Pursuing Aries

by Linzi Baxter

  I was on my feet, heading for the door. SA Carson grabbed my shoulder to stop me. “You can’t go off alone. We aren’t sure what we are walking into.”

  I turned and glared at the FBI agent. “I’m not leaving Sasha there any longer. Who knows what my aunt will do, and we can’t call the station, because she might have it watched.”

  “Let’s drive by and then make a plan.”

  He didn’t have to tell me twice.

  I parked the car across the street and a few houses down. The house looked like it should have had a condemned sign on the door. But I saw movement in the window, so I knew someone was inside.

  I turned to SA Carson. “I’m going in alone. If you don’t hear anything in ten minutes, call in reinforcements.”

  “Don’t be an idiot,” Chris shot back. “We do this together. Nobody is going in the crack den by themselves. Hell, we should call for backup right now, but I understand your reason not to. It might trigger something in that house. If she’s even there. We’re going off a hunch.”

  “I don’t like this,” Carson argued. “We don’t know what we are heading into. This could be a drug dealer's house full of AK-47’s, and we go in the front door without knocking.”

  Right there was the reason I didn’t want them to come with me. Brown sheds were everywhere, and we could be walking into a trap. Not wanting to waste any more time, I opened the door to the SUV and climbed out. I went to the back and popped the trunk. In the end, we had extra guns. I added two more to my ankle and a second to my belt. Chris and SA Carson followed suit.

  “You know this is the stupidest idea and goes against everything we were trained for.”

  I looked over my shoulder and nodded toward the house. “I will do anything to take down Kathy and save Sasha.”

  “Include killing us,” he mumbled under his breath but followed behind.

  Instead of walking up to the main house, I cut behind a house a few doors down and worked my way back down the street through the back yards. Within seconds, I heard shots coming from the rear of the house, followed by a blood-curdling scream.

  I knew that scream anywhere. Sasha was in the house. I took off running up the wooden staircase. The back door’s knob didn’t budge. Instead of trying another entrance, I stepped back and charged the door. It crumbled under the force of my shoulder, and I stumbled into the kitchen.

  Kathy stood over a dead body on the ground, pointing a gun at Sasha. “You found me.” She pranced in a circle, swinging her weapon in each direction.

  I spotted SA Carson walking along the side of the house. He would be heading for the front to stop Kathy if she tried to run that way. Sasha looked up from the floor with blood over her jeans. Her blond hair had specs of red along with a cut down her face.

  “How are you, Sasha?”

  She looked up in her tear-filled eyes, “You came.”

  Kathy stomped her feet. “Don’t you care how I am?”

  I turned my attention to Kathy and sidestepped. I needed to get Sasha out of the house. “Of course I do, Aunt Kathy. I came so you could train me like my mother.”

  She moved her gun from Sasha to me. “Now… Now… I know that’s not true, or you would’ve brought your dad.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sasha rise from the floor. “I’m working on it, but I need the judge to sign off on the paperwork.”

  Kathy huffed. “That’s what Kevin tried to tell me. I wanted him to just sign the paperwork, but he said he couldn’t get into the system. What good is he if he can’t get me what I want?”

  Inching my way forward, I was almost to Kathy. “That’s far enough.” She still had the gun pointed at me. I rested my hand on my gun, ready to pull it any second.

  A loud crash came from the living room, and Kathy turned and glared at me. “I told you to come alone.” Instead of firing at me, she fired twice toward Sasha, but I was a second late when I took her to the ground and her head hit the corner of the wall.

  Two more shots fired, and Kathy dropped to the ground. SA Carson had taken her out. “I called for backup. She had the front door rigged. I’m so sorry.”

  I pressed my hand to the bullet wound on Sasha’s chest. A single tear coursed down my cheek and fell on my hand. The blood was coming out so fast. Chris handed me a rag to help stop the bleeding as I waited for the EMT.

