Chasing Carson

by Amanda Bennett

  And that right there, was the last straw. “You need to get off of my property, now. I’m done. I believe you know the way out.” I raised my gun again, just to get my point across.

  He started to retreat to his car, but then Carson came runnin’ out the front door and down the porch steps, headin’ towards her car. I would’ve stopped her, but she was too fast and I wasn’t exactly sure what she was doin’. My gun was still aimed in the man’s direction, but it looked as though he heard what I said, and was goin’ to leave. I cautiously began lowerin’ my weapon to my side. I was about to put my gun back in my waistband, when Ryan started makin’ his way over to Carson.

  I pulled my gun back out, but held it to my side as I followed him. Carson looked up from under those amazingly long lashes, mouth agape as she quickly realized what was about to happen. Or at least what she thought was goin’ to happen. Ryan reached out for Carson with his hand. I wasn’t sure what in the hell this guy was tryin’ to pull, but there was absolutely no way I was lettin’ her get involved in anythin’ that had the potential to become dangerous.

  “Sweetheart, get back in the house please.” I pleaded with her like I’ve never pleaded with anyone else before. I knew given the fight we had, that she was most likely about to make this harder me.

  “I will in just a minute. I’m looking for something.”

  My temper flared as she spoke in her condescending tone, and I immediately lost all control. “GET IN THE FUCKIN’ HOUSE, NOW!” My voice was so loud that it echoed for miles.

  Carson instantly dropped what she was doin’ and looked directly at me in what I could only assume, was fear. She closed her car door and tried to walk around Ryan, and she almost made it, but then his hand reached out quickly, pullin’ Carson into his chest, and then held a gun to her head. I hadn’t even seen the gun. Damn it, how did I not notice the fuckin’ gun? This was exactly the type of thing that happened when I was around Carson. She clouded my thoughts, enough so, that I always ended up makin’ mistakes. And unfortunately, this mistake could possibly end up costin’ her, her life.

  Twenty Two

  Carson

  Complete and utter shock took over me as I felt the cool metal of this man’s gun, pressed against my temple. As I tried to piece together exactly what was happening, all I could hear was Ruger and this man yelling at one another. I could feel the tears welling up as I stood there confined by this man’s arms. Ruger’s face was the only thing I could see. His gleaming green eyes were filled with concern for me, and hate for the man who had me. How did I always end up getting myself into such shitty situations?

  “Look here, son. I don’t know this little lady here, and I have no qualms with taking her out, so I can get the answers I need. Now why don’t we try this conversation again?”

  I could tell Ruger had no idea what to do. His gun was still aimed at this man’s face, but he refused to speak. I tried to work past my own fear, and concentrate on helping Ruger get me out of my current predicament. It was a good thing that my dad had forced Lyndley and I to take self-defense classes last year. The only thing that still had me worried to even make a move was the fact that he had a gun pointed directly at my head. One false move, and I could wind up dead.

  I watched as Ruger’s face twisted in anger. “You’re skatin’ on thin ice, asshole. So I suggest you watch how you talk to me, or I’ll be forced to take you out. I think you’re underestimating my skills. Just hand her over, and I’ll tell ya whatever ya wanna hear.” Ruger held his hand that wasn’t occupied with a gun out for me to take.

  I reluctantly started to move away from the guy that was holding me in place, when he eased up on his grip. But before I could get too far, he was pulling me back against him and pointing his gun back at my head. I wasn’t quite sure what I had done in this life or my past life to get me to where I was today. I always made sure to never get into too much trouble, but somehow or another, trouble always seemed to find me.

  “Let her the fuck go, right fuckin’ now.” Ruger shouted loud enough for anyone within a hundred miles of here to hear.

  “Ruger, it’s okay. I’m okay. Just tell him what he wants to know.” I gave him a half-hearted smile as I swallowed down the bile that began creeping up my throat. And just like that, my big fucking mouth just made this situation a whole lot more complicated.

  “Ah, so you are Ruger? I should’ve known.”

