Something Wilder

Lily took a step closer, palms down. “Bradley. Put the gun down.”

“It was an accident,” he said, voice high and panicked.

“And we all know that!” Leo said. “Don’t make this worse.”

“Just let me think!” Bradley cried. “Holy shit, let me think.”

“We start by calming down, man,” Leo said slowly. “Calm down and put the gun on the ground. This isn’t who you are.”

“Do you even know how to use a gun?” Walter asked.

“Of course I know how to use a gun!”

Walter frowned. “The safety is on, though.”

There was a tiny click followed by Walter’s quiet “Oops,” and Lily watched as Nic unsheathed her knife and, to Lily’s horror, stepped up behind Leo to press it against his Adam’s apple.

“Nicole Michelle!” Lily yelled. “What the hell?”

She ignored this. “Drop it, Brad.”

“It’s Bradley!” he barked.

“He’s actually really weird about being called Brad,” Walter offered. “If you want him to put the gun down, don’t—”

“If y’all don’t shut the fuck up and get that gun out of Brad’s hands,” Nic yelled, “I am going to open this man from his chin clean down to his testicles.”

Lily’s stomach withered as she met Leo’s eyes. They were trained, unwavering, on her face. Now was not the time to tell him that Nicole was raised by parents who owned a butcher shop.

“You’re liable here,” Bradley told Lily.

“She’s not the one who pushed a man off a cliff,” Nicole volleyed back.

“You’re our guides!”

“You signed a waiver!”

Bradley froze. “We didn’t sign a death waiver!”

“That’s literally what it is!” Nicole yelled. Lily flinched as a tiny line of blood ran down Leo’s neck.

“Nic,” Lily said as steadily as possible. “You’re cutting him, honey.”

“Who says you didn’t push him off?” Bradley growled. “You hated Terry.”

Nicole came unglued: “Everyone hated Terry!”

Undeterred, Bradley rolled on. “We have more witnesses than you do. We could say whatever we wanted.”

“Bradley,” Leo said, hands out, palms down, “get your shit together. Terry held us at gunpoint. We were defending ourselves. You’re not going to shoot anybody, and you’re not going to pin this on them, either. Don’t make this worse. Come on, be reasonable. How would I explain this to Cora?”

Bradley took a gasping breath before dropping the handgun like it was on fire. He immediately burst into tears. “Shit. I’m so sorry.” He collapsed to his knees. “I’m freaking out. Sorry, sorry. I wouldn’t ever—”

Nicole immediately ran over, grabbing the gun and turning it around in shaking hands, trying to get the safety on.

Leo rubbed a hand over his neck. “Nicole—just—” He walked over, taking it from her, and calmly clicked the safety back on. “Is everyone okay?” There was a murmur of response and he turned to Lily. His eyes searched hers, and he lifted a hand to rest on her face. “Are you?”

It took everything in her to not throw herself into his body, to not wrap her arms around him and hold on until she’d convinced herself that he was safe. Nodding, Lily forced away the burning threatening the surface of her eyes. She never cried unless she was angry, and right now she was glowing with rage.

“You’re okay?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“Good.” She turned to Bradley. “You. Sit.” Lily pointed to a rock about ten yards away, and he bowed his head, slinking away, wiping tears from his face.

Nicole glared over at him. “Tell me not to hog-tie him.”

“Don’t hog-tie him,” Lily said flatly. “We need to pack up and turn around or call or… Shit. I can’t think.”

They were out in the middle of the desert, hours away from civilization, with a death to deal with. It was almost dark.

She watched Leo as he approached the ledge, bending and carefully retrieving the journal from a pile of dirt. Dusting it off, he brought it over to her. “I was worried this went over with him.”

Grateful, she took it, remembering the way it felt like her heart had soundlessly evacuated her body when she watched Leo run toward Terry and the gun, hurling Nic to safety. Shaking off the memory, she gazed down at the worn, soft journal in her hands, feeling Leo step up close behind her.

In the aftermath of the chaos, adrenaline had left her weak and trembling. She couldn’t help it. She leaned back against the solidity of his chest. Without hesitation, his hand came up, wrapping firmly around her hip, steadying her.

“It’s okay,” he said quietly. “I got you.”

“Do we need to go down and get the body?” Bradley asked from the periphery. Four heads swung his way, four sets of angry eyes narrowed.

“I just mean,” he said, hands up, “he’s down there. I— I don’t know what to do, okay? I’m sorry.”

A chill washed Lily out for a beat, and Leo pressed more firmly against her.

“Can someone explain what the deal is with this notebook?” Walter asked, his voice rising. “And to bring a gun out here? Is that why? Was he planning to steal it this whole time? Why would he do that?”