by Chris Bostic
A firm hand gripped my wrist before another strike. I tried to keep stabbing the bastard anyway.
“Grace!” Vince locked my arm with both his hands. “Grace!”
I tried to push him off, rage and delusion driving me.
“Grace, dammit! Stop!”
He pulled back suddenly. With that bit of distance, I saw the blood running down the side of his face.
The bloody umbrella dropped from my hand.
“Oh, fuck.”
“Grace,” he said softer, hands raised in surrender.
I threw my arms around him. Wrapped him as tightly as I could.
“I’m sorry,” I wailed. “I don’t know what-”
“Sorry?” He grabbed my cheeks, causing me to grimace.
“I cut you.”
“That wasn’t you.” He looked at me, hands still gripping my face so I couldn’t look away. “He did that. Not you.”
I collapsed into him. I wept for I don’t know how long. At some point he lifted me to my feet, and guided me over to the doorway. I never looked back.
Once through the door, carefully stepping over Toothless, he carried me through the lobby and lowered me to the couch.
“Stay here, Gracey.”
I couldn’t force out a mumble. I barely managed a weak nod, and watched numbly as he headed over to check on Toothless.
I tried to breathe. My whole body ached, partly from the umbrella poke to my belly and the weight of a bastard falling on me. Especially my kneecap. But mostly from the anguish. Two dead in one day. Maybe three.
I should have listened to myself, and not come back. But I had to. So I made myself one more promise. No way I was ever going back in there. And I didn’t.
CHAPTER 35
“Why’d you even come in?” Vince knelt by the couch, rubbing my hands like he was trying to warm me. It didn’t work. “I mean I’m glad you did, but….”
“I couldn’t stand being alone. It happens…a lot.” I looked up at him, and blanched when I saw blood running heavier from his forehead to his chin. “Your face.”
“Probably looks like yours.” He paused abruptly. “No, not like yours at all.” He smiled softly and touched my good cheek. “It’s hard to mess up perfection.”
“Shit, man. You’re crazy.”
“Maybe.” Vince rose to a crouch. “I did get knocked on the head.”
“So what the hell happened in there?” I kept hold of one of his hands and made him press the other to his head. “Before I got here?”
“We walked in to find that guy checking out his buddy and he just flipped out on us. I tried to tell him what he did to you, but he wasn’t having it.” Vince looked away for a second before focusing back in. “I mean I pleaded with him to listen, but he got all crazy. Said we killed him on purpose. Beat Shoeless over the head. Pushed him through the door.” Vince kept the pressure on his head. “That bastard was strong. He beat my ass.”
“Yeah, he was.”
Vince gazed into my eyes. “Thank you, babe. Couldn’t have done it without you.”
I smiled even though it hurt. Everything hurt. “I’d say we’re even now.”
“Can you walk? I’ll pull you up.”
I noticed the Tasting Room sign. “You should go get a towel for your head.”
“I’ll be fine. What about you?”
“I don’t know. My knee’s killing me.”
“Well, shit. I can’t carry you both.” Vince blew out a big breath, then suddenly hopped up. “Duh. Never mind. The truck’s out there.”
“Oh, yeah. I’m so not used to having wheels.” I sighed, only partly with relief. “Help me up,” I said, then cursed for putting myself before Toothless. I pushed up to sitting, but I couldn’t see around Vince. “Is he?”
“Dead?” Vince asked. I nodded. “Shoeless, no. But the other guy-”
“I don’t care about him.”
“He has a pulse.” Vince turned to look at the hallway door. “Knocked out though. Bastard cracked him with the flashlight.”
“Then I’ll walk,” I said. “You go check on him.”
“Already did. Let’s get you on your feet.”
I barely put my bad leg on the ground, and my knee protested like an angry mob. I couldn’t bear a bit of weight on it.
“Maybe you can help me limp to the truck,” I whimpered.
“Yeah,” he answered. “I’ll come back for him.”
