Page 78 of Claymore
“Okay, but he killed his ex-girlfriend, Gina, remember? He doesn’t exactly have a soft spot for every woman he encounters, especially the ones in his past,” said Ripper.
“Fang isn’t like Gina. Whoever she is, she’s cold, calculated, and everything he’s not. Ray probably saw it as a quick run to victory, to finally get rid of us, but he never thought this woman would double-cross him.”
“That’s some wild shit right there.”
“Yeah, what’s even wilder is letting Ella drive all the way back to Sedona by herself. Ella’s pretty convinced Ray will find his way back there now that shit’s hitting the fan,” I said.
“Ella will be fine. She’s a lot stronger than you all give her credit for. She jumped into action the minute you didn’t come home that night when you were attacked. She demanded to see you and she took care of you for a month. I think we can let her head this one,” Ripper asserted.
“She’s a fighter.”
“Just like you,” he said.
Chapter Eighteen
Ella
My hands gripped the steering wheel of Ronnie’s solid black pickup truck. The air conditioner blasted in my face while I drove down the highway in silence as the anxiety finally settled beneath my bones. It had been so long since I last visited my parents’ home, so long since I’d seen the place that had brought me so much pain. Every time I saw it all I wished was for it to no longer exist. The few years of happy memories that filled those four walls wasn’t enough to erase the pain I felt inside. It was agonizing. It was the worst pain I’d ever known.
I parked the truck in the driveway, stepping out into the open air, taking a deep breath. My fingers shook violently as I tried to unlock the front door, and I dropped the keys at my feet just before I got it into the lock. My heart thumped loudly in my ears, my stomach turning with every move I made, and I instantly felt lightheaded. I didn’t want to relive those painful memories again. I promised myself I’d never come back once I cut ties with Ray, once he finally left me alone. I thought that day had come until the Rebels showed up.Maybe the time has finally come.
The front door creaked open to reveal a dark, stuffy foyer. My mother and father’s shoes were still near the door where they’d left them so many years ago. I walked through the empty space, feeling my breath get caught in my throat as I walked over to the living room.
I remembered that night so clearly. Mom had been eating a bowl of chocolate ice cream, watching television while Dad thumbed through an old newspaper crossword. It was how they spent their time together. They were simple people that wanted nothing but the best for their children and yet my brother destroyed everything. I ran my fingers along the armrest where Mom had been bracing, resting her ice cream bowl down to talk to my brother as he demanded money.
I sat in the very chair my dad sat in while he tried to reason with his son and get him the help he needed. He slaughtered them like animals, left for dead in the middle of the night, and he ransacked the place like a total stranger. I came home late after a party Mom didn’t even want me to attend. I found them near dead with my mom uttering the name of the man responsible before she passed.Ray. It was Ray.
The tears welled up inside my eyes while I strolled through the rest of the house, staring at the photographs of us so young, so impressionable. I eventually took a seat at the wooden breakfast table in the kitchen, wiping my tears, folding my hands in my lap. I waited, knowing that any version of my brother could walk right through those doors, but I didn’t care.I want freedom. I want to finally be free of you, Ray. This ends tonight.
I sat in the dark for three hours, listening to the creaking of the floorboards as they settled and the soft hum of the pipes that ran throughout the walls. I wondered for a moment if I’d been wrong, if Ray wasn’t going to show up at all. I glanced over at the clock, thinking that it was time to call Claymore and tell him that this plan was a failure, but that’s when I noticed the beer bottles in the sink. There were a few cigarette butts on the counter that looked like they were recently put out and some white powder remnants from a line.
He was here. That means he’ll probably be back.I took one of the cigarette butts between my fingers to examine it further, but that’s when I heard something stirring outside.
The sound of cooing and screaming rattled the windows near the driveway. There were at least three bike engines roaring, but they sounded like they were speeding away. I fished my cell phone out of my pocket, shooting Claymore a quick text message.He’s here. I think he’s here.
The lock on the front door turned, and I rushed over to the kitchen counter to grab a knife to protect myself in case anything were to go wrong. I expected to hear a few voices, Ray and his men, but all I heard were pained groans of a man that could barely string two words together. I peeked out from behind the kitchen wall to see Ray standing there, his clothes bloody, his body bruised, right before he fell to the ground.
“Who the fuck is there?”
Ray patted his back, probably looking for his gun, while he winced at the pain coursing through his body. He held onto his abdomen, his body covered in blood, and that’s when I noticed the bullet holes in his shirt.
“I’m not gonna fucking ask you again. Who the fuck is there? I am not in the mood to fight any goddamn squatters in my house tonight,” he spat.
I held the knife as firmly as I could, but my fingers shook uncontrollably. My teeth clattered as I approached him, his eyes flitting around the room like he was looking for an escape.
“Who said anything about this being your house?”
“Ella?”
I bent down, running the edge of the knife along his body, gritting my teeth.
“This isn’t your house. This house belonged to my parents. The parents you took from me all because you had to feed your fucking drug habit. You’re a nasty little snake and you’ve always been. What? Did your girlfriend do this to you?” I blurted.
“Look at you, little sis. All grown up. I’d say Mom and Dad would be proud, but I guess I don’t have that right,” he said, blowing a little air out of his nose.
“That’s right, you don’t. It looks to me like you don’t have much time.”
“There ain’t no saving a man like me, Ella. There never was. I’m sorry. I’m sorry shit got to be this bad. I’m sorry I fucked up your entire life. I’m gonna die, Ella. I ain’t gonna pretend like I’ve got any power anymore.”
