I really was going to always forgive him.
What a pathetic pair we were.
ETHAN—FIVE DAYS AGO
He bled so badly that his shirt was soaked from the gash on the back of his head. My mother and I held my father as he escaped what was left of the burning mansion retreating into the woods. Dino and Italo were both in front of us, leading us to where the helicopter would be waiting.
“It’s okay. You’re going to be okay.” I could hear her whisper to him even though he hadn’t responded since we had dug him out. His pulse was weak. His body already felt like a dead weight around my neck.
“How much farther?” she called out. “We need to get him to the doctor!”
“It should be—” Before I even answered the question, I s
aw the dark-green military chopper in the clearing up head.
Vinnie was already standing with the doors open; but, before we could take another step, Dino and Italo both turned back, guns pointed directly at us all.
“What the fuck are you doing?” my mother sneered. “Move now!”
“Don’t bark at us!” Dino sneered, stepping forward as Italo took a few steps back. Never once did they drop their aim. “This is where our journey ends, Mr. Callahan.”
“So, you are betraying me in the end?” I asked them.
“No,” Dino replied. “We kept up our end of the deal. Now we want to make sure we get out. I’ve been watching Mr. Callahan. You’ve got trust issues. You use people, and then you dump them. We aren’t getting dumped.”
“He needs a doctor!” my mother sneered.
“That is not our problem, lady.”
“It will be when I hunt you down—”
“Ethan,” he called out me, “we don’t want problems. Not with you, not with your family. It’s over. Like I said. We just want to make sure there are no surprises. Once we go, you won’t find us, and we won’t look for you. Let’s call it a family secret.”
“Fine but leave us the helicopter, and you all go on your way,” I demanded.
“No can do. We need space to make this getaway possible,” he said, taking a step back as the helicopter blades turned, the force of the wind picking up grass and tossing leaves. “Good luck and tell Calliope we said goodbye. Look out for our favorite sis, okay?”
“You sons of bitches!” my mother screamed, drawing out her gun; however, Italo fired first…only they didn’t hit her but me.
“Ethan!”
The weight of my father’s body and the force of the bullet sent me to the ground.
“Ethan!” My mother came, putting pressure on my stomach. They shot me because they knew she’d back down to try to take care of my father and me.
Smart.
“Nothing personal!” Dino hollered from above me.
I was cold, and all of me was aching. With the little strength I had, I flipped them off. “You’re right, nothing personal!” I called back.
Boom!
Like a ball of fire and flame, they burned in the sky, and I grinned, watching as if it were fireworks.
“You knew?” my mother asked, looking down at me.
“It’s fucking annoying how he does that, right?”