Vince leaned over and scooped me up in his arms.
“Whoa. So much for walking.” I offered again to try, but he wasn’t having it. So I latched my arms around his neck and held on tight.
“You okay to stay in the truck for a second? Alone?”
“I can wait that long. Just hurry.”
He deposited me on the driver’s side, which wasn’t easy considering he had a step to climb and a long reach to the seat.
“You can slide over?”
“I got it.”
Vince went to the other side, opened the door, and came back seconds later with Toothless. He had him slung over his shoulder in a fireman carry. It was much easier to dump him into the seat that way.
Vince slammed the door and hurried to my side. I’d already slid over to where I hung onto the edge of the seat.
He cranked the key and the truck fired to life. Thank God. Then his hand went straight to my thigh, like it belonged there. I wasn’t complaining.
Though breathing heavily, he gave me a grin. “Hey, baby. You want to go for a ride?”
“Fuck yeah, cowboy.”
“Yee haw.”
Gears ground as the truck shifted into drive. Headlights blazed, lighting the parking lot, casting a beam on the old bottling warehouse. If not for my earlier overindulgence, I might have been more serious about picking up another bottle. It could’ve helped with the pain.
We weren’t even past the docks when Vince wisely said, “Fish around there and find his phone.”
“Good call.”
“Nice one,” he said. It took me a second to pick up on the pun, before we proceeded to laugh like delirious idiots.
I found the phone and pulled it out.
“This thing is wrecked,” I noticed, causing Vince to stare at me incredulously and utter a couple creative curses.
“It’s broken?”
“Never mind,” I said when the shattered glass lit up. “I forgot the screen was already trashed.”
“Don’t do that to me,” Vince said. “It wouldn’t have surprised me, though, the way he got.…you know?”
I knew what he meant. No point in talking about how we’d all been through hell.
I squinted at the mangled glass. “Not sure I can read the damn screen though.”
“Just start pressing stuff.”
“That’s helpful,” I said, and softened the jab with a grin. “I am. It won’t hardly register my finger taps.”
“Isn’t there a way to press a couple buttons for 911?”
“I think so. But I don’t remember what it is.”
Vince reached over. “Let me see it.”
“If you think you can figure it out.” I handed it over. “The only corner that’s not shattered is top right, and that says No Signal.”
He took a quick look and handed it back. “Well, good luck with that.”
We drove on in silence a while longer. Not far past the bottling warehouse, we started the slow climb to the top of the hill. The motor rumbled, truck jerking on the rough road.
Toothless bounced when we hit a pothole and nearly slid out of his seat. I leaned across to grab him and see about putting on a seatbelt.
Instead, my knee screamed, so I lifted it up off the floor board, and nearly pitched out of my seat when we hit another pothole.
“Sorry,” Vince said, fingers digging into my thigh to keep me from falling off. “This road sucks.”
“It all sucks,” I said and sat back up. I couldn’t save Toothless if I tried. I could barely save myself.
But we were on our way ou
t. In a truck, not on sore feet. It wasn’t quite as difficult to focus on the bright side, thanks to headlights on the gravel, leading us out of the valley of the shadow of death.
“Any luck with a signal?” Vince asked.
“Not yet.”
“I think we’re close to the gate.”
“That’s pretty much the top of the hill. Maybe we can stop there?” I suggested.
“Or I can drive all the way to town, unless….”
“Unless what?”
“Unless we need to try to find the others.”
“Like they tried to find me.” I shook my head to clear the darker thoughts. “That wasn’t fair. I know they did. Only you knew how to find me.”
“That was dumb luck,” Vince admitted. “But I think I kinda know how you think now.”
“Same,” I replied.
He bumped me with his shoulder. Intentionally, I assumed, since the road had leveled out and the gravel seemed less ragged. When he squeezed my thigh again, I was sure.
“Try the phone again,” he said. “I see the gate.”
