Page 130 of Ride or Die

Where are Tommy and Billie? The memory crashes into me hard and fast. We came here to get the last of our things. To leave. But then there was knock on the door. He knew where we were. He’d been following us. For how long, I don’t know. I should have known. It was my job to know.

An image flashes through me. Tommy. He tried to get in between us. Cain shoved him. The crack of his head hitting the side table causes my spine to stiffen. The blood. His small body not moving.

My vision blurs. “Oh god…”

Cain watches me, enjoying every second.

“He shouldn’t have tried playing the hero,” he says, like he can hear my thoughts. “It was only a matter of time before that boy learned his lesson.”

My lungs seize and the room tilts as a strangled sound escapes me. I can’t stop the tears. Tommy. My sweet, brave boy. Please, no. Not my Tommy.

Cain studies my face, satisfaction flickering across his own. And suddenly I know. This is it. Cole and everyone else are at the rodeo in Sunshine. No one knows where I am.

I stare at the ceiling unable to look at him, tears sliding into my hair.

“I’m tired of fighting, Clara,” Cain grits out.

The knife rises again and my breath catches in the back of my throat.

“It’s over now.”

The room feels smaller, the walls closing in. The air seems to disappear. I think about Tommy, and how I let my boy down. I think about Billie, and how I won’t be able to save my sweet girl. I think about Cole. His smile, the dimples, the way his eyes crease at the corners when he laughs. The way he holds me at night, so tight yet so easy. I wish we’d had more time.

Cain shifts above me, the knife in his hand tightening, trembling.

I close my eyes, waiting. Not ready, but unable to avoid the inevitable.

But then a floorboard creaks somewhere in the house.

Cain goes still.

So do I, unable to even chance a breath.

The eerie quiet that follows is loud, almost deafening before suddenly the door flies open, slamming so hard against the wall the house shakes.

A gunshot explodes through the silence, the sound causing my bones to rattle, followed by a ringing so sharp it makes me wince.

Cain jerks violently, his eyes widening as shock freezes his features. For one impossible second, he stays exactly where he is, his throat blown apart, blood spraying out of it. Then the knife slips from his hand, and his body collapses sideways off the bed, smoke lingering thick in the air.

I can’t move. Can’t breathe. Can’t understand what the fuck just happened.

But then I see him. Standing at the foot of the bed, gun still cocked, chest heaving. Cole.

Relief hits me so hard it hurts and a scream tears from my throat.

“Baby!” Cole’s voice breaks as he rushes toward me.

Sobbing, I try but fail to get Cain’s lifeless body off mine, kicking and pushing and shoving at him desperately.

Effortlessly, Cole pushes him off and collects me in his arms, pulling me hard against his chest and holding me so tight I can barely breathe.

“Tommy!” I choke out. “He’s—” I can’t say the word.

“Hey, shhh.” Cole pulls back enough to look me in the eyes. “Tommy’s okay. He and Billie are safe. They’re locked in my truck, out on the road. You’re okay, darlin’. Everyone is okay. Look at me.” He cups my cheeks, forcing my eyes to his which is when I see the uncharacteristic gleam of his tears.

“Fuck, baby,” he whispers, his voice cracking. “I was so fuckin’ scared.” Leaning in, he rests his forehead against mine, his body racking with a sob he tries so hard to contain.

“Cole?”