Chapter 14

Fourteen

Izzy

"Izzy, wake up, Izzy." I couldn't seem to keep my eyes open, and everything was out of focus. Blinking, I looked up at Brianna as she shook my arm again.

"What happened," I asked as Brianna helped me sit up.

"I don't know. I woke up, and he was gone."

She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, but she was still naked. "What happened with all the hooks?"

She shrugged. "He must have taken them out. I don't remember. He had me on something."

"Are you okay?"

Brianna nodded and stood holding out her hand for me. More was coming back, and I looked around. Branson was gone, and my parents still hadn't moved. Accepting her help, I stood and sucked in a sharp breath as every muscle screamed at me. I was still naked and Brianna held out another wool blanket that I quickly wrapped around my shoulders as I hobbled over to check on my parents. The closer I got, the easier it was to realize that it was a lie. They were nothing more than holograms. This was why he always stood in the way and kept them far enough in the shadows that I couldn't tell. Where were my parents, and what did he do to Branson?

Glancing around, I wouldn't have known that we were all held captive. Everything was gone. The chains, the cot, and all the implements he'd used on me were cleaned up like it never happened. My body told me that every second of it was real. The only thing that remained was the guillotine. It was like a reminder of all the chaos and trauma he'd caused. Limping outside, the sun was starting to rise as we made our way toward the farmhouse. It was slow going, and the rocky ground felt like glass shards on our bare feet.

Climbing the stairs to the porch, I knocked, but no one answered. The lights were on inside. Pushing open the door, I listened for any sign of the Horseman, but all was quiet.

"Mom? Dad?" We walked through the kitchen into the living room and there was my mom and dad, tied up in the position he had them out in the barn. I quickly rushed to untie my mom from the decorative pillar that separated the living room and the dining room area as Brianna helped my dad.

"Oh my god, Izzy. What happened to you? And where is the man?"

"I'm okay. Are you okay, Mom?"

"I'm fine, just tired of standing." She rubbed at her wrists, and I glanced at mine. They were red with cuts, but the Horseman had put some sort of ointment on them, and they no longer stung. I had no idea what to make of him or what happened, including his declaration of twin souls.

"Dad, I need your rifle," I said, pulling on a long coat and stepping into a pair of rubber boots.

"I'm coming with you," he said, standing a little too quickly and falling back down into the chair.

"No, I'm good. Just stay here." I quickly grabbed the gun from the safe and made sure it was loaded before heading out. Could I shoot him? I didn't know, but I couldn't let him continue to hurt Branson. I'd held up my end of his game. I did what he asked and had an aching brand on my hip to show for it.

As fast as I could I walked outside and looked around before finding a pair of boot marks in the early morning dew. Following them, I marched into the scraggly trees that led toward the cliffs. I'd never been allowed to play out this way, not even as a teenager. My father said it was too easy to fall in the rushing water below, and they might never find my body. That had been enough to scare me into not venturing far from the house.

Ignoring my body, I picked up a light jog. I was sure I looked like one giant bruise and yet I was also secretly the most satisfied I'd ever been in my life. What was I doing running through the woods with a gun? I should be in a hot shower, not adding to my injuries. I was going to pay for it tomorrow, but that was a tomorrow issue. A man's voice and the distinct mechanical growl of the Horseman reached me, and I quickly turned in that direction. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but the argument wasn't friendly.

I burst out of the trees to see Branson wrestling with the Horseman. They were locked in a heated battle as they threw punches and then gripped each other's arms as they each tried to get the upper hand. I couldn't get a clear shot as they moved around on the rocky edge. Branson pushed hard, and the Horseman stepped back. He raised the large blade that had been used on me, ready to strike.

Branson held the knifed arm away as he pulled the gun that was tucked into the front of the Horseman's jeans. The struggle was wild as the two large men fought for control before Branson managed to free his arm and fired three times. The Horseman stumbled back, his hand going to the wound as if not believing this was happening. He looked up at me, those red eyes finding mine, and the world stopped for just a breath. I was conflicted. I wanted to yell no and run to him, but I also wanted to push him over the edge. Then, just like that, he stepped back and off the cliff.

I blinked, and a tightness formed in my chest. He deserved to be punished for everything he'd done, but there was something about the way he saw me, the way no one else ever had. It hurt to think no one ever would again. Shaking myself out of it, I ran to Branson.

