“You see, little brother, she couldn’t bear the fact that you were capable of something like this. Even if she had left with you to run away, she would never look at you the same again. Your relationship was over, and she knew it,” Decklan said. “Her blood is on your hands, the same as my family.”
Parker finished the note, folded it back, and held it to his lips. “I’m sorry, Emma, and I love you more than you will ever know.”
Parker looked up at Decklan. “So what now? I guess you’re going to kill me.”
“I haven’t decided yet,” Decklan said. “But I still have some questions for you.”
“What more could you need to know? I already told you why I did it,” Parker said, growing tired of their conversation.
“Back when this all started, you remember that lead you told me about?” Decklan said.
“The guy at the warehouse? Yeah, I remember.”
“You lost a good cop that day. A young female officer. Did you kill her?”
“Of course not!” Parker replied aggressively.
“Forgive me if I don’t exactly believe you after what you’ve done,” Decklan replied. “Then what did happen?’
Parker hesitated for a moment before answering. “Vladimir hired a guy to take the fall for everything. He was supposed to confess to the murders, and I was supposed to make sure he was brought in alive. But the guy got cold feet and shot Officer Torres. He wasn’t supposed to even have a gun,” Parker said. “Even if we couldn’t get the arrest to stick, it would have been enough to throw off the scent of anything leading back to Vladimir and his guys.”
“Because of you, one of your own cops was murdered in cold blood. How many deaths need to be on your hands before you feel guilt and regret?” Decklan said.
“I know, Decklan. I almost came clean a dozen times over the past month,” Parker said.
“But you didn’t!” Decklan snapped. “Then you wouldn’t have your job and all that blood money!”
Parker had no response. Nothing he could say would ever justify his actions, so he chose silence.
“There is one thing that I can’t seem to figure out, though,” Decklan said. “By the time I got back from Moscow you were already gone. There’s no possible way you could have known I was coming back for you. I hadn’t even told you I was alive, so for all you knew I could’ve been lying dead somewhere in a Russian ditch.”
Parker reached for something in his pocket, which caused Decklan to reach for his gun off the ground. He didn’t trust his brother anymore.
“Relax, it’s just my phone,” Parker said as he pulled it out. He unlocked his screen, went to his voicemail, and hit play.
Hello Chief Jennings, it’s your good friend Vladimir Ivanov. I just wanted to let you know that your brother is here, and it won’t be long before he gets to me. He has killed many of my men, and what was left, I killed myself. I do not plan on begging for my life or even putting up a fight. I have been in the business long enough to know when one has been defeated. Consider this a friendly warning. By the time your brother leaves my house tonight, he will know everything. My guess is you will soon be joining me in death. Good luck, my brother.
Parker put his phone back in his pocket.
“Sounds like you two were pretty close,” Decklan said, gripping his pistol tighter. “He even called you brother.”
“We weren’t close!” Parker said.
“Doesn’t really matter now, does it?” Decklan said. “I know everything, and that piece of shit is dead.”
“I guess it doesn’t,” Parker said, standing to his feet. “So what’s your move, Deck?”
This prompted Decklan to stand as well, still holding his pistol. “I think if I had known what I know now at the start of all this, my answer would be simple. End your pathetic life. However, I think that’s too easy a punishment for you. I think you deserve to live with what you’ve done. You deserve to rot away in a prison cell, having to think about all the lives you were responsible for, including Emma,” Decklan said.
“I guess we better get going then,” Parker said. “No point in dragging this out any longer.”
Parker turned and started walking back toward camp. Decklan followed, keeping his gun out and remaining several feet behind. He didn’t expect Parker to give up this easily, so he wasn’t letting his guard down.
“You remember that one summer when you had a heatstroke and almost died?” Parker said, trying to make small talk before he wouldn’t have the chance again.
Decklan wasn’t in the small talk mood but figured it wouldn’t hurt, considering he was leading his brother back to a life in federal prison.
“I do,” Decklan said. “It was one of the worst days of my life.”
“I’ll never forget Mom picking you up and putting you in that rusty old wheelbarrow, running you over to the water and carrying you in to help cool you off.”
Decklan smiled, as if it were one of those memories he almost forgot. “Oh man, my body was so hot, I couldn’t even feel the ice-cold water against my skin. And they had me half naked.”
They both laughed. It was the first time in God knew how long that they weren’t at each other's throats. They felt like kid brothers again, who at one time in their life were best friends. But that seemed like a different life altogether.
“And you were up all night pissing like a crazy person because they had forced about three gallons of water into your system to make up for all the fluids you lost,” Parker said with a smile.
“Trust me, I remember,” Decklan said lightly, now starting to lower his gun.
The conversation was making Decklan feel more at ease and comfortable. He didn’t feel like he needed to hold a gun to his brother’s back the whole way back. It was clear that Parker had conceded and had no intentions of doing anything stupid. Decklan figured this was due to all the guilt and shame he felt, plus losing the love of his life. Just like Decklan, he had nothing to go home to so what was the point in trying to run?
