by Skye Tisdale
“So, you’re a loan shark now?” I spat. It was the only explanation that made sense. “What, bleeding innocent villagers dry of their life savings wasn’t profitable enough, so you decided to switch things up?”
“It’s quite simple, Axel: desperation breeds money.” Maverick shrugged and shot a look a meaningful at David. “…and I’ve gotten quite good at identifying desperate people since we last saw each other. In fact, I might even call myself an expert.”
I glanced at David. He’d managed to pull himself up to his feet by leaning against a car, but it was like his confidence had deflated since Maverick arrived. He’s a nobody, I thought. Maverick’s playing the big game, and David’s nothing more than a pawn for him to use. Meanwhile, Morgan was like a butterfly caught in a spider’s web. She was the only one of us who was truly innocent, and she’d gotten hurt the most.
“I see you’ve still got that sharp tongue,” Maverick continued. “That’s good. When I heard you were hiding up here like some fucking rat, I worried you might’ve gone soft. I’m glad that’s not the case. You were one of my best soldiers, you know… But you’ll never be a true soldier as long as you let your feelings control you. Feelings make you weak.” He spat on the ground in disgust. “It’s a shame about what happened. We could’ve been partners. Just look at these idiots I’m forced to make due with instead.” He gestured to David yet again.
“Partners?” I scoffed bitterly. “You’d kill me in a heartbeat as long as you stood to gain something from it. Just like how you killed all those innocent people, just to prove a point…”
Maverick grinned. “You know me too well, Axel. But it’s been five years! Maybe I’ve changed?”
I shook my head. “You’ll never change. Not until somebody puts a bullet in your head.”
“You’re quite aggressive for a man with a gun pointed at his forehead. I could end your pathetic existence with a flick of my finger…” Maverick squinted and cocked his gun. “Don’t you get it, Axel? Life is a game, and you’re losing. You’re losing hard. Now you only have one option: give me what I want, and maybe I’ll give you what you want in return.” He looked past me and let his eyes wander across Morgan’s body. “…and we both know what it is that you want.”
Morgan gasped and clutched my sleeve with trembling fingers.
I tensed. “Look, if it’s money you’re after…”
“I’m not interested in money.”
“You haven’t even heard my offer yet!” I protested. “I’ve got over $40,000 in clean bills, just sitting there in the duffel bag in the front passenger seat of my truck. Send him to look if you don’t believe me. It’s all yours—as long as you can guarantee me her freedom.” I swallowed hard. “…Deal?“
“Oh, soldier…” Maverick sighed. “Why should I agree to that when I could just kill you and take your money and the girl? No deal! I already told you it’s not money I’m after. There’s something else; something that’s much more valuable to me…”
“Then what?” I asked impatiently, feeling the sweat beneath my collar. “What do you want from me?“
“Finally! Those are the words I’ve been waiting to hear. Seems you’ve still got some sense let in you, soldier. As for what I want, well…” He licked his lips. “You made quite the fool out of me all those years ago—and I don’t appreciate being made a fool out of. Men like us, we have to keep our reputation under control. Can’t have men like you undermining our authority…” His eyes narrowed and he looked at me darkly. “You undermined my authority, Axel. Don’t think I’ve forgotten. But there’s still hope! If you come with me and allow me to… make an example out of you, well, then I might just be able to forgive your betrayal. And because I’m feeling generous, I’ll even consider letting the girl go.”
I felt a chill travel down my spine. Making an example out of me could only mean one thing—and it wasn’t a party with streamers and cake. I’d be lucky to get away with all my limbs intact. Agreeing to his deal effectively meant I was signing my own death certificate… But what other option did I have? That money was the only ace up my sleeve, and I blew my shot. I couldn’t even fight him—not because I didn’t trust my ability to win, but because if I lost, there was no guarantee that Morgan would be safe. She was my weakness. Maverick knew that as well as I did…
I turned to Morgan and gazed down into her teary eyes. My chest ached as I ran my dirty fingers through her long, silky hair for the last time. It hurt to see her look so scared, especially when I had the power to make that fear go away… All I had to do was agree to Maverick’s terms.
