by Mary Head
Shifting forward, he helped her sit up, and then her free arm circled his neck, her fingers clutching his shirt and her face pressed against his shoulder as she held him tightly, her body trembling. He was almost certain she was crying in earnest now, and he held her for a moment, closing his eyes as he swept his hand over her back.
“Dad,” she said suddenly, sniffling quietly as she pulled back, though her hand lingered on Eli’s arm. “Where’s my dad?”
Her eyes were hopeful, and Eli gave a brief nod.
“He’s upstairs. We came to get you.”
“How are we going to get out?” she asked, sniffling again as she swiped her hand over her eyes.
“Not so sure about that part,” Eli murmured as he moved to stare at the handcuff around her arm. He peered at it for a moment, and then shook his head. “I don’t have a key.”
Hannah’s face fell, and Eli shifted so he was in front of her again.
“Hey,” he said firmly, staring into her eyes. “We’re going to get you out of here. Okay?”
She took a breath and nodded, and Eli gave her another smile before pushing to stand and stare around the room. It was utterly devoid of anything that could be useful, and he ran a frustrated hand through his hair as he cast a glance at the ceiling, wondering what David was doing.
When he turned towards Hannah, his gaze fell to the safety pin, and he tilted his head curiously. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, the basement door creaked open, and he looked up sharply as Hannah drew in a quick breath. His hand dropped to his gun and he tugged it from the holster as a tall, thin man stepped into the basement, his back to them as he closed the door.
The man turned, and stopped abruptly, his eyes darting from Hannah to Eli and back. A tense moment passed, and then he reached behind his back.
“Freeze!” Eli commanded, trying to keep his voice low, but still authoritative, as he raised his gun.
The tall man produced a gun as well and held it up, pointing it at Eli as Hannah gasped.
“Jackie, no,” she said quietly, desperation evident in her voice. “Please.”
“Who are you?” Jackie demanded, ignoring her as he crept down the stairs.
“He – he’s here to save me, Jackie, please put the gun away.”
Eli stared at Jackie. Everything about him, from the way he held his gun to the way he was standing, screamed that his heart wasn’t in this, and Eli seized this opportunity.
“You don’t want to do this,” he said quietly. “I’m here to help her. I’m here to take her home.”
“Jackie,” Hannah whispered, “I heard you and – and Eddie fighting earlier. I know you want to let me go. This is your chance. Please.”
Jackie looked at her, taking in the tears on her cheeks, the desperation on her face, and took a breath as he slowly lowered his gun.
After a moment, Eli lowered his as well, and Hannah sighed, swiping her hand over her face.
“Do you have the key?” Eli asked carefully, gesturing towards the handcuffs.
Jackie nodded, fishing around in his pocket until he produced the tiny key, stepping forward to hand it to Eli.
Eli holstered his gun and knelt down beside Hannah, reaching for her arm. He shifted the cuff down her arm a little, and she flinched when his fingers brushed her wrist, a pained hiss escaping her.
“I’m sorry,” Eli said softly, glancing at her face as he hurried to unlock the handcuffs.
“It’s okay,” she murmured as she shook her head, though fresh tears welled in her eyes. “I think it’s sprained.”
Eli pulled the cuff away, taking care not to bump her wrist again, and she sighed gratefully, lowering her arm into her lap.
Eli stood, looking at Jackie again. “How can I get her out of here?”
“I’m assuming you came in through the kitchen.” Eli nodded. “Then go back out that way.”
“What about –” Hannah began fearfully, and then was cut off by a sudden shout from upstairs.
Jackie paled at the sound of his name being called, and Eli started to take a step forward as Jackie raised his gun again.
“Jackie, wait –!” Hannah cried, and then screamed when the gun went off.
Chapter 53
David froze at Hannah’s scream, his eyes locked with Eddie’s.
There was a heartbeat’s hesitation, and then Eddie pulled his fist back, striking David’s cheek before slamming the door shut.
