Chasing Carson

by Amanda Bennett

  “Why? What’s wrong? I said I feel fine.” I tried to move against his tight grasp, but he was too strong. “Ruger, what’s your deal? You’re really starting to freak me out.”

  His fingers ran down the side of my cheek, tucking a stray hair behind my ear. “You were shot, Carson. You have to lie still for a while. And the only reason you feel fine is because you have shit ton of morphine floatin’ through your veins.” And then he smiled. His smile could light up the darkest night sky, and those green eyes. Those emerald green eyes could comfort even the loneliest person. He made me feel safe, in a world filled with so much uncertainty.

  “I love you, Ruger.” I whispered against his hand as it fell to my mouth.

  “I love you too, Carson.” He closed his eyes tight and let out a silent sigh. “God, this all just feels like déjà vu.” His head fell lightly against my shoulder.

  “What do you mean?” I turned my head towards Ruger. My hand felt like it weighed a thousand pounds, but I still tried to lift it up to comfort him. “Tell me what you mean.”

  “This is almost exactly what happened when your sister was here.”

  “Lyndley got shot?” I was shocked at what he was saying.

  “Let me finish.” He smiled as I nodded. “I had to bring her in here and fix her up. She was actually shot through the exact same window. I swear it’s pointless to even fix that thing anymore. You and your sister are costin’ me a lot of money, you know that?” We both laughed and it felt good to have a small significant moment in all the chaos.

  “So, why are we still in here?”

  “Because they are still out there.” He pointed towards the door where his father was standing.

  “Who are they?”

  “We’re not sure yet. I’ve already put in a call to headquarters, and Ky is on his way, but we still have no idea who is out there?” Ruger glanced back at his father and I could tell that he was still questioning the authenticity of his father’s words.

  “Who’s out there, Rollins?” They were both shocked at my question. “Don’t sit there and pretend like you don’t know who it is that’s trying to kill you, or me, or Ruger. Everything was fine here until you showed up looking for your long lost son. Are you even his father?” Ruger suddenly stood up and looked in his father’s direction.

  “Are you?”

  “Do we really have to go through this again?”

  Ruger stood there contemplating the question. I knew deep down that the man standing across from Ruger was really his father. The both of them had small physical similarities, and the way they carried themselves, it was almost undeniable. But I guess I wanted Ruger to leave this room knowing it was true without a shadow of a doubt. I wanted him to have some closure before he pushed this man away for good.

  “I haven’t heard any gunshots in a while. I’m gonna head out and check.” Rollins reached for the door, but Ruger grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

  “I’ll go.”

  “Like hell you will. You’ve got Carson to worry about.”

  Ruger nodded in agreement, and pulled the door back for Rollins to exit. “If I hear shots, I’m comin’ out there.” Rollins agreed, and then he disappeared behind the door. Ruger slowly made his way over to me, his head bowed in defeat.

  “Hey, he’ll be fine. We’re all going to be fine.” I reached out for his hand when we heard gunfire echo around us.

  “I’ve gotta go.”

  “No, you don’t. Please Ruger, please stay with me.” I clutched onto his sleeve, grasping at something that I had a feeling was no longer mine. “Ruger, I need you.”

  “You’ll be fine. Just stay here. Nobody can get in here except for me. I promise I’ll be right back.” He pressed his lips against mine and a stray tear fell down my cheek as I reveled in what I felt was the last kiss I would ever share with him. “I love you.” All I could do was hold his forehead against mine and nod. And just like that, he was gone.

  I laid back against the metal table silently sobbing as the tears I had tried to hold back came streaming down my face. Regardless of how this whole situation turned out, I wasn’t sure if I could ever forgive Ruger for leaving me here all alone. His father was a trained FBI agent and fully capable of taking care of himself. I wasn’t sure what Ruger was trying to prove, but if it was that he would leave me in my time of need, then he was doing a bang up job.