“Don’t do it, Axel,” Morgan pleaded, desperately clinging to the front of my jacket to prevent me from leaving. “He’ll kill you!“
“But you would be safe,” I murmured and lowered my voice to a whisper. “Listen, when I’m gone, go back to the cabin. Make sure nobody follows you. I want you to take everything that might have some value, load it into the truck, and sell it. Use that money to build a new life for yourself. The registration for the truck is in the—”
“No!” Morgan pounded on my chest with her fist. “I don’t care about any of that stuff, I only care about you! Don’t leave me, Axel,” She sobbed. “Please. I’ll never forgive you!”
I grabbed Morgan’s wrists and pried her away from me. She said she’d never forgive me—but I could live without her forgiveness. On the other hand, to go on living while knowing that I could’ve saved her life, and I selfishly chose not to? That I couldn’t live with—at least not for long. The shame alone would drive me to shove the barrel of my rifle into my mouth and pull the trigger before winter was over.
This way, at least she’d be safe… and that was more important than anything else.
***
CHAPTER 19
MORGAN
Axel tore himself free from my grip and turned away.
“I’m so sorry!” I sobbed tearfully. “I never wanted this to happen.”
“It’s not your fault, princess.”
But it was my fault. Before I showed up, Axel was living a perfectly peaceful life. I ran away. I made the phone call that lured David, Maverick and god knows who else up the mountain—straight to Axel’s front door. I got him into this mess. If it wasn’t for me, none of this would’ve ever happened. They were going to hurt him now—or worse—and I just stood there with a blank look on my face, doing absolutely nothing to help him. My body felt paralyzed. Maybe my parents were right all along…
Maybe I really was selfish.
“Time to go,” Maverick told David. “You go in the back seat with him. Keep your eyes peeled. Oh, and take this…” He pulled a knife from its sheath and handed it to him. “I assume you know how to use it?”
“Uh… Yes, of course.” David fumbled awkwardly with the knife in his hands. He glanced back at me. “And what about her?”
“Leave her. She’s a nobody.”
“Leave her?!“ David asked in an exasperated voice. “But you said—”
“I said: get in the car,” Maverick hissed.
“No!” David argued. “No, that’s not what we agreed! You said you’d help me get her back as long as I helped you—and I have helped you. What about our plan?!”
Maverick spun around and glared at him. “Plans. Change,“ he growled. “Now get in the car, you useless moron! Unless you want me to put a bullet through that thick fucking forehead of yours.”
I shivered. Axel and I were looking on silently as the two men argued, and I just knew that he was thinking the exact same thing as me: Maverick meant every word. But David dug his heels into the ground and continued to argue, because he was too stubborn—or maybe just too stupid—to listen. He’s going to get himself killed, I thought fearfully. And even though I hated him, I didn’t think he deserved to die like this. No–one did.
“Dav—” I began, but Axel quickly wrapped his hand around my mouth to silence me.
Neither Maverick nor David reacted.
David shook his head
. “I’m not leaving without her,” He said. “And we both know you can’t do this alone. You need my help—whether you care to admit it or not.”
“Shut up!”
“You can’t—”
“I said shut up!“ Maverick roared. “Shut your damn mouth and listen, you imbecile! Don’t you fucking hear that?”
David turned his head, cheeks flushed, and listened. I did too. I heard wind howling in the valley, birds cawing in the trees, and… cars. And it wasn’t just one or two cars either, but an entire fleet of them! I turned to look at Maverick and saw that his face was dark. He clearly wasn’t expecting company—which meant they couldn’t be his people. But if they weren’t with him, then… Who were they with?
“Someone’s coming!” David said in a panicked voice. “We have to go!”
