At Peace (The 'Burg #2)(215)

“So maybe five, six miles from here,” he said to Benny.

“Long way for her to go if she’s barefoot,” Benny replied quietly and Cal was glad Vi’s f**king foot had time to heal so both of them could be torn to shreds running through a goddamned forest because f**king Daniel f**king Hart was right now literally stalking his goddamned woman.

“Gotta go,” Cal said into the phone as they headed toward the door.

“You’ll call?” Pete asked.

“I’ll call,” Cal answered and flipped the phone shut.

Then he jogged behind Benny but followed him to the driver’s side.

Benny turned to him. “I’m drivin’.”

“I’m runnin’,” Cal returned.

Benny’s brows shot up. “What?”

“I’m on foot. You drive to the shop. I’m takin’ the woods.”

Benny moved closer. “Cal, you haven’t had food, you –”

“Time’s wastin’, Ben.”

“You been shot twice,” Benny reminded him.

“Grazed.”

“Cal, God dammit –”

“They might catch them before they reach the shop. They could be anywhere in those woods and they’re scared, not covering their tracks and therefore leavin’ footprints,” Cal pointed out and finished. “I’m trackin’ through the woods.”

“Yeah, you get caught up in somethin’, we only have one phone.”

“Go to the shop. They’re not there, brief the people who work there, tell them to call the cops, tell the cops to call Pryor and you drive the road. I find them, that’s where I’ll lead them.”

“Cal, I haven’t been shot today, or shot at. Let me run.”

“Get in the truck, Benny.”

“Cal –”

Benny didn’t finish. Cal turned and ran into the woods.

* * * * *

He was gaining. He wasn’t hungover and he had shoes on and he’d had something to eat that day.

I should have let Frankie separate. I was slowing her down.

“Go!” I shouted, “go to the shop.”

“We’re not separating!” she shouted back, her hair flying behind her, running in front of me, she had my hand in hers and she was holding on tight.

“Frankie!”

The gunshot rang out, it was so close I could hear the hiss of the bullet through the air and we both reflexively dove for cover.

By the time we rolled to our backs and looked up, Daniel Hart was standing over us, pointing his gun at Frankie.

“Liability,” he muttered then fired.

* * * * *

Cal heard the shot, it wasn’t close but it wasn’t far away.

He stopped running and started sprinting.

Seconds later, he heard the second shot.

* * * * *

Benny had the windows open to the SUV, he heard the shot, it wasn’t close but it wasn’t far away.

He pulled the Explorer to the side of the road, shut off the ignition, tagged his gun and threw open the door.

His boots hit the ground and he heard the second shot.

He sprinted into the woods.

* * * * *

“Shoot me!” I shrieked.

He was pointing the gun at me but I was staring into his eyes.

“You took everything from me,” he stated calmly.

“I took everything from you? You took everything from me!” I screeched.

“I handed you the world gift by gift. You didn’t even bother to open the boxes.”

“You’re a lunatic. You think the world fits in a box?” I snapped.

He leaned forward and his face twisted in a way that I did not like.

“You would know if you bothered to open the f**king boxes!”

I leaned forward too, keeping his focus as I heard Frankie dragging herself away.

“I do know what it feels like to be handed the world, you ass**le!” I shouted, “Tim did it when he got me pregnant at seventeen and then gave me a beautiful life until you took his. Then Joe gave it to me again and he did it just by giving a shit that I’d walked across a goddamned yard in bare feet! And here I stand in front of you, and you think you gave me the world when you don’t even care that I’m running through a forest in bare feet!”

* * * * *

Cal stood ten feet to the side of Hart, raised his gun and took aim

He did this listening to Vi and smiling.

* * * * *

Frankie’s head came up, her eyes hit Benny and she quit dragging herself through the leaves.

Benny squatted low and put his finger to his lips.

Frankie squished her lips into her nose and mouthed, “Bare feet?”

Benny hoped to all hell that this meant the blood coming from her middle wasn’t oozing the life out of her.

Benny grinned at Frankie, shook his head, straightened, raised his gun and took aim.

* * * * *

Hart wasn’t listening to me firstly because he was focused on his own shit and secondly because he was a maniac.

“I built an empire and I put it at risk for you.”

“I didn’t ask for that, didn’t want it, still don’t want it,” I snapped back.

“And now it’s gone,” he whispered, “because of you.”