Page 2 of Rough Choice

“The levee?” Grier asked harshly.

“I thought she was dead, Grier,” Kye snapped back. “It was the first place I thought of. I knew if I headed that direction with her, there were at least two hospitals I could stop at.”

“What’s wrong with the levee?” Eliana asked, looking between the two of them.

“It’s Max’s property. It’s where he stores all of his unwanted things,” Grier said with an element of sarcasm.

“By that you mean…”

“Bodies,” Kye finished. “Because of that, it’s crawling with patrols, dogs, and cameras. Just in case any local cops decide to be a hero and crack down on Max’s empire or any one of the demons, they won’t risk a body turning up.”

“So we won’t go there,” Eliana suggested. “The only levee in town is outside the lumberyard in the woods, any section of forest will do. Send a video of tossing me into a hole and that should buy us time. Right?” Clearly having something to put her mind toward was helping rid her of shock. Kye could see the wheels turning as she struggled to find a solution.

“We head just far enough in to trigger a few sensors, a few cameras, take the video and be gone. It could work,” Grier agreed.

“We have to move fast. If we don’t, Max will know we’re plotting something,” Kye said in a tense tone.

“If the place is monitored by cameras,” Eliana said suddenly, “then how are we going to get in and out? You can dump me in the hole, but won’t he see me climbing back out?”

“He doesn’t have a camera on every tree,” Kye said, standing. “We can take the Yukon. It has tinted windows. We dig a hole, fill a body bag with dirt, send enough video of you in the hole to satisfy him, then you get back inside, and we drive straight out of town. We won’t stop until we reach the equator if necessary.”

“You mean that?” Eliana asked, looking at Kye with hopeful eyes. “You’re ready to leave all of this behind and come with me?”

“I’m done, Eli, I can’t be a part of this. Not now that I know how twisted and sick things have gotten.”

“So we leave those that are trapped to their fate?” Grier asked in anger. “We’ve worked for how long to overthrow Max from the inside just to tuck tail and run?”

“If we leave,” Kye said looking from Grier back to Eliana, “can you put together a case against him?”

“Take him to court?”

“Have him arrested, thrown in jail, whatever it takes to stop him,” Kye stated.

“I mean, I still have some of the paperwork from the cases he sent me. It doesn’t directly incriminate him. You may need to testify.”

“I can do that.”

“Kye, that would likely mean that the State would bring charges against you too for aiding and abetting,” Eliana explained as she rose to her feet and took his hands. “You’d be seen as an accomplice and co-conspirator.”

“Whatever it takes to stop him,” Kye emphasized.

“Let’s take things one step at a time,” Grier interrupted. “We need to get to the levee now. Too much time has passed already. Get your shit and get to the garage; I’ll drive,” Grier said and ducked out of the room.

“Hey,” Kye said, grabbing Eliana’s arm when she turned to get her things. He pulled her back against him and covered her mouth with his in a passionate kiss. “I thought I’d lost you. I really did… I thought you were…”

“I’m right here,” she said, cutting him off and placing both hands on his face. “When I had that gun and I was ready to die, I just kept thinking, ‘I hope Kye knows I love him’. Last time we spoke about that, I told you I didn’t know if I could love you… but I was wrong. I do love you. So very much.”

“I know,” he said softly and gave her a brief kiss. “We’re going to get through this. After tonight, it’s all over. Just you and me.”

“I want to believe that…”

“Believe it. Hold on to it. Let it keep you strong and hopeful,” he encouraged, and she smiled softly.

“My dad…” she said as though she remembered something. “That night he shot you, do you remember?”

“Kind of hard to forget…”

“No, no, what I mean is, do you remember the van he drove? How he’d stopped before he reached the checkpoint?”