Runaround

by Jay Crownover

  I didn’t recognize the number, and I had a moment of absolute terror shake me to my core. I hesitated a second before answering, as I worked to convince myself it wasn’t the hospital in Texas calling with bad news about my brother. On the ride to the airport, Cy had been politely silent while I called the hospital and asked for updates on Wyatt’s condition. He was in surgery. That’s all anyone would divulge over the phone. The person I spoke to also asked who was Wyatt’s next of kin and who was responsible for his medical power of attorney. Neither of those questions boosted my confidence that Wyatt would be fine by the time I showed up in San Antonio.

  Cautiously, I swiped to answer the call, my bag feeling like it was full of bricks at my side. I squinted in the direction Cyrus had driven away, wondering if he was the one Ten was going to turn to for comfort. A flare of jealousy, bright and hot, burned in the center of my chest as I reminded myself Cy was in love with Leo, and Ten, even though I’d ruined it, was in love with me.

  “Hello.” My voice sounded broken, more rasp than words.

  “Webb? Is that you?” The voice on the other end of the line was familiar with its slow, Creole drawl, but I was so out of sorts I couldn’t immediately place it.

  “This is Webb, who’s this?” I hated that the distraction of the call was a welcome one. I was having a hell of a time walking through the doors. My throat closed up when I thought about getting on the plane and putting an insurmountable distance between Ten and my heart.

  “Boy, don’t tell me you forgot about your Aunt Clara already?” There was the click of a tongue and a heavy sigh. “I’d ask who raised you, but we both know the person who was supposed to didn’t do it right.” I thought I heard her breath catch and maybe a sniffle, as if she was trying to hold back tears. Clara was a tough old broad, so the entire conversation sent an uneasy shiver shooting across my skin.

  A surprise bark of laughter shot out of me, and I closed my eyes briefly. “No, I didn’t forget. I’m not thinking too clearly at the moment. Wyatt was injured on assignment. He’s in surgery right now, and no one will tell me what his odds of pulling through are. He’s in Texas, I’m still in Wyoming, and my twin is the one who put him in the hospital.”

  There was a soft gasp on the other end of the phone, and I could imagine my aunt putting her hand to her chest in an overly dramatic way. “Oh, Webb.” She sniffed loudly and let out a heavy sigh. “I would never call and add another burden onto what you’re already carrying if I’d known what was going on with your brother.” She cleared her throat. “You give me the name of the hospital he’s in. I’ll meet you there.”

  I rubbed my wrist across my forehead and felt some of the tightness coiled in the center of my chest loosen. If anything happened to Wyatt, at least I wouldn't be alone. I knew my brother wouldn’t appreciate the intrusion after all this time, but I would welcome his complaints if it meant he was awake and well enough to argue.

  I rattled off the info she needed to locate Wyatt, grateful I’d reconnected with someone who cared about him as much as I did. I heard a pen scratching over paper and listened as she muttered about foolish boys with dangerous jobs under her breath. When she was done, she said my name in a very somber tone.

  “Webb, this isn’t a call I ever wanted to make, but deep down, I think I knew it was always going to end this way.” I listened as she pulled in a shuddering breath and slowly let it out. “I got a call from the sheriff a little bit ago.”

  My hand tightened around my phone reflexively. No news coming from the local law was going to be good news. They didn’t drive out into the swamp unless something serious came down the pipe.

  “Boy, your mama,” another deep sigh hit my ears, “She’s no longer with us. The NOPD found her body in an alley in the Quarter last night. I’m so sorry, and I’m so angry at her. She couldn’t do right by her boys, even at the end.”

  My bag fell at my feet with a thump. The doors to the entrance of the airport wavered unsteadily in front of me. I heard my heart thunder erratically between my ears, and I could feel my lungs seize up as I forgot how to breathe momentarily.

  “Jolene’s dead?” It was weird to say the words out loud when I’d been thinking of her demise only hours earlier.

  “I don’t know if she was trying to make it home and ran into trouble or not, but yes, baby, your mom has passed.” Clara sounded surprised by the emotion pouring into her tone. Even though we all knew Jolene was never going to go in an easy way, it was still a shock to hear all her bad choices had finally caught up to her.

