Chapter 34

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

CARTER

Matais comes back into the barn with a giant smile on his face, which must mean that he was successful. It also has to mean that Brendon has to know that I've been kidnapped, and Matais is the one who's taken me. Although that fact is comforting, it still doesn't do much to ease my nerves. There are so many possibilities for whatever Brendon has planned and so many ways that it all could still go to shit.

But I've gotta believe that it will all go well, or I'm going to lose my mind. Thankfully, I'm still channeling my inner Brendon, so I'm still somehow keeping hold of my anxiety. That, and I just keep thinking about Brendon and spending the rest of my life with him. I have got to get out of this alive, and the only way that's going to happen is by keeping my composure.

"You were right," he tells me, sauntering my way with a swagger to his step — it's sickening. "Brendon does love me, and he's coming to be with me." He tears the tape off my lips so quickly that it burns, and I can't help but wince.

Matais reaches behind his back and unsheathes that damn hunting knife again. He twirls it in his hand before bringing it up to my face, right beside the outside of my eye. I desperately want to pull against the ropes that bind me, but I'm afraid that any slight movement will have me bleeding.

Slowly he drags the tip of it down my face, I can tell how sharp it is, because it lightly scratches, even though there is only a whisper of pressure being used.

"Now you just have to tell him that we ran into each other, and you lost track of time. Do you think you can do that, Carter?" He asks as he taps the flat of the blade against my cheek.

I slowly nod.

"Good, because if you tell him the truth, I won't hesitate to kill you." His tone is menacing and leaves no room for argument.

I know I have to agree with him, but I really wish I knew what Brendon has planned. I'm sure my man is rushing his way towards us. I just hope he isn't stupidly coming without proper backup. "I won't tell him," I assure him. "I'm happy for the two of you."

Matais rolls his eyes. "You're a terrible liar."

Crap, I have to sell this better. I know I'm a shit liar, so I'll have to go with something true. "Ok, so happy isn't the right word. What I meant was that Brendon and I have been best friends all our lives, and all I want is for him to be happy. If he's decided that isn't with me, then I'm ok with that."

Matais stares at me, watching me closely for a few moments. "I think you really mean that," he finally says.

"I do mean it," which is actually true. But I also know that Brendon doesn't want anyone else other than me. But it's not like I'm going to tell him that.

"Good because Brendon and I are going to be together now, and that's what matters."

He walks around behind me and squats down. "I'm going to cut you free now, and you're not going to do anything stupid." He says before suddenly the blade is at my throat. "Because if you do, I won't think twice about ending your life and staging it as an accident." The knife leaves my neck and is somewhere behind me.

"Brendon might not be in love with you, but you still mean something to him. It would be a shame to actually have to kill you. Besides, you wouldn't want to bring him the kind of agony that seeing your dead body would."

"No," I whisper and take a shaky breath. "I promise I'll behave."

He lets out an unhinged laugh while starting to cut through the ropes. "I know you will."

Once my limbs are loose, I move my arms to my sides and roll my shoulders trying to get the circulation to flow again and regain some feeling.

"Go sit on the couch and have some pizza," Matais commands, and I don't fight him.

I need to regain my strength, and food will help me do that. Matais isn't a big guy and definitely isn't as strong or as fast as me, but right now, I wouldn't be able to fight him if I needed to. So, I'm going to take this opportunity to rest, eat, and try to mentally come up with options on how to handle whatever plan B has.

"There's water in that cooler, too," he tells me with a smile, pointing to the small ice chest by the couch.

I pull out a bottle and guzzle down the contents before grabbing a slice of pizza and devouring it.

Matais is now being too nice to me, and it's making me even more uneasy. I know he has ulterior motives and wants to get on Brendon's good side, but I can't help but feel the other shoe is about to drop.

He's too happy right now. What happens if things don't go according to his fucked-up plans when Brendon arrives? Is he going to try and kill all of us?

I'm on my third slice of pizza and halfway through a second bottle of water when I hear tires over gravel getting closer.

"He's here," Matais says, beaming at the entrance of the barn.

He grabs the knife he's been twirling between his fingers and slides it into a sheath that I can now see is on his belt at the back of his pants. "Remember to stick to the script, or shit is going to go sideways," he hisses out between his teeth with a slight snarl.

I nod, not wanting to piss him off because I really don't know what he's capable of.

Matais makes his way to the barn door, and I stay firmly in place, afraid to move just yet.

"Sorry I took so long," Brendon says as he walks into the barn. Matais beams at him like he hung the moon.

Brendon's eyes land directly on mine, and he stares at me for a moment, silently asking if I'm okay.

I dip my chin, letting him know I'm fine, for the moment anyway.

"It's okay," Matais tells Brendon. "I'm just glad you're here."

Brendon plasters on a fake smile when he looks at Matais and it makes me feel better and want to puke at the same time. It's good that I know how fake this is for B, but I hate that we have to put on this act at all. But it's certainly better than either of us dying. That means we have to do what we have to do right now.

"Hey, C," Brendon tells me, making his way toward the couch that I'm sitting on with Matais directly beside him. I stand up, and he reaches his hand out to me. Taking it, he pulls me in for a typical back-slapping bro-hug that we'd give any one of our friends. Between us, though, he squeezes my hand tight just as I squeeze his back. This small hidden gesture is our real selves. It's the comfort and assurance that we both need in this moment. It's over too fast.