  Twenty Seven

  Ruger

  I didn’t want to leave her alone, but somethin’ inside of me was pullin’ me out the door. I knew the choice she thought I was makin’, but in all actuality, I just wanted both of them to be safe. The little boy inside of me yearned to have his father back in his life, and would do anything to have him there, but the other part of me knew that Carson was my future.

  Gunshots sparked like wildfire as I made my way out onto the front porch where Rollins was ducked down behind the railin’. I slid over to him as I lifted my gun above my head and let off a few rounds. I tucked my back into the railin’, took in a deep cleansin’ breath and listened to where each bullet was comin’ from. I tapped Rollins on the shoulder to get his attention.

  “There’s one straight back at about your twelve o’clock, another at your three o’clock out by the barn, and another right…” Before I could even finish my sentence I stood and aimed directly below me, and shot. “Right there.” I finished as I swiftly ducked back down. “You take the one straight out and I’ll take the one by the barn.” We both nodded, and then took off shootin’.

  My guy was down in two shots and I was immediately runnin’ in the direction of where the body fell. I made quick work of checkin’ all of his pockets and his pulse, and then draggin’ the body into the barn. I looked up to see if Rollins was able to get his guy, just as he came walkin’ over draggin’ the man’s body behind him. I sat and listened for a few minutes for more gunshots, but there was a deafening silence in the air. I wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not, but I would take what I could get at the moment.

  “I’m gonna go get Carson. You good?”

  Before I could stand and leave, Rollins was pullin’ on my arm tuggin’ me back down to the ground. “She’ll be a whole hell of a lot safer where she’s at. There’s one right there.” He pointed in the general direction of the house, but I couldn’t see who he was talkin’ about.

  “Where?” I whispered.

  “He’s climbing the steps.”

  I looked up just as the man’s foot hit the top step and started to make his way inside. “I have to go. Take this and hold down the number two. When he answers, tell him he needs to get here like yesterday.”

  “Wait. Let me go with you.”

  I looked back at him in confusion. Did he want somethin’ to happen to Carson? “I have to go to her, now. Please just do what I asked.” Before he could answer me, I took off runnin’. I reached the front door and kicked it open, aimin’ my gun into the empty house. I looked right, into the living room and kitchen, but saw nothin’. Then I aimed my gun and looked left, and that’s when I noticed the crack in the hidden doorway. Without a second thought, I kicked open the door and aimed my gun at the back of the bastard’s head that was standin’ over Carson with his hands around her neck.

  “I’ll kill her if you so much as move a fuckin’ finger.” The man turned his head, and I let out an audible gasp as his face came into view. “Did you really think you’d get rid of me that easily?”

  “How?” Was the only word I could choke out.

  “Where should I begin?”

  “You could start with gettin’ your filthy hands off of her. She has nothin’ to do with any of this. This is between you and me, and nobody else.”

  “Ah, see but that’s not entirely true now is it.” He removed his hands from around Carson’s neck, but replaced them with the barrel of his gun. “Just keep in mind that I can kill her faster than you can kill me. So where was I? Oh yes. Now we just have to wait for your little buddy Wakely show up. Or did you forget about tha
t piece of the puzzle?”

  I stood back in shock. I couldn’t believe that Ray Nelson was standin’ in my house, alive. “How the hell did you make it? I shot you myself.”

  “That you did, and don’t think you won’t pay for that either. It pays to have friends in high places, or low I suppose, depends on how you view an EMT. The driver of the ambulance they took me away in, yeah, he was one of my guys. Once he revived me and stitched me up, he took me into hiding.” Ray looked at me, indignation evident in my expression.

  “You piece of shit.” I took a step in his direction as rage filled my veins, but he pushed the barrel of his gun into Carson’s neck. Her small shriek of fear causin’ me to stop where I stood.

  “What did I tell you? Say Ruger, while we’re here just waiting on your fellow partner, why don’t we talk about your family? See you know everything there is to know about mine, and well, I feel as though I should get to know you some before I kill you. Tell me about your family Ruger, any brothers or sisters?” Ray looked at me with a wicked smile.

  “You know I have a brother.” I spat.

