Deceived (Free Indeed Book 2), page 20
“No one’s going to save you from me,” Gideon’s smug, sinister voice drifted across the room right before he once again started applying the last bit of pressure needed to kill his own daughter.
Allie started to waver back and forth as the last bit of fight drained from her body. For a moment, her head sagged towards the floor and stared blankly at nothing, before finally focusing on where Cara sat huddled peering around the corner. Confusion clouded her vision almost as if she didn’t actually believe what she was seeing. Then they closed as Gideon’s grip tightened. Her body slumped and collapsed to the cold floor below, Gideon’s grip around her neck the only thing now keeping her upright.
Cara knew Allie didn’t have much time left. She quickly ducked back behind the counter and spun around to where the german shepherd continued his furious snapping at his cell. At Cara’s look, the dog silenced and tilted his head in askance in her direction.
“Don’t let me down here, ok pup?” Cara muttered softly as she reached up and unlatched the door. Taking a quick look at the name tag next to the crate, she continued, “Reavers, I’m hoping you’re as scary and badass as you look.” The cage door silently swung open, and Cara backed up just in case the dog decided to take out his pent-up anger on her.
The animal’s lip curled up in fury, and his eyes zeroed in on Gideon’s back across the room. His only focus was on the evil man directly in front of him. Without delay, the dog burst from the cage and flew across the room. With a lunge from several feet away, the dog launched at Gideon’s back, slamming him away from Allie and face down onto the concrete ground below.
Gideon’s screams echoed around the room and mixed with the snarls and snaps from the large german shepherd that had the man pinned to the floor. The man was writhing in pain as he tried to break free from the massive dog, but Reavers wasn’t about to let go of the man attacking his caregiver.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Cara pushed herself to her feet and rushed forward to where Allie sat slumped on the floor with her back against the wall. She was alive, and based off of the dazed expression on her face, oxygen was once again reaching her brain. Her eyes were staring transfixed at Reavers attacking her father in front of her. Allie blinked several times trying to clear her vision before finally turning her gaze toward Cara as she dropped to a crouch next to the stunned woman.
Slipping her arms underneath Allie’s shoulders, Cara jerked her stepsister to her feet. She used her own body to brace Allie’s limp form against her own.
“Come on! We have to get out of here!” Cara’s desperate voice seemed to break through the remaining fuzziness of Allie’s brain, bringing her back to the direness of her current situation. When Allie nodded and grabbed onto Cara for support, Cara breathed a sigh of relief as they started to trudge toward the back door. Even though Allie was just a slip of a thing, it was still slow going since Cara had to carry most of her weakened form.
The shelter was pure insanity. Reavers’ angry growling and snapping filled the entire room as he rained down hell on the evil man beneath him. Gideon’s screams echoed across the space but were muffled by the cacophony of barks, growls, and hisses from the still caged animals as they showed their support and encouragement of Reavers’ rescue attempt.
The two woman stumbled toward the back door as quickly as they could manage. They were so close, and freedom was almost within their reach. Just a couple more feet. They could do this.
A heavy thud sounded from behind them. Cara darted a quick glance over her shoulder in time to see Gideon trying to scramble into a sitting position. He had somehow managed to get Reavers off of him just enough where he could reach into his waistband and pull out his gun. A gasp tumbled past Cara’s lips as the weapon fired, exploding the space with a deafening sound. Allie whimpered next to her as they both watched Reavers’ body jerk from the impact of the bullet and collapse to the cold floor.
Gideon’s gaze swung wildly back and forth, trying to find out where his daughter had gone. Blood covered his face from where Reavers had clawed and bitten him. One useless arm now hung limply at his side, the sleeve completely shredded. His eyes locked on them trying to escape out the door. Quickly struggling to his feet, he raised the gun and swung it in their direction. “Stop!” he brusquely commanded.
Both women froze at his sharp demand. Oh God. They didn’t make it in time. So close. They were so close. She could literally reach out and touch the door, but it wasn’t in time.
