by S. E. Smith
Lily looked down at the ring for several minutes her mind in a confused haze. Could she do this? Could she marry them knowing it could end any day? She trembled at the thought of losing them. Then she remembered Helen’s words about there being no guarantees in life. If they were willing to take a chance could she do anything less than meet them half way. Looking up into Caleb’s eyes she let her love shine though.
“Yes.” She said softly before looking at Ethan and Allen who sat holding their breaths. “Yes, I’ll marry you. All of you.”
Ethan let out a loud whoop that startled all of them and had them laughing. Christmas had brought many wonderful presents. The most important one was them finding each other.
Chapter 16
Lily seemed to float through the next few days after Christmas. Helen had come over with some of her grandkids. She hugged Lily tightly when Lily had shown her the ring. After a furious snowball fight outside and hot chocolate to warm them up they had headed out. Helen promised she would be back after the first of the year and all her kids were gone. Lily had laughed at the exaggerated huff Helen had given. She knew Helen was going to miss having all the noise and activity.
Lily’s smile quickly turned to a frown when she saw Ethan and Caleb talking furiously with one of the ranch hands. They seemed really upset. She waited until they came up the front steps before the curiosity became too much.
“What’s wrong?” She asked anxiously.
“Several heads of cattle have been found dead with bullet wounds to the head. We need to go check it out.” Ethan said furious. “I need to call Matt to get his ass out here. Sorry, Lily.” Ethan said as he pulled a quarter out of his pocket and dropped it in the cursing jar which was close to overflowing with quarters, dimes, nickels and dollar bills. “Allen, can you call Matt and have him come out? We need to report this.”
Allen had come in from the kitchen where he had gone to get a cup of coffee. “Sure. Where were they found?”
“In the pasture just a few miles from here. I’m surprised we didn’t hear the shots with the way sound carries around here.” Ethan said grimly. He was pissed at the senseless death. If he found out some of the local kids from town did this he was going to bust their ass then make them work it off this summer.
Caleb came out with a couple of rifles and some additional ammo. He looked at Lily’s concerned face and walked over to her. “It will be okay, baby. It’s probably some kids who got a new gun for Christmas. This is just in case. Sometimes wolves come out if they smell fresh blood. We just need something to scare them off with.”
Lily looked at the huge rifles and nodded silently. She put her hand on his cheek, “You’ll be carefully?”
Smiling down at her he gave her a quick kiss, “Always.”
Lily looked at him, than at Ethan, “I love you two. Be careful for me.”
Allen came up behind Lily and pulled her against him. “They will be, love. This is just a formality.”
Lily nodded and watched as Ethan, Caleb and all the ranch hands in the yard except for Ed loaded up into their trucks and took off down the road. Allen kissed Lily gently on the top of her head, “Come back inside before you freeze.”
Lily shivered. She had a bad feeling. She was scared. For some reason, she didn’t think it was kids who had killed the live stock. Unwilling to share her fears with Allen in case he thought she was being silly she smiled up at him before turning to go through to the kitchen.
“I think I’ll put a roast in to cook for dinner tonight.” Lily said as she moved through the dining room toward the kitchen.
“That sounds great. I have some paperwork I need to get done in the office. If you need me just call.” Allen said.
“Allen.” Lily said as she looked at him.
“Yes, baby.”
“I love you.” Lily said softly.
“I love you more.” Allen said staring at Lily for a moment before turning and walking down the hallway to the office. He shivered as he passed the door to the den. There was a draft coming in from under the door. He frowned. He needed to make sure the seals around the doors were good. Opening the door to the den he frowned again when he saw the door was cracked open about an inch. Moving to close it he never felt the blow that hit him from behind. His last thought was he needed to protect Lily.
“I don’t get it?” One of the ranch hands said as he moved around one of the dead cows. “You see this? This isn’t your typical rifle. It was a high powered rifle used more for military purposes. No kid is going to get that for Christmas.”
Ethan frowned at the man talking, “How do you know?”
“I was in the army for twenty years, a sniper. If you look at the markings on the bullet you can tell a silencer was used. Whoever did this didn’t want you to find it right away.” The man held a bloody bullet in his hand where he had dug it out of the head of one of the cows.
“Shit. I don’t like this Ethan. Call Matt. Tell him to get to the house.” Caleb said already breaking into a run toward one of the trucks.
Ethan looked at the men with him. “You two take care of this. The rest of you get your asses back to the house. Use extreme caution.”
The men nodded and scrambled for their trucks. Ethan pulled out his cell phone and called Matt waiting impatiently until he picked up.
“Matt, did Allen call you?” Ethan asked breathlessly as he jumped into the passenger side seat as Caleb was pulling away.
“No. Why is something wrong?” Matt asked.
“We had several of our cows shot. One of the ranch hands thinks it was with a sniper rifle. Allen was supposed to have called you over thirty minutes ago. We’re heading back to the house now. Get there as soon as you can.” Ethan could already hear the siren from Matt’s truck in the background.
