Page 28 of Shine: Sins of the Father
“I was braced against that wall.” She gestures through the open door, and my brow lifts.
“You shot him from across the room? That’s a damn good shot, babe.”
“I got lucky.”
“I think that was more than luck. Your father taught you well.”
She seems uncomfortable with my praise and turns away. “I’ll get the cleaning products.”
I follow her and grab a garbage bag, then return to Carl and tie it around his head. The last thing I want is to leave a trail of blood. Hefting his body over my shoulder, I carry him deep into the woods and find a fallen tree. There’s a slight dip in the land under the log.
Dropping him to the ground, I wedge him underneath, then return to the cabin for a shovel. As I walk, I catch the scent of smoke in the air. My immediate thoughts run to the wildfire. God, was it really just yesterday morning?
With everything going on, I haven’t kept up with the reports. The lake area seems even quieter than yesterday, and it could be that this area is under evacuation.
Twisting to scan the horizon, I see smoke rising in a tall plume on the other side of the mountain to the south.
Shit.
I dig as fast as I can. By the time I’ve got him buried, the threshold of the cabin is scrubbed clean with no sign of what happened.
When I dash inside, Desiree is at the sink, pulling off yellow rubber gloves.
“You did a good job,” I say. “Give me those.”
I wrap the gloves in a garbage bag to take with us, not wanting to leave any trace. I collect the spent shell casing from the floor and any I can find around the outside of the cabin, then return to her.
She’s noticed my frantic movements. “What is it?”
“We need to hurry, that’s all.”
“I found this.” She points to a gun on the dining table. “It must had fallen under the shrub when he dropped.”
I add it to the garbage bag and glance around. “Did we miss anything?”
She wipes the sink with a towel and surveys the room. “I don’t think so.”
“Good. Let’s get out of here.” I purposely don’t mention the fire, not wanting to add to her worry. Somehow, I’ll get us out of here.
“He’s taken care of? No one will find him?” she asks, her eyes latching onto mine, tension around her mouth.
“Yeah, doll. You can’t even tell he’s there.” It’s a big secret we now share, and it isn’t lost on either one of us. I hold my hand out to her. “Come on.”
Locking up the cabin, I scan the place one final time, then shove the garbage bag in my saddlebag. I take a minute to check my phone to see if there’s a route out of here if I take the opposite direction from the one Donnie Ray took. I wouldn’thave a problem finishing him if we came across him, but there’s no way in hell I want to put this girl in danger again.
Before I buried him, I shoved Carl’s wallet and phone in my pocket, and his phone vibrates. Pulling it out, I glance at the screen.
Donnie.
“Be right back,” I tell her and walk a few feet toward the lake, then hurl the thing out into the deep water. When I return to the bike, she’s got her helmet on, waiting patiently. “Let’s go. That was Donnie calling. Probably coming for his brother.”
“Do you smell smoke?”
“Yeah,” I say, because it’s very apparent, and I can’t deny it.
Her eyes widen.
Hooking the nape of her neck, I lean toward her. “I’ll get you out of here, sweetness. I promise.”