  I was shocked by how weak in the knees I went, and how empty the center of my chest felt.

  “She didn't run into trouble. It came after her.” Like it always did. I was conflicted on so many levels as to how I should feel about it all. My voice cracked when I asked, “She was murdered?”

  Clara made a strangled sound low in her throat. “She was. The police made it seem like she was doing something she shouldn’t have and got caught up in a crime gone wrong. Your mama’s reputation precedes her, I’m afraid.” She gave a tiny huff. “You don’t worry about a thing, boy. Your Aunt Ana is going to handle funeral arrangements, and we’ll send her off in a way far better than she deserves.” She sniffed dramatically. “We’ll lay her to rest next to our parents; you boys can say goodbye in your own time, when you’re ready. Right now, let’s focus on getting Wyatt home and well.” It was clear she’d already drawn lines in her mind. Jolene wasn’t hers to worry about any longer, but Wyatt still had a fighting chance. So, she was going to throw everything she had into being there for the boy who’d slipped through her fingers, and she was going to show up for the man who swore he didn’t need anyone from his past except me.

  I dragged my wrist across my forehead again. It was now covered in cold sweat, and I could see my hand shaking when I lowered it. My vision was still wavering, and my heart felt like it was trying to kick its way out of my chest. I was lucky I managed to stay upright considering the weight of everything going wrong in my life at once. Somehow, I knew in my heart that my twin killed our mother. He’d tried to kill Wyatt. He’d moved beyond making my life difficult to trying to destroy me. Now, he was apparently intent on leaving me all alone in this world. I squeezed my eyes shut, picturing Ten standing alone in that hotel room, her words of warning ringing loudly in my ears. It didn’t take a genius to piece together she’d been dead-on in her assessment of the increasingly dangerous situation. My twin wasn’t drawing me away to get me alone so he could harm me. He was pulling me away, so Ten was left alone. He planned on completely ripping my heart out of my chest and grinding it to dust in his hands.

  “Aunt Clara.” I bent and picked up my bag, frantically searching for signs pointing me in the direction of where I could find a rental car. I didn’t have time to explain why I needed Cyrus to turn around and come back and get me. “You promise you’re going to be by Wyatt’s side no matter what happens?”

  “I’m headed out the door as soon as I get off the phone with you.” She sounded resolute, and I would’ve kissed her if she’d been standing in front of me.

  “Okay. I need you to keep me updated every hour on what’s going on with him. There’s something I have to take care of in Sheridan before I can get down to Texas. It’s important.” She was the most important thing in the entire world to me, and if I lost her because of my own indecision, I would be just as wrecked as if I lost Wyatt. My brother had to fight his way back. There was little I could do for him, and he wasn’t going to be alone as long as Clara went and stood vigil in my place. I still had time to show up for Ten. There was still a chance I could keep the promises I made to her.

  Clara demanded answers I wasn’t able to give. I hung up on her in the middle of a rant about me still being a rash, thoughtless boy and how she was going to teach me the manners my mother never thought were necessary. I could tell she was worried, but I needed her to save the concern and belated mothering for Wyatt. All of my focus was on getting back to Sheridan
as quickly as possible.

  I tried to call Ten, and admitted to myself I was slightly heartbroken when she didn’t answer. I called Cyrus, intent on asking him to go check on her, to make sure she wasn’t alone in case my twin brother decided to make a move. There wasn’t an answer there either, so I called Rodie. Finally, I got through to someone, but the gruff sheriff informed me he was out on a domestic violence call over an hour away from the city. I pleaded with him to send one of his deputies to the hotel to check on Ten, and my panic must have gotten through, because he promised to send a unit by the hotel. I was desperate enough to suggest he put a call into Ten’s ex. The guy was garbage, but there was no question he wanted to put my twin behind bars. If it meant getting him involved to keep Ten safe, I would do whatever was necessary.

