Page 27 of Shine: Sins of the Father
Bam, bam, bam. Bam, bam, bam.
He grabs his arm, and blood gushes between his fingers, but he makes it behind the wheel, and peels out, firing out the passenger window at me. I drop to the ground and avoid them.
Then I hear a shot ring out near the cabin.
Fuck. Carl. I run as fast as I can, weaving between trees, my heart in my throat. I’ll never forgive myself if something happened to my little sweetness.
Coming out of the woods, I fly around the corner of the cabin, my gun leveled and sucking air into my lungs like bellows.
Skidding to a stop, I see her standing in the open doorway, her gun aimed at a body on the ground.
Carl lies facedown, his head in an expanding pool of blood just outside the threshold.
Her gaze lifts, and our eyes lock.
“You okay, sweetness?” My chest heaves, and my blood pounds through my veins.
“I shot him.” The words are quiet, almost like she’s talking to herself.
“I see that.”
“He tried to get in.” She shakes, and in two steps I get to her just before her legs buckle. She collapses against me, and I take the gun from her hand, locking my arms around her.
“I’ve got you, baby.”
“I did what you said,” she murmurs against my chest.
“You did, sweetness. You did exactly what I told you. I’m proud of you.”
“But he’s dead. I killed a man, Shine.”
“You defended yourself. That asshole’s death is not on you. He was a piece of human garbage, just like his brother.” At my words, she pushes away and meets my eyes, her body tensing.
“His brother. Where is he?”
“He’s gone. Took off like a fucking coward.”
“Will he come back?”
I hate the fear in her eyes, but she’s trying to hold it together.
“I don’t know. Maybe. He might return for his brother.”
Her gaze drops to Carl. “What are we going to do about him?”
“I’m going to bury him in the woods and clean this mess. Then we’re going to get the hell out of here.”
She nods. “Maybe there’s a shovel in the shed behind the cabin.”
My gaze swings to it. “Probably. Why don’t you go inside and wait? I’ll take care of this.”
“No,” she says firmly. “It’ll be faster if I help you.”
“You sure?” I hold her eyes, and she nods. “Okay, then. See if you can find some cleaner and bleach. We need to scrub the blood splatter off the doorframe and the cement.”
She turns, and her eyes widen as she seems to notice it for the first time. “Oh, my God.”
“I don’t see any on you, so you must have been standing far enough away.”
