Page 26 of Welcome to Gothic
A man walked through the shop, passing between her and the windows. A man Wendy recognized. As if the mention of his name had brought her nightmare to life, it was the same Bill from 1940—that man exactly, even to the dark, dirty, rumpled suit.
Vince walked through the arch, not bothering to be quiet or stealthy.
Wendy’s heart stopped.
If Bill was in the building, Vince wanted him to know he was there. He wanted to shield the families hiding in the other room behind the bookshelves.
Just as before, Bill pulled a pistol and pointed it at Vince. An automatic pistol, this time.
Just as before, their figures were silhouettes in the dark.
Just as before, Vince held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Bill, come on. Be calm.”
“My son!” Bill’s voice vibrated with menace and madness. “He’s my son to exploit and you got in the way!”
This time, Wendy didn’t have to take off her heels; her running shoes would work.
This time, the result would be different.
She took a quick breath, then ran, intent on using that turning kick to take out the pistol and slam Bill’s head to the ground... before he even realized she was there and on the move.
Vince flicked a glance her way, and spoke louder. “Bill, listen. Roy is better without you.”
“My wife. I own that woman, she left me, she betrayed me, how dare you try to keep her from me—”
Wendy was almost on Bill, lifting onto her toes, ready to leap.
Bill saw movement, turned in a fast, jerky move. He pointed the automatic pistol at her and—
I’m going to die.
I’m going to die, now, when I’ve met Hugh, or Vince... whatever his name is, he holds myheartand I don’t want to wait another lifetime before I meet him again.
Bill’s eyes narrowed, the gun steadied on Wendy, his finger tightened on the trigger.
Vince hit Bill with the same turning kick she intended to use, knocking his aiming arm high.
Bullets spattered the ceiling above Wendy’s head and the pistol flew through the air.
Wendy’s kick caught Bill across the side of his face and snapped his head sideways. Bill flipped and hit the floor. He didn’t stir.
Wendy skidded, put her hand on the floor to steady herself and came to a halt, gasping with the remnants of terror.
Bits of gilt-painted ceiling showered down on her.
Her gaze sought Vince and found him scooping up the pistol, looking at her, nodding his admiration and relief.
Swiftly, terror returned, and she ran toward the book room calling, “Are the kids okay? Is everyone—”
She barreled into Deputy Dave. He caught her, put her aside and said, “Everyone’s safe.” He headed toward Bill’s prone body.
Ariel followed at full speed, flipped on the light, pulled a small pistol from her bag and aimed with a steady hand at Bill.
Wendy had never seen that ferocious expression on Ariel’s face, and had never imagined what she kept in that stupid handbag.
Deputy Dave took the handcuffs his wife offered, rolled Bill onto his stomach and used his handcuffs to secure him... and surreptitiously checked him for signs of life. “He’s alive.”
Wendy knew she was supposed to be glad. Mostly, she was relieved because...this time, the result would be different.She’d actually thought that when she first laid eyes on Vince, but when Bill pointed his firearm at her, in that split second, she had realized how different the result could’ve been. With that many bullets in his automatic pistol, Bill could have killed them all.