  Her eyes fluttered open for a second before she closed them again. In the distance, I heard the faint sound of the sirens. I just hoped they weren’t too late.

  17

  Sasha

  I couldn’t help but groan as I opened my eyes. For the second time in a matter of days, I’d woken up not knowing where I was and in massive pain. My head hurt but not as much as my shoulder and thigh. The room was dark, the only light was from the beeping monitor in the room. Unlike Brandon’s crazy aunt's house, which smelled like dead bodies, my room smelled of antiseptic.

  Bits and pieces came back to my memory. SA Carson had killed Brandon’s aunt—but not before she got off one bullet that hit me in the chest. Brandon and his team had come for me. The last thing I remembered seeing were Kevin’s empty eyes as he lay on the floor next to me. I had begged her for hours not to kill Kevin and to wait for Brandon to try to get his dad out of jail. My pleas had fallen on deaf ears.

  A doctor walked in, turning on the light in the room. Brandon was asleep in the chair next to the bed, with a light-blue blanket covering him. He stretched his arms out before looking at the doctor.

  The doctor walked over to the side of the bed. “It seems our patient has woken up.”

  Brandon rushed to my side and grabbed my hand. “Hey, beautiful.”

  “Hey… your… self.” My throat was raspy with each word.

  He reached for the cup next to the bed and put the straw in my mouth.

  “Not too much,” the doctor stated. “Too much could upset your stomach.”

  He pressed a kiss to my cheek. “I’m so glad you're awake.”

  My eyes adjusted and I took in Brandon. He had a beard, not just scruff like he had the day I went missing. Under his eyes, he had deep black circles. I reached up and ran my hand along his jaw. I winced when it tugged on the bandage across my chest. “How long have I been out.”

  The doctor cleared his throat. “When you came in, you had lost a lot of blood. We had to restart your heart three times during the surgery. You also had swelling in your brain, so for a few days, we had to put you in an induced coma.”

  “How long?”

  Brandon ran his thumb along my jaw. “A little over a week.”

  “I missed the launch?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Yes, but Jared did just fine without you.”

  “When do I get out of here?” Being confined to a bed or room was never one of my favorite things. I didn’t care if I’d just woken up.

  The doctor shook his head and read a couple more things for my chart. “We would like to keep you at least two more days to make sure the swelling in your head is down.”

  He walked over and shined a penlight in each eye and had me follow along. “I’m still worried about your head injury. Once you pass all the tests, we will talk about your release.” The doctor walked toward the door, and before he left the room, he stopped and turned. “That man hasn’t left your side since they brought you in.” He winked and walked out.

  I turned towards Brandon, “I’m sorry.”

  Brandon pulled his chair up next to the bed and held my hand. “You have nothing to be sorry for. It was my crazy family.”

  “You lost one of your family members. There was nothing I could do to stop her, she was crazy and unhinged. Kathy had already killed Kevin; it was a matter of time before I was next.”

  I remembered as she walked up behind Kevin and pressed the gun to his head, demanding he find a way to get Fredrick released. When he said he couldn’t, she pulled the trigger, and the medium-built man dropped to the ground. She stepped over him and grabbed my hand like nothing had just happen
ed.

  “I’m glad she’s dead.”

  “I’ve never seen someone killed in real life.” I felt like I was no better than her. “I tried to find the sedative, but she dumped it on the floor, not giving me a chance to put her to sleep.” Tears gathered in my eyes. Kathy had been mentally ill and hadn’t known what she was doing. If she’d been on meds, it might’ve helped keep her sane and a lot of people alive.

  “It is never easy taking someone’s life.” Brandon wiped the tear from my cheek. “When you get out of here, we will make an appointment with your therapist.”

  I bit my lip then nodded. There was no point in denying that I would need counseling after what I’d been through. The blank look in Kevin’s eyes as I watched Kathy kill him was so vivid that I didn’t know if I would ever be able to make it go away.

  I squeezed Brandon’s hand, “I knew you would come for me. My main goal was to keep letting her talk and think like I was on her side until you came. I thought I was close to convincing her you would help her like your dad helped your mom… Your dad never killed anyone but your mother. Kathy told me that she was the one to kill your sister, and when your dad came home and saw her on the ground, he snapped and killed your mother.”

  “Did she say why?” Brandon squeezed my hand.

  I nodded. “She said she had a secret area in your parents’ house and that she was throwing her knives. Your sister came running in, and she thought it was an intruder and she threw the knife at your sister.”

  “Fuck…” Brandon ran his hand through his hair. “I found the place and thought it was my dad's. I was the one who turned him into the cops because I always thought he killed my mom and sister.”

  “Do you forgive your dad?”

  “No. He could’ve stopped my mom and aunt years ago. Instead, he helped her. It doesn’t matter that he didn’t kill any of the people he is accused of. He should’ve stopped them, and my sister might still be alive.”

  “Did you use my hint.”

  Brandon pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yes, but it wasn’t easy. I had no clue what you were talking about. Then we couldn’t go back to the station, because we figured she was watching everyone.”

  “She was.” She cleared her throat. “Did the cops find the bodes in the shed?”

  “Those were the people who bought the house from my grandmother. Kathy killed them when she got out and took over the house.”

  “Thank you for coming for me.”

  “I would do it all over again.” He leaned forward and placed a kiss on my lips. “Please don’t ever get kidnapped again. I don’t think I could handle going through that again.”

  “You don’t have any crazier relatives, do you?” I joked. It hurt to laugh. It was getting hard to keep my eyes open. They kept closing while we were talking.

  “Go to sleep. I will be here when you wake up.”

  I was sitting up in bed, waiting for the doctor to tell me I could go home. Three days had passed since I’d woken up, and they wouldn’t even let me work on my laptop. The doctor kept telling me I needed to rest. I wanted to throw the water cup at his head. I was going insane sitting in the hospital bed. The pain in my head had gone away a day ago, but he’d kept me one more night. It was supposed to be my day to go home.

  Brandon had run to my apartment to grab a few things so I could go home from the hospital in my own clothes. He’d told me Benji was at his house and Paolo was down from New York. I couldn’t picture the big brute taking Benji for walks each day.

  Paolo had come to the hospital the day before to see how I was doing and show me a few pics of my dog, saying he figured I wanted proof of life.

  There was a faint tap on the door. I still cringed at times. “Come in.”

  “How’s my favorite employee?” Jared asked as he brought in a big bouquet.

  “Thank you.” I shifted in bed and winced when it pulled on the bandage. “You coming down to see when I’m coming back to work?”

  “I’m not that big of an ass. You fucking got shot,” he sneered. “The Director of Program Engineering will be there when you get back.”

  I had wanted the job for years, and I was pretty much already doing it because Mr. Walker was horrible at it. “Are you serious or playing a mean joke on me?”

  “We should have promoted you years ago. Jacob is making sure the blood is out of the carpet for when you come back.”

  “I will be back soon.” I was so excited to start my new adventure.

  Brandon walked into the room with my suitcase and a bag of food from the diner I liked. He leaned over and kissed my lips before shaking Jared’s hand. “Did I hear you talking about going back to work?” he asked, sounding a little annoyed.

  “I got Mr. Walker’s old job,” I explained, leaving out the part where I’d said I would be back soon. If it were up to me, I would be back tomorrow.

  “Congratulations. Seems like killing your boss does work out for you.”

  Jared burst out laughing. I refused to play into Brandon’s joke.

  “Seems you picked someone that fits right in with your family,” Jared added.

  I rolled my eyes and pointed at Brandon. “You can’t say stuff like that in public. People pick up on it, and that’s how you are accused of something you didn’t do.”

  Brandon leaned over and placed a kiss to my lips. He pulled back and reached for my hand. “We won’t joke about it anymore, I promise.”