  “Oh that’s right, you do have a brother. How is Trey doing by the way?”

  “Stop toyin’ with me Ray. I don’t play games. You want to know somethin’ or tell me somethin’, well then just be straight with me. I didn’t know my brother and apparently the rest of my family as well, so if you’re tryin’ to get some sort of reaction outta me, well you’re barkin’ up the wrong tree. You’d have to find someone who actually cares about and knows them.”

  “Then let’s switch tunes here. How about this little beauty right here?” Ray ran the barrel of his gun through Carson’s hair and I could see her flinch with every movement.

  It was killin’ me that I had put her in this position. I was supposed to protect her at all costs, but I let my absentee father convince me otherwise. That was the precise moment I realized that Rollins hadn’t even come in to check on us. I knew in the back of my mind that he shouldn’t be trusted. If he really were my father, he would’ve busted in here long before now and came to the rescue. Granted I didn’t need the rescuin’, but that wasn’t to say that I wouldn’t need help rescuin’ Carson.

  “So do you just have my entire family on speed dial?”

  I could tell my question caught Ray off guard. “I’m not quite sure what you mean. Care to elaborate for me?”

  Maybe he really didn’t know Rollins. My uncertainty made me come up with a new plan to keep Ray occupied until Wakely showed up. “When did my brother come to you?”

  “Ah, now he wants to know the story behind it all.” Ray had turned and was now talkin’ to Carson as though the two of them were havin’ some secret conversation. “It didn’t take much. I’ve always got my feelers out there looking for new recruits who feel abandoned and such. It wasn’t hard to get your brother involved. I believe your mother had just died, and poor little Trey was willing to do just about anything for his next fix. I just provided him with a safe place to do his drugs. I supplied him with what he needed and he helped me with whatever I needed.”

  “He was just a kid.” I lashed out at Ray.

  “That’s usually where it starts. He knew exactly what he was getting into, if that’s what you were worried about. Now you’re little girly over here, she got involved the minute she witnessed one of my guys taking out a guy at that party a while back. You remember that party, don’t you gorgeous.”

  “Don’t touch her.”

  “I think you’re mistaken as to who has the upper hand in this situation. Do you see all the loose ends I have to deal with? It’s so frustrating when you can’t find one competent individual to do the small tedious tasks you ask of them. My mother always told me, if I wanted something done right then I needed to do it my god damned self. Is it too much to ask for someone to do their fucking job?”

  “What do you want Ray?” I started to pace back and forth as he followed my every move.

  “Well, let’s see. Once your buddy gets here, then me and my buddy” he pointed at the doorway behind me, “are going to finish the job that so many of my guys should have finished.”

  When I turned to look at who he was pointin’ at, my father’s face came into view. “I fuckin’ knew it.” I shook my head at how naïve I had been.

  “Probably should’ve trusted your instincts on this one, son.”

  I turned towards Rollins and got right in his face. “I’m not your fuckin’ son you piece of shit. I’m a fuckin’ man. You, you’re just some fuckin’ minion that he bosses around.” I was livid and I could feel my blood boilin’ beneath my skin the more I spoke. “You’ll regret this, I’ll make certain of it.” I would make sure these men paid for what they were doin’, each and every one of them.

  Twenty Eight

  Carson

  “I knew it.” The words escaped my mouth before I could even stop them. I glanced over at Ruger and watched as his face fell in disappointment. I knew he would never admit it, but I knew deep down a part of him was more than willing to accept this man as his father, no questions asked.

  “Why don’t you just stay quiet, princess.” The metal barrel of Ray’s gun pushed into the side of my neck and I tried not to move.

  “Just let her go. She won’t say anythin’. I’ll pay for what she saw.” No matter how much Ruger pleaded with him, I knew he wasn’t going to be letting me go anytime soon.

  “How chivalrous of you, but no. I’ve got big plans for her.” My eyes went wide as Ray spoke, and my imagination ran wild.