“On my way.” Matt said hanging up.
“Shit. Call the house.” Caleb said trembling. He had to get to Lily. He had to know she was safe.
Ethan nodded already dialing the phone. He let it ring until it went to the answering machine. “No answer. I’ll call the office in the barn and see if Ed is there.”
Ethan was just about to give up when he heard a weak voice say hello on the other end. “Ed. Ed, what the fuck is going on?”
“I don’t know, boss man. I was sitting in the office minding my own business when I heard the horses kicking up a fit. When I went out to check on them someone hit me over the head. Shit that hurt. I can’t get the door to open. They tied it closed from the outside.”
“Stay put. We’re on our way. So is Matt.” Ethan hung up. He took a deep breath trying to get his shaking under control. “Ed was attacked. He’s locked in the office in the barn and can’t get out.” Ethan told his brother quietly.
Caleb just nodded pressing down on the accelerator as far as he could without losing control. He couldn’t help Lily if he killed them before they got there.
Peter Canton was pissed. It had taken them a lot longer than he expected to find the dead cattle. He had shot them two days ago. He had been waiting for news to hit the house and had been hiding in the loft of the barn freezing his ass off. He had a hard time feeling his fucking fingers and toes. When he had finally heard the excitement and watched as the men had piled into their trucks and took off he was ecstatic. Now, there would just be the old man downstairs and the two in the house. He had already cased the house while they had been at the hospital after the bitch had thrown herself out of his car. He knew how he was going to break in and had even unlocked the door so he wouldn’t have any problems.
Once he had taken care of the old man he had made his way to the back of the house. He would go in through the den. It had a set of French doors leading out onto the back part of the porch. He figured it would be the least used room in the house. Opening the door he moved into the room silently. He could hear the girl and the man talking in the living room. He thought he had hit pay dirt when he discovered they would be splitting up. The kitchen was on the other side of the house. Peter
grinned when he heard them express their love for each other. This would work to his advantage. When emotions were involved people would do anything to save a loved one. He would take out the man. Once he had him incapacitated he could threaten him and the girl would tell him everything. Walking over to the door he had just entered he opened it just enough so the cold air would blow in. The office was across the hall. When the man came in to investigate why it was so cold he could take him out. Peter hid behind the door and waited.
Allen couldn’t help the grin spreading across his face. He felt whole again. They were going to make plans for their wedding tonight. He and his brothers decided they didn’t want to wait any longer than they had too. Lily might already be pregnant with their child. Even if she wasn’t they wanted to make sure she didn’t have any excuses. Heading towards the office he remembered he needed to put a call into Matt. He didn’t know where his mind was at anymore. He snorted at the lie. He knew perfectly well where his mind was – on Lily. He was just about to walk into the office when he felt the draft of cold air slice through the cracked door of the den. Frowning he wondered if the weather stripping needed to be replaced. If so, he could get Ed to pick some up at the hardware store tomorrow. Pushing open the door he frowned at the opened French door. He had taken no more than two steps into the room when everything went dark.
Peter grabbed the man named Allen’s arms and dragged him down the hall. Using a large plastic zip tie, he threaded Allen’s arms through the railing of the staircase and tied it tight. There was no way he was going to get loose. Now, he just needed to wait until Lily decided to join them. He sat down in the chair in the corner facing the staircase. When Lily entered she would see her lover but not him right away. Peter grinned. Soon he would live forever. He might even have a house or two like this one, only bigger.
Lily started dinner but her thoughts kept straying to Allen. She wanted, no needed, to be near him. She fought her feelings for almost thirty minutes before she gave up. Wiping her hands down the front of her apron, she took it off and hung it over the back of the chair. She missed the feel of Allen’s arms around her. Maybe she could just go in on the pretense of taking him some more coffee. Grinning at her quick thinking, she poured a cup of coffee and headed out through the dining room. She was standing in the doorway when she saw him lying against the stairs. Lily set the cup down on the table with a cry and rushed to where Allen laid so still. It wasn’t until she was almost to him that she saw his hands were tied to the railing. She stopped suddenly looking around fearfully.
“Now, don’t stop. Your lover boy there needs to feel your sweet arms about him.” A snide voice said from the corner of the living room.
Lily turned as Peter Canton stood up and took a couple of steps towards her. He motioned with his gun for her to go to Allen. Lily looked down at Allen who had begun to moan and hurried to his side.
Looking up, Lily looked into Peter’s eyes. “What do you want?”
Peter frowned angrily at Lily. “I already told you what I wanted. Did you really think I would let you get away so easily? What did I tell you would happen if you didn’t cooperate with me?”
Lily shivered, “Please don’t hurt him. I’ll tell you everything I know. I’ll go with you quietly. Just please, please don’t hurt him.” She looked pleadingly into Peter’s eyes. She would do anything to save Allen.
Peter grinned nastily. “You should have done that the first time. Now I have to teach you I mean what I say.” He raised his gun towards Allen aiming for his leg. Lily’s eyes grew large as she saw what he was about to do. Lily screamed as the gun went off.
Allen jerked at the sound of the gun exploding in the room, coming awake immediately. He roared when he couldn’t move his arms. Struggling against the railing, he realized he felt something warm and wet on his leg. Looking down, his eyes widened in horror as he saw Lily laying across his legs.
“Lily? Lily, talk to me, baby.” Allen pleaded unable to move because of his arms being tied. “Lily, baby. Talk to me.”
“Damn, bitch.” Peter Canton was furious. He hadn’t expected the bitch to throw herself in front of the bastard he had tied. He had planned on shooting the son of a bitch in the leg to show he meant business. Lily had recognized his intent and thrown herself in front of the damn bastard, taking the bullet instead. Peter walked over and yanked on Lily’s leg pulling her away from the furious bastard he had tied up.
“Let her go, you bastard. I’m going to kill your fucking ass.” Allen struggled against the strapping holding him, feeling the plastic cut deep into his wrists as he strained to get to Lily.
“Lily, talk to me, baby.” Allen pleaded.
A trail of blood flowed across the floor where the man had dragged her. Peter gripped Lily’s shoulder and turned her over. A dark stain covered her upper chest. Lily moaned as she was turned over. Turning her head, she looked into Allen’s eyes, “Allen.” She said weakly.
“It’s going to be alright, baby.” Allen said. He turned his glare on the man standing over Lily. “What the fuck do you want?”
Peter looked at the man on the floor, “Immortality. I want to live forever like she does. She’s going to tell me how she became immortal or she’s going to watch you die slowly right before her eyes.”
“No. You mustn’t hurt him.” Lily said weakly trying to pull herself up. She struggled until she was sitting upright. She had to brace herself on one arm as a wave of dizziness swelled over her. She tried to draw in a deep breath to still the swirling room but she was having trouble breathing.
Caleb, Ethan, and Matt had parked further down the road and come in on foot. They were almost to the barn when they heard the sound of a gunshot. Using the barn as cover, they surveyed the house. Moving silently into the barn, Matt nodded to Caleb to go release Ed from the office while Ethan headed for the loft to make sure it was clear. Once it was determined it was, Matt came up to the loft to scope the house out. Pulling his rifle with its high powered scope up onto his shoulder he scanned the front rooms. A slight movement through the front windows got his attention and he motioned for Ethan to take a look through his scope. Ethan’s breath caught in his throat when he saw his brother lying next to the staircase. Scanning the living room area he saw Lily sitting on the floor and let out an expletive when he saw a dark stain that looked suspiciously like blood on the front of her sweater. He couldn’t tell if the blood was hers or Allen’s. Just as he was about to scan for anyone else in the room Lily looked up, almost as if she knew he was there. Ethan’s heart caught in his throat when she turned her head to the right as if she was looking at someone else in the room.
“Look to the right of Lily. I think she knows we are here. Can you get a clear shot?” Ethan said quietly to Matt.
“No, the lamp is in the way. I can’t tell where he is.” Matt cursed under his breath. If the son of a bitch would move just an inch in either direction he might have a clear shot.
Lily looked down at her trembling hand. It was covered in blood. She knew it was bad. She also knew Ethan and Caleb were out there waiting to save them. Lily knew her time was up. There was no saving her but there was a chance to save Allen. Turning to look at Allen one last time, Lily’s eyes filled with tears.
Unable to speak for a moment, she let her love for him shine though her eyes before turning back to Peter. “Help me up and I’ll tell you how to become immortal.” Lily whispered faintly.
Allen stared at Lily in disbelief. He knew she had just told him goodbye but he couldn’t accept it. He wouldn’t let her go. “Lily, god dammit. No. Do you hear me? Fucking no!” He shouted struggling even more as silent tears flowed down his face. Dammit, he knew she was going to do something stupid. She had to listen to him.
Lily held out her hand for Peter to help her up. Waiting until he was half way bent so he would be off balance she threw her weight against him forcing him out into the open and in front of the window. Peter had held onto the gun and when Lily pushed him he realized she wa
s setting him up. He raised his gun and fired just as a bullet shattered the front window. He was dead before he ever hit the floor. Lily stood still for a moment, shock holding her in place before she turned on unsteady feet and stumbled toward Allen. She sank down next to him slowly, laying her head down onto his legs. Tears streamed down Allen’s face as he kept saying over and over, “Oh no, baby, don’t leave me. Don’t leave me, baby.”
Lily smiled faintly as she tried to focus on Allen’s face, “I’ll always be here. I’ll find my way back. I will. Don’t give up on me.” Coughing, Allen’s eyes closed as he saw the small stream of blood coming from the corner of Lily’s mouth. He watched helplessly as Lily struggled for another breath. “Love you. Love you all so much. I’ll come…” Lily’s voice faded as her eyes went blank.