David stumbled back, catching himself on a porch post and swearing loudly as he gave a quick shake of his head. He darted towards the door, his hand falling to the doorknob and finding it locked.
Swearing under his breath, he took a couple of steps back. The door wasn’t heavy and had no deadbolt, and all it took was one strong, well-aimed kick before it flew open.
Another gunshot sounded as the door crashed against the wall, and David hurried into the house, dashing through the living room towards the illuminated doorway down the hall to his right, sliding his gun from his holster as he went. He entered at the top of a set of stairs and saw Eddie struggling with Hannah as he pulled her to her feet.
David raised his gun, aiming for the back of Eddie’s knee, but the other man straightened suddenly and whirled around, wrenching Hannah’s hands up behind her back and ignoring her shriek of pain as he held her in front of him. He had a gun in his other hand, the muzzle pressed to Hannah’s temple, and she stared up at David, frightened tears streaming down her face.
“Daddy,” she whimpered, and he could see everything written on her face, her fear and pain, her love for him, and the burning hope that he would save her. He felt like his heart was breaking apart inside his chest.
There was no clear shot at Eddie, at least none that David dared take with Hannah so close, and his hands tightened around his gun.
“Let her go,” he said in a low voice, starting down the stairs.
Eddie backed away, dragging Hannah with him, and then shifted to the side, sidestepping around Eli’s motionless form.
David’s eyes flicked to Eli, taking in the hole in his shoulder and the blood that had soaked his shirt and seeped from underneath him; the bullet appeared to have gone straight through. He would be okay, so long as they got him out before he bled to death, and it strengthened David’s resolve to end this as quickly as he could.
He continued down the stairs, his gun still trained on Eddie.
“Let her go,” he said again, his voice hard. “Your issue is with me, not her. Let her go.”
David reached the floor and started forward, and then stopped abruptly when Eddie shifted and Hannah cried out again, her features twisted in pain.
“That’s the thing though,” Eddie said finally in a low voice. “She is at the heart of my issue with you. She is your daughter; you killed my son.”
David shook his head. “I didn’t kill your son. He killed those girls –”
“No!” Eddie shouted, making Hannah flinch. “No! Luke was a good boy; it was those – those friends of his. They hurt those little girls, and then sold him out to you, and you bought every fucking word. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but you didn’t care.”
“His fingerprints were all over the murder weapon –”
“That doesn’t mean shit! You don’t know how they got there –”
“He confessed –”
“Only because you made him! He was confused, and sick –”
“Eddie,” Jackie said suddenly. “Stop.”
David glanced over, seeing the other man for the first time, and noticed the gun held loosely down at his side. He had a sort of dazed look on his face, and David wondered very briefly if he was even aware he was holding a gun.
“What?” Eddie asked irritably, glancing at his brother.
“I said stop. You need to stop.” Jackie shook his head, his shoulders slumping as he gestured vaguely with his free hand. “This – all of this is just wrong –”
“Shut up, Jackie,” Eddie said, his hand ten
sing around his gun.
“No,” Jackie said, shaking his head again. “No. You’re pissed off at the wrong people. Agent Cole was doing his job, and Hannah – she’s not any part of this.”
“What are you talking about?” Eddie snapped.
David nervously watched the exchange in front of him. Eddie still had Hannah directly in front of him, the gun still pointed firmly at her head, but his eyes were on Jackie. David wished he had a shot, any shot, but he would need to move to get it and Eddie would notice.
David’s eyes met Hannah’s and she stared back, silently begging him to save her. Even if it was the last thing he did, he was going to get her out of here. If she died, that would be it for him; he couldn’t imagine his life without her in it.
“I’m talking about Luke,” Jackie said, and David glanced over at him. “I thought he was innocent too, I thought it was a mistake, but he did it, Eddie, he killed those girls.”
“Shut up!” Eddie shouted.
“I found them in his room after he died, the clothes he had on that night, hidden under the floorboards under his bed, and they were covered in blood. And he didn’t have a scratch on him, remember? None of them did. But those little girls –”
It happened too fast for David to react. Eddie pulled the gun away from Hannah for just a second, just long enough to fire a shot into his brother’s abdomen.