  “RUGER!” We all turned towards the direction of Ky’s voice as it came floating through the crack in the door. I wanted to scream and warn him, to do something that would save my sister’s fiancé, but it was too late. “What the-“

  “Welcome to the party Mr. Wakely. Please come in, don’t just stand in the doorway.”

  “How the fuck, are you still alive?” I watched as Ky looked over at Ruger for answers.

  “Oh we are so beyond that. Now that I have everybody’s attention, let’s get started shall we?” I closed my eyes as he drug the metal down my neck and onto my shoulder. “Now, this is how the game is going to work. I’ll ask a question, and if I don’t like the answer, I’ll shoot our little blonde beauty here. Sound good? Ok then.” I sucked in a ragged breath as he pushed the barrel into my shoulder.

  “Why don’t you just kill all of us and get it over with?” Ky asked in complete desperation.

  “That would just be too easy, now wouldn’t it?” Ray responded with a slight chuckle in his voice. “Now, where is your brother?” Ray looked directly at Ruger, impatiently waiting for his answer. “Make sure you think long and hard before answering. I wouldn’t want to have to shoot your little lady here for a lie that you told.”

  “He’s no longer in our custody.”

  “LIAR!” Ray shouted as he pushed the gun harder into my shoulder.

  I let out a strangled scream at the sheer pain that radiated through my arm. The warmth of my tears falling from the corner of my eyes calmed me down enough to take in a deep breath. I wanted to be strong for Ruger. I didn’t want him to see me be weak or buckle with fear. I wanted him to know that no matter what we went through, that I could be brave and make it out okay. I glanced over at him, trying to reassure him that I was fine.

  “I’m not lyin’. They sent him back to your guys. That’s the last we heard.” Ruger spoke in a calm and even tone, and I couldn’t figure out how he was able to do it.

  “I would’ve seen him if he had been back with the organization.” Panic laced Ray’s every word.

  “I honestly don’t know where he is.” Ruger stated matter of factly.

  “It’s true, Ray.” Ky chimed in.

  Ray pulled his gun from my shoulder, and began to frantically search through his pockets. “Keep an eye on them.” He shouted to Rollins as he squeezed past him and out the door.

  I crept my fingers down to the pocket of my pants trying to grab the crumbled piece
of paper that was Trey’s note to me. I watched Rollins intently as he had his gun aimed at Ruger and Ky. I tried to pull the paper from my pocket as quietly as I could, but I was having the hardest time getting it out. I started to panic knowing that there could possibly be something in the note that could help us out of this situation.

  “Why did you even try to get to know me?” Ruger’s question to his father caught me off guard and I stopped what I was doing so I could hear his answer.

  “You have to understand, Ruger.”

  “Understand what exactly? Was I supposed to understand that you were sent to kill not just one, but both of your children? Or was it that you were willin’ to put mine and Carson’s lives on the line to save your own ass? Please tell me what I’m supposed to fuckin’ understand?” Ruger was starting to lose his cool as Ky reached out and pulled him back away from Rollins. Despite the fact that Rollins had a gun, I was pretty sure that Ruger had enough adrenaline pumping through him that he could take him out, no problem.

  “I didn’t have a choice.” Rollins muttered, setting Ruger off again.

  “You had a fuckin’ choice, but you chose to be a fuckin’ coward. You chose to save your own worthless life over your kids’ lives.”

  “Ruger, it’s not what it seems.”

  Ruger quickly turned and pushed Rollins up against the wall, his forearm pushing against Rollins’ neck, cutting off his airway. “I don’t give a fuck what it seems like anymore. I don’t give a fuck if you live or die. Do you hear me you pathetic piece of shit?”

  Ky pulled Ruger off of Rollins after Ruger had spoken his peace. Rollins held his throat, coughing as he tried to catch his breath. Ruger was bent over trying to do the same when Rollins started to move in Ruger’s direction. Ky instantly interjected and held Rollins back. Ruger stood, looking at his father with a murderous glare in his eyes. I lay there waiting with baited breath to see what Ruger would do, when he suddenly turned in my direction and started making his way over to me.