going.” She grabs up her keys and dashes to the door, shouting over her shoulder, “Get one of your father’s guns and make sure it’s loaded.”
“On it.”
Half an hour later, Hayley and I are waiting in the darkened house. We argued over if I should leave the door unlocked. In the end I locked the front door; I’m almost positive Sylvia took my mom’s purse with her keys. Just in case I’m wrong, I leave the back door unlocked.
The drapes are drawn, but I can see out through a crack.
“God, this is nerve-wracking,” Hayley whines.
“Shh, a car is pulling in.” I stretch to watch. “It’s her.”
“Quick, get in position.”
I dash to hide behind an easy chair in the family room; we’re both pretty sure that’s where Sylvia will go, based on the way she was digging near the desk. Hayley is hiding in the dining room, behind the buffet, so she can be on the other side of the house from me. If there’s a struggle, she can creep up behind her.
The screen door opens with a creak, and Sylvia slides a key into the lock. A moment later, the front door swings open.
“Hello?” she calls out.
I stay hidden as footsteps come down the hall.
“Hello?” she calls out again. “Tess? Anyone home?”
I peer around the edge of the chair and watch her enter the family room. She drops her purse to the floor with a thud, flips the light on, then as I expected, beelines right for the old roll top desk. There’s a lot of shuffling, and I’m sure she’s digging through the pile of junk mail and papers.
“Shit,” I hear her swear as drawers open and close. “He said it was here.”
I peek on the other side of the chair when she moves to the bookcase. There’s not a lot left since my mother smashed Dad’s collection of beer steins, just a few odds and ends. Sylvia reaches to the top shelf and feels around with her hand. She grabs something and pulls it down, and I realize it’s the old bible my mother had from when she was a young girl.
Sylvia thumbs through it, turning it upside down, and a key falls out and thumps on the carpet.
“Bingo,” she whispers, then laughs and squats to pick it up.
Rage floods through me, and I stand, aiming the gun at her. “Find what you’re looking for, Sylvia?”
Her eyes get big; she drops the bible and makes a dash for the door.
Fuck! I don’t want to have to shoot her. “Hayley! Stop her!”
Hayley runs out from the other room, cutting her off in the hallway, throwing herself against the door. “Not so fast, bitch.”
I hear a motorcycle pull up outside.
Sylvia backs up, glances at me, and then makes a dash for the kitchen door. I fire off a warning shot over her head to stop her; the bullet goes through the window of the back door, shattering it. I drop the gun and tackle her in the kitchen, taking her down to the linoleum. We skitter around on the floor, struggling. She goes to reach for the gun, and I grab her by the ankles pulling her back. Her arm is outstretched, her fingers just inches from the grip.
“Hayley, get the gun!” I scream, and she dives for it.
Sylvia scrambles to her feet, grabs a knife from the butcher block and whirls around, wielding it at me. “Get back!”
“Shoot her!” I yell.
“The gun is jammed,” Hayley shouts.
Sylvia smiles and advances on me. I’m between her and the door, and I’ll be damned if I let her leave with that key.
Suddenly Gypsy is behind Sylvia, bringing the butt of his gun down on her head. She drops like a ton of bricks, the knife clattering to the floor.
I feel all the air go out of me, and I deflate like one of my grandmother’s soufflés, sinking to the floor.
Gypsy has me in his arms a second later. “Tess, are you hurt?”
I shake my head, clinging to him, my fingers tight on his cut. The leather is cool under my skin, the patches scratchy. They feel damp, and I frown at the red splatter. I press my forehead to the side of his neck, and his big palm cradles my head, holding me close. “You’re back.”
“Yes, and I’ve got you, baby girl. It’s all over.”
“There’s blood on your cut.”
“Don’t worry. It’s not mine.”
“What happened?”
“Took care of business.”
“Is anyone hurt?”
“One guy, but Doc’s tending to him. He’ll be fine.” He glances at Hayley.