by Cole Baxter
I pressed a hand to the cut on my face to stem the flow of blood while I tried to think of another plan. We were in serious trouble.
Meanwhile, the pounding on the door only got louder. It sounded like Gabriel was close to blasting the door off the hinges. I almost wanted him to stop. His presence would only aggravate Jacob even further.
But, there was nothing I could do to prevent Gabriel from doing his job. With a loud boom, the door fell flat on the floor, revealing an exhausted but satisfied Gabriel.
Jacob wasted no time in shooting him. He fired two shots squarely at Gabriel’s chest, sending him to the ground. I screamed in horror, but there was nothing for me to do. Gabriel was down.
Backup would arrive eventually, but there was no telling what Jacob could do between now and then. He grabbed me by the hair again and yanked me to my feet. He had an awful grin on his face.
“Disobey me again, and your son is next. You got that?”
“Yes,” I cried.
“Good. Now, take your son and get to the door. We’re leaving before any more pigs can try to tear us apart. You love me, Annabeth. You’ve always loved me.”
From the corner of my eye, I could see Gabriel’s eyes blink open. There were holes in his shirt, but no blood. He was still alive.
I glared at Jacob so hard, I thought fire was going to shoot through my eyes.
“I’ve never loved you,” I spat.
He took his gun in his hand and struck me hard against the side of the head, sending me back to my knees. Then, he grabbed me under the armpit and yanked me back up to face him.
“Say that again,” he challenged, turning and pointing his gun at Gregory’s face.
That was the final straw. There would be no more reasoning or begging with Jacob. He had already taken my husband and my sanity from me. If he thought for a moment that he was going to kill my son to get closer to me, he was dead wrong.
Without thinking, I rushed him, wrapping my arms around the back of his neck. I tried to pull him down from behind, but there was too big of a weight discrepancy between us. So, I held on for dear life as he swung me around like a rag doll, trying to get a good aim at my son and me.
“Gabriel!” I screamed, and it was as if my cries brought him back to life. Gingerly, the detective got to his feet and drew his weapon on Jacob.
“Stand back,” Jacob said in a strangled voice as I put as much weight on the front of his throat as I could. He aimed at Gabriel, but I tugged harder, causing him to miss his shot. Instead of hitting Gabriel, he shattered an overhead light, sending glass raining down upon us.
We were shrouded by darkness again, but the game had changed. It was three against one, and there was no way in hell I was going to lose this fight.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Jacob was strong, but there was no strength like a mother defending her innocent child. He dug his nubby fingernails into my hands, but I kept my grip around his neck, pushing my wrists into his trachea. Just like the leg wound, I was going to chip away at him until it was too much for him to survive. I couldn’t deliver any big blows to him, but I could fight scrappy.
At one point, he nearly shook me off, but I recovered, knocking him off balance. He careened into the wall, holding his hands out in front of his face to take the brunt of the impact. In the process, the gun dropped from his hands onto the ground.
“Get it, Gregory,” I shouted, but my son was understandably skittish. At some point in his early life, I must have taught him to avoid guns at all costs. He walked a few steps forward but wouldn’t touch it.
Jacob used this opportunity to dive to the ground, sending me sprawling next to him. I struggled beside him, reaching for the gun, but he was just so much bigger than me. My spirits plummeted as I saw his thick hand on top of the weapon. Another loss.
Desperate, I did the only thing I could do in that moment. So much rage and fear had built up inside me that I knew that I wanted to make him hurt as much as possible. If I had to die in that moment, I wanted to leave my mark. I jumped to my feet and kicked Jacob squarely in the groin with all the force I had. His body lurched forward in shock, and he dropped the gun again in the process. I dove forward, picked up the gun, and scrambled backward.
I felt a tremendous rush go through my body. I generally didn’t like dealing with guns, but this felt good. I finally had leverage over the man who had terrorized me for so many years. Now, he was going to grovel at my feet for mercy.
The weapon felt heavy in my hand. I lightly rested my finger on the trigger. I knew that I was only supposed to do that when I was ready to fire, so I safely moved it back beside my other fingers.
I was not much of a gun enthusiast, but because Greg liked to shoot guns for sport, I accompanied him to the shooting range to see what it was all about. I figured if I at least tried it and didn’t like it, I would be able to stay at home the next time he went out.
At the time, I didn’t see what the allure was. I pinched the trigger and fired off a few shots at a target. I wasn’t good, but I wasn’t horrible either. If I needed to use a gun to protect myself, I was at least competent enough to hit my target.
Now, I felt something completely different. Even without using the gun, I was in control of the situation. With Gabriel standing behind me with his weapon drawn, we were unstoppable. Jacob took a few steps back and dropped to his knees, facing me. He was panting and red in the face, no doubt because of our scuffle. He looked so pathetic there, but I was out of compassion. He had done something so bad that I didn’t think I’d ever fully recover.
“Annabeth, please,” he whimpered.
I let out a dry laugh. “Save it,” I said. “You threatened to kill me and my son. You shot a police officer. Do you think you’re just going to get away with this?”
“I don’t want violence,” he said calmly.
“You should have thought about that a long time ago,” I raged.