  I could see the look of disappointment in Ruger’s eyes. I mouthed an, I’m sorry to him, but he seemed to pay no mind to me. His eyes and gun were now one hundred percent fixated on the man standing next to me. He finally released me from his terrifying grasp, and I took the opportunity to run as fast as I could over to Ruger. I ran right to his side, tucking my small body underneath his waiting arm, but his hold on me felt distant and tense, and not just because of the man across from us.

  “Well, now you know who I am, care to tell me who the hell you are?” Ruger’s voice was strained and filled with anger.

  “Would you believe me if I said I was your father?”

  I looked up to see Ruger’s expression still void of emotion. “My father is dead.” He answered through gritted teeth.

  “Contrary to popular belief, I’m still very much alive.”

  “I’m gonna tell ya one last time, old man. Get off of my property.”

  “What do you want me to say to prove it to you? You want me to tell you about your brother Trey, or how about your grandparents that passed this place down to you?”

  I literally had to force myself to not lose my cool. As much as my mouth wanted to drop to the floor with everything this man was saying, I fought against it with everything in me. I glanced up at Ruger and was instantly shocked at the look on his face. This man had caught him off guard, so much so that he was speechless and lowering his weapon. Regardless of the fact that I knew practically next to nothing about Ruger and his parents, I still had the overwhelming need to look out for Ruger, especially now.

  I stepped forward before Ruger could pull me back to him. “Why now?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, why are you here now? Why after all this time?” Before I could delve any further into this man’s brain, Ruger came flying down the steps to stand right in front of the man who was claiming to be his father.

  “You know how I know you’re lyin’, because my father’s name isn’t Ryan Wesson.” Ruger’s finger was close enough to this man’s face to poke out an eye, but I wasn’t about to be the one that got in the middle of them.

  “You got me on that one. My name isn’t Ryan Wesson. My name is Rollins Worthington, and my father Jesse Worthington, along with my mother Cara, owned this land that you are now standing on. Now can we take this inside before anyone knows that I’m here?”

  Ruger and I both just simply nodded our heads, and turned to start making our way inside. I knew what I was feeling at the moment, but I could only imagine how Ruger was feeling. He just found out that the man he assumed was dead for most of his life was actually very much alive, and standing right in front of him. We were almost in the living room when I quickly turned around and faced Ruger’s dad.

  “I’m sorry, did you just say so nobody would know you’re here?” Ruger and his father both looked at me in confusion. “Why would it matter if someone knew you were here?” I led Ruger’s father into the living room while Ruger went to grab us something to drink.

  “The two of you ask a lot of questions. It was just a figure of speech.”

  “No it wasn’t. Now, Ruger may not want to delve in deep right this very second, but I’m not him. What all do you know about your son?” Ruger came up behind me, handing me a glass of what I thought was water, but upon taking a sip to wet my dry mouth, I realized it was actually vodka. It caught me off guard, but it was a welcoming taste.

  “I think I’d like to know as well.” Ruger chimed in as he sat on the arm of the chair next to me.

  “Jesus, what’s it going to take for y’a
ll to believe me? Why would I come all this way just to con ya?”

  “Honestly, I have no fuckin’ clue, and that’s exactly why I want to know.” Ruger’s anger was starting to hit an all-time high.

  I placed my hand on his forearm and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Calm down, love.” Ruger looked down at me and a small smile touched his lips.

  “Look, I don’t want anything from you. I just thought it was time I came to see my sons.”

  Ruger was quickly on his feet, pacing across the living room floor. “So you just figured after, oh let’s see…eight years later, you thought you’d just come find me and I’d welcome you with open fuckin’ arms?” Ruger flung his arms up in the air in sarcastic understanding. “Wait…did you just say sons?”

  “Yes. You and your brother Trey.”

  “Did everybody fuckin’ know about my god damn brother but me?” I reached out for Ruger, to try and stop him from boiling over, but he pulled his sleeve out of my grasp. “Not now, Carson. Not now.”

