Good Boy... Bad Man: The All-American Boy

My head jerks back when I hear a loud bang from somewhere nearby. My mind is screaming, GUN! COPS! SAFE, but I’m not so sure. Two of the men from before burst into the room and stand behind me, one of them puts a knife to my throat. Shit.

Suddenly, Adam is standing in front of me when a gun pointed at the men behind me. My fist grips the knife handle even harder. Without another thought, I lift my arm and plunge the knife into the neck of the man closest to me. At the same time, Adam shoots the other man.

I burst into tears as soon as I hear them hit the floor.

“Evie!” he shouts coming closer to me. I want to jump into his arms, but I can’t move. My legs are like jelly. He pulls his shirt off and pulls it down over my body, then picks me up.

“You saved me,” I whisper, my voice raspy from not using it. “Like a badass.” I snuggle into his neck and keep crying. I don’t think I remember everything they did to me, but man, everything hurts. “Jenna?”

“Jenna is okay,” he tells me. I know that I need to say more about Jenna. I should tell him that she is in danger, warn her, but I can’t, I’m sobbing to hard now to speak properly.

I could die in his arms right now and be okay with that. I’m so, so, so cold. Maybe it’ll be warm in the afterlife, I think before everything goes dark again.

Chapter Nine

I carry her to my car and call 911. What the fuck was I thinking? I got some training for my action flicks but that was nowhere near good enough to take down three assholes by myself, well two. Evie got one. Explaining all of this to the cops felt like it was straight out of a script, but they finally let me go to the hospital to be with Evie.

I hate how much she looks like an angel, lying in that hospital bed with her arms crossed over her belly. Her mother cries over her and I know its genuine, there is no one here with us. Evie’s arms are bandaged up like a mummy. She has two hundred and forty stitches in her body. Her body is covered in cuts and bruises. She’s purple from neck to toes.

Her eyes blink open as I am praying for her to wake up.

“Jenna?”

“I’m here, Evie,” Jenna’s says, sniffling. The girl has been crying for days. I can’t say that I blame her.

“Lucas Royal,” she says.

“What?” Jenna says, sobering up.

“He’s behind this. He’s looking for you.”

“Who’s Lucas Royal?” both, John, the girl’s father, and Darren ask at the same time.

“A mistake,” Jenna says.

“When can I get out of here?” Evie asks, while the others talk quietly.

“A couple of days.”

“The movie?”

“Suspended… for now,” I tell her and she frowns.

“As soon as I am healed, we are making that movie,” she replies more determined than I’ve ever seen her.

“It’s cursed.”

“It’s not… Jenna is,” she says, giggling, then she winces. “Maybe I won’t laugh for a while.”

“That’s probably a good idea.”

“Hey Adam?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“Thank you for saving me.”

“Anytime, baby, anytime, but maybe don’t get kidnapped again. The last week has aged me ten years.”

“A week?”

“Yeah.”

“It seemed so much longer than that.”

“I bet it did.”

“Adam?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you. I know it’s crazy…” she begins, but I cut her off.

“Love is never crazy. Love does whatever the fuck it wants to do. I love you too, Evie. Forever and always.”

“I’m going to sleep now.”

“Of course,” I say, sitting down in the chair next to her.

I’m never letting her out of my sight again.

Six months later we are back in Deacon. It’s the first day on the set and Evie looks amazing.

“Action!” I shout and then I watch in awe as Evie makes movie magic. It’s incredible to watch her work on this side of the screen.

We got married a few months ago after she was feeling better and now the movie is finally being made. She told what all she remembers from her ordeal, but needless to say neither Dexter girl travels without a bodyguard anymore. It shocked me that they didn’t already have them, but until Lucas Royal, who happens to be a mobster, is locked up neither girl is safe.

Nothing will ever be the same again now that she’s my wife. Thank God.

Epilogue

Eighteen Months Later

December 2023

The red carpet is my happy place, however this is the first time it’s been all about me. As the lead actress, I am getting the most press though being kidnapped and tortured in place of my sister has given me more press attention than I ever wanted. I stand in front of reporters and photographers in a floor-length black and gold dress designed by my favorite designer, Migan Jorgensen in Minnesota. I could wear other designers, but she gets me and my body type. She makes pretty much all of my clothes that are not a part of the wardrobe for a movie. She’s amazing and I am proud to be wearing her for the second biggest night of my life. She always made my wedding dress.