Cara turned her gaze to meet Allie’s, silently trying to convey that she had somewhat of a plan. She couldn’t say anything to her without Gideon overhearing, but hopefully, Allie would get the point that she needed her to pay attention and be ready for anything. Gideon had the upper hand because of the gun he had pointed at them. But there was no way after everything she’d been through that she would go down without a fight. And dammit, she was going to fight hard.
There was no way she would give up now. Not now that she had everything to fight for. Revenge for her mother on the man who broke her trust and destroyed the life she should have had. A future life with an amazingly wonderful man who she was pretty damn sure she was in love with. And stepsiblings she never even knew she had. Just when she thought she was alone in the world with no family left, now she had stepbrothers and stepsisters dropped in her lap, and God dammit, they may think her an immoral heathen, but she was determined to get to know them whether they liked her or not. Cara had to fight for herself and the life she wanted that was right in front of her. Gideon would not take that away from her.
Ever so slightly, Cara swiped the knife from her pocket and moved her left hand toward where Allie’s was grasping onto her for balance. She firmly pressed the cold blade into Allie’s palm. Her stepsister’s eyes looked down ever so slightly to see what she was now holding. Recognition set in and her eyes rose to meet Cara’s once again, giving her an almost imperceptible nod before they both turned around to face Gideon.
His wild, pain filled eyes darted back and forth between the two women as if he couldn’t settle on which one to focus on. The gun faltered back and forth as if an internal war was happening and he was trying to decide which of the two he loathed more and wanted to shoot first. Finally, his hate filled eyes fixated on Cara.
Oh lucky day. Oh well, at least Allie was momentarily spared. And based off of the way he had been trying to choke her, she needed as much time as possible to get her breath back. So bring it on, Gideon. All she needed to do was stall until help arrived.
“Cara,” he croaked his voice strangled with disbelief, “you’re supposed to be dead.”
God, she really hated this man. Literally, totally, and completely hated him with everything that was in her to the depths of her soul. And even though she knew she shouldn’t, she couldn’t help but goad the man.
“Next time you send Paul to do your dirty work, you had better follow up on him,” Cara spat. “Your little apprentice can’t even kill someone without doing it half-assed.”
A loud crash sounded from the front office, momentarily distracting Gideon from the task at hand. They could hear a struggle ensuing from the waiting room as furniture smashed and large objects slammed into the wall. Allie’s grip on her arm tightened as a hopeful gasp burst from her lips.
Oh, thank God! If there was still a fight going on out there, then that meant Jason was still alive!
“And it looks like he failed at killing someone again.” Cara couldn’t stop the satisfied smirk from spreading across her face. “Good help is just so hard to find these days.”
Rage completely consumed Gideon’s face to the point where he looked like he was about to explode in fire and brimstone. “Then I’ll just have to take care of it myself, won’t I?” he sneered in Cara’s direction.
“Go to hell!” Cara hissed back.
If she was going to act, it needed to be now while Gideon didn’t have the gun pointed directly at them. She gave Allie a quick warning squeeze. Hopefully, she got the point that Cara was about to do something quite possibly crazy. She released her grip on Allie’s arm causing her to stumble slightly against the cabinet next to her.
With a flash of her wrist, Cara grabbed one of the metal dog bowls sitting on the countertop and flung it as roughly as she could directly at Gideon’s face before launching her body in his direction.
He used his free arm to swat the bowl away in the air, but fortunately, it was enough of a distraction to keep him from firing his gun at her before she was able to launch her body against his own. The move effectively knocked him off balance, and they both fell to the floor in a tangle with Gideon using his superior strength to remain on top. For a moment his face contorted in surprise before anger erupted across his visage. Quickly snapping himself up to a sitting position, he straddled her waist and began slamming his gun repeatedly across her face.