  Unfortunately, Rodie stated there was another robbery in a small town on the Wyoming-Colorado border. It was too close for comfort in the fed’s eyes, too similar to the crimes which brought them into our world in the first place, so the entire team had hit the road shortly after Ten and I walked out of his office this morning. It was frustrating enough that I swore up a storm under my breath as I squared away a rental and once again called Cyrus. I was itching to call the ranch and have one of the other Warners on the property drive into town and check on Ten, but the drive time between where I was and where they were was almost the same, and I was ultimately closer if Lane was out riding the property with a tour. I left Cyrus a frustrated voicemail, explaining I was on my way back, then proceeded to make the nearly two-hour drive in under an hour and a half.

  I was just pulling into the parking lot of the hotel when my phone rang once again. I answered it as I ran across the asphalt.

  “What?” There was no time for pleasantries.

  “How did you get back to Sheridan so fast?” Rodie barked the question in my ear as I closed the distance between me and my woman.

  “I drove like there was no speed limit. I don’t have time to talk right now, Rodie. I need to get to Ten.” I was breathing hard, and it wasn’t from running.

  “What do you mean you need to ‘get to Ten’?” Rodie’s voice went hard. “My deputy told me you just answered the door to her hotel room and assured him Ten was fine.”

  We both went silent and then started swearing at the same time. “That wasn’t you who answered the door, was it?”

  “Fuck no!” Fear had ice crystals forming in my blood as I dashed through the hallway like a madman.

  “Don’t do anything stupid, Webb. I’m sending a couple of guys back to the hotel. Wait for them.” Rodie’s voice held a hard order, but we both knew it was one I was going to ignore.

  I shoved my phone in one pocket and searched for the room key in another, all while running faster than I’d ever run before.

  When I pushed open the door, I wasn’t sure what or whom I expected to come face to face with. But staring at my exact double was so disconcerting I almost fell to my knees. It was almost as if my reflection had walked out of a mirror and was standing directly in front of me. He was even dressed the same. Matching flannel shirt and worn jeans. Identical boots and even the same leather belt. It was so much it made my head spin, but I kept it together when I caught sight of Ten sprawled oh so still and pale on the floor between us. Her blonde hair was streaked with blood, and there was an ugly purple and blue bruise decorating the side of her face closest to me.

  I met the blue eyes that were an exact match to mine and asked, “What happens now?”

  A laugh which sounded so eerily like my own filled the space between us. “Now you get to know what it feels like to be left all alone.”

  It was then I noticed the gun in his hand. A gun he pointed directly at the unmoving woman on the floor.

  Ten

  I was groggy. I felt like my head was stuffed with cotton candy. One whole side of my face was throbbing. My jaw ached something fierce, and the headache I’d struggled with earlier was a full-blown situation now, pounding behind my closed eyes and shooting bolts of fiery pain across my skull. A moan of agony was trapped in my throat, and I squeezed my eyes shut to hold the tears at bay. My thoughts weren’t exactly crystal clear, but I knew I could only be in this much pain if something had gone horribly wrong. I vaguely recalled a feeling of soaring elation, quickly followed by the crash of all-consuming fear. Even out of it, my subconscious was doing its best to keep me still and relatively safe. If I wasn’t moving, I wasn’t a threat, even if I couldn’t kick my brain into gear and recall the danger was I was so scared of.

  “You think I don’t know what it’s like to be alone?” A familiar voice barked the question indignantly. “You’ve sorely overestimated Jolene’s ability to parent. Wyatt and I grew up completely alone. All we had was each other.”

  A laugh barked out, which made my ears ring and had me fighting to hold back a flinch. I tried to peel an eyelid open to gain my bearings, but even that tiny motion made my head spin and nausea rise up hard and fast in the back of my throat. I stifled a groan and slowly tried to even out my breathing. Someone in this room needed my help, and I refused to be a helpless heap on the floor.

  “Now, you don’t even have that.” There was a smug superiority in the voice I didn’t immediately recognize. Both were a deep, rough rumble, shaking with thinly veiled anger and resentment, but one had a different flavor to it, a trace of something soft and deeply southern that tugged at my tired, aching mind.

