before coming back out to us.