Page 89 of Endeavor

“You’re really an idiot, aren’t you? Just another pretty face like your mother. Newsflash, moron, I threw a rock on the gas pedal and jumped out. You, however, were supposed to follow me over the edge of that cliff. So, I guess we have a change of plans. I was gonna kill Emma here and make it look like you did and then jumped the cliff in a moment of regret, but now I think a murder-suicide by firearm looks like the option.”

I step back from him. “Jason, you aren’t making sense,” I say slowly as my mind catches up with my reality.

“God, it’s amazing I’m as smart as I am. Dad didn’t bother checking all the screws in his engine. You didn’t bother checking your surroundings. Emma, here, thought I was just a nice guy. Surprise, you’re all fucking wrong. I’ve spent my whole life planning this. Everything I’ve done is to get back at you and your fucking family for ruining mine. Now, I just have to deal with Blythe. I think a nice suicide off the penthouse balcony will work, don’t you?”

I lunge forward, and he aims the gun at my head. I freeze mid-step, placing my foot down. He motions with his gun.

“Now go stand by your pretty little girlfriend.”

I walk slowly to Emma. She’s shaking and tears continue to slide down her cheeks. I want to take her in my arms and tell her it’ll all be alright, but I’m not sure it will.

“Good. Very good. At least you can follow directions,” Jason snarls. “Now…how to arrange you…” He trails off and leans down, grabbing a knife from his pocket. Emma visibly shudders as he cuts the zip ties holding her hands and feet. He rips the tape off her mouth. “There, that’s better. Have to make this look good, don’t we? I’m going to be so upset when I find you this way, after escaping from the stalker. You two just couldn’t handle the pressure anymore. You went crazy, Grady! I tried to stop you before you put that final bullet in your head.”

He aims his gun at me first. And then two things happen that I’m not expecting. First, Emma jumps up and stabs Jason in the side with his knife. It must have fallen out of his pocket as he got up a minute ago. And, cop cars pull up to my car on the trail with sirens blaring.

“Put the gun down,” Dean’s voice says from a loudspeaker. But Jason is already lowering the gun as he clutches his side, his eyes wide in shock. He touches the knife in his side. He starts to say something, but a shot rings out and Jason’s eyes widen. I watch as a circle of red forms on his chest. His eyes glass over and he falls to the ground, the gun falling a few feet away from him.

I don’t move and neither does Emma for a long second.

“Oh God!” she finally whispers as she falls to her knees beside Jason. “Oh, God! Oh God!” she repeats, her hand over her mouth.

I snap out of my shock and scramble to her, pulling her into me. Her body begins shaking as she sobs uncontrollably.

“Are you both OK?” Dean asks. I look up, not even realizing how he got here beside us.

“Y-yes,” I stammer, keeping my arms tightly wrapped around Emma. Someone hands us blankets. I wrap Emma in one and throw one over my shoulders as I carry her to the police cars on the trail. The next few moments are a blur as the adrenaline leaves our bodies. An ambulance pulls up, and we are ushered inside. A medic checks us over. Emma doesn’t speak, she just trembles. Eventually, her sobs turn to small whimpers.

“She’s in shock. We’re going to bring you all in to make sure everything is alright,” the paramedic says.

I nod.

“No,” Emma whispers.

The guy stops and stares at her.

She shakes her head. “No. I-I’m fine. I don’t need to go to the hospital.”

“Miss, you’re in shock. It’s best if we take you—”

“I said I’m fine,” she repeats in a much stronger and clear voice. “I-I’m sorry,” she says, turning to me. “This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have gone with him.”

I pull her onto my lap and hold her there, stroking her hair. “None of this is your fault, Emma. None of it,” I say, pulling back and looking her in the eyes. “Do you hear me? None of us knew…” I trail off and look back out into the woods where a white sheet now lies over my half brother.

“I’m sorry,” she says again, searching my eyes. I lean down and kiss her lips softly.

“You are alive and so am I. That’s all that matters right now,” I tell her.

“There’s something you need to know,” she says in a low voice. “He…killed your dad. It wasn’t an accident.”

I try to process what she’s saying, as Jason’s last words about my father and screws come back to me. No, it couldn’t be. My mind begins to scan all my memories of that terrible day at the racetrack, but as I’m about to ask her what Jason said, Dean walks over.

“We need to debrief you both if you are up for it. It’s better if we get the story now,” he explains.

We both nod.

“I’ll speak with you all now, but Grady needs to hear what Jason told me,” Emma explains.

“OK. I’m taking you to the local sheriff’s office,” Dean says to us. We follow him to a car, and he drives us in silence. Twenty minutes later, we’re sitting in a small office with cups of coffee.

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