Blow after brutal blow rained down across her face. All Cara could focus on was the excruciating pain radiating from his attack. There was no doubt in her mind that her stepdad was going to beat her to death. Fear gripped her heart at the realization that she was going to die, here and now. Death by douchebag, what a way to go.
God, she just hoped that Jason killed the shit out of Paul and got in here to take out Gideon before he hurt Allie. And Jake...as much of a bitch Daphne was, Cara knew she’d never let Jake die on her. If for no other reason than the mess it would leave behind. There’d be way too many questions and technicalities to have to deal with. Somehow she’d find a way to make sure Jake survived, and that gave Cara a sense of contentment as her vision started to go black.
Gideon paused his attack for just the slightest second, barely long enough for Cara to pry her puffy eyes open and look up into his disgusting face. The man cast an evil smirk down at her. His eyes lit up in satisfaction when he read the acceptance in her face that she knew she was going to die.
Suddenly, instead of slamming his fist back into her face, a blank look filled his eyes as his body jerked in shock. A soft gasp escaped his lips followed by a strangled gurgle as his gaze came back into to focus on her own. Surprise filled his eyes just before his body spasmed once again. Without warning, Gideon slumped forward across her chest and lay there unmoving.
Allie stood directly in front of her. The knife that Cara had given her, now dripping with blood, was clenched tightly in her fist. Shock filled her as she realized Allie had killed her father and saved her life.
Pushing her relief aside, Cara blinked her eyes and refocused on the job at hand. She reached up and snatched the gun that Gideon had been pistol-whipping her with from his clenched fist. Goodness knows she had seen enough horror movies where the villain who everyone thought was out of commission just rose up to fight all over again. Well, this motherfucker wasn’t going to get the upper hand ever again. Then using every last bit of strength she had left, Cara brought both of her knees up and used them to forcibly push Gideon off of her and to the side.
Scrambling awkwardly backward, Cara desperately needed some space between herself and the man who lay now twitching uncontrollably on the floor. She just sat there trying to take deep breaths and get herself under control.
Allie slowly approached from the side, as if she were afraid of spooking her. That was laughable. After everything Gideon and the T-1000 had put her through, little innocent (yet still badass since she totally offed her dad) Allie couldn’t do anything to freak her out. As her eyes took in Cara’s face, she winced. Oh boy, she must look really bad to get get that lovely reaction.
Obviously, her face was swollen and PUBAR’d, in other words, puffed up beyond all recognition. And she could tell the skin was broken in places, so she had to be bleeding. But what the hell, she was alive, so it was all going to be ok.
Allie extended her hand down, and Cara gratefully grabbed it. Between the two of them they managed to pull Cara back to her shaky feet.
Footsteps pounded down the hallway, and a dark figure burst through the door. Oh fuck! She had forgotten about Paul. Cara snapped the gun around, pointing it at the intruder.
Jason quickly jerked to a stop at the sight of a gun pointed at his chest. He slowly raised his hands in submission to show he wasn’t a threat. With a sigh of relief, Cara let the gun fall back down to her side.
“Jason!” A relieved shout burst from Allie as she sprinted towards him. Jason met her halfway and swept her up in a huge hug. Allie latched onto him, throwing her arms around his neck and legs around his waist, melding their bodies so tightly together you couldn’t tell where one was and the other ended.
That was so fucking sweet. (Sorry mom. She’d go back to not using the F-word after this fucking day was fucking over.) Cara’s face tried to smile but abruptly stopped at the sharp pain that erupted across her face. Oh well, she was really happy for her sis. They were really cute together.
“Is Paul take care of?” Unfortunately, Cara had to break the mood and ask. There was no way she was going to be able to relax until she knew no one else was going to be sneaking up on them.
“Yes,” Jason replied without taking his eyes off of the woman he loved. So fucking sweet. “He won’t be a problem. And the police are arriving now. I could hear their sirens approaching as I was running back.”
She and Allie both shared a sigh of relief at the thought that the danger may just actually be over.