Jackie’s eyes widened as he swayed on his feet and he stumbled back a step before sinking to his knees, the gun falling from his fingers with a quiet clatter.
“No!” Hannah sobbed quietly, fresh tears falling from her eyes as she looked at him, and Jackie stared back at her, his face an apology. Then he slumped over on his side, hands pressed to his stomach, blood seeping through his fingers, and lay motionless.
David pulled his eyes away, turning his attention back to Eddie and Hannah. The gun was back against her temple and her eyes were closed, tears rolling down her cheeks.
“You’ve done it, Eddie,” David murmured. “You’re truly alone now.”
“No,” Eddie replied softly. “You did this. My son was sick. He needed help, and you didn’t give a shit. Any reason to flash that gold star on your belt.”
Uncertainty tugged at David, and he flexed his fingers around his gun. “He was just making that up –”
“No! No, he wasn’t! But you wouldn’t listen, you didn’t care, and that piece of shit public defender didn’t care. He had something wrong with him, and I was trying to figure it out, I was the only one trying to help him –”
Eddie broke off, and David was startled to see his eyes shining. Slowly, David was starting to realize that maybe he had been wrong all those years ago, that Luke had been telling the truth, and guilt washed over him, hot and uncomfortable.
“I – I’m sorry,” David whispered. “I am. I should’ve listened. I should’ve believed him.” He shook his head, swallowing against the dryness of his mouth and throat. “But please let her go. She doesn’t have anything do with this.”
“No.” Eddie shook his head, tightening his grip on Hannah as he pressed the gun harder against her head. “No. You’re gonna know what it feels like.”
Hannah’s eyes flew open, and once again a shot rang out before David could react. He saw Hannah lurch forward, and for one horrifying moment thought she had been shot. Then he saw the stunned look on Eddie’s face, and the bright red blood on his shoulder, slowly darkening his shirt.
David stared a moment, confused, and then his and Eddie’s eyes fell to the floor at the same moment, to where Eli was lying on his side, gun held tightly in his hands.
A flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye caught David’s attention, and he looked up to see Eddie raising his gun and trying to pull Hannah back. She struggled against him, maintaining the distance between them, and David didn’t hesitate. He lifted his gun and squeezed off one shot, hitting his target dead center.
Eddie remained briefly on his feet, and then collapsed to the floor, making Hannah stumble as his hand lingered on her arms before finally letting go. She caught herself on the workbench, holding tightly to the edge, and stared down at Eddie for a moment before lifting her gaze to David.
They stared at each other, and then her knees wobbled, her fingers slipping on the workbench, and David hurried forward, quickly holstering his gun before pulling her into his arms. She clung to him, sobbing into his shirt, and he held her as tightly as he dared, stroking her hair.
“I’ve got you, baby,” he murmured, tears rolling down his cheeks as he kissed the top of her head. “I’ve got you.”
He tightened his grip on her, wanting to feel her, to make sure she was here and real and in his arms again, but then she gasped sharply, the tiniest sound of pain escaping her lips. He loosened his hold immediately and started to pull away.
“No, Daddy,” she whimpered, her arms tightening around his middle as her fingers gripped his shirt. “Don’t let go.”
“I just don’t want to hurt you, baby,” he said softly.
“I don’t care,” she replied, pressing against his chest. “Don’t let go.”
“I won’t,” he promised, holding her to him and kissing the top of her head again.
There was a soft groan from the floor then, and David and Hannah both glanced down to see Eli roll painfully onto his back, his gun slipping from his fingers as he raised his hand to press it against his shoulder.
“Eli,” Hannah breathed, her grip on David loosening just slightly.
“I’m okay,” he muttered. “Well, as okay as I can be at the moment,” he amended with a grimace. “A hospital and some epic painkillers would be good right about now, though.”