  As Ruger continued to pace around the room, I started to get agitated and fidgety. There was only so much one person could take in one day, and after finding out what was going on with my mom, I was pretty much at the end of my rope. Ruger was entirely too caught up with what he was dealing with to even notice me, and to be honest, I didn’t expect any different from him. As much as I wanted to be there for Ruger, for comfort and support, I was just barely hanging on, myself.

  I stood and grabbed Ruger’s shirt, bringing him to a halt in front of me. “Look Ruger, I’m willing to be here for you for whatever you need, but I’m exhausted. Are you going to be okay if I head upstairs and hit the sack?” I clutched his face in my hands so he couldn’t look away from me.

  “I’ll be fine.” I could hear the hesitation in his tone and it freaked me out just a bit.

  “Are you sure?” I whispered so only he could hear me.

  “I’m sure, love. I’ll come check on you in a bit. You need your rest.” He pressed his lips tenderly against my forehead. “I love you, Carson.”

  “I love you too.” And with that, I made my way upstairs and drifted into a restless sleep.

  Twenty Three

  Ruger

  I stood there watchin’ every move she made as she climbed the stairs. As much as I would’ve loved for her to stay around and be my support, I knew that none of this concerned her. This was somethin’ that I obviously needed to deal with on my own. That’s when it suddenly dawned on me that I might have hurt her feelings by tellin’ her that I’d be fine without her down here with me. Even though I wanted to run up to her and tell her to not take offense to it, I had more pressing matters to deal with right now.

  I turned all my attention back onto the stranger who was claimin’ to be my father, as I took a seat across from him. “So please enlighten me.”

  “My intentions weren’t to come here and cause you issues, Ruger. I honestly wanted to come meet you, to see the man that you’ve become.”

  “You must understand why this would affect me like this?”

  “Of course I do.”

  “I mean, I’ve spent the last eight years thinkin’ that my father was either dead, or wanted absolutely nothin’ to do with me. Do you know how that makes a child feel? Do you know what that did to me?” I was livid.

  “I’m sorry, Ruger. I never meant for you to feel like I had abandoned you. That was never my intent. Somehow I knew I never had to worry about you. You were always able to take care of yourself.”

  “Of course I was, but not because I chose to. It was because I was forced to. Don’t you get that?” He just stood there noddin’ his head in agreement. “I want to know every single detail of where you’ve been and what’s happened.” I didn’t pose it as a question.

  “Are you sure?”

  I glared at him as I took a seat on the chair across from him, again. “Yes.” I muttered.

  “Well, after your mom and I divorced and you came to live with me, your mom and I kept in contact. Not just because we had you, but because even though we had signed that stupid paper that solidified our divorce, we still loved each other. Regardless of how much we loved one another though, we just knew that we were toxic together and we didn’t want you to grow up around that.”

  “But y’all were great when we were all together. Y’all never fought when you were married.” I shook my head in disbelief as he continued.

  “We did have a great relationship together, up until the day she asked me to never tell you that you had a baby brother. She didn’t want Trey being raised the way you were. She wanted to raise him on her own, and I couldn’t fight her on it. As much as I wanted to, I just couldn’t. When you decided to enlist, it broke my heart. I didn’t know what I was going to do without you home with me, but I knew I wanted more for your life. I helped your mom raise Trey for as long as she would let me, but then I got a phone call that changed the dynamics of every single one of my relationships.”

  “Let me guess, some other chick found out she was knocked up?” I mocked him.

  “No Ruger. See, the whole reason I know what is going on with you is because I work for the FBI. I always have. There was a covert operation that they needed me to head up. I had no choice but to leave. I couldn’t write, call, email, none of that. I was forced to cut all contact with everyone I held near and dear to me. It tore your mom up. She found out she had cancer just about a month before that, and I couldn’t even be there for her. Unfortunately, that got put on Trey, and he wasn’t old enough to deal with any of that.”

  My mouth fell open in astonishment and disgust. “How could you leave an eleven year old boy to deal with his sick mother? Now I know why he said I took his youth.”

  “What was that?”

  “Nothin’.” Suddenly everything that Trey had said to me, made perfect sense.