I heard my son clear his throat from behind me. I didn’t want him to see his mother like this. I also wasn’t done with Jacob. A better person would have walked away. I never claimed to be a better person.
He had already suffered enough. He didn’t need to watch a grown man blubber for forgiveness and be arrested. I had a feeling he wouldn’t go quietly, either.
“Can you take him somewhere?” I asked Gabriel, my voice soft and sorrowful. “I don’t want him to see this.”
“Why don’t you take him up to my squad car?” Gabriel suggested. “You two can sit in the back and wait for backup to arrive. I can handle this if you can point the other officers in my direction when they get here.”
“No,” I replied firmly. “I’m going to stay here until it’s over. I’m not going to let him chase me away. I’m going to stare into his eyes as he’s carted to prison. I’m going to testify against him in court and tell the judge in great detail every way he’s hurt my family. I’m going to ensure that he doesn’t go free. I also don’t want him to hurt you while I’m away. No, I’m not going to leave until this is over. If someone killed your wife and stole your kids and tried to keep you forever, what would you do? Would you let someone else put him in a police car, or would you deal with it yourself?”
Gabriel pursed his lips, but he didn’t try to argue with me. He understood the hurt and rage I felt. I knew for a fact that Gabriel was the kind of guy who would make a sicko like this suffer if he had harmed his family.
“Gregory, sweetie, can you go up the stairs and wait in the police car until we’re ready to go?” I asked my son. “I’ll be right there. The adults have to talk first.”
He stood firmly planted on the concrete floor. He didn’t speak, but I could tell that he was frightened.
“It’s okay, buddy,” I said gently, all the while pointing the handgun at Jacob. “No one up there can hurt you. I promise it’s safe.”
He stayed mute. I sighed, knowing that it was of no use. I couldn’t convince the kid to go up the stairs by himself and sit in a police car
alone, especially after everything he’d been through. Still, I couldn’t have him in the maze with me. I needed to tell Jacob a few things before our conversations would become documented by police and lawyers. If Gabriel would allow it, I had a few swift kicks to the crotch left in me too.
“Can you take him up there?” I asked Gabriel.
“I’m not going to leave you down here with this guy,” he said exasperatedly.
“Why not? Afraid I’m going to kill him?”
“No. I don’t really care if you kill him. It’s my job to get him to the police station in one piece, but accidents happen. I don’t want you to be here alone with him. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you.”
A smile came to my lips. It was good to finally have someone on my side.
“What if you just ran him up the stairs to show him that it’s safe? You can come right back down and cuff him, if that’s what you want.”
He gritted his teeth. “Fine. I swear, if I come back and you’ve done anything to hurt her, you will pay,” he said, pointing his finger at Jacob. “Come on, Gregory. I think I have some snacks in my car for you.”
“Mom!” Gregory exclaimed as Gabriel tried to take him by the hand.
“It’s okay, Gregory,” I said. “He’s a good guy. You can trust him. Please go to his car. I’ll be right there.”
Gregory relented and tucked his hand into Gabriel’s as they left the maze. My heart fluttered a little seeing them together.
“Annabeth,” Jacob said conspiratorially, his eyes wide. “There’s still time. Why don’t you let me go and we’ll pretend like this never happened? I’d be willing to let you go if you show me some mercy right now.”
I furrowed my brow. “Why the hell would I do that?”
“Don’t you remember what it was like in the old days? You were my best friend.”
“I was a child. I didn’t know any better.”
“You liked me. We were so good together. I know I’ve gotten angry at you today and I hurt you. But I only did that because I love you and want what’s best for you.”
“Greg was best for me,” I spat. “If you had only realized that, you would have never killed him. You ruined my life because it didn’t include you. If you really loved me, you would have let me go. You only loved yourself.”
“Your son needs a father. You’re depriving him of a strong male role model. I want to be there for you.”
“He had a father, and it was never you. Maybe one day, he’ll have a new dad, but it will never be you. You’re sick. I’d say you need help, but I know you don’t want to change. You only want to manipulate others to get your way.”
Jacob stared at me as if he were trying to read my mind. A normal person would have a look of remorse plastered all over their face. After all, I could end his life in a single shot and I’d be called a hero. There was no emotion behind his eyes. If anything, he had a look of contempt on his face. The words that came out of his mouth were apologetic. His facial expressions told a different story.
“I was once a boy, too, you know,” he said. “I had dreams of owning my own business and working with computers. I only ever wanted to make a lot of money so I could have a beautiful wife who chose me over every other man out there. I wanted kids who doted after me. I wanted to be able to look at all the people I grew up with and laugh in their faces when they were getting divorced and their kids were knocked up or addicted to drugs. I wanted a lot out of life.”
“You wanted a trophy family,” I retorted. “Did you ever stop to think that if you were a good person, girls would like you?”
He laughed in my face. “Of course you would say that. You’re no different from any of the stupid girls out there. Did you like me when we were young?”
“As a friend, yeah,” I responded, my hand shaking now.
“So you thought I was a nice enough guy? Even earlier this week, you said that I was good to talk to and you were glad to have me around.”
“So?” I said. “That’s before I knew what you had done.”