I held up the phone, squinting into the glare of jagged glass in a dark truck. “There’s a signal…weak as hell.”
“You figure out how to dial it?”
“I’m trying.” I fumbled around, turning the phone sideways, and tilting it in all directions. “It’s only three damn numbers. You’d think it wouldn’t be this tough.”
Eventually I got it to punch in and send. We stopped in the road by the gate and killed the motor so I could hear. Vince leaned over to press his head against mine, so I switched the phone to my left ear so he could listen too.
We waited for seconds before the static finally cleared and the distant ring of an old timey telephone jangled. Then another long ring.
I exchanged a look with Vince.
“What kind of backwoods-”
The operator interrupted me mid-statement, saying, “9-1-1. What’s your emergency?”
“Thank God. What isn’t?”
We probably overwhelmed the lady, throwing out details about rape and killing, sinking and running, and everything else that came at us over the last day.
“At Old Raven?” the woman replied.
“Yes, ma’am,” I said. “We’re at the gate by the highway, and we’re sure as hell not going back down there. We’re goin’ to town.”
“Please stay there. Help is on the way.”
I was tempted to argue, but ultimately breathed a sigh of relief. Not about staying, but that there was finally someone other than the two of us who could help.
CHAPTER 36
“Wonder how long this is gonna take?” I asked.
“Not as long as what we’ve been through.” Vince glanced across me. “Shoeless Joe still okay?”
“I guess.”
Toothless remained slumped in the passenger seat. What sounded a bit like a snore emanated through his lips, but it could have just been his breath whistling through the gaps in his teeth.
“He’s still breathing,” I reported.
“Good enough.” Vince slumped back in the seat. I nestled against him, using his shoulder as a pillow.
Every time my eyes closed, they popped back open. I had a feeling I might not sleep right for days, maybe longer. If I couldn’t sleep when exhausted, then it was going to be a rough time getting readjusted. Rougher still if I alienated a friend and a fiancé, but better to tear off the Band-Aid.
“Where do you think they went?” I asked Vince.
“They’re coming. Don’t worry.”
“Not the cops. Vic and Pete, and the other two?”
“Beats me. Probably hit the highway. Maybe walking back to town.”
“Without us.”
Vince shrugged, jerking my head. “I don’t blame ‘em. They could do more by hitching a ride and sending for help.”
I readjusted, nestling back in like a cat. Not a bad comparison either, seeing how I could be clingy and attention craving one minute and completely aloof the next. Poor Vince had no idea what he was in for. Or maybe he did.
He already hugged me when he could, and let me do my own thing when I needed time alone. Other than finding me on the side of the hill. So he knew when to find me too. Not too bad with the compliments either.
“I’m super impressed by you,” he said, breaking the silence. “I don’t think anyone else could’ve made it through all this.”
“Thanks.” I looked up at him. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“We’re a good team.” He kissed the top of my head, then suddenly stiffened. The abrupt movement pushed me off his shoulder again.
“What?”
“I heard something,” he whispered. “In the woods.”
“Start the truck. We’re outta here.”
“Hold on. I hear voices.” He leaned out the window to yell, “Pete! Victoria!”
I cringed at his yelling, my blood pressure ramping up until my head throbbed. But it made sense to call out. Surely there wasn’t another potential rapist on the loose.
“Anything?” I asked.
He yelled again. A muddled reply came back.
“We’re in the truck! It’s safe!”
I leaned across him, watching and waiting for four shadows to burst through the woods. Vince had to yell a couple more times before they finally stepped out by the shed.
None moved very quickly. Vic seemed the most spritely, but still frazzled. She made it over to us first.
“How’d you get a truck?” she asked.
“We hitched a ride with Shoeless,” Vince replied, hooking a thumb toward our comatose companion.
June followed close behind Vic. She looked the most coherent, though she had her hands full with her limping father.
Pete looked so worn out he could barely raise an eyebrow at us.
