He shrugged before standing up. “I need to check the perimeter. I’ll be back in a little bit.”
“Okay. Dinner is..well, it’s ready if you want to try it.”
“When I get back.”
I had been so distracted by his story that I kind of neglected the food. It was a little charred on one side, but probably still edible.
✯✯✯✯✯
“No going anywhere Cal and I don’t tell you to go. You don’t enter the building until we clear it, and if I tell you to stay put, you stay put. If I tell you to run, you’d better haul ass. Got it?”
I had been getting a lecture about all the rules for tonight for the whole ride to Beltzhoover. It was getting old. Honestly, they acted as if I was a loose canon that would go off and do whatever I wanted.
It had started raining as soon as we left the safe house and it gave an ominous feel to our evening. That alone made me readily agree to follow all of Sebastian’s rules.
“Fine. I already agreed to all your stipulations. You don’t have to keep repeating yourself.”
“Uh, Cap. We have an issue. Looks like someone’s already here.”
Cal pulled over to the side of the road and shut off the lights. There were several vehicles parked in front of the warehouse and there were flashlights shining inside the building. I scooted over to the other side of the SUV so I could see more clearly. There was someone getting something out of the truck that looked like a big bag or tarp. It was hard to see through the rain.
“Looks like they’re getting ready to do some work on the building.”
“In the rain? Freckles, this building hasn’t been used in years. There’s absolutely nothing so urgent that people would come out here to work at eleven o’clock at night in a downpour. They’re trying to get rid of evidence.”
“How do you want to handle this, Cap?”
“We have to get in there. If they’re destroying evidence, we have to stop them,” I said.
“We don’t have to do anything. You are going to sit your ass in this SUV and not move.”
“No. This is my story. I’m not sitting here doing nothing while you two go check out what’s going on. I’ll follow all your rules to a T, but I’m not standing by and doing nothing.”
“Freckles,-”
“Don’t you Freckles me. Either I come with you or I’ll just sneak out later and then you’ll have to try to find me. This is just easier.”
Sebastian looked to Cal who just shrugged. “Fine, but you follow every order I give you.”
I nodded quickly, knowing that now was not the time to argue about the fact that I was not in the military and didn’t have to follow orders. We quickly got out and ran up behind the now deserted vehicles. Sebastian and Cal did quick checks inside the vehicles before taking up positions on either side of me. Sebastian was on my left as usual and Cal was on my right. Both were holding guns, making me wish I had my own.
“Don’t you think I should have a gun?”
“No,” they both said at the same time. I rolled my eyes and grumbled for a minute about the unfairness, but had to shut my mouth when we started moving.
The outside of the building was quiet, so we quickly made our way to the side of the building to a window that we could see through. Sebastian pushed me down as he and Cal peeked in through the dirty pane.
“I can’t see shit through this window. We need a different view.”
“I’ll go check for a different angle.” Cal was off before I could even ask if I could take a look first. I took up Cal’s vacated spot and peered in through the window.
“They all seem to be gathered in that corner. What do you think they’re doing?”
“I don’t know. We’ll have to wait for Cal to get back.”
The wait seemed impossibly long. “Let’s get closer. They could be doing anything right now. We need to move.”
“We wait for Cal. There’s a reason we do things this way, Freckles.”
Cal came hustling around the corner in a low crouch, avoiding the windows as he came. “They’re digging something up. It looks like bones. They’ve got a tarp down that they’re putting it into. I counted four guys. I did a quick check around the rest of the building and I didn’t see anyone else. We need to find a way to get that evidence.”
“Maybe I could-”
“No.” Their voices were sharp and that made me mad.
“You didn’t even hear what I was going to say.”
“No,” they repeated.
“I could-”
“No.”
“Would you two just listen?”
“Freckles, do you really think we’re going to allow you to go off and do anything? We’re supposed to keep you alive, not get you shot by a bunch of thugs.”
“How do you want to handle this, Cap?”