“You think backup is going to save you?” Maverick glared at Axel and spat on the ground. “Looks like I was wrong, soldier; you really have gone soft. I’ll have you tied up in a chair and make sure you watch as my men have their way with your precious woman, one by one… That should toughen you up a bit. David, it’s your lucky day. Grab her.“
An overwhelming wave of nausea washed over me. David grinned from ear to ear as he moved towards me—but Axel stepped forward and placed himself between us, locking eyes with him.
“Touch her and it’ll be the last thing you ever do,” he growled menacingly.
“I won’t have some barbarian mountain man taking what’s rightfully mine!” David spat back. “Nobody steals from me and gets away with it.”
Axel ignored him and looked at Maverick. “It’s me you want,” he said. “well, here I am! There doesn’t have to be any trouble. I’ll come willingly—but only as long as I know that she’ll be safe. You said you’d let her go.”
“I said I’d consider letting her go…” Maverick corrected him. “…and I’m done considering. She’s coming with us. Now get in the fucking car, all three of you! I don’t care if I have to drag your lifeless bodies into the back seat and strap you in myself, you’re all leaving this mountain one way or another.”
Axel shook his head slowly. “No.”
“No?” Maverick scoffed. “Fine. Then I guess we’re doing this the hard way…”
He raised his hand and aimed down the sights of his handgun, aiming directly at us. I saw the tip of his finger brush against the trigger, but before he had the chance to pull it, I felt Axel grab me and throw me down behind my car. I fell to the ground, shocked but uninjured, and Axel laid on top of me like a human shield. Maverick fired a shot into the air where we’d just been standing. The bullet would’ve hit me square in the chest, but instead it flew into the passenger window of my car and shattered it. Broken glass rained down on top of us.
Axel looked down at me, wide–eyed. “Are you hurt?”
“No,” I said hoarsely. The fall had knocked the wind out of me. “I’m fine. I think.“
“The cars!” David shouted with a panicked look on his face. “They’re almost here. We have to go, now!“
I listened. The cars we’d been hearing in the distance suddenly didn’t seem so distant at all. The shrill wail of sirens was in the air—so much louder than in the movies—and the entire valley below was lit up by flashing red and blue lights.
“You called the cops?” I cried and grabbed Axel by the collar and shook him. “But you’re a wanted criminal! We don’t know what they’ll do to you!”
Axel shook his head in disbelief. “It… it wasn’t me.”
“But…” I stared at him. If he didn’t call the cops, then… who did?
“Fuck!” Maverick screamed and ran to the rental car. “This is all your fault, you useless piece of shit! You wasted too much time!”
David ran after him and tried to get into the back seat, but the doors were locked. He pounded on the window and shouted for Maverick to unlock the doors and let him in, but Maverick didn’t even look up and meet his eyes. He started up the engine and took off with a loud screech. David ran after the car, screaming and waving his arms frantically at the realization that he was being left behind.
But even though Maverick was leaving, I didn’t feel the least big relieved. He’d never stop trying to get his revenge on Axel, which meant that as long as he was out there, Axel would never be free. If I left him get away, Axel would be forced back into hiding. He’d never get to live the normal, happy life that he deserved…
I had to do something.
I looked around frantically for a way out. My car was bust, but the door to Axel’s truck was wide open and I could see the keys in the ignition. I saw something else too: his hunting rifle, laying across the front passenger seat. I wiggled free and ran to the car while Axel screamed at the top of his lungs for me to stop and come back. He must’ve thought I’d gone insane—and maybe I had—but there was no time to explain. This was my only hope.
Our only hope.
I threw myself in through the open car door and reached for the rifle. My hands trembled as I gripped it as well as I could. My only experience with weapons came from movies—the type of movies my parents didn’t let my watch—but I knew enough to quickly figure out how to toggle the safety and check if the gun was loaded, which it was. I rested the stock on my shoulder, aimed down the sights at Maverick’s car, and took a deep breath…
BANG!
I pulled the trigger and watched the bullet fly into the woods, far from where I’d aimed. I reloaded with some difficulty and pulled the trigger again.
