“You don’t have to do this, baby. This wasn’t part of the deal,” Luke said, his voice caressing me.
“It’s mine and Dallas’s deal, Luke. It’s the price that she has to pay to spend her days without me. Everything comes with a price. You know that.” Luke ignored Charlie’s words and kept his eyes trained on me.
“I will figure something out, babe,” Luke started. Charlie cut him off before he could say anymore.
“There is no negotiating this.”
“She is not a killer, Charlie. Don’t turn her into something she isn’t. She is innocent in all of this, and you know it. I’ll do it. Just leave her out of it,” Luke pleaded. I looked at Frankie, his head hung down in front of him. Could I really take the life of this man? I thought of what he had done to me. I thought of the nightmares he had caused and the way his sickeningly sweet breath poured over my neck as he spoke to me, while I hung in a barn. I thought of how it felt when he put his hands on me, and how even now, it made me feel dirty. Then I thought of what he had done to Maddie. How he had betrayed her by running when he knew that if he did, she would be taken from him. She would be taken from Logan, leaving him to grow up without a mother or father. Frankie raised his head, his eyes pleading with me. I saw him mouth the word ‘please,’ but it was too late. I had made my decision.
Chapter 20
Luke
I sat on the love seat, assessing the situation before me. I wondered how much I would have to pay, if I managed to get away from the men that held me down and grabbed the gun from Dallas’s hand. Maybe I could kill Frankie before they had a chance to fire on me. This was Charlie’s way of owning Dallas. He knew, that for the rest of her life, she would think about this day. I thought about the men that I had killed. They were sons, brothers, fathers- and every day I saw their faces. They all deserved to die, but it didn’t make it any easier. This ‘ultimate sacrifice’ shit sounded like something out of a fucking sci-fi movie. I watched Dallas pull the hammer back on the gun. I had to do something. I couldn’t let her live with this. Frankie raised his head, I saw him mouth the word please to her, and watched as his eyes filled with tears. I looked back to Dallas, ready to make my move when her lips moved. The words she said came out loud and clear, and they sounded cold and distant.
“Too late,” She said, her mind obviously in a different place. Before I fully processed what happened, the gun went off and Frankie’s lifeless body slumped over onto the floor. I stared at his wide eyes that seemed to look straight at me. He had a round hole that was centered perfectly in the middle of his forehead. Brain matter covered the wall behind him. His mouth was slightly open and a trickle of blood ran out of it and onto the floor. I looked at Dallas, and she still had the gun pointed at the place where Frankie sat only seconds before. Her eyes were trained on the wall behind him and her small body started to shake slightly. I went to stand, prepared to fight the men beside me if they tried to hold me back. They didn’t stop me as I got up and went to Dallas, taking the gun from her hand and quickly wiping the fingerprints from it with my shirt. I tossed the gun onto the couch and turned Dallas towards me, pulling her into my arms. It took her a second to snap out of it and realize that it was me holding her. Her arms went around my back as she sobbed into my chest. Fuck, I missed this girl. I rubbed her hair, whispering that she was safe and I was here. I kissed her head over and over again, loving the feel of her hair on my lips. Just the smell of her brought me back to life. I could have stood there holding her all day, but I knew that we needed to get out of there, now.
I tucked Dallas into my side and turned to Charlie. There were so many things I wanted to say to him, but we were even. I didn’t owe him anything and neither did Dallas. This was the perfect time to keep my mouth shut. Charlie approached us, smiling like a proud papa. Sick fuck.
“May I?” he asked, gesturing towards Dallas. No fucking way was I letting her go. I just looked at him and he held his hands up in front of him in a show of surrender. I didn’t want him to get on that disrespectful kick, so I spoke to Dallas, hoping she could manage to tolerate him just a few more minutes.
“Babe, we are leaving, but Charlie has something he wants to say.” Dallas turned her face to look at him, her head still buried in my side.
“Yes, Charlie,” she whispered. I was surprised that she managed to speak.
“My card is in the bags along with your things that I bought you. They are in the back seat of Luke’s truck. If ever you need me, I am just a phone call away. I give my word,” he looked at me letting me know that the next words he spoke were just as good as chiseled in stone, “that the next favor you ask of me, comes with no strings attached. It’s on the house.” Charlie using metaphors? What the fuck?