“You go to the front entrance, I’ll go to the rear. You draw their fire and then I’ll take out as many as I can from the rear. Freckles, you stay behind me at all times.”
“Give me thirty to get into position.”
“Here.” Sebastian handed over an earbud to Cal, who placed it in his ear.
“Why don’t I get one of those?”
“Do you have a gun?”
“No.”
“Do you know how to shout out positions?”
“What? You mean like, two guys at the front entrance?”
“Freckles, in the amount of time it takes you to say that, we’ll already be dead.”
I huffed in annoyance. “Well, if you taught me these things, I could be more helpful.”
“Remind me to give you a crash course when we get back to the safe house.”
Cal took off for the front of the building, while Sebastian and I got into position at the rear. He pushed me to the side of the door.
“You stay against this wall and don’t move. I don’t need to worry about you getting your pretty, little head shot off.”
I glared at him, but stayed where he put me. Cal must have spoken because he put his hand to his ear, adjusting the piece.
“Copy. On your mark.”
I wasn’t prepared for the sound of gunshots and jumped, covering my mouth when they sounded inside. I kept my eyes closed as Sebastian started firing, not wanting to see the deadly look on his face that I had seen before. When I heard bullets hitting the brick, I squeaked and squatted down to get away from any potential stray bullets. All too soon, the gunfire died down and all was quiet. The whole encounter couldn’t have lasted more than thirty seconds.
“You can get up now, Freckles. We’re all clear.”
He helped me stand and then pulled me to his side as we entered the building. His gun was still drawn and he was scanning the darkness for anyone that could pop out. When Cal walked in, we all made our way over to the corner where the thugs had been digging. Sure enough bones were laid out on the tarp from what I assumed were human remains. They hadn’t gotten them all out yet and as I picked up a flashlight, I looked closer and saw a human skull staring back at me.
I stepped back quickly, dropping the flashlight as my hand flew to my mouth. I had already thought it was a human, but I had never seen real bones before, let alone buried in a concrete floor. I felt Sebastian’s hand at my hip as he steadied me. I was grateful for the support, as I started to feel a little lightheaded. Suddenly this story was feeling a little too big for just me.
“We need to call the police and get this into evidence,” Sebastian said as his hand moved to squeeze my shoulder.
“This doesn’t prove that the Mayor is responsible for this death. The property has been abandoned for years. Anyone could have been using this as a dumping ground.” Cal said.
“True, but the Mayor would have been the only one aware that this building was about to be undergoing renovations. No one else would have a reason to be out here moving a body.”
As Sebastian and Cal debated back and forth, I stared at the grave in front of me, wondering who it was and what they had done to
get themselves thrown away so casually. It was as if this person’s life wasn’t important. It was then that I noticed that this grave was much like what we saw in Wilkinsburg. There was a slab of concrete missing that was just about the size of a coffin.
“Look at this.” I bent down and started digging an outline with my fingers, feeling the rough edges where the concrete had been cut. “This is just like over at Wilkinsburg. You need to send the police over there.”
“Chances are they already dug up anything buried over there when they realized we were already at that property.”
Sebastian pulled out his phone and dialed Becky.
“Becky, get in touch with our contact on the police department here. Tell them we’re over at the property in Beltzhoover. There’s a body buried here and it needs to be taken care of now. We had some trouble when we got here. We’ve got four bodies.”
“Down!”
All at once, Cal was flying in front of me at the same time that Sebastian dropped his phone and swung around firing off several shots. Cal smashed into me and we fell to the ground, my head bouncing painfully off the concrete. I laid there for a moment, not really understanding yet what happened when I realized that Cal wasn’t moving.
“Cal,” my voice was quiet as I could barely draw a breath with him laying on top of me.
Sebastian was moving across the room, scanning the outside for any other people lurking in the shadows. I heard Cal groan, so I gently pushed him off me, careful not to let his head hit the ground. As I sat up, my head spun a little, but then I felt something sticky on my hands and I forced my eyes to focus.