BANG!
This time, the bullet whistled through the air and flew into the back tire of Maverick’s car, causing an explosion that was nearly as loud as the gun firing. The car began to skid uncontrollably across the frozen asphalt, and I watched breathlessly to see where it would end up…
Suddenly, I was thrown to the ground. A man dressed in blue uniform was on top of me, violently prying the hunting rifle out of my hands.
“Put your hands behind your head and don’t move!” he screamed.
I calmly did exactly what he asked. In fact, I was eerily calm. I watched silently from the ground, feeling the officer’s knee dig into my back as Maverick lost control of his car and crashed into a bushy fir tree on the side of the road. He crawled out through the dented side door and tried to escape on foot into the dense forest, but the other officers were right behind him. they dragged him back to his car and threw him down against the hood, bending his arms behind his back while he screamed bloody murder.
“Are you out of your mind?!” the officer chastised me. “You just almost got yourself killed!”
“Well I got him, didn’t I?” I spat back defensively.
“You got lucky, that’s what you got,” he pulled me to my feet roughly. “Lucky that I chose to tackle you instead of reaching for the gun in my holster! I wouldn’t play the lottery for a while, if I were you. You damn mountain people…” He shook his head. “You’re not injured, are you?”
“I’m fine,” I said again, for what felt like the dozenth time that day. And I really did feel fine. After everything that Axel had done for me, I finally got to do something for him. I saved his life… just like he saved mine.
The officer looked down at me with his big, brown eyes, and his face seemed to soften somewhat. He opened his mouth to say something—but a sudden cry interrupted him and caused us all to turn our heads.
“You get your filthy hands off me!” David wailed. An officer had him pinned on the ground and was forcibly cuffing his hands behind his back. “You have no idea who you’re messing with!”
“I know exactly who I’m messing with,” the officer snarled back at him. “You’re the guy who tried to pimp out his own fucking wife for a quick buck. You sick motherfucker.” He spat on the ground. “Well, guess what? That hotel had security cameras, and they caught everything on tape. Hope the money was worth it, fucker. You’re going away for a long, long time.”
“W–what?!” David sputtered. “No, you don’t understand
! They were never supposed to take her. They tricked me! Don’t you understand? I’m the victim here. Me!“
The officer with the big brown eyes just shook his head. “Save it for court, buddy,” he said. Together, he and the other officer pulled David to his feet and hauled him off to the nearest police cruiser.
I stood in stunned silence. Someone had been looking out for me all this time—and it wasn’t God, but a simple security guard. I didn’t really believe in miracles anymore, but it sure felt like one that someone had not only been watching the cameras, but also noticed that I was in distress, and also decided to do something about it. If only everyone was more like Axel and that security guard, and less like Maverick and David… Then the world would be a much better place.
I felt a warm hand against my upper arm and turned my head. Axel was standing beside me, looking down at me with those beautiful, sky blue eyes of his.
“Axel!” I threw my arms around him. “Did you see how I shot that tire? Did you?!”
“Sure did, princess.” Axel grinned and pulled me close. “Heard it, too.”
I smiled softly while tears burned in my eyes. After being told I’d never get to see Axel again, being back in his arms felt so unreal. “…I did it for you.”
“For me?” Axel looked confused. He pulled back to look down into my eyes. “Why?”
“Because… he’d never stop chasing you otherwise,” I said. “And because you’ve done so much for me. I had to pay you back somehow.”
“Oh, Morgan…” Axel sighed softly and pulled me close, kissing the top of my head. “You didn’t have to do that for me.”
“Yes, I did,” I argued weakly. “Because I know you would’ve done the same thing for me…”
“Ahem.“ Someone cleared their throat right behind us.
I spun around and saw a man standing there. He was a couple years past retirement age, with streaks of gray in his dark hair, but still just as fit as the younger men around him. His uniform was dark blue, with the letters FBI written on the chest in bright yellow.