  “Ruger if I had had another choice, I would’ve taken it. Unfortunately, I didn’t. It tore me apart when I found out that your mom died. I made my way back stateside to try and go to the funeral, but they found me and took me straight back to where I came from. I tried to tell them about Trey and how you were still overseas and couldn’t take care of him, but they didn’t care. I eventually lost track of him, but I was always able to find you. Well…that was until you changed your name. Then I never could, not until about three months ago.”

  I knew exactly when it was that he was able to find me again. It was the very same day that the Nelson brothers both came up dead. And that’s when his little sob story started to get a little convoluted. “Why now?” I implored.

  “Why not now? It’s finally safe for me to see my sons. I had to see the both of you.”

  “Well, you’ll be sad to hear that Trey is busy, I suppose that’s the best way to put it. Oh and I am actually hidin’ out at the moment. So thanks for possibly blowin’ that shit.” I rolled my eyes in irritation as I got up and poured myself another drink.

  He followed me in the kitchen to berate me with more questions. “Where is he? And what do you mean you’re hiding out? What the hell is going on, Ruger?”

  “Well as much as I’ve enjoyed our little heart to heart, I’m a bit busy, ya know…livin’ my life. So I would appreciate it if you got out of it. See the one thing you skipped over, is the part where at the end of your sad story, your son tells you he doesn’t want to see you. I’ve gone eight years without you, and I don’t need you. I have a family. I have people who have been by my side since day one and haven’t left. Those people are my family. You’re just some guy that impregnated my mom twenty-six years ago, and then jumped ship. I’ve got nothin’ else to say to you.” I pushed past him and made my way out onto the front porch. I was just about to turn around and give him another piece of my mind when I heard gunshots ring out through the dark night air.

  I quickly ducked down behind the railing of the porch and pulled my gun from my back. I glanced around the front corner, tryin’ to see anythin’ I could in the dark, but it was practically p
itch black out. “Rollins, go check on Carson. Now!” I shouted in his direction.

  I stuck my gun around the corner and let off two rounds as I slid towards the screen door. Once I was inside, I pulled it tightly shut, locked it, and then did the same with the next door. Whoever said a bulletproof screen door would never come in handy, clearly never had a job like mine. I ran up the stairs, checkin’ my clip to see how many bullets I had left. Just as I reached the doorway to Carson’s room, I spotted a gun hangin’ out the back of Rollins’ pants.

  “You got a full clip?” I asked.

  He turned and nodded. “Who is it?”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “I was hopin’ you’d be able to tell me that.”

  “I have no idea.”

  “Really? So you’re tellin’ me that in the last eight years or however long it’s been that you haven’t made any enemies that would follow you here?”

  “Yes, Ruger. That’s exactly what I’m telling you. All of my enemies are dead. Can you say the same for yours?”

  I sat there silent as I contemplated the truth to his statement. He was right. I was the dangerous one here, not him. I wrapped my arm around Carson’s waist and pulled her tightly into my chest. “You okay, sweetheart.” She was still a bit groggy, but she managed to nod her head. “Okay, I gotta get to my room to get my cell. Will you be okay here?”

  “I’ll protect her, Ruger.”

  As much as I wanted to believe him, somethin’ inside of me was tellin’ me not to, but for now, I didn’t have much of a choice. “Just keep her safe for two minutes. I’ll be right back. Okay?” I looked directly at Carson, but she was slowly startin’ to check out. I pressed my lips firmly against hers, and then pulled back to give her a reassurin’ smile. “Be right back.”

  I flung open the bedroom door and ran the ten feet down the hall to my bedroom. I could hear gunshots hittin’ the screen door, but nowhere else. It wouldn’t take long for whomever it was to figure out that there were plenty of other ways to get inside. I grabbed the burner phone that sat on my nightstand for occasions such as this, and hightailed it back to the room that Carson and Rollins were in. I closed the door tightly behind me, and flipped open the small phone in my hand. I held down the number two and the phone instantly began dialin’ Wakely.