Fool Me Once

We both jump into the water and head to the vehicle. Figuring he more than likely put her in the back, I smash out the back window. Sure enough, she’s in the car and in the back seat. Because the car isn’t completely submerged yet, her head is bobbing just over the top of the water. Her eyes are wide with fear, and her mouth… holy fuck! Her mouth is taped up.

I rip the tape off her mouth and she lets out a loud cry. “Keegan!”

“I got you, baby.” I can’t open the door, though, because of how much the car is already filled with water. “Can you climb through the window?”

“My-my hands.” She cries. “They’re tied up, but I was able to undo my seat belt.” Her hair is drenched and matted to her face. “I almost drowned.” Her words have me wanting to find Brenton and kill him… which reminds me. “Kolton, you need to get Brenton out.”

“What?” he asks like he didn’t hear me.

“Go help him,” I demand. I took an oath when I became a police officer, and that oath means something to me. Which means, even though I would like nothing more than to see that asshole die, it’s not my place to let it happen.

Reaching into the window, I use my Life Hammer to cut the rope on Blakely’s wrists so she’s free, and then I remove my shirt and place it over the broken window so I can help her climb out. Once she’s out, I pick her up and carry her to a dry piece of land, where Sierra is waiting.

“Keegan!” Kolton screams, and I look over at him. “He’s not here!”

“What?” I yell back.

“He’s not in the car.”

“You sure?” I consider going to check for myself, but there’s no way I’m leaving Blakely and Sierra.

And then I hear something behind me. I turn slowly, a feeling of dread hitting me like a semi going a hundred in the wrong lane, right at me.

“Don’t move!” Brenton yells. He’s holding my gun in his hands, pointing it at me. His clothes are drenched, and there’s a huge gash on his forehead.

Blakely gasps, and Sierra yells.

And then a gunshot goes off.

Brenton hits the ground, and the gun he was holding flies through the air, landing a few feet away from him.

I run over and grab the gun as Kolton joins me.

“I didn’t know you had your gun on you,” I tell Kolton.

“Always. My brother taught me that.”

I check out where he hit Brenton to see if he’s alive and unconscious, or if he’s dead. The bullet went straight through his heart. “He’s dead.”

Keegan

One Month Later

“Daddy! It’s him!” Zane yells, pointing his finger to the massive rectangular yellow sponge-looking thing. We’ve spent the last week in Orlando, visiting every park at Disney and then making our way through Universal. Of course, the SpongeBob area is the last thing to be seen, so Zane has been asking every thirty seconds all day long if it’s time yet. We probably should’ve walked the other way around the park, but Blakely wanted to make sure we hit all the rides before the wait became too long. Next time, we’ll start with the big sponge guy.

“That’s him, bud,” I agree. Zane stops in his place and Blakely snorts out a laugh. We both thought for sure Zane would run straight for the big guy, but he’s not. He’s standing in his spot, frozen in place. “You want to get in line to meet him?”

Zane looks up at me with wide eyes and nods slowly. The kid is starstruck. “Yes,” he whispers. “Will you go with me?” He raises his hand to hold mine and I take it. Being a father is without a doubt the best job I could ever have.

We get in line and when it’s our turn, Zane walks up to SpongeBob and gives him the most adorable hug. Blakely snaps a million pictures while I stand next to Zane, holding his autograph book for him until he’s ready for it.

“I love you so much,” he tells SpongeBob. Of course, the guy can’t talk, so he just pats his back and poses for some pictures.

Zane takes the book from me and SpongeBob stamps his signature on the page. Zane’s grin is so bright it could light up the dark sky.

“It’s the best day ever!” Zane sings, trying to sound like SpongeBob does when he sings the song, as we walk out of the park and toward the parking garage.

Blakely thinks we’re going home, but she doesn’t know we’re really heading back to where everything began. When we arrive she gives me a curious look. “I thought we could stop here for dinner. Go back to where it all started.”

Blakely smiles. “Sounds good.” Holding my hand, while Zane runs ahead, we head down to the beach.