shoots him in the head which will also haunt my dreams for even more years to come.
Horrified, I sit there, Bear’s leash still in my hands as Shepherd proceeds to shoot two more men that try to enter the room.
“Kick the door shut,” he yells at me. I try, but one of the bodies is lying in the way.
I hesitate before grabbing the man’s jacket and pulling him toward me. Once his body is pulled back, I manage to push the door shut, letting it latch. I can hear more footsteps, though, so I don’t know how much it’ll help. There is a dresser against the wall that I crawl to and begin to push. I shove it in front of the door a moment before the door flings inward and slams into it.
“Shepherd, it’s not going to hold,” I say as I lean against it, hoping my weight will help.
Shepherd is still at the window, shooting through it. When I glance over at Danielle, I notice she has a gun tucked in her pants, but she’s not doing anything with it. Is she planning on shooting Shepherd? She has the perfect spot for it.
“Shepherd—”
That’s when the dresser is rammed against me and I fall forward. Shepherd turns away from the window and rushes the now open door, shooting the man standing inside it before pushing into the hallway. The bullets have stopped raining through the window, leaving behind small holes in the wall and bodies. So many bodies.
Danielle looks over at me, catching my eyes as I stay tucked into the corner behind the dresser. She pushes herself to her feet and runs for the window but before she makes it there, Shepherd is back in the room. He looks wild or crazed as he moves across the room. She fumbles for the gun but he grabs her and slams her against the wall.
“You really thought you could stop me?” he whispers, voice so low it nearly gets lost, but I think that’s what makes it even more chilling.
“I-It’s no wonder why they call you a monster,” she says.
He picks up his gun and sets it against her head as I realize he’s going to kill her.
“Shepherd, stop!” I shout, and for some reason, I find myself up on my feet, running for him.
“You don’t fuck me over and live through it, Danielle,” Shepherd growls.
She’s grabbing for him, desperation written across her face as she shakes her head. “Please… I have a daughter. Please…”
I grab Shepherd from behind, wrapping my arms around him. “Enough people have died, Shepherd. Let’s go. She was doing what she thought she had to do to keep herself safe. Let’s go.”
Shepherd tries shrugging me off, but I hold on to him tightly.
“Shepherd. Please. We need to go.”
He stares at her, gun held tightly in his hand, shoulders rigid. But I give him one more tug to pull him toward me. This time, he willingly steps back. He reaches behind Danielle and pulls the gun from her waistband where she must have tucked it.
“Fuck with me again, Danielle, and I’ll destroy your life,” he says, voice cold. “I thought out of everyone, you wouldn’t betray me.”
She nods. “I know. I didn’t want to do this. I didn’t want them to come here. I’m sorry. They threatened my family. I’m sorry.”
Shepherd turns from her and sets a hand on my back before aiming me toward the door. Bear trots up to us and I grab his leash as Shepherd guides me into the hallway where there are more bodies. About halfway down the hallway, he hesitates before pushing open the door that Bear had stopped at when we first arrived. The room is done up as a child’s room with baby blue walls and a pink comforter that’s lying across the floor. I see movement under the bed as the girl draws back under and Shepherd slams the door shut.
“Get your fucking daughter out of this shit,” he growls as he pushes me toward the front door. As we walk outside, I can’t help but think about how the Shepherd in that house was completely different from the Shepherd who I thought I knew.
But is he different?
I glance over at him, only to find his eyes set forward, searching, hunting.
Because of me, he had to kill those men. Did he know what he was getting into when he stepped down this path? Does he regret it?