I scrambled over the floor to find the flashlight I dropped, finally finding it and turning it back on. Cal’s chest was covered in blood that was quickly spreading outward.
“No. No! Cal. Can you hear me?”
“Mag..You okay?”
Tears started trailing down my face when I saw how pale he was. “Are you fucking kidding me? You’re shot and you’re asking me how I am?”
He lifted his hand slightly and I took it, squeezing it tightly in my own. “Tell me what to do. I don’t know what to do.”
“Noth..ing. Too..late.”
“No. No, it’s not. Just tell me what to do. You’re going to be okay.” Turning I shouted over to Sebastian. “Cal’s shot. Tell me what to do.” It came out as a sob and I wasn’t sure if he could even understand me. I felt Cal squeeze my hand again and I heard Sebastian on the phone yelling the address to someone. Seconds later, Sebastian was kneeling next to me. He ripped open Cal’s shirt and stared down at the mess before us. There was so much blood that we couldn’t even see the entry wound.
“Shit.” His fingers felt for a hole, finally finding one and then covering it. Cal moaned in pain when Sebastian applied pressure. “I’m sorry, man. I gotta do it.”
“Cap..sorry..I should..have..trusted..”
His breaths were coming harsh and with a slight bubbling sound. Blood started to leak out the sides of his mouth when he coughed.
“Save it. I don’t want to hear that shit. You can tell me all about it when you’re sitting on your ass in the hospital.”
“Not..gonna..” He drew in a ragged breath, his eyes closing momentarily.
“Cal, please hold on for me.” The tears were coming faster now as I squeezed his hand tightly, willing my strength into his body. He had been through too much already. He didn’t deserve to die like this. “You have to fight.”
“Nothing..left..to..”
“Bullshit.” I noticed a slight croak in Sebastian’s voice. The only sign that this was just as hard on him. “You have a whole team that needs you to fight. Don’t you dare go to them yet. It’s not time.”
“Cap, best man..I ever..knew.”
I felt his hand going limp in mine and heard the faint sound of sirens in the distance.
“Hold on, Cal. They’re almost here. We’re going to get you to the hospital and you’re going to be fine.”
His eyes moved to me one last time and he seemed to be smiling at me. “’S okay..Jenna..” His lips curved up slightly before his hand went totally limp in mine and he stared into nothing.
“No! No!”
The sobs came hard as the man that I had come to care about over the past few days slipped away from us. I barely heard the paramedics enter or them asking me to step aside. Sebastian’s arms wrapped around me as he pulled me back from Cal, whose hand I was still holding.
“No! Stop! You have to help him. Please!” I gripped his hand tighter, refusing to let go, until Sebastian pried my hand from Cal’s. He pulled me into his arms and held me as I broke down. Sebastian turned my head against his chest so that I couldn’t see Cal anymore.
“He’s gone,” I heard one of the paramedics say.
That was the breaking point. The tears stopped and numbness settled over my body. My whole body started to shake as the adrenaline left my body. I slumped against Sebastian as my head grew fuzzy. I heard him curse before everything went black.
“Shit.”
✯✯✯✯✯
We were back at the safe house. I could tell by the comfort of the bed. I was snuggling back into the warmth of the bed when I remembered what happened earlier tonight. Cal was gone. He had died taking a bullet that was meant for me. I was the reason that a good man was dead.
I needed to get out of bed and finish this story. I needed to find somewhere else to stay away from Sebastian. No doubt, he wouldn’t want me around after I got one of his employees killed. I went into the bathroom and took a long shower, allowing the warm water to erase the chill that had crept over my bones. I couldn’t face seeing Sebastian yet, so I sank down on the floor of the shower and wrapped my arms around my legs.