“That doesn’t matter,” he said, talking rapidly now. “If you thought I was such a good guy, why did you go for a meathead like Greg? Face it, girls don’t like nice guys. They like guys who are rude to them because it makes things exciting. They like stereotypical guys with big muscles and pretty blue eyes. They like guys who will stick their cock in anything that moves.”
“Don’t you dare talk about Greg,” I warned. “He was a really good guy.”
“I was a good guy,” he whined, his voice going up an octave. “I tried to give you everything, but you didn’t want it. Every girl says they want a guy to treat her right, and every girl is a liar. You’re the worst kind of liar because you give men like me hope that you will love us one day if we put in the work.”
My mouth gaped open. I had never heard such entitlement come out of anyone, let alone someone I had known half of my life.
“So I’m a whore for choosing my own happiness over yours?” I asked, a maniacal smile appearing on my face.
“Finally, you’re starting to see reason,” he sighed. “I knew it was only a matter of time before you came around. See, females rarely listen to men. They think that they know what’s best, but they do better when they have someone in charge of them. Look at you, Annabeth. You’re a single mom who still lives at home. You deserve better. I could give you a house and help with the boy. You can work if you need something to keep you occupied during the day, but if you wanted to sit on the patio and eat bonbons all day, that would be fine with me. I’d dress you in the most beautiful clothes and put diamonds on your fingers. Greg didn’t have enough money to treat you like the princess you are. I’m running my own construction company and I’m selling my software to wealthy developers. I’ve got everything you could ever want. You just need to put the gun down and call off your dogs.”
I scoffed. “Wow. You really think that I’m going to tell the police that I made a mistake? You think that I wouldn’t press charges on you? You’re delusional.”
“And you’re hysterical,” he said.
“How could you kill my husband?”
He shrugged. “He was keeping us apart.”
“How could you kidnap my son and stab my brother?”
“Your brother was collateral damage. I didn’t feel the need to kill him, but he was in my way. Your son was the only way I knew to truly get to you. I kept him alive,” he said, as though it was some favor to me.
“You beat me, starved me, held me hostage, and had your way with me,” I said. “You don’t do that to people you love. Explain that. “
He shrugged. “Trial and error. The amnesia was a nice benefit. I’d planted a seed that would cause you to come crawling back to me one day. I knew your subconscious would remember my touch and bring you back. I was right.”
“How?”
“I didn’t even have to call you today when I wanted to be around you. You just showed up right in front of me. Isn’t that enough for you to settle down and forget all about this?”
“No,” I replied, taking a step closer. “Not even close.”
I looked back at the stairs, hoping to see Detective Reyes standing behind me. I was mentally drained and not sure if I could hold a discussion with Jacob for much longer. He stared at me with a smug smile on his face, as if he knew he was breaking me down.
“Tell me you love me,” he said, licking his lips. “You’re so sexy when you’re scared. Ever since the day we met, I’ve been dreaming about the moment when you get into bed with me.”
I heard Gabriel come back down the stairs over the pounding of my pulse in my ears.
“You’re never going to hurt me again,” I shouted.
“Baby, you live for this. You love being the damsel in distress. Just let your prince charming pick you up and carry you away.”
I had heard enough. He reached his hand out to me and I pulled the trigger, shooting him squarely between the eyes. He fell onto his back,
a broken man.
Gabriel rushed up to me and grabbed my shoulders from behind. I had just murdered a man. I didn’t feel any remorse, just relief. I’d let him throw me in jail, knowing that I had removed a threat from the world.
“Are you okay?” he asked frantically, looking me over.
“I’m fine,” I said calmly, my eyes closed. I didn’t want to look at Jacob anymore.
He walked toward Jacob and pressed two fingers on his fat neck to check for a pulse, though it was quite evident that he could not be revived.
“The other car is here. They’re going to take you and your son to the station. Do you need to go to the hospital?”
I shook my head.
“Good,” he said, wrapping his arms around me, much to my surprise. I lingered in his arms for a moment, inhaling deeply. For the first time in recent memory, physical contact wasn’t causing me to flinch or pull away.
“You’re in for a long evening of questioning,” he said morosely. “Hang in there, and I’ll do my best to get you out so you can be with your son.”
“How much trouble am I going to be in?” I asked, unable to meet his kind eyes.
He frowned. “None at all. But, it might help to use the words ‘self-defense’ when they ask about this part,” he said, gesturing toward Jacob. “When they hear what he did to you and your family, they’ll just wish that they could have shot the bastard sooner. Now, go upstairs and give your son a hug. He’s very worried about you.”
I walked up the long staircase without looking back at the subterranean maze and crawled into the backseat of the police car beside my son. I pulled him into my arms and planted a big kiss on the top of his head.
“Ready to get out of here?” the officer said to me, looking through his rearview mirror.
“You have no idea,” I replied wearily, clutching my son close to my chest.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“So, are we still having nightmares?” Dr. Andrews asked as I sat next to Gregory on her couch.
“No,” he replied simply as he twisted a Rubik’s Cube. He had been quite cooperative in therapy this week, especially if he could keep his hands busy as he spoke to Gloria.