“You know, Mom was really torn up that you stopped coming to camp for all those years. She felt like you were missing out and she hated not having both of us here with her,” Parker said.
Decklan had never heard this directly from their mom, but that was probably because she didn't want to make him feel bad. Plus, he didn’t have much choice once his wrestling started to get competitive. He was always gone for tournaments and camps with their dad. Most summers it was just Decklan and their dad and Parker and their mom. They would never admit it, but they knew Mom and Dad had their favorites.
“What was I supposed to do, Parker? I was busy with wrestling,” Decklan replied in an irritated tone.
“I know, Deck. I was just saying,” Parker replied. “But camp wasn’t the only thing you stopped caring about.”
Decklan quickly jumped in front of Parker and stopped him from walking. “What the hell does that mean?” he said.
“It was around the same time that we started to drift apart. You were getting older and more into your wrestling, and never had time for your little brother. And then once Mom and Dad died, it all went to shit,” Parker said, looking genuinely hurt. “It was never going to be the same and I was the only one who cared.”
Decklan stood his ground but wasn’t angry. Instead, he felt guilty. He felt like he had abandoned his little brother. Could everything that Parker had been through in his life that had led him to his choices be because of Decklan?
No way. Everyone is responsible for their choices, Decklan thought to himself.
“I’m sorry, Parker. I honestly didn’t know you cared that much. I figured it was just a normal thing brothers did as they got older. You know, go their separate ways,” Decklan said, trying to justify his own actions.
Parker rolled his eyes. “Okay Deck, whatever you say.”
They were both irritated, which was interesting considering what brought them here in the first place. It was almost as if Par
ker was trying to guilt-trip his older brother into feeling sorry for him. Perhaps if he felt sorry enough, he would let his brother go and not turn him in. After all, Decklan was the only person still alive who knew of his involvement. Well, Decklan and the big guy.
“Let’s keep moving,” Decklan said, pulling his brother's arm forward, indicating it was time to start walking again.
This time, Decklan didn’t walk behind Parker. Instead, he walked side by side with his brother. They made it back to the mountain stream that they had both passed through the first time.
“Not this shit again,” Parker said, not wanting to go back into the freezing cold water. “There has to be another way around.”
“There’s not,” Decklan said directly. “And even if there was, we are running out of daylight. We need to get back before it gets dark.”
“Fine. You first,” Parker replied.
“No way! I don’t trust you to follow suit,” Decklan said. Which was smart considering Parker’s time as a free man was limited and running out by the second. “You’re going to go first, and then you will wait for me on the other side. If I think for one second you’re up to something, I won’t hesitate to shoot you.”
“Jesus, Deck! Relax. I’ll go,” Parker replied.
Out of nowhere they both heard a loud grunt.
“Holy shit! What the hell was that?” Parker said, as they both looked around.
“Sounded like a…” but before Decklan could finish, they both laid eyes on a four-hundred-pound black bear.
They both froze, knowing good and well they had no chance at outrunning a black bear. They could both make for the water and swim to the other side, but there was no guarantee he wouldn’t follow. Decklan could tell it was a male bear by its sheer size. He slowly moved his hand down to his pistol, grabbing the handle slowly, trying not to make any sudden movements. Black bears were typically non-aggressive toward humans unless they were hungry or protecting their cubs. They didn’t see any bear cubs walking around but this big guy looked like he had all intentions of making a move. The bear inched his way closer, letting out another warning grunt as his giant body rocked back and forth with every step.
“What the hell are we going to do, Deck?” Parker asked. “Shoot him before we become his dinner.”
“Not yet. Just stay calm and don’t move until I tell you,” Decklan said.
This was the first bear encounter for him, but he had his fair share of wild animal encounters when he was overseas. He knew the best course of action was to remain calm and not make any sudden movements that could come off as threatening. Most animals won’t attack humans unless they feel threatened.
“Screw that!” Parker said, as he turned and jumped in the water.
“Parker! What the hell are you doing? You’re going to get us both killed.”
But it was too late. Parker was already halfway across the stream with no intentions of turning back. Decklan remained calm and didn’t dare turn his back to the irritated bear. He held up one hand, indicating he wasn’t a threat, and inched his way back toward the water. He turned his head enough to see Parker on the other side and realized shit just got a whole lot more complicated.
Parker had taken off running back into the woods as soon as his feet hit dry land. It appeared he wasn’t ready to turn himself in and wasn’t going down without a fight.
Son of a bitch! You little snake!
Decklan turned back toward the bear, and slowly pulled out his pistol with his other hand. He didn’t see a need to kill the bear, so instead he fired two warning shots into the air. He figured by doing this it would serve two purposes: scare the bear away so he could go after his brother, and let his brother know he was done playing games. The massive male quickly backed down and turned away in defeat. Decklan wasted no time getting back across the water and making his way back to camp. He knew his brother would either get back to his car and take off somewhere else or hole up in one of the cabins and they would have to fight to the death.