I thought about all that had happened this week and how my actions led to this whole event. I had constantly pushed and put Sebastian and Cal in further danger because I wouldn’t listen. Sebastian had wanted me to stay in the SUV tonight because he knew it would be safer for me, but I had insisted on going. If it wasn’t for me, their attention wouldn’t have been split between protecting me and watching for potential threats.
When that man shot at me, Cal wouldn’t have had to take a bullet. He probably would have responded differently, maybe pulled his own weapon. But he knew that he didn’t have time to protect me and shoot. He chose to step in front of me and take that bullet. I should have listened. How many times was this now that I had done this?
There was the first time when Sebastian and I were in Wilkinsburg and then the chase afterwards. The second time was when I snuck out to meet Danielle and Sebastian had to chase after me. I almost got us shot, drowned, and frozen to death. Then when we met the bartender in the alley, I got myself taken hostage because I didn’t listen and stay behind Sebastian. When he tried to retrieve the flash drive, he told me to stay in the SUV and I got out anyway, risking that he would get more injured than he already was. I felt him shield me with his body. He could have easily taken a second bullet right then. And then there was tonight. Only this time, someone died. Cal died and it was all my fault.
I stood and quickly washed up, feeling the need to scrub a little harder than necessary to get the feel of Cal’s blood off me. When I was done, I quickly dressed and dried my hair. I gathered everything that I left in the room and made my way downstairs. I hoped that Sebastian was doing a perimeter check and that I could leave him a note and sneak out. Unfortunately, he was sitting at the kitchen table with a drink in his hand. I hadn’t seen Sebastian touch alcohol even once since he had been protecting me. I walked forward and set my bag down on a chair.
He lazily looked up and took in my appearance, then the bag sitting in the chair. “Going somewhere?”
“I’m leaving.”
“What makes you think I’d let you? You’re still under my protection.”
“Let’s face it, my boss hired you for reasons other than keeping me safe. I think we both know that you could easily get out of babysitting duty.”
“Your boss is a fucking asshole and I stopped working for him a long time ago. This has nothing to do with him.”
“Still, I doubt you want me around after tonight. I can find somewhere else to go until I figure out what to do. Maybe move to a new city.”
“So that’s it? You’re just gonna cut and run. Let them rule your life?”
His voice was so nonchalant, you would think we were talking about the weather.
“I’m not allowing them to rule my life. I’m stopping while I’m still alive. I already cost one man his life. I won’t be responsible for you dying too.”
He laughed at that. “You think you’re responsible? Freckles, you couldn’t be more innocent if you were a baby. Nothing about tonight was your fault.”
“Yeah? Then whose fault is it?”
He was silent as he sat there sipping his alcohol. I was guessing it was whiskey, but I couldn’t be sure. I hadn’t seen any alcohol in the house, so I wondered where he got it.
“I swore I would never touch alcohol again. I mean, I have a beer every now and then, but I never touch the hard stuff.”
There was something in his voice that gave me pause. His voice was so different than what it usually was, commanding and strong. Now he was indifferent. His voice came out harsh and unfeeling. He seemed like he was just on the tipsy side of drunk, not quite there yet. I decided that this was my opportunity to try and find out what was going on in his head. To see if he hated me as much as I hated myself.
“Why don’t you drink the hard stuff?”
He finished his drink and poured two more fingers into the glass. “When I got back from basic, I found my old man face down in his own vomit. He suffocated himself because he drank himself into oblivion.”
“Was he always a drunk?”
“Ever since my mom left him when I was fifteen.”
“Why did she leave?”
He looked up at me with a glaze in his eyes and laughed. “Ran off with the milkman.”
“Do they still have those?”
“Well, he wasn’t technically the milkman. He was the local grocer that delivered her groceries every week. Fell in love with him and decided to make a new life for herself. Dad couldn’t handle it and started drinking. By the time I was seventeen, I couldn’t stand to be around his drunk ass anymore, so I signed up for basic and left. I should have stayed and tried to get him help, but all I could think about was how he was the adult and he was supposed to take care of me. I gave up on him.”
Sebastian Page 15