Pure Gold

Me: Don’t fucking take your eyes off her. I’m almost there.

I open the glovebox. Jason lets out a curse when I reach in and wrap my hand around the cool metal of the gun. I try to let myself slip back into my mindset of being in the desert. I tell myself that this is a mission.

Except it’s not. Savannah is my whole world. Without her, nothing else matters.

16

Savannah

We stand in the entryway of the bank as one of the clerks lets the manager Nick know that we’re waiting. I’ve only met him one time, but his name was all over everything. He and Archer are clearly working together on all this. Not to mention all my grandfather's accounts are through this bank. At least that’s how all the emails looked.

“Vee,” Ollie whispers loudly next to me. I follow her line of sight to see William coming in through the glass double doors, his eyes trained right on me. He looks terrible. His clothes are more disheveled than usual. I immediately get an uneasy feeling. “He's got a gun.” Ollie grabs my arm and starts to pull me.

“Don’t!” he shouts, pulling the gun out from the inside of his pocket. My heart sinks as people start to scream. He ignores them, closing in on me and Ollie. “Let her go,” he orders Ollie, who still has a death grip on my arm. He motions with the gun to where her hand is on my arm.

“Do it.” I don’t want her to get hurt, so I jerk my arm from her hold. She reluctantly lets me go.

“Come here,” William orders.

“Why are you doing this? Have you lost your mind?” Ollie hisses at him.

Yeah, clearly he has. I don’t think talking to him is really going to do any good at this point. The look in his eyes tells me he’s way too far gone for that. I try to remain calm, to keep my voice steady, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t terrified.

“William?” I take a tentative step toward him. “What’s going on?”

“Don’t play stupid. This is all bullshit. I put up with your grandfather for years. It should have been mine. All of it. The church and you!” He closes the rest of the space between us, leaning down to get in my face. “He promised me I’d take over. You could have been there with me, but no. You’re just like your stupid whore of a mother.” I flinch back, but he grabs me. “Go.” He motions me to walk, pointing toward Nick’s office. “We’re going to finish this now. You’ll sign the papers and then we’ll be done with it.”

I’m not sure it works that easily, but I’m not about to argue with crazy. If anything, I want to buy time. My heart pounds harder with every step I take. I never should have run from Archer. I should have stayed and talked to him. What if I never see him again?

William keeps the gun pressed into my back. I give Ollie a look that tells her that she’d better not do anything crazy. She’s holding strong, but I can tell from the look in her eyes she’s freaking out. It’s not only her anymore. She is pregnant. Plus, this is my mess to deal with.

“Open the door,” he orders.

“We should run,” I say, gripping the handle of the door. I really don’t want to be alone with him in this office. I’m not sure what he might do to Nick and me. He grabs the back of my head, gripping my hair so tightly tears form in my eyes.

“Open the fucking door.” I turn the knob, pushing the door open.

Nick holds his hand up and stands from behind his desk. “William, what the hell, man?” He shifts over awkwardly to the left of his desk.

“I told you to handle the paperwork.” William shoves me forward, releasing his hold on me. I stumble but catch myself before I fall.

“The marriage license was—” I scream when a loud pop rings through the air, and glass explodes all around me. I drop to the ground, covering my head. I don’t miss the loud thump that comes from next to me. I slowly open my eyes to see William lying in a pool of blood.

“Savannah.” I hear Archer’s voice seconds before I’m being lifted from the floor. I know I’m supposed to be angry with him, but that doesn’t stop me from wrapping myself around him. I settle my face into his neck. “Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?” I simply shake my head because I can’t get any words to come out at the moment. “Need to see your eyes, babe.”

He sets me down on something, giving my hips a squeeze.

“Vee!” I hear Ollie shout my name in the distance next.