It didn’t take Decklan long to get back near the entrance into the woods. As soon as he could see the path that would lead him back down into camp, he felt a bullet whiz right past his head and strike a tree to his right.
Holy shit!
He quickly hit the ground and found cover behind some trees. It appeared that Parker had picked up Decklan’s rifle when he crossed the river.
“I’m not going back!” Parker yelled, hidden somewhere in the woods. “I can’t spend the rest of my life in a prison cell like a damn criminal!”
“That’s exactly where you belong after what you’ve done!” Decklan yelled back, as another bullet struck the same tree.
“You’re going to have to kill me then! Because I’m not leaving this place with you!” Parker said.
Decklan only had his pistol with him since Parker had his rifle and the rest of his weapons were back at his truck. He slid the clip out to take a look.
Nine, plus one in the chamber.
It wasn’t much, but he didn’t need much with his marksmanship. The only problem was he had no idea where Parker was, and it seemed that Parker knew exactly where he was. He was going to have to be careful or he could easily catch one of Parker’s bullets.
“Parker, we both know how this is going to end. Just put gun down and show yourself. Enough people have died because of your actions. I’m tired of death ruling my life,” Decklan said, hoping to convince his brother to give up before it was too late.
“Fuck you, big brother! I’m sick and tired of your holier than thou bullshit that you’ve been spinning since we were kids,” Parker yelled back, in growing frustration.
Decklan could hear the uneasiness in Parker’s voice. It was a tone he had grown accustomed to in war. It was an indication that someone was no longer thinking rationally, and that meant there was no reasoning with them. He knew he needed to get Parker distracted for a few seconds. Decklan didn’t need much time to make a move.
“You’re right, Parker. I have always acted like I was better than you and I have let you down too many times in our lives. I’m sorry, I truly am. You deserved better than that and I should have been there for you more, especially when Mom and Dad died. It was my job as your big brother to take care of you, and I failed,” Decklan said.
Parker didn’t say anything back.
“Parker, I need you to say something.”
Still nothing, so Decklan went to gain some ground but before he could make it two steps, another shot barely missed its mark.
“Shit!” Decklan said as he jumped back behind cover.
“I know what you’re trying to do, and I’m not buying it!” Parker yelled.
Decklan knew it was a long shot that this would work on the first try, but he had to keep trying or he would have no way of getting out of this.
“I’m not trying to do anything, Parker. I promise. I should have told you this a long time ago. I abandoned you when you needed me the most. I let you down, and for that I’ll never forgive myself,” Decklan said, trying to deescalate the situation. “I almost called you a hundred times over the years to tell you how sorry I was. You deserved better than that.”
“I just don’t understand why you left. After Mom and Dad died, we only had each other, and you just left,” Parker said.
This was a good sign for Decklan. Even if he couldn’t get Parker to calm down, he might be able to distract him long enough for him to get closer and possibly figure out where he was.
“To be honest, I’m not really sure myself. I just woke up one day and realized I wasn’t happy and needed to get away, so I did,” Decklan said. “I never even thought how it might affect you until it was too late.”
“You know, I never told you this, but I tried killing myself after you left,” Parker said.
Decklan could hear the emotion in Parker’s voice. The longer this conversation went on, the more unhinged he was getting.
“What! Why?”
Decklan said, completely shocked.
“I had lost everyone I ever loved in the span of three months. I was all alone with no purpose. I spent most days drinking and smoking weed. My life had no meaning and I had nothing to look forward to,” Parker explained. “What else was there?”
“There’s always a reason to keep going, Parker,” Decklan said, acting as if the same thought never crossed his mind since losing his family. “There’s always something.”
“Well, that’s not how I saw it,” Parker said.
“So what happened?” Decklan asked, as he was able to slowly start moving closer to where the shots had been coming from.
The fact that he wasn’t dodging bullets meant Parker wasn’t paying attention. The plan was working.
“I found a bunch of pills in Mom and Dad's bathroom. I had no idea what they were, but I figured if I took enough of them that would get the job done. The next thing I know, Emma was shaking me with such force that I came back for a few seconds before passing back out. She called an ambulance and they rushed me to the emergency room. They said if she had been just a couple of minutes later, I would have died.”
Decklan was still moving closer without resistance but needed to keep the conversation going.
“I didn’t know you all had started dating yet,” Decklan said, trying not to say too much so he didn’t alert Parker that he was getting closer.
“Yeah man, she saved my life that day and every day after. She was my angel and my saving grace. Now she’s dead because of me.”
Parker, finally realizing he wasn’t paying attention, turned back around in Decklan’s direction.
“Shit!” Decklan heard Parker say as he started firing more shots into the woods. The only problem was Decklan was no longer in the same position.
Decklan was now close enough and at the right angle to get a visual of his brother. Parker was looking around in panic, not knowing what to do. Even after everything he had done and been responsible for, Decklan couldn’t help but feel pity for his little brother. He knew he wasn’t without blame for how Parker turned out, but it didn’t take away the fact that he made the choices that he did.
BLOOD TIES (Decklan Jennings Thriller Book 1) Page 19