Moving his body away from mine, his left hand goes to the side of my shoulder but still keeps the handshake. Here we go. Here come the lies, and we both have to sell it.

"I'm glad you see things clearly. We both want what's best for each other, right?" he says. The dual meaning is clear to only me because we both know that what's best for us is to be together, always.

"Of course, B," I get out, a bit more forced sounding than is entirely safe. So, I clear my throat while Brendon continues on, to help cover my emotions.

"I think Matais and I could be good together. Enough that I have to give this a real try."

Tears start to fill my eyes, but I force myself to push them away. I know it's a lie, and only said to protect me, but the words still sting.

"I just want you to be happy," I respond, trying to keep my voice as even as possible.

"Thanks, C. Here are the keys to my car. You should take off," he says, reaching his hand out and placing them in mine. "Matais will give me a ride home later."

My brows pinch together as I try to figure out just what Brendon's plan is. The last thing I want to do is leave him alone with this crazy person.

"That's okay with you, right?" Matais asks, wrapping one hand around Brendon's side and reaching the other around his back, reminding me of the knife.

Bile rises up my throat, but I force myself to nod.

"Yeah. That's fine with me," I tell them and take a step to the side.

I'm about to walk out when the tell-tale crunch of gravel echoes outside the barn.

"Is someone else here?" Matais asks, looking at Brendon with wide eyes.

"No," Brendon says, trying to calm Matais down. "It's just me. That was probably an animal."

Matais shakes his head as he pulls out his knife. "You're lying to me," he shouts, pointing the weapon at Brendon's chest.

"It was probably just an animal," I assure Matais, taking a step toward the barn door and peering out. My eyes land on Detective Leroy, who is holding his finger up to his lips, silently telling me not to say anything. My entire body is on edge, but I try to keep myself as calm as possible when I turn back around and move a few steps back into the room. "I don't see any other vehicles out there, and you saw Brendon arrive alone."

Matais' hand shakes as he turns his head back and forth. "I don't know what I believe," he mutters, raising his hands to pull on his hair as he takes a step back.

"It's just me," Brendon assures him before turning to look at me. "You can go, C," he says to me, but Matais shouts, "No!"

"No one is leaving. I know you're lying," he yells at Brendon, who's quickly moved towards me, meeting in the middle of the room. "Why can't you love me? Why am I never good enough for anyone?" Matais screams.

"That's enough, Matais," Detective Leroy shouts, walking into the barn with his gun drawn. "Drop the knife."

Matais' entire body is shaking as he mutters, "No… no… no," over and over again. "No. If I can't have him, no one can," he yells before grabbing one of the gas lanterns and throwing it at the base of a large pile of loose hay beside the barn entrance. The glass smashes, exposing the naked flame to the waiting pile of tinder. Instantly, the pile lights, and in the next breath, the flame climbs up and spreads across the side towards both the barn roof and wall.

Detective Leroy jumps out of the way of the fire that is now quickly engulfing the run-down structure. Brendon and I are both so distracted that neither of us notice Matais until it's too late. I'm pulled back by a surprisingly strong grip around my waist and feel the tip of that big knife digging into the side of my back.

"This is all your fault." He snarls out in a shout that can be heard over the rising sounds of the fire that is quickly spreading. "You stole the man I love from me. You don't get to be happy. You don't get to walk away from this. I'd rather be dead than watch either of you happy, so I'm going to take you all with me."

A loud peel of a gunshot going off rings out, so deafening that it stuns me for a moment. But then the grip Matais has on me slackens and releases as he falls to the ground. I turn and look down, seeing a lifeless expression on his face as blood oozes out of his head.

"Over there, let's go!" Detective Leroy shouts, pulling my attention away from Matais' dead body.

He's pointing to a hole in the back wall. Still stunned, I don't register his meaning right away. Brendon takes action and grabs my hand to pull me toward it. I stumble, my body still weak from exhaustion and the remains of whatever Matais drugged me with, but thankfully, my man still has all his strength and pulls me tight into his side, supporting me as we move to the small opening. Using his powerfully muscular legs, he kicks at the boards over and over, breaking the wood to make the hole wide enough for us to exit.

The air around us has filled with smoke, making us all choke and cough, and the heat of the fire is rapidly becoming blisteringly hot as the building fills with flames.

Once the hole is big enough, Brendon drags me out, and Detective Leroy follows directly behind us.

Another officer sees us come through, approaches us quickly, and guides us away from the burning building.

"The ambulance is already here, and firetrucks are on their way," he tells us as we continue to cough and try desperately to take in deep breaths of fresh air.

As I try to take in another breath, my body decides it can't hold me up anymore, and I collapse to the ground.

"Get the EMTs over here now," Detective Leroy shouts, and Brendon pulls me into his arms.

"You came for me. I knew you would," I whisper, as I look into his eyes.

"Was there ever a possibility that I wouldn't?" he asks with a tilt of his head. "It's always been me and you against the world, and I would never let anyone take you from me," he assures me before leaning down to press his lips to mine.

I melt into his touch and almost want to yell at the paramedics when they arrive and make Brendon let me go.

"I'm not going anywhere, baby," he promises me as he moves out of their way but still holds my hand. It's something I'm grateful for and makes me clutch it that much harder.

I smile at him as they take my vitals and put an oxygen mask on my face.

I might be covered in dirt and ash and still have the remnants of an unknown drug in my system, but I also have the love of my life by my side, and that makes everything okay. We are alive, and we're together. Nothing else matters.