  Someone released a gusty sigh and I heard the sound of rustling fabric. “Why go after Wyatt? Jolene, even Bernard, I understand. Even being pissed off at me for whatever reason makes some sense, but what did Wyatt ever do to you? We didn’t even know you existed up until a couple of weeks ago.” The south in that voice became even more pronounced as the man speaking with it got more and more agitated. It felt familiar and important. “If it’s just about the money, you can have it. I don’t want anything that comes with ties to Bernard. He can burn in hell for all I care. I don’t want anything Jolene schemed and manipulated to get. I made it this far without taking anything from her.”

  There was another laugh, and I tried to peel an eye open once again. Everything was hazy, shadows against darkness. All I could make out were two big, indistinct shapes standing a few feet away from me. One was close enough I could touch with the toe of my boot, the other was lurking blurrily off to one side. They were the same size, both bigger and broader than I was comfortable with in my current condition.

  “Who cares about money? I have money.” The figure closest to me shifted a bit, and I quickly closed my eyes and went back to playing unconscious. “The money makes for a good excuse, a convenient explanation. I didn’t really care if dear old Dad paid up or not, I just wanted to see what happened when I rattled his tree. Look what fell out: a twin brother who didn’t get tossed out like he was garbage and an older brother who’s a goddamn hero.”

  There was more rustling, and the soft voice grew hard and cold. “We didn’t get tossed out; we got dragged around like luggage.”

  “But you didn’t end up in the home of a pervert, did you? And you had big bro there in the middle of the night to keep you safe when the monsters came out to play. You didn’t have to fight them all on your own, did you, Webb?” There was so much cold rage in the second voice, I had to use every ounce of willpower I had not to shiver violently where I was sprawled out on the floor. “You didn’t have to steal so you wouldn’t starve. You didn’t have to risk everything so you could escape a house of horrors.”

  Both of the dark shadows moved, drifting closer to one another until it was impossible to tell them apart through slitted eyes. I sank my teeth into my lower lip to hold back any sound that would escape and slowly tried to move my head. Immediately fireworks colored by bright bursts of agony exploded behind my eyelids, and my efforts to remain noiseless must’ve failed because suddenly there was a scuffle, lots and lots of swearing, and my legs were jostled as the large, blurry mass of men moved in my direction.

  �
��I called the sheriff before I barged in here. You aren’t walking away from this. If you hurt her . . .” The voice that made my heartbeat double in speed went low and deadly.

  The voice that was ice cold and made me shiver replied, “I already hurt her. Now, I’m going to kill her, and you’re going to stand there and watch, knowing there was nothing you could do to stop me. Your brother is as good as dead. Your mother is dead. Your father is next on the list. Your lover is going to die. And I’m going to rot behind bars. You’ll have no one and nothing . . . just like I did my entire life.” Insanity. I was hearing pure, unfiltered insanity coming from one of the men in the room.

  Oh, right. There was a man with a gun. One I opened the door for. One who looked just like Webb but didn’t act anything like him. The void in the blackness of my memory was starting to fill. I remembered running to the man I believed to be Webb, only to realize my mistake a second later. He pushed me back into the hotel room and pistol whipped me with the very ugly, very dangerous gun he had in his hand. No wonder my face felt like it had been run over by the high school marching band. He’d clocked me with enough force there was a good chance my cheekbone was broken, and I would guess the eye on that side of my face was swollen shut and useless, adding to the confusion as I tried to make out what was going on in the room around me.

  “Listen to me . . .” Webb’s voice was pleading and softly aching. “I didn’t end up in a home with someone who did me wrong, but both Wyatt and I spent several years living on the streets. I didn’t steal so I could survive, but I sold the only thing of value I had . . . my body. You can’t tell me you don’t know for a fact there are all kinds of heartless, ruthless people out there looking for a desperate kid to manipulate and abuse. If you don’t think I suffered, that I struggled, you’re wrong. Staying with Jolene was no better than being tossed aside by Bernard. But at the end of the day, we survived. We made it, regardless of what they did to us, of who they handed us off to. Doesn’t that mean we won?” Webb’s voice cracked on the last words, and I could picture him in my foggy mind, doing his best to keep his expression neutral as he pleaded for my life.