Vince popped the door open but stayed inside with me.
“The cops are on the way,” he explained. “They’ll be here soon.”
“Praise Jesus.” Vic slumped against the truck.
Pete looked up through the open door. Though he surely knew the answer, he said, “Don’t suppose you got room for us?” Before Vince, could reply, he followed it up with a not so subtle jab, saying, “Looks like you’re pretty cozy in there.”
“I can come out if someone needs a seat,” Vince replied. “Grace and Shoeless are busted up.”
“How so?”
“I’m right here,” I said, taking offense at them ignoring me. “Still alive.”
“And?” Pete pressed.
“My kneecap’s broken, I think. I can’t move it.”
Pete nodded, but seemed aloof. He eyed me strangely and finally said, “That sucks.”
“Yeah, it hurts like a mother-”
“Got it,” Pete interrupted. “No need to curse.”
“No need for you to be a self-righteous dick.” I leaned my head back against the seat and took a deep breath. “Sorry. That was totally uncalled for.”
“Nothing I didn’t expect,” Pete muttered.
“Hey, we’re all stressed,” Vince said. “But we’re finally outta here.”
He pointed to pinpricks of flashing red and blue lights off in the distance. The others walked to the front of the truck to gather closer to the highway. It seemed fitting seeing how I’d basically driven them away.
I looked at the big guy sitting next to me. No matter what a jerk I could be, Vince never left. Opposites might attract, but it seemed like similars could make an even better pair.
“That’s it. It’s over,” I said, full of dual meaning. I twisted the ring absently around my finger, while trying not to think of questions that wouldn’t end for a long time.
“Yes and no,” Vince said, surely reading my thoughts again. There were two dead people to account for. Stories to tell. Statements to make. Things to relive that I’d rather not talk about again. And now I’d definitely do it without a fiancé or a best friend.
By my estimation
, Pete was expendable. I knew breaking up was truly for the best. Losing Vic meant more. Especially hurting her. That was a harder pill to swallow. One that she didn’t deserve, which only made me feel worse.
Vince pulled me close, letting his other hand fall back into my lap again. I leaned in and closed my eyes. I wouldn’t let go. I couldn’t. Not even with the others around. We’d been through too much. Always had each other’s back.
Maybe it wouldn’t last once the adrenaline faded. Maybe we’d be a constant reminder of the bad times. But there were good times too. Plus so much worth exploring in the future—and the healing. That was all worth a whole lot more than focusing on the negatives.
We had so much more to learn about each other, now that we could approach it with a clean slate and the knowledge that we’d faced the worst together. We’d looked out for each other when no one else would. And done it all without criticism, or bickering, or anything other than love and respect—and a few playful jabs. Vince just felt right, then and ever after. Or so I hoped.
“I agree,” Vince whispered. “Completely, totally, one hundred percent.” He smiled contentedly, which I surely matched. “So I don’t have to wait until tomorrow?”
I blushed, having not realized some of my thoughts had been spoken aloud. I wasn’t sure how much, but it was all true. And I was ready to get back to that. Always honest. Always dealing in real feelings. Admitting my failures and celebrating my small victories. Communicating without a filter. No judging. Just being me.
“No, babe. You don’t have to wait.” I looked down at the phone. “Besides, I think it’s tomorrow already.”
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
A huge Thank You for taking the time to read Whiskey Thief. This new series is a bit edgier and foul-mouthed, which marks a major departure from my usual foray into the PG world of young adult, dystopian adventure stories. Hopefully you were duly warned ahead of time that this book had a bit more adult content than my typical offerings.
As a bourbon lover, I hope you’ve enjoyed this little trip through central Kentucky. It’s a land of rolling hills, fancy horse barns, tobacco farms, and some of the sweetest smelling rack houses on Earth. I’ve spent a fair amount of time touring distilleries over the last several years, enjoying the scenery, and especially the bourbon, and I’m already ready to go back any time.