"Oh my god." Branson collapsed to his knees, laying the gun down on the ground. I cupped his face. "Are you okay," I asked, startling him. Branson smiled as he looked up, and his eyes registered who it was. Wrapping his arms around me, he pulled me down onto his lap and held me like I was going to disappear.

"Fuck, Izzy. I'm so sorry I wasn't able to stop him. I felt so helpless hanging there and forced to watch. I wanted to kill him for what he was doing to you."

"I'm sorry you had to see that and for all the things I said." He shook his head as he smoothed back my hair.

"No, don't apologize. You did what you had to, and you saved me. You saved all of us. I love you, too. I tried saying it back, and I just wish I'd said it sooner. I thought for sure he was playing you and that he was going to kill us all, and then I'd never get the chance to tell you how I really feel."

I glanced around and then at the edge where I'd seen the Horseman go over the side. The roar of the rushing water was loud now that I was taking a second to listen. His body could take weeks to find if it ever was.

"How did he get to you? I thought you were heading to a crime scene for Eli."

Branson's face twisted in obvious confusion. "I was never going or at a call for Eli. Is he dead?"

"I don't know. That voice thing he had must be able to mimic other people and he must have had your phone," I said, looking at him, unable to believe that it was finally over and we were still alive.

"The last thing I remember is getting in my car after I left the morgue to head into the office. I woke up like you saw me, hanging by my wrists. It was a few hours later that he brought Brianna in, but you were a while after that."

"He wanted to chase me through the forest. He even made it look like the Headless Horseman from the story was blocking my path. I thought I was losing it. Why did he bring you out here," I asked, slipping off of his lap and pushing myself up. I wrapped the jacket tighter around me as the wind picked up. I looked down at the droplets of blood, confirming that what I'd seen was real and not another illusion.

"I honestly don't know. To kill me, I guess. But I didn't give him the chance to explain. There was no way that I was letting him get away after everything he'd done," Branson said, slowly standing and rubbing at his red-marked wrists. "Guess we should call a team out here," he said, and I nodded but looked down. "You don't want to?"

"I do, it's just...don't at the same time. I know that doesn't sound like me, but having to recount everything that happened to someone other than you…I hate the idea." Thunder rumbled in the distance as it started to spit. The blood would be washed away, but the stain of what he made me do and how I secretly enjoyed it wouldn't disappear so easily.

Branson wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "I'm the only one who saw what he did to you. So you tell them as little or as much as you want. I won't dispute it." He looked over his shoulder at the cliff's edge. "I mean, he's dead now. That's what matters. He can't hurt anyone else."

Although, I agreed with Branson, I just couldn't help thinking that the Horseman had something else up his sleeve, like a final act in his play. What that might be…I had no idea. But I didn't want to be caught off guard again.

We were soaking wet from the rain by the time we reached the farmhouse. My parents wrapped me up in a hug and I held onto them, thankful that they hadn't seen or heard anything, safely tucked away here in the house.

"I need to shower," I said and pulled away, walking up the stairs to my old room. Stripped down, I inspected my new piercing. A skull and a carved pumpkin glittered back at me. Grabbing the two ends, I intended to pull it apart but couldn't bring myself to do it. Turning I stared into the mirror, my eyes locked on the brand on my hip. Burned into the skin was an outline of a pumpkin and the letters HH in the middle. Even if I wanted to forget about him, he made sure that whenever I got dressed, looked in a mirror, had a shower, or let another man touch me, I would be reminded about my time in the barn. I would remember that for years, he'd been watching me and secretly wanting me from the shadows.

Someone knocked at my bedroom door. "Izzy, are you okay," Branson's concerned voice made me close my eyes as my conflicted heart constricted in my chest.

"I will be. Just need some time alone," I said, feeling more lost than I ever had.

"The team is on their way. I'm going to go out to the barn and call the mayor. If you need anything call me, I'll come right in."

"Thank you."

"I love you, Izzy. It's all over. He can't hurt us anymore."

My heart pounded harder with those three little words. Why had it taken so much for us to admit our feeling for one another? What Branson said was true, and yet, it felt like all the damage the Horseman meant to do was already done. Laying my hand over my stomach, I locked eyes with myself and knew that if I was pregnant, I would carry his baby. I was fucked. He'd found a way to reach into the darkest corners of my brain and the most depraved parts of my soul and pull out the fragments of me that I kept hidden. Now that they were free…there was never going to be a way to put it all back. Pandora's box, once opened, caused havoc that could never be undone.

"Part of me will forever be yours," I whispered to the mirror and the ghost of the man who had changed me forever.