Suddenly, Allie jerked her head away from Jason’s chest as her eyes widened. “Reavers!” Allie pushed away from Jason’s arms and turned back to where the dog lay off to the side of the room. “Oh no, Reavers!”
She dropped to her knees by the bleeding animal and used her hands to apply pressure to the bullet wound. The dog’s head moved slightly at the contact, and he opened his eyes to look up at Allie. Even in pain, the dog obviously adored Allie. Cara could swear she saw his weak eyes fill with love and just a little bit of pride at the role he played tonight.
“I’m so sorry, boy,” Allie whispered brokenly. “I’m so sorry this happened to you! You saved my life, and now we’re going to save yours, ok? You just hang in there.”
Jason came up behind her and dropped to a crouch next to them. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, quickly skimming through his contacts to find the one he wanted to call. He pressed the phone to his ear just as it connected, “Dory,” he paused. “Yeah, we need you at the shelter. There’s been an emergency...we need you here as fast as you can.” With the press of a button, he disconnected the call and dropped the phone to the side as he helped Allie stop the flow of blood.
Pushing herself off of the cabinet she was leaning on for support, Cara turned and rummaged through the drawers. There had to be something here they could use to stop the poor dog from bleeding out. That dog was a goddamned hero, and they weren’t about to let him die now.
Yes! The third drawer down was jammed full with folded towels. Cara filled her arms with as many as she could hold, then slammed the drawer shut with her hip. Arms laden with supplies, Cara dashed across the room to where the others were tending to the injured dog. She slumped exhausted to the floor next to them and held out the towels. Allie took them from her with a thankful smile and immediately used them to apply pressure to the dog’s wound.
Outside, they could hear the sound of tires screeching to a halt, followed by the slam of car doors as the police cars finally arrived. Jason pressed a kiss to Allie’s temple and whispered, “It’s going to be ok, baby.”
Cara wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. Heck, she wanted to find Jake, make sure he was ok, and then kiss the ever loving crap out of him. Then she’d climb into bed with him and not leave for quite possibly the rest of the month, if not longer.
It was over. It was truly, finally over and that monster was dead.
Epilogue
The bell above the diner door jingled as Sheriff Donaldson pushed it open and then held it with one arm while Cara stepped inside. They looked around BB-Dub’s for a moment before spotting Jason and Allie in a booth near the back and headed in their direction. As they approached, Allie gave them a tired but still welcoming smile, and Jason gestured for them to take the seat opposite them. Cara slid into the vinyl seat first followed by the sheriff.
“Heard you were here,” the sheriff grunted. “Thought you’d want an update on what’s been going on since you’ve been at the shelter all night.”
They had both stayed by Reavers side all night while Dory performed an emergency surgery on the animal. It was touch and go for a while, but now the dog was resting comfortably and in stable condition. Dory anticipated a full recovery.
Jason nodded in affirmation as he slipped his arm around Allie’s shoulders and pulled her tightly to his side. They really were cute together. Cara was so thrilled that Allie finally found happiness after all she had been through. Allie threw Jason a small smile at the contact before visibly bracing herself for what the sheriff was about to say.
“First off,” the sheriff started, “I did want you to know that Paul managed to escape. By the time we had arrived at the shelter, he had already disappeared. We’ve got a statewide BOLO out for him, so all of the surrounding areas are going to be on the lookout. The communities around Free Indeed have also been notified, just in case he decides to show his face around there again. Honestly, we don’t expect him to evade capture long. It’s just a matter of time before we find him. He’s on the run, so I really don’t expect him to give you any more problems since he’s going to have more important things on his mind, namely saving his own ass. But just to be on the safe side, you two keep an eye out until he’s captured.”
Allie and Jason both nodded their heads in acknowledgement to the sheriff’s words.
“Now, more importantly,” if possible his expression turned even more serious as he continued, “I need to update you on what’s happening back at Free Indeed. With your father’s death and no remaining parent to take charge of your siblings, CPS has stepped in to see that they’re taken care of.”