Hannah’s lips curved into a ghost of a smile at that, a small sniffly laugh escaping her, and the corner of Eli’s mouth curved.
David realized rather suddenly that Hannah was shivering. He didn’t know if it was from cold or adrenaline, but he shrugged his jacket off anyway and draped it over her shoulders, trying to ignore the broken strap of her top.
Smiling a little, she slipped her arms through the sleeves and pulled the jacket snug around her, and then turned her head sharply, her gaze falling on Jackie. She could tell he was breathing, though it seemed he had passed out. She started to speak, but then there was the sound of more footsteps in the hall and the barely discernible wail of sirens growing steadily closer.
Juliet appeared at the top of the stairs, her gun out and low, and stopped abruptly, her eyes widening as she took in the three men lying on the floor, one dead and two injured, and Hannah and David in the middle of it all.
“Hey, Jules,” Hannah said in a small voice.
“Hey, sweetie,” Juliet replied a little breathlessly, lowering her gun to her side.
Hannah shifted, still holding tightly to David, but clearly opening herself up a little, and Juliet descended the stairs, holstering her gun as she approached the two of them.
When she reached them she slipped one arm around Hannah and, without thinking, the other around David, and rested her forehead against Hannah’s. The three of them stood together like that for a minute or so, none of them speaking, until the sirens were outside and lights could be seen through the small windows, turning the night red and blue.
Juliet stepped away suddenly, hastily pulling her arm from around David and giving him the barest of glances.
“Jules –” David began, but she ignored him as she walked over to Jackie, kneeling and checking for a pulse before hurrying up the stairs.
Hannah frowned as she raised her gaze to David, and hesitated at the look on his face. Something had clearly happened between them, and despite everything she had been through, and the joy and relief she felt finally being back in her dad’s arms, she found herself worrying about them.
“Dad?” she said quietly. “What –”
“Don’t worry about it, baby,” he murmured, finally pulling his eyes from the stairs to smile down at her. He kissed her forehead and pulled her close aga
in, enveloping her in his arms. She hugged him back, resting her head on his chest, content with letting it go for the moment.
A few moments later, Chris entered the basement, staring around the scene just as Juliet had done. He shook his head when he reached the floor, one hand on his hip as he glanced around again before looking at David.
“Two critically injured, one dead. Juliet was right, this is your handiwork.” His eyes flicked to Hannah, and he smiled a little. “But at least you saved the girl.”
“Eli helped,” David murmured, and Chris looked down.
“I can see that,” he replied, and Eli gave him a wan smile from the floor, his hand still pressed against his shoulder.
Chris raised his eyes to David and Hannah again and took a breath.
“Okay, let’s get her out of here first,” he said with a nod.
“But what about –” Hannah started to protest, but both David and Chris shook their heads.
“You need just as much attention as they do,” Chris said gently, “and it’ll be easier for the EMTs to work on them with you guys out of the way.”
Hannah nodded and took a breath, pushing her hair behind her ears as Chris moved to kneel beside Eli.
“Can you walk, baby?” David asked gently, hating that he even had to ask.
“I don’t know, but I can try,” she replied, and he smiled a little as he started to guide her forward.
“Wait,” she said in a low voice, pulling David to a stop.
A curious frown creased his brow as he looked at her, and then he saw she was looking back at Eddie’s body, her mouth set in a hard line.
David shifted a little when she twisted away from him, turning to watch what she was doing.
Grabbing hold of the edge of the workbench, she used it to support herself as she moved closer to Eddie, and stared down at him for a moment, not speaking, not even moving, except for the ever increasing rise and fall of her chest. Her chin began to quiver, and as David watched, one tear fell from her eye, darkening the concrete floor where it hit. He started to move towards her, but then stopped when her fingers tightened on the workbench and she pulled her foot back. When it connected with Eddie’s side, she made a sound that was a mix of pain and rage, and David winced, her voice piercing right through him. He had never heard her make that sound before, or seen her face look like that, utter loathing etched in her features.