  “How Sasha killed her boss and now we are promoting her,” Jacob said as he and Lily walked into my hospital room. When I glared at him, he held up his hands. “I promise not to joke about it anymore, and I stopped by the office this morning. The new floor is in. I also ordered you new furniture. You would never know someone was killed by a jilted lover in your office. Jared wouldn’t let me pay for someone to put sage in the office, so you might still have a ghost in the office.”

  Lily punched Jacob in the side, and Tommy ran to the side of my bed and handed me a mini policeman. Lily and Jacob had stopped the first day I woke up, but today was the first day they’d brought Tommy.

  “This is my guard guy. I used to keep him on the shelf in my room before we moved out here. He helped keep bad guys away when I was younger. I don’t need protection anymore now because I have Jacob. So you can have him, and he can watch over you, so you don’t get shot again.”

  I reached out and held the little figurine. “Thank you, little man.”

  When I looked at my friend, she had tears in her eyes. Jacob had an arm wrapped around her waist. Lily’s ex, Tommy’s dad, was the scum of the earth. Since the first time I’d met her, she had grown so much, and I couldn’t wait to see her walk down the aisle.

  “Anything new at work?”

  “Nope, life’s been boring since you decided to take a vacation,” Jared mumbled.

  I flipped my boss off, and he smiled down at me.

  “Did the doctor say when you were getting out of here?” Lily asked.

  “Today.”

  “Maybe today,” Brandon added. He was on Team Doctor and not on my side. I knew he was looking out for me, but I wanted to go home and cuddle with my dog.

  Everyone stayed for another hour until my doctor arrived. Then I spent the next hour going over all the things I needed to do to take care of the gunshot. The list was starting to make my head spin, but I was determined to go home.

  After signing a few discharge papers, I was finally set free from the hospital.

  Brandon pulled his SUV around to the front of the building. He rushed to my side and opened the door and helped me climb into his vehicle. I leaned back into the leather seats and sighed. I was free. If the doctors had kept me one more day, I would’ve broken out. The nurses and doctors continually thanked me for helping take down the HIS killer. I politely nodded each time, but inside, I still cringed at the thought of someone losing their life. I would rather she went back to the ward. Brandon had scheduled a meeting with my therapist for the following week. I was still hav
ing a hard time sleeping at night without seeing Kevin’s blank eyes.

  Yesterday, a few of the detectives from Brandon’s work had come to see me, including SA Carson. They all joked about Brandon lighting the mood and not talking about the case. I knew Brandon had said something to them before they came down.

  “Benji is at my house. I packed a few days’ worth of things from yours.”

  I let out a sigh. The way we were heading, I knew we were going to Brandon’s house, but I was unsure for how long. I didn’t know when or if I would be ready to step back in my house. I would need to start looking for places, because I didn’t feel safe in my own home anymore.

  “I would really like to stay with you.”

  Brandon glanced over at me. “You know, Benji really likes my house.”

  He did. Her dog loved the big fenced-in the back yard. “Are you trying to steal my dog?”

  “No,” Brandon huffed. “But I thought you and Benji could move in.”

  “I don’t want you to feel like you owe me.”

  “Yes, it sucks my family did this to you, but I want you to move in with me, because every day, I want to wake up with you by my side. I know it’s fast. Life is also short, and we need to live in the moment. Seeing you lying on the ground had me scared I would never get to spend another moment with you.”

  “I know I’ve said it a million times, but I’m grateful you came for me.”

  “And I would do it again. You’re never getting rid of me, Sasha Patterson.” We pulled into the driveway of his house. Brandon turned. “I had this big dinner planned, but I can’t wait. I love you, Sasha, and I want to see where this goes.”

  “I love you too, Brandon Quinn. And yes, I will move in with you, but if I do something that annoys you, please let me know. I want this to work more than my next breath.” I couldn’